‘This year is different’: YHS baseball seniors inspired to change team culture, make postseason run

Yelm High School baseball seniors Barrett Schnetz, Wyatt Robison, Colby Ward and Tyler Sage are inspired to implement a permanent culture of winning and camaraderie that lasts long after their graduation.

As of Monday, April 14, the YHS baseball program sits tied for third place in the South Puget Sound League with a 6-3 record. With a potential playoff bid on the horizon, Yelm’s four seniors are rallying the troops in hopes of qualifying for the postseason in its inaugural 4A SPSL season.

Schnetz, an outfielder and pitcher for the Tornados, said his senior teammates have done a good job at leading this season. Whether it’s a freshman on the team — such as pitcher Logan Caudill — or more seasoned leaders such as juniors Parker Myers, Landan Halterman or Jonah Smith, Schnetz said everyone has stepped up and done their jobs early in the season.

“We want to win out and be top four in the SPSL to set ourselves up for districts and playoffs. Taking care of this week and beating Curtis on Friday is huge, and we’ve got to beat Bonney Lake the next week to try to stack as many wins going into the playoffs,” Schnetz said. “We’re keeping people accountable, making sure the dugout energy is good and just trying to set a good example. We want to make the program better, and make sure everybody is doing their job.”

His teammate, the right fielder Ward, said it’s nice to see the team’s hard work in the weight room and throughout the offseason beginning to pay off amid Yelm’s strongest start in years. He told the Nisqually Valley News that the entire team felt inspired and motivated to make time for the weight room to become bigger, faster and stronger leading into the 2025 season.

He believes the team’s time in the weight room has paid off.

“It feels great to be in the mix. I love seeing the program do great, and throughout the years we haven’t been the best. We’ve been coming up short every year in our efforts to make the playoffs, so it’s great to see we’re off to a good start,” Ward said. “It’s our leaders. We’re loud in the dugout and we have a lot of energy. We’re focusing on keeping our energy up, because when our energy is down we’re not good. If we can keep the energy up, keep the bats going, we’ll keep going.”

Robison, pitcher and outfielder, has always had confidence in his teammates. Under head coach Dakota Hill’s leadership, the senior is thrilled to see his team trending up the SPSL standings.

“We’ve always had the tools, but it finally is coming together this season. We had a hard off-season and everyone was in the weight room. We all want to be here. We have good leadership this year and a lot of people have stepped up — especially Barrett Schnetz,” he said. “It feels good to see everyone working hard. It picks us all up. If I see someone working hard at practice, it makes me want to work harder too.”

Sage, first and third baseman, points to the chip on the team’s shoulders entering the 2025 season as a big factor to the team’s success. Following the end of last season, Sage said he saw every YHS baseball player’s dedication begin to click.

“This year is different. We’re starting to win games, and it’s been electric. It’s all coming together this year. It’s been amazing to watch,” Sage said. “Coach Hill is the glue that brings us together. He has us do extracurricular stuff on the side, like team bonding, on Saturdays. He brought extra resources into the program that we just didn’t really have before. He’s building the culture up here.”

Sage, Robison, Ward and Schnetz are all united in one common goal: leading Yelm High School’s baseball program to the 4A postseason.

“The ultimate goal is playoffs. We’ve never experienced that as a whole group. We’ve never experienced winning like this before. It’s been great, and that’s why our ultimate goal is to move onto playoffs and hopefully state,” Sage said. “If we can stay united and focus on coming together as a family, then we’re doing things right.”

His teammate, Robison, pointed to key factors, such as depth and a belief that any of his teammates could step up in any given big moment.

“It’s amazing because having this much depth helps us pick each other up. If I have a bad game, I know I could get picked up by anybody on this team,” Robison said. “We’re holding the younger guys accountable and showing them what it’s like to be in the dugout and be around it. They’re not held to any less standards because they’re younger than us.”

Schnetz added, “We knew we had to be better this year. We’ve had a ton of potential the last couple of years, and coming into the 4A, we knew this league would be hard, but we knew we could compete. So it feels good to be able to compete with the big dogs like Olympia, G-K and actually beat them and show them that we’re here.”