Baseball: Wolfpack 9 ready to take to diamond
Erik Brink didn’t move to the Flathead Valley to teach and coach; it just turned out that way. Now the first baseball coach in Glacier High’s history couldn’t be happier. “I’m having a blast,” Brink said Thursday, a couple days before the Wolfpack’s Opening Day game with Belgrade at Griffin Field.
“It really is a good time. And to be the first to do something — in baseball and coaching, you’re rarely the first. And we get to do it together.
” A longtime assistant for the American Legion Kalispell Lakers, Brink has a 50-50 mix of nine Lakers veterans and nine “new” players on the Pack. One problem: Because it’s spring break and several families planned vacation trips months in advance, Brink will have 12 players available Saturday at 1 p. m.
One solution: Seven well-armed pitchers, each of whom might take an inning Saturday. Heading the list is senior Kyler Croft, who was at the front of the Lakers’ rotation last summer. Brink feels highly about Beau Schulz, Brady Lewellen, Kaeden Kahler, Max Weber, Ryne Gillette and Wyatt Sharp as well.
“Kyler Croft looks really good, but those seven guys right now could beat anybody,” Brink said. “They’re throwing the ball extremely well. ” Brink moved to the Valley after 20-plus years coaching and teaching in California; after a go in the business world he returned to teaching and has been at Glacier five years.