by Eric Yang
Staff Writer

The SCC baseball team is ready to play and win. Athletes are prepared to break a 75-year playoff drought when they start the season at Edmonds Community College on February 29.

In 2007, the squad finished 5th in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College (NWAACC) with an 11-13 league record (15-25 overall). They were two games away from making the playoffs that season, and it was an 11 game improvement over the season two years ago.

Now the Dolphins are ready to compete and win the big games. Steve Seki, who has been the Dolphins’ coach for the past four seasons, leads them.

According the Seki, the strength of the team this year is the run-producing lineup. “We got a pretty good lineup this year where we can count on guys driving in spots one through nine,” he said.

Seki added that the difference between last year and this year is having guys throughout the lineup that can drive in runs and the team is more athletic.

The concern, however, is the pitching depth--even though Seki does not call it a weakness. “This is a concern early on, but after the last few weeks they have gotten a lot better,” he said. “They worked hard and now are feeling confident.”

The season’s goal is to be a playoff contending team. “I do not want to stress to my guys that this is the marker of the season,” said Seki. “We should work on what we can control. That means working hard and preparing the right away.”

According to the coach, a leader is just there for showing how the younger kids how things are done at Shoreline. “If they need to work harder the leader would speak up and say so,” Seki said.

Erik Church an outfielder in his second season was one of the leaders Seki named.

“This season as a team I am looking forward to making a run for the playoffs for the first time in awhile,” said Church. “We have the talent to do something we have not in a long time and I am excited for the season to start.”

Griffin Sweazey is a first-year catcher and SCC freshman. “The catcher is the general of the field and can see everything,” he said. “Getting to know the pitchers is essential in order to call a good game.”

The players want to play against Bellevue and Everett because they were the top teams a year ago. “We play them (Bellevue) in the first league game and then we can see where we stand against them,” Church said.

The team is looking forward to proving themselves and showing their ability of the field. Seki also added that “having fun and having things just fall into place is most important.”