Skyhawks remember the route to state finish line

Nick Christensen

Friday, March 18, 2005 | 9 a.m.

Silverado's baseball team is off to a 4-3 start, and if this year is anything like last season, that's a great sign of things to come.

Last year's Skyhawks squad finished the 2004 regular season with a 13-17 record, sneaking into the playoffs before rolling off a run that got it to the state semifinals in Carson City.

This year, Silverado returns much of the lineup that got them to state last season. That's a big reason why many in the Sunrise Region think the Skyhawks are the team to beat in 2005.

The experience of traveling to Carson City to play in the double-elimination tournament was overwhelming at first, said catcher Kyle Bostick.

"At first it was rough. There were a lot of people, it was big. Then we realized it was just a baseball game," he said. "We've gotten the experience of going to state, we've been a place that most other people haven't been to."

A lot of teams have had early-season jitters in 2005, and Silverado wasn't an exception, losing its opener against Bishop Gorman and both games of a doubleheader against Sierra Vista.

To close nonleague play, the Skyhawks face some of the city's top contenders Durango, Palo Verde and Centennial.

"We try to play as tough of a schedule early as we can," Silverado coach Brian Whitaker said. "If we can make it through league, we'll be battle tested by then."

Silverado is playing without pitcher Chad Robinson, who is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Pitcher Kevin Rath has been with the flu.

Bostick is their top returning player, having batted .406 with 25 RBIs last season. Robinson hit .333 with 30 RBIs, and also pitched 50 innings with a 3.64 ERA.

"We've returned our core of guys," Whitaker said. "Our style is to play hard, play clean, hustle and not try to beat ourselves."

Bostick said one of the team's strength is its bullpen.

"We've got a lot of good young players," he said. "We can go to anybody in the bullpen and they can pull us out of something we've gotten ourselves in to."

Whitaker is also dealing with a problem he's not used to at Silverado a successful basketball team going into the postseason.

It has been overall a remarkable year for Silverado athletics. The school opened in 1993, but its football and basketball teams both got their first-ever playoff wins this school year. The Skyhawks baseball team is the only team of the big five sports to have won a state championship.

"Silverado will always be a baseball school," Bostick said. "The other sports are just coming around."