Three seniors. Three different schools. Three different seasons. One common goal for the future: continue playing.
Renton High’s Justin Gunn, Lindbergh’s Patrick Claussen and Hazen’s Nathan Bunch all knew coming into the 2008 season that their teams would look to them for leadership. The three seniors had different levels of success this season, but all are moving on to play at the next level.
Judging by team performance, Bunch gains a slight edge over the other two. His Highlanders picked up a number of key wins on the way to a second-place finish in the Seamount League and a berth in the 3A state tournament.
Claussen was a rock in the middle infield for the Eagles and led Lindbergh to a fourth-place finish in the league. Gunn’s Indians came in sixth in the league. He also led the Renton football team to the state preliminary round and was a key player for the Indian basketball team that placed fifth in the state tournament.
Nathan Bunch
On the way to Seamount MVP honors, Bunch allowed runs in only three of his eight appearances and racked up 58 strikeouts in the regular season. Showcasing his strong control, he walked just seven batters all season.
The Highlanders finished 13-7 overall and 12-2 in the Seamount. Hazen lost in the first round of the state tournament against Issaquah.
“We did a lot more than a lot of people expected us to,” Bunch said. “There was a lot of pressure on me, but it felt really good.”
The highlight to Bunch’s regular season is his March 24 start against Lindbergh. He struck out 16, walked one and allowed one hit while pitching a complete game.
“Just being able to help my team like that, it gets my blood flowing,” Bunch said. “Once I get into the flow of things out there, I can just keep rolling.”
Bunch will play club baseball this summer with Buzz Baseball. Next year, Bunch will pitch at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
“I’ve always wanted to go there, so it really works out for me,” Bunch said. He said the only thing he’s nervous about is that he’ll be facing much more experienced players at the college level. But his excitement outweighs that nervousness. “I’m excited to be able to play at the next level and show that I can keep moving on through the levels,” Bunch said.
Justin Gunn
With his presence on Renton’s basketball team that played until the last day of the state tournament and the wetter-than-average weather this spring, Gunn just couldn’t get going this season.
“The hardest part was all of the rain,” Gunn said. “We didn’t have good practice and it was hard to get into a rhythm.”
Gunn is playing club baseball with Taylor Baseball this summer and will play at the University of Washington next year. He’s even entertaining the idea of playing for the Husky football team, too. The only problem is his club baseball commitments during the summer would prevent him from devoting his full time to football practice.
“My baseball coach at UW is all for me trying football,” Gunn said. “But it’s Division I football. You can’t just show up sometimes and not show up sometimes. You have to commit fully.”
Gunn said he’ll see what happens, but baseball is his first priority.
“The best part will be just being able to play baseball all of the time,” he said. “It’s what I love to do and I just want to get better.”
Patrick Claussen
After a bit of a slow start, Claussen started hitting once March came to a close. He picked up one hit through his first five games, yet still finished the season with a .395 batting average.
“I picked it up in the second half,” Claussen said. “The balls just started going my way. I stopped trying to do too much.”
Claussen finished the year with four home runs, 14 RBIs and 23 runs. Plus, he led the league with his 15 stolen bases. His play was a big reason the
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Eagles went 9-8 overall and 7-7 in the Seamount League.
Claussen will play club baseball with Bodden Baseball this summer and play at Bellevue Community College, or possibly Washington State University, next season.
He said BCC is a good pick for him because, “it’s a local team, good program, good coach and has a good history.”
The Bulldogs also graduated three middle infielders this year, so there will be room for Claussen to start right away.
BCC head coach Mark Yoshino is excited about the offense Claussen could bring to the Bulldogs. “He’s going to be one of the best hitters on our team,” Yoshino said. “He knows how to hit the ball to all fields. Coming in, he’ll be tabbed as one of the best contact hitters on the team.”
Adam McFadden can be reached at amcfadden@reporternewspapers.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5054.
