New Rainier High School baseball coach Justin Gurnsey’s motto for the 2024 Mountaineers team is “Attitude plus talent equals success.”
He believes his team has that formula to improve from a 6-14 season in 2023.
“On my first day, I let them know that this is a game, and you’re supposed to be here to have fun,” he said. “But there’s really only two things that you can control, and that’s your effort and your attitude. I couldn’t be more pleased with the attitude that these guys have.”
While the team has a strong group of senior leadership, including catcher Jared Sprouffske, third baseman Johnny Boesch and first baseman Ryder Cruse, the Mountaineers will also have three eighth graders on the varsity team and five more on junior varsity. Infielder Jake Meldrum, a Central 2B All-League second-team selection last year, will not play this season as he will compete in track and field, and All-League first-team pitcher John Kenney is out for the year with a knee injury.
Despite two of the Mountaineers stars not taking the field this season, Gurnsey is confident in his team’s ability to grow, particularly due to the offseason regimen he installed. The players share that confidence as well.
“I’m confident because of the new style and different viewpoint. Sometimes that can help. We do more stretches and field work, and we’ve been working on different plays for different situations,” Sprouffske said. “That’s different from last year. I think that will help us quite a bit.”
Boesch concurred, adding that Gurnsey has implemented new stretches and agility workouts to help the team get in shape. The senior said practices will help the Mountaineers round into form sooner than in previous years.
“He likes more talking and excitement on the field, which is new. It’s a different environment,” he said. “Our fielding is gonna be better this year. That’s something we struggled with. We had so many errors last year.”
During practice, Gurnsey utilizes every possible situation for his players to consider, including how the ball bounces toward infielders, how to spin and throw toward a target, and how to not give up on a play even when an error is made.
“You want them to have fun, but it’s not about goofing off. We want these guys to take it seriously, take care of themselves and help their teammates,” Gurnsey said. “I really want this to be a family, and I really want us to respect each other and treat each other with respect. I think from day one it’s been that way.”
Cruse, who is back on the team for the first time since his sophomore year, said the team’s main goal is to win and finish the season with the same number of athletes as at the start of the year.
“We’ve got a lot of athletes. There’s some kids that have never played baseball before, but they’re athletic, and it’ll come to them,” he said.
Gurnsey said his infield is strong, and he likes the starting pitching at his disposal. The outfield will be young and inexperienced, however, as all three starters may be eighth graders.
“That’s exciting, and a little nerve-wracking because it’s not what you always want, but they’re talented enough,” he said of the outfield. “If you came out and just watched them in practice and didn’t know anyone’s age, you’d know they were the starters.”
The Central 2B League features plenty of loaded teams, including Toutle Lake (22-4, 14-2 C2BL in 2023), Toledo (18-6, 14-3 C2BL) and Adna (19-8, 11-4 C2BL). After speaking with previous Rainier head coach Mark Mounts, Gurnsey believes the Mountaineers can stack up against every team in the league.
“There’s a couple of teams out there that have a super-talented pitcher here or a really exceptional hitter there, but I think, overall, athletically, we can keep up with anyone,” Gurnsey said. “It’s just getting over those mental hiccups that have held them back. The challenge is just focused on effort and attitude.
“Coach Mounts did an amazing job. He’s been helping me to give me pointers and advice,” he added. “He knows these kids inside and out.”
The Mountaineers kicked off the season on Wednesday, March 13, with a home league game against Morton-White Pass (MWP), but results were not available before press time. They will travel to MWP for a road league game at 4 p.m. Thursday and will return home for a noon date with Tenino Saturday.
