Rainier High School baseball head coach Justin Gurnsey’s primary goal when he took over prior to this season was to build momentum for the program and improve upon its 6-15 season in 2023.
While the Mountaineers stumbled to the finish line in 2024, both of those goals have either been completed or are on pace for completion.
Rainier finished the regular season with a 7-12 record and 7-11 mark in Central 2B League play. But after sweeping Winlock two weeks ago, the Mountaineers lost their final four games against Toutle Lake and Napavine by a combined score of 52-3.
“I don’t think it’s a frustrating end to our season. It’s not the season we were hoping for, but we’ve shown improvement throughout,” Gurnsey said. “I think this team showed a lot of resilience. The game is all about adjustments, and our kids started to make adjustments. I don’t think the scores of the games and our record indicate how good or bad we are.”
The Mountaineers faced dominant pitching from Napavine, including against Ashton Demarest, who allowed just one hit and one walk on Friday, April 26, while striking out seven batters. Dayton Gardner’s lone double and Hunter Howell’s solid outing on the mound weren’t enough as Rainier lost, 10-0, in six innings in its final road game of the season.
On Rainier’s senior day on Saturday, April 27, the Tigers took advantage of eight Mountaineers errors in a 15-1 victory. Senior pitchers Ryder Cruse and Jared Sprouffske allowed a combined 15 runs, with just two of them earned. Johnny Boesch, another senior, recorded two singles in his final home contest.
“I’m sad to see the seniors go. I think they started to step up and show some real leadership,” Gurnsey said. “They were really starting to come through. I would have liked to have gotten a couple more successes in there.”
Gurnsey added that the improvement from last season is significant to him and to the program, especially with the plethora of eighth graders and freshmen on this year’s team.
“The whole purpose is just to continue to grow and continue to make adjustments. Everyone has felt like they have made some strides forward. It’s not always about the scoreboard and what the numbers show. It’s how you’re playing, how you’re improving and how you’re growing,” he said. “I’m really excited about us going forward. All the lessons that we had this year are going to make us stronger for next year. I’m excited for our youth. Rainier has some good things coming.”
The Mountaineers will face Napavine for a third time this season in the first round of the district tournament on Friday, May 3, with the time and location yet to be determined. Gurnsey believes his players, especially his seniors, will be hungry to finish their season with pride.
“I’m excited because I think each game [against Napavine] we’ve gotten better. We’ve seen what they’ve got. I think we match up, but it’s whether we can get those timely hits, and sometimes we’ve been struggling to put the bat on the ball,” he said. “It’s really important for these seniors because these guys are competitors and they want to represent their school. No one wants their career or their season to end, so I think they’re really motivated.”
