Wednesday, June 2, 2004

First pitches await Legion baseball team

Season opener Wednesday in Hailey

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A new coach and a strong nucleus of returning players will form the foundation of the 2004 Wood River American Legion "A" baseball team.

The Legion opens its summer campaign Wednesday, June 2 with a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader against Jerome at Hailey’s Founders Field.

First-year coach Eli Lloyd, who met with the team for the first time Monday, said, "We have some really good athletes here, guys who have taken the input of the program and made the adjustments to get better. The team has a really good attitude. I can sense it right away."

Having played three summers for the Wood River Legion program from 1992-94, Lloyd said he realizes that summer ball is quite a bit different from high school baseball. "There’s no school. You just play the game," he said.

Lloyd added, "Because it’s supposed to be fun, I don’t want to get heavy-handed about it, but I want to give them the support they need if they want to learn more. I’d like them to consistently execute offensive and defensive strategies and plays, and keep an open mind to new concepts about mechanics and fundamentals."

The coach said the heart of the 2004 Legion squad, which will have 14 roster spots, will be pitcher/OF Steve Hansen, infielder Brady Femling, pitcher/IF Tyson Reynoso and catcher Billy Kramer.

They helped the Wood River High baseball team to a 24-7 record this spring, the school’s sixth straight state tournament trip and a 2.35 ERA on its stingy pitching staff.

Other key players, Lloyd said, will be Huston Brashears, Derek Abbott, Jeff Conover and Kenny Cardona.

Coach Lloyd, 28, has plenty of baseball background. He is the son of Larry Lloyd, longtime Wood River High assistant baseball coach and former Legion baseball coach who was instrumental in the building of Hailey’s Founders Field.

As a young man, Eli played his baseball in Orange County at Laguna Hills, Ca. He came to Ketchum at the age of 14 and graduated from Wood River High School in 1993.

He was a member of Wood River’s first high school baseball team in 1992, forming a solid 1-2 pitching punch with ace Christian Nickum. After going 5-2 on the mound for Wood River’s 14-10 inaugural squad in 1992, Lloyd was Wood River’s ace with a 6-4 record for the 1993 team that went 13-15.

In 1994, Lloyd batted a team-leading .495 with nine homers and a 3-2 pitching record for the Legion team that went 29-9 including a 1-2 record in the State "A" tournament at Lewiston.

He played college baseball in Iowa and also for Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, Ca. from 1997-99. He moved to Hawaii Pacific where he pitched and played first and third base from 1999-2001.

"Playing in warm weather is something I always liked," said Lloyd.

He coached in the spring of 2002 back at Cabrillo College, then was pitching coach in the spring of 2003 at St. Ingatius College Preparatory School in San Francisco, Ca. He helped coach the Wood River Babe Ruth 13-15 squad last summer.

Wood River has a 36-game slate this summer including 16 home games, two tournaments and the season-ending Area C "A" district tournament at American Falls July 28-31.

Last summer, Wood River fielded two Legion teams—an "AA" squad that went 11-20 against tough big-city competition, and an "A" team that finished the summer 16-21.

 

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2004 Wood River
American Legion Baseball

This year’s schedule for the 2004 Wood River American Legion baseball program, with one "A" team (36 regular-season games—16 home and 20 away). All home games at Founders Field, Hailey. This year’s Area C "A" league includes 15 teams. Both games count in the league standings for each doubleheader. First-year head coach is Eli Lloyd.

DATE, DAY OPPONENT LOCATION

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June 2, Wednesday Jerome Home, 3:30/5:30
June 5, Saturday Pocatello Home, 12:00/2:00
June 8, Tuesday Buhl Buhl, 4:00/6:00
June 11, Friday Shelley Shelley, 4:00/6:00
June 12, Saturday Madison Rexburg, 11:00/1:00
June 14, Monday Burley Burley, 5:00/7:00
June 17, Thursday Twin Falls wood bat tournament Twin Falls
June 18, Friday Twin Falls tournament Twin Falls
June 19, Saturday Twin Falls tournament Twin Falls
June 26, Saturday Hillcrest Home, 1:00/3:00
June 28, Monday Blackfoot Home, 4:00/6:00
June 29, Tuesday Upper Valley Home, 1:00/3:00
July 8, Thursday Boise Pepsi "AA" tournament Boise
July 9, Friday Boise Pepsi "AA" tournament Boise
July 10, Saturday Boise Pepsi "AA" tournament Boise
July 11, Sunday Boise Pepsi "AA" tournament Boise
July 14, Wednesday Twin Falls Home, 4:00/6:00
July 16, Friday Highland Pocatello, 4:00/6:00
July 17, Saturday Marsh Falls Amer. Falls, 11:00/1:00
July 21, Wednesday Bear Lake Home, 3:00/5:00
July 23, Friday Idaho Falls Home, 4:00/6:00
July 26, Monday "A" tournament play-in game TBA
July 28, Wednesday Area C "A" tournament American Falls

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