Rogers baseball team looks to sneak up on 4A tournament field, make deep run
The drought lasted long enough to become noticeable. Yet it wasn’t the constant absences of Rogers High teams from the 4A state baseball brackets over more than a decade that was the driving force for these Rams in their quest to end that trend.
“A lot of us have been playing together since we were 7, 8 years old,” junior Coltyn Clark said. “One of the big things growing up was us just dreaming. Of us playing on this field. But yeah, we talked that we were going to change the program. We wanted to make it a winning program.”
Foundationally, the transformation for Rogers – from a program that didn’t see a state game between 2012 and 2022 into the squad that will play Eastlake in the Regional semifinals on Saturday, the second straight year the Rams and Wolves have met in this game – began a year or two before virtually anyone on this team was even here.
Maybe the three seniors on this team could cite being part of the beginning. But led by the eight seniors that graduated after the 2023 campaign, Rogers put an end to the drought a year ago as the No. 16 seed before losing to No. 1 Eastlake.
“At the end of the year, there was a lot of emotion,” Rogers coach Matt Whitehead said. “Those seniors told these guys, ‘It’s your job to carry it on.’ They got us here, but these guys had the job to get us back.”
The Rams are the 13th seed this time around. Eastlake is the No. 4, and thus still the highest seeded team in the four-team Regional that also includes No. 5 North Creek against No. 12 Battle Ground in the other regional semifinal. Rogers and Eastlake kick things off at 10 a.m. at Eastlake followed by North Creek and Battle Ground at 1 p.m.
The winners play at 4 p.m. for one of four spots in the state Final Four on May 24 and 25 at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.
Despite the low-ish seed, these Rams believe they can get to Pasco next weekend.
“A lot of guys in this group are saying it’s redemption,” Whitehead said.
It’s redemption for the early loss to the Wolves a season ago. But it also speaks to the change this group of players has created in the Rogers program.
“What’s changed is our mentality,” junior Martyn Hernandez said. “What was keeping us from proving Rogers can compete? We were tired of getting doubted and we feel that we could definitely be higher (seeded). Now we’re out to prove we’re the best and dirtiest 13-seed out there.”
Certainly, there were challenges. With just three seniors left on the roster after the 2023 run to the playoffs, the Rams knew they would be young coming into the 2024 season. And it took them some time to find the chemistry.
“We’re young, yes,” Whitehead said. “But that excuse is gone now. Even after half a season, that excuse was gone. Our goal at the beginning was to go to Richland, play in the last game. But then it gets a little rocky. You’ve got to stay the course.”
As the season wore on, Rogers finally found a bit of a groove. And when the playoffs began, the Rams were peaking.
“These last three games, especially,” Whitehead said. “The guys are so locked in.”
Even when senior starting pitcher Jason Marshall broke his hand two weeks ago, the loss didn’t derail the Rams. Clark and sophomore Talan Robinson took another step forward. Robinson, truth be told, emerged virtually from the start.
After a couple of games coming out the bullpen, Robinson got a start and “dominated,” Whitehead said. The sophomore has compiled a 5-1 record overall and has a paltry 0.9 earned run average. Robinson grew up in Orting but his family moved to Puyallup during the pandemic, landing him at Rogers for high school.
Even though he didn’t watch the lean years for the Rams while growing up, he’s bought into the culture of change. And like the rest of the team, he can’t wait to see Eastlake for the second consecutive playoffs.
“I’m pumped,” Robinson said. “We’re all fired up for it.”
“I think we’re better than a 12 seed,” junior Ian Draper said. “And our energy has been great in the playoffs. This team is really good at turning it up when it matters most. We always play our best in big games.”
That’s a trait Whitehead hopes carries this group beyond a regional semifinal this season, but also one that will endure as they try to build Rogers into another Puyallup city baseball powerhouse like the No. 2 seed to this year’s tournament – the Puyallup Vikings.
“Puyallup is a baseball town,” Whitehead said. “All three high schools (Emerald Ridge being the third) are good. To have that much talent in one city is impressive. It’s daunting. But we try to focus on our next guys coming in, too, getting them into the culture. Expose them to the our expectations so for the next generation, when they do get here, it’s not the first time they’ve seen that.”
This story was originally published May 17, 2024 at 5:00 AM.