Solid and dependable

The West Valley baseball team is built on a seniority system. Academic standing takes a backseat to years in the starting lineup.

“We don’t care if you’re a senior or a junior, a sophomore or a freshman,” coach Don O’Neal said. “If you’re a sophomore and a two-year starter, you have more service time in than a first-year senior.

“We go by seniority for doing chores on the team – things like raking the infield.”

No matter how you count, however, Michael Hauschild stands at the top of the heap.

A four-year starter – mostly at second base for the Eagles – Hauschild doubles as the valedictorian for the class of 2006.

The Eagles have 11 seniors on their roster. Most of them have been together since middle school.

“Some of us go back even farther than that,” Hauschild said. “Some of us have been playing together since before middle school. A bunch of us were on the same team that won the Spokane Valley Youth Baseball championship in 1998, so that would have been fifth grade.”

Add those years of school baseball to an equal number of years playing in summer league and you have a team with a lot of miles shared.

“At this point it would feel strange to be playing with anyone beside these same guys,” Hauschild said.

Still, despite standing atop the seniority heap, Hauschild rarely uses his standing to get out of work.

“That’s not Michael,” O’Neal said. “He’s the kind of guy you want to have as a teammate – he’s solid, dependable and always pulls his weight. You have to respect a kid like that, and his teammates do.”

Hauschild plays the game the same way. This year he’s amassed a .314 batting average while hitting third – a spot reserved for a team’s most dependable hitter. Defensively, he started the season at shortstop, but shifted back to his more familiar home, second base, at midseason.

“I’m a little more comfortable at second base,” he said. “There’s not quite so much pressure.”

On Tuesday, the Eagles, now 16-5, defeated Selah to qualify for state for the second time in three years. They play for the regional championship on Saturday. “We haven’t really played our best baseball yet,” he said. With four seasons in the starting lineup, Hauschild knows just how good this team can be.

The Eagles advanced to the state playoffs in 2004, with Hauschild playing second base and his senior brother, Tyler, behind the plate.

“That was a good team,” Michael remembered. “And I really loved playing on the same teams with my brother.

“But I think this year’s team has a chance to be even better. We’ve all been together so long, I think that will pay off. We know each other so well, we know we can depend on each other. And we know how good we can be together.”

Last year West Valley finished third in the 3A Eastern Regional tournament. Unfortunately for the Eagles, only the top two teams advanced to state. On Tuesday they made sure of a return.

Still, he said, there was a bittersweet tinge to playing his last game on the team’s home field – the rest of the regional tournament will be played at Spokane Falls Community College.

“It’s kind of sad, knowing that it’s the last time we’ll play a home game,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of good years. But at the same time, it’s exciting because we have so much potential and I think we can accomplish so much.”

Finishing at the top of his graduating class is one thing, Hauschild said. If it came to a choice, he’d rather finish on top in the Class 3A state baseball tournament.

“Being valedictorian is an individual thing,” he said. “Winning a state championship is something you share with your teammates and your friends.”