After sluggish start, Curtis baseball has rattled off eight straight wins
It wasn’t a pretty start to the 2022 spring season for the Curtis High School baseball team. The Vikings dropped their first four games, leaving Curtis coach Bryan Robinson scratching his head.
“It was like, ‘This isn’t our identity, I don’t think,’” he said. “We did a bunch of self-inflicted wounds, walks, errors, not having quality at-bats.”
Curtis was at risk of dropping a fifth straight game, down 5-0 to South Kitsap midway through the game on March 25. The Vikings rallied for a 6-5 win and have rattled off eight straight wins in the 4A South Puget Sound League, one of the state’s toughest leagues.
There’s plenty of credit to go around for the team’s turnaround, but pitching has been front and center. In particular, junior left-hander Tyler Logan, a WSU commit, has compiled a 2-1 record, with 23.1 innings pitched and a 1.80 earned run average, striking out 28 batters to just seven walks.
“Mostly, our pitching has been a huge, huge influence on how we play,” Logan said. “Our small ball, we’ve gotta get bunts down, do the little things to make us succeed. I think we’ve executed those things. I think I’ve done a better job mixing it up than I have in the past, mixing my slider and changeup, everything offspeed, and then going back with the fastball will catch teams off guard.”
Logan worked hard in the offseason perfecting his arsenal: fastball, changeup and a slider. He’s not overpowering on the mound, with a fastball in the low-to-mid-80s, but he always keeps hitters off-balance and guessing.
“I think he’s just trusting the fact that he pounds the strike zone with the quality stuff that he has,” Robinson said. “He’s not going to blow you away with 88, 89 miles per hour, but his secondary pitches make his fastball come up there pretty good. On the flipside, when he knows he has a good defense behind him, he’s not trying to nibble, not trying to do it on his own. He lets guys go get baseballs.
“We have a really plus infield that doesn’t make too many mistakes and a quality catcher behind the plate, that he knows he can spike an 0-2 breaking ball with runners in scoring position and know it’s going to stay in front of him. I think he’s found his trust in his teammates and that’s built trust in himself to go and attack hitters, rather than feel like he’s gotta be a guy to do it on his own.”
Logan’s best effort this season came against a vaunted Sumner lineup. The Curtis lefty threw a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 win last Friday, allowing just two hits, striking out seven and walking none on 77 pitches over seven innings.
“Just to mix it up,” Logan said of his plan of attack against the Spartans’ bats. “Mix everything in there, keep them off-balance and blow it by them when I have to. Use everything to shut them down.”
Junior shortstop Gavin Brubaker has had a strong season batting in the leadoff spot, hitting .484 with two doubles, five triples and 10 RBIs. He’s also made appearances as a relief pitcher.
“He plays the game with so much savvy and aggressiveness,” Robinson said. “He’s just been clutch beyond belief, both defensively, at the plate. He’s come in in one-run games and just shut the door, when we needed him for five outs, needed him for three outs.”
Curtis is starting three freshmen this season, who have all made a quick impact: Third baseman Joey Costanti, first baseman Micah Yanos and outfielder Xavier Ahrens. Robinson pointed to another player who’s been an important piece of Curtis’ success this year: senior catcher Quinn Stauffacher. Stauffacher, who said he believes he’s the best catcher in the 4A SPSL, brings a veteran presence to the Vikings.
“What he brings defensively, how he handles his pitchers,” Robinson said. “I know it’s such a cliche to say, but it’s hard to do in high school. You don’t have the time together, you’re with different summer clubs for the most part. And he’s just done such a tremendous job giving up practice time where he should be getting better offensively and putting in time in the bullpen.
“And then what he does with communication with umpires, communicating with us, he’s just been a tremendous leader behind the plate and keeps a lot of these guys loose because his personality is just so addictive.”
