The Juneau-Douglas High School baseball team hosted senior night Saturday afternoon at Adair-Kennedy Field. This year, the Crimson Bears graduate six seniors — half of whom have already been through one this year. Gavin Murphy, Niko Hebert and Quin Gist all wrapped up their careers with the JDHS hockey team several months ago. The three other seniors moving on from the baseball program include Bryce Swofford, Jack Harvey and Jade McCormick.
The Empire asked each to reflect on their playing days before a recent practice at Adair-Kennedy Field.
Juneau Empire: What have you enjoyed about being a Crimson Bear?
Jack Harvey: Probably being able to spend a lot of time with my friends and getting to know them better. Just getting better as players, seeing each other grow.
Gavin Murphy: How talented of a team we’ve always been. That’s probably it. It’s really fun playing with all of these guys and most of us play hockey, too, so it’s just everyone in the pack follows (each other).
Quin Gist: Just as a program, we’ve always been a tough out, we’ve always been battlers and grinders. We’ve always pushing the pace for other teams. They’re always wanting to beat us, and it’s just nice to have that going for us. It’s nice to have that confidence and usually we’re one of the more competitive teams. It’s just made me a harder worker.
Niko Hebert: I’ve enjoyed a lot of the teamwork and coming together with longtime friends.
Bryce Swofford: Getting to hang out with my friends; we’ve had a lot of success over the years. I’ve definitely made a lot of new friends through the upperclassmen.
Jade McCormick: Learning new things with them in different situations and scenarios.
JE: What’s one of the memories you have of playing for JDHS?
Harvey: Honestly, last year because we didn’t make it to state and losing (in regionals) with the team that we had was really a lot of motivation for this year.
Murphy: Probably the first game against Sitka (this season) because that’s probably one of the sketchiest games I’ve been in.
Gist: The 15-inning game my freshman year in Sitka was pretty awesome.
Hebert: My greatest memory would be playing in the state tournament my freshman year. We had a lot of great players on the team.
Swofford: Freshman year we had a big game against South (Anchorage). That was pretty crazy. I got to start (as pitcher) at the first round of the state tournament.
McCormick: One time, one of our guys just stuck his hand out. He was up to bat, and he just stuck his hand out and caught the pitch with his bare hand. It was kind of like, “What are you doing?” So that was kind of funny.
JE: What have you enjoyed about working with the coaching staff?
Harvey: Our coaches have a lot of experience with the game, so it’s pretty easy to learn from them. They know what they’re doing.
Murphy: They have a lot of experience — but they also bring a lot of entertainment to the team. It’s just fun all-around; you want to be here everyday.
Gist: We have a really close bond. … They are always motivating us to try new stuff and push ourselves. Sometimes we argue and bicker, but at the end of the day, they are looking out for us and they have the best interest for us.
Hebert: So far they’ve just been really easy to work with. A lot of coaches are really knowledgeable about baseball. It’s been great.
Swofford: Coach (Will) Race has been more of a friend to me than a coach, I would say. He’s helped me in the off season whenever I want to lift or go to the field and hit; he’s always there for me.
McCormick: Helping me with the little things, the mechanics.
Thunder Mountain High School
Unlike JDHS, the Thunder Mountain High School baseball team ended their regular season on the road in Sitka. The Falcons celebrated their senor night over two weeks ago. This year’s seniors include Zeb Storie, Riley Olsen, Franklin San Nicolas, Philip Wall and Owen Swanton.
JE: What have you enjoyed about being a Falcon?
Zeb Storie: This year in particular has been just playing with my little brother, who’s a freshman and he starts. So it’s pretty cool being able to play with your younger brother.
Riley Olsen: When I started I was not very good. I’ve improved every year and I’ve enjoyed that. Thanks to Joe Tompkins, I’ve learned how to hit actually, so that’s been nice.
Philip Wall: There’s the aspect of team that I’m definitely going to miss. I have’t been here all four years, but the three years I have been here I’ve grown into that aspect of it even though I will be playing after high school.
Franklin San Nicolas: It just feels good to be back with all the people that I used to play baseball with — good environment with good coaches.
JE: What’s one of the memories you have of playing for TMHS?
Storie: How young we were as a team at the beginning of the year. It’s noticeable how we’ve grown throughout the whole year.
Olsen: Freshman year, we traveled to Craig and I had a lot of fun doing that. We went with JV and it was just a good time.
JE: What have you enjoyed about working with the coaching staff?
Storie: They always provide the time and resources to let me enhance my game as much as possible. I’ll always respect them for that.
Olsen: They mostly focus on my hitting because I’ve never been good at hitting but this year I finally started hitting the ball so it’s been nice they helped me with that.”
Wall: No other coaches compare when it comes to the time and money they’ve spent into the program. When I was in sophomore and junior year I would just call (Joe) up and he would just go wherever. It’s a luxury to have coaches who are so free and willing to help.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
