Document text
Cascade's Edwards keeps on winning By Greg Stiles When Bryan Edwards slings a baseball toward home plate, good things happen. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Cascade Christian senior right-hander has been a dominant force for the Challengers for four years. Edwards owns a career record of 38-3 and hasn't lost in the regular season since his freshman year. When Edwards takes the mound for his final District 6 start Friday at Lost River, he'll be trying to nail down Cascade's sixth straight league championship. "No. 1, he throws lots of strikes," Cascade Christian coach John Bruce says. "Because he's a side-armer, he's got good movement up and down. He's not wild left and right, which side-armers can do." The coach's biggest fear is that his ace will catch too much of the plate on a no-ball, two-strike pitch. "He throws it down the middle, but he gets a lot of ground balls," Bruce says. "He throws a heavy ball and people don't hit it far." In fact, Bruce can only remember Edwards surrendering one home run. Edwards is 11-0 this spring with an 0.40 ERA. In 64 innings, he's struck out 92 and walked seven. Last year, he was 13-1, losing in the state semifinals to eventual champion Glendale - a team Edwards and the Challengers had beaten twice earlier in the season. As a sophomore, he was 8-1, and he was 6-1 as a freshman. His career ERA is 1.10 with 330 strikeouts and 39 walks. "I try to throw as hard as I can, but I still want to place it," Edwards says. "Depending on where I am in the count, I'll throw a curveball or junk pitch to try to keep 'em off balance." Even in the playoff losses, Edwards didn't exactly get lit up, allowing two earned runs in one game and one in another to Glendale and Willamina. During Edwards' first two campaigns, left-hander Tim Alvarez was Cascade's ace. "Brian didn't have to be the No. 1 pitcher right away," Bruce says. "He was able to gain confidence. We didn't have to put him on the spot in big games, even though he threw in state playoff games." Although there have been some free passes along the way, he's run into some pretty fair competition. A couple of weeks ago, Edwards bested Bonanza's Casey Norris, a top pitcher for the Klamath Falls Falcons American Legion team, 5-4. Against Yreka, Calif., he struck out 12. The Challengers (19-2) have won 16 straight and Edwards would like nothing better than to extend that streak to early June and have a shot at a state championship. "I know if we play well, we can win," Edwards says. "There just hasn't been that much pressure. I'm a senior and I've been doing this every year." ST. MARY'S PLANS TO revive its football program next fall, playing an independent schedule. The program that at one time saw 60 players in uniform for games and produced five state championships, was suspended midway through the 2000 season. The Crusaders, who began the season with fewer than 20 players, forfeited their final four Southern Cascade League games when they ran out of players. "I think there is a lot of tradition here and nobody likes to see that go away," St. Mary's athletic director Tammy Volk says. "If it's something the kids want to continue to do, we want to support the program. We just didn't have the numbers last year, but from what it looks like, the numbers will be better next year. We'll have to see how it goes through the season." St. Mary's has scheduled games against varsity teams from Nestucca, Prospect, Gilchrist and Butte Valley (Calif.) and will meet junior varsity teams from Hidden Valley, Mazama and North Valley. "We're going to have a real young team," says coach Dick Maurer, noting there was only one junior in the program last fall. "We're trying to sustain the program. The first year, whether you are a freshman or sophomore, is a big learning year." Some of the younger players have actively recruited their friends to turn out next season. "We don't have the (enrollment) to support so many sports," Maurer says. "Things get pretty watered down when you get to fall sports. We've got to get the kids (who are) sitting on the fence. We've got to get them away from playing Nintendo games, when they're sitting there pushing buttons." THE SKYLINE CONFERENCE baseball race is going down to the wire. Hidden Valley and Henley are tied for first place with 15-5 records going into the final round of play is this afternoon. Hidden Valley swept the three-game season series from the Hornets, thus would earn the Skyline's No. 1 playoff berth if both teams win or lose today. Hidden Valley entertains Mazama, while Henley is at Lakeview. The Mazama-Hidden Valley game has further ramifications because the Vikings are tied for third place and the final playoff spot with 13-7 records. Phoenix plays Rogue River at Hagler-James Park. The Pirates swept their series with Mazama and would nail down the No. 3 spot by beating the Chieftains or by Hidden Valley beating Mazama. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.