Baseball Coach Mike McInerney, also known as Coach Mac, has been hard at work since his first day on the job at EOU. His days consisted of meeting alumni, making recruiting calls, and traveling to meet potential Mounties, it seemed like a smooth transition to Eastern. That was until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down spring sports across the nation.
"Luckily I was able to recruit a large portion of the team before the pandemic," Coach Mac explains, "Once seasons started getting canceled, I couldn't see recruits as much as I wanted and had to rely on video and my network. I started to lean on coaches and programs that I have recruited from before. There are certain coaches that I trust their evaluations, so if they say the guy can play, I trust him."
Coach Mac has worked hard to bring in 10 new Mounties during this abnormal offseason, seven of those being from Oregon, the remaining three from California, Idaho, Nevada.
"I am really excited about this first recruiting class, it's filled with very athletic, talented and successful players. They are all high character people who have excelled on the field and in the classroom. They come from programs that win, and have an emphasis of doing things the right way on and off the field. These athletes realize the importance this program has in the community and amongst former players and coaches."
Coach Mac believes with the abrupt end to baseball this spring, the team will be excited and ready to get back on the field. His hopes are to put together a team that is well balanced and very skilled on the defensive end.
"We have a lot of elite defenders so we will be able to pick it up at all positions. The pitchers will work fast, throw a ton of strikes, and let the defense work behind them. Overall I'm really excited to get out and work with this team."
Below is a look at the lineup and a few words from Coach Mac:
Justin Frederick | La Grande High School | La Grande, OR
Justin is a high-level middle infield defender. He projects as a top of the lineup bat that can immediately step in and compete at the college level. He also has leadership qualities and we envision him stepping up as a leader for the team in the future.
Payton Hamilton | Treasure Valley Community College | Ontario, OR
A second baseman for Treasure Valley Community College, Payton is a very athletic middle infielder and a plus defender. He's an excellent baserunner and should hit at the top of the lineup. Payton has tons of leadership qualities and I expect him to be one of our teams' leaders.
Kyle Knudtson | Crook County High School | Prineville, OR
Kyle is a very talented multi-sport athlete. He has an incredible work ethic suited for the demands of a two-sport collegiate athlete. We believe Kyle has the physical and mental maturity to pitch as a Freshman for the Mounties.
Braeden Lajarraga | Serra High School | San Diego, CA
Braeden is an athletic first baseman and right-handed pitcher from Serra High School in San Diego. Braeden has an excellent swing from the left-hand side with potential to be an immediate offensive contributor. He is also a right-handed pitcher that should see time on the mound as well.
Noah Owens | Cole Valley Christian High School | Meridian, ID
Noah hit .487 with 11 extra base hits as a junior at Cole Valley Christian High in Meridian, Idaho. He projects as a high-level catcher with power potential from the left side of the plate. With his maturity and leadership skills, we feel he can handle the pitching staff as a freshman.
Jamie Powell | Centennial High School | Las Vegas, NV
Jamie is a corner infielder out of Centennial High in Las Vegas. He is very physical and strong for an incoming freshman. His aggressive offensive approach along with physicality have him projected as a middle of the order bat for the Mounties.
Parker Robinson | La Grande High School | La Grande, OR
Parker is a very athletic multi-sport athlete. In baseball he is a two-way player, a plus defender in the outfield with the offensive ability to hit in the middle of the lineup from the left-hand side. He is also very advanced on the mound, we see Parker making an immediate impact on the Mountie pitching staff.
Cooper Roberts | Pendleton High School | Pendleton, OR
Cooper is a big projectable right handed arm out of Pendleton High. With continued progress we see Cooper becoming a power arm that could work in the back end of our bullpen or develop into an arm competing for starts.
Dominic Smith | The Dalles High School | The Dalles, OR
Dominic is a corner infielder, he has a mature high-level swing and offensive approach. We expect him to immediately make an impact offensively and develop into a middle of the lineup offensive weapon.
Mason Wirth | Santiam Christian High School | Corvallis, OR
Mason will solidify us behind the plate. He batted .451 for Santiam Christian his junior year helping the Eagles to semifinals in state. He's versatile as a player, playing multiple positions and also being a switch hitter.
