James Allan sits in the living room of his third-story apartment, playing what else, a baseball game. He and another teammate are having a homerun derby. It’s down to the wire and Allan is up by a few homeruns, but his teammate has one out left. Three homeruns later, Allan is defeated on the last out. He yells “Oh Man!” But accepts his defeat.

Luckily Allan and his teammates haven’t had to deal with that very often this year.
It’s that competitive mentality that has helped Allan and the rest of the Saints’ baseball team reach the top of the NWAACC mountain.

Allan, a Barlow graduate, has recently started to focus more on the ball and it has shown; he is currently batting .378 with 20 RBI and four homeruns.

For not being “the most selective hitter,” he has helped his team in ways that other coaches’ only dream of.

Asked why he was so effective, Allan replied, “Getting out there and playing every day, has helped.”

His playing isn’t the only thing that stands out with Allan. Teammate Kasey Ferris who played against Allan for two years while attending Reynolds High School, puts it this way: “Basically, he brings more to the team than you’d think. He brings a lot to the locker room and even more to the field. He’s a stand-out, he’s got All-American written all over him.” One thing about athletes is if you are a force not only in the locker room but on the field as well, you are looked up to or at least respected.

His coach Gabe Sandy, had this to say of Allan: “Well, he’s our four-hole hitter (clean-up), and he’s got a strong physical presence. He’s got the power to take the ball out of the park.”

Allan has earned that respect from both his teammates and coaches alike.
It has lit a spark under the Saints and they now have that fire that was absent at the beginning of the season, which has brought them a fourth place ranking in the Horizon Air/NWAACC coaches poll and accolades from the conference, as well as the regular season Southern region championship.

The Saints planned on this to be their year and now that they have finally done it, Allan said, “It feels great!”

Every player on the team is a stitch in Mt. Hood’s metaphorical baseball and nothing, not even the league championship, is getting out. But how do Allan and the Saints plan to keep up the hot pace? “I just have to keep hitting the ball in the same spots, and try to be consistent and don’t do too much.”

With the Saints on auto pilot until the NWAACC playoffs, one might wonder if Allan and the Saints are too relaxed. But good athletes are confident about what they can do and hoe they produce for their team.

“I just find a way to get the bat on the ball.”