The baseball team will get to rest up for spring break, and since they won’t be going down to Arizona this year, they will have a chance to “defend the yard” as they host their own tournament starting Thursday, March 24.

In Saturday’s season opener against Edmonds, they lost the first game 5-3, but won the second game in extra innings. Greyson Thain, who went 3-for-4 at the plate in the second game, smacked in the game-winning run at the bottom of the 11th inning. Freshman Johnathan Higgins contributed, going 3-3 with a stolen base. Edmonds, being one of the top teams, made the match up almost tournament-like. “We fought and battled all day long; there was good pitching and good defense,” Sandy said.

Over the break the team will start and finish up all of their scheduled preseason tournaments, at Lower Columbia, Bellevue, and one that Mt. Hood is hosting.

Today they play Centralia in first day of the Lower Columbia Tournament. Head coach Gabe Sandy says that they are looking forward to playing Lower Columbia. Last year, they placed second in the NWAACC Tournament. After beating Mt. Hood in the first game, they went all the way to the championship game where they lost.

“They return with a lot of firepower and good pitching,” Sandy said. Last weekend Lower Columbia swept the defending NWAACC Champions Lane, so Lower Columbia will be the team to beat. Mt. Hood will play them Sunday, the last day of the tournament. “We hope that we win our two games and they win their two, so it’ll come down to that last game,” Sandy said, “We love the dramatics.”

Hosting their own tournament will be exciting, giving them the chance to play some of the tougher teams in the NWAACC on their home field. This goes back to their main goals this season, to win the league and win the NWAACC Tournament, by playing the best teams.

For only the second time since 1996, the Saints won’t go to Arizona over spring break. The last time they didn’t make the trip was due to 9/11. The Arizona schools shifted their schedule, so they’re in league when the Saints are on spring break, although next year the schedule should be back in tune with the Saints. Sandy said that the Arizona trip is one of the highlights of the season. They host a lot of the top teams in the NWAACC, some of the top pitchers coming in, and they want to face the best pitching they can “at any and all times.”

It’s also very beneficial to the players. “They get to fly on a plane, stay in hotel rooms together, which really helps with the team chemistry and helps them bond,” Sandy said. Arizona doesn’t have to deal with the rainy weather this time of year, so there is guaranteed play. Plus there is pre-game batting practice, as opposed to here in the Northwest where “(it’s) usually just pull off the tarp, no batting practice, and play the game.”

Mt. Hood has been able to hold their own in past trips against the top teams with an over. 500 record against Arizona community colleges. Last year, they beat Glendale, who was ranked number seven in the country. Sandy said the top teams in the NWAACC can compete with the top Community Colleges in the country, because of the good programs and high quality kids, who become pro prospects and Division I recruits. “Just because they have better weather doesn’t make them better.”

A tradition of playing the San Francisco Giants rookie team will be missed. The bright side is last year’s freshmen got to go, and this year’s freshmen will go next year. “As long as we get to go every two years,” Sandy said.