Silas baseball tearing through 3A Pierce County League

Owning the top of the 3A Pierce County League is nothing new for the Silas High School baseball team. In fact, they are the twice-defending league champions entering this year.

The first of the two came in 2019, while the second league title was awarded after the shortened 2021 season. And right now, the Rams are sitting in first place in the 3A PCL with an overall record of 10-4 and 9-1 in league.

With six more games left in the regular season, this group of players is hoping to make it a three-peat. But what do they have to do to get there? It is simple:

Play the brand of baseball that third-year head coach Ryan Linden has been preaching since taking over the program. Behind a strong defense and even stronger pitching, the Rams can handle anything.

“I think the biggest thing is that this is a young group of boys, they are mostly sophomores and juniors,” Linden said. “They just really seem to click well together. The boys I know all get along really well outside of baseball. It has been a quick testing period here for the boys over the last couple of years… The kids really stepped up in the off-season. This group all plays together in the fall, and I can see that really helping us mesh together well.”

In his third year as head coach, Linden continues his focus on defense and pitching for the Rams. And while the 114 runs that his team has produced is a nice number to look at, Linden sees that as a secondary motivation.

That’s the luxury this team can afford, especially when there are hard-throwing right-handers on the mound like senior Joseph Gutierrez.

Although he didn’t come to the Rams as a pitcher, Gutierrez has developed his skills in off-season workouts. In fact, Gutierrez worked out with professional pitcher Justin Marsden to really hone his craft. The extra workouts have paid off. Gutierrez has become the Rams’ ace in the rotation.

“I’m the ace, so I will pitch against the other team’s best pitcher usually. I give my team a chance [to win] by not allowing the other team to score runs,” he said. “Just put the ball in my hands and I will do the rest. Me and my catcher [sophomore Jack Phillips] are usually on the same page. So, there isn’t a lot of shaking off signals. We usually talk in the dugout before I even go onto the mound about what we want to do.”

Gutierrez’s favorite pitch to throw is the four-seam fastball. Through the 32 innings he’s pitched so far this season, he’s racked up 37 strikeouts.

He is also one of five seniors on the Rams’ roster. While the other players generally have an idea of how they want to play their game, Gutierrez still steps in to guide them.

It’s most prevalent in his relationship with Phillips. Gutierrez lets the sophomore catcher call the games, but he pushes Phillips in the right direction on when to call each pitch. Building that partnership helps establish good chemistry between the players.

And when there is good chemistry between the players, they have a better understanding of one another. That’s how the defense rolls behind pitchers like Gutierrez. Take sophomore utility player Gavin Yoder.

“I feel like there is a lot of chemistry on the team. We all get along and it’s kind of like a family. We’re great friends outside of baseball and it’s a lot of fun,” Yoder said. “There’s a league in the fall and most of our guys come out to practice and everyone plays. I feel like it brings us closer together as a team because we don’t play with each other for summer and club ball. So, fall gives us a chance to play together more and become more connected on the field.”

Those connections Yoder and his teammates made from extra time playing together have paid dividends. So far this season, they have given up 80 runs to their opponents for a +34-run differential.

Whenever Yoder and the rest of the Rams take the field, they know they are going out there to play unselfish baseball. And that’s what he believes separates them from the rest of their competition.

“We all have each other’s backs on the field. And I feel we play as a team,” Yoder said. “I feel like other teams are playing selfish baseball and they’re trying to do what they can to make themselves look good. We’re out there to win and I think we do that pretty well.”

Yoder has had a hand in winning a few games for the Rams. In a March 29 game against Bonney Lake, he hit a liner to right field to win the game 2-1. He knocked in a ground-rule double again against Lakes on April 14 to complete an eight-run comeback and lift the Rams 10-9 over the Lancers.

But he isn’t even one of the leading hitters on the team. That honor belongs to junior Nathan Eisenmenger. The shortstop currently has a batting average over .300.

“My approach when I’m at the plate is that I want to get on base to help my teammates out. But when I am actually swinging, I want to hit line drives to right field or right-center,” Eisenmenger said. “I’m just trying to go up there and get on base. There are definitely different little things in my approach, depending on the pitcher. Usually, it’s the same approach but with little adjustments.”

With two strikes, Eisenmenger will choke up on the bat, shortening the path his bat has to travel to contact the ball.

With Eisenmenger leading the way at the plate, combining his defensive prowess with teammates like Yoder, and having their ace Gutierrez on the mound, the Rams look poised to make it their third year in a row capturing the 3A PCL.