Altmeyer leads ambitious Freeman team

Earlier this season, Freeman’s baseball team opened eyes with a pair of victories during a four-team invitational in Colfax en route to a 7-0 start.

One of those wins came over Bellevue Christian, which had beaten 1A state power Brewster.

The Scotties have cooled off a bit since, losing the second game of a doubleheader to Chewelah and then a 10-3 decision Tuesday to Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls).

“We didn’t play close to our potential,” said left fielder Josh Altmeyer of that loss. “We struggled the first couple of innings with errors. We’re much better than that.”

Altmeyer is one of three seniors on Freeman’s team. The losses haven’t diminished their desire to finish the season with a flourish.

The combination of senior leadership from Altmeyer, Scott Ferguson and Ryan Horlen and an underclass that last summer reached the State A American Legion tournament was a reason for optimism.

“(The seniors) were our three best hitters last year and key run producers,” said coach Chad Ripke.

The juniors are a year more experienced.

“We looked at what Newport did (two consecutive state semifinal appearances) and at their success and for me, it was you have to play in summer to get where you want to be as a team,” Ripke said.

Altmeyer was too old for the 16-U Legion team and worked last summer instead. But it hasn’t seemed to slow him following an All-Northeast A League 2006 season in which he led the league in home runs.

Altmeyer is batting .423, has reached base nearly two-thirds of his at-bats, and stolen 10 bases in 11 attempts.

“I think for the most part this year, I’m seeing the ball really well,” Altmeyer said. “It’s a matter of waiting for a good pitch and swinging at strikes. Multiple times I’ve had two strikes on me and walked.”

The Altmeyer name is synonymous with basketball. Josh played at Valley Christian before transferring to Freeman as a sophomore.

With the Scotties, he’s played both football and baseball, but it’s the latter that has captured his heart.

“I’ve played baseball since I was little and definitely enjoy it the most,” said Josh. “I’ve been pretty successful in it. It’s a big joy of mine.”

With luck, that success can translate to a postseason appearance.

“If we play like we can, I can see us doing well,” said Altmeyer.