Baseball with the Bucks

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Two players from Redmond schools took the field this summer with some former baseball rivals in Bend.

Evan Hockett, an incoming senior at Ridgeview, and former Redmond High pitcher Tyler Elliott, who is entering his sophomore year at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, wrapped up the summer season with the Bend Bucks on July 31. The Bucks, who play home games at the Bend Elks’ Vince Genna Stadium, are made up of 16-to-20-year-old high school and college players.

While some players were invited back from the 2017 season, Hockett made the Bucks as both a pitcher and outfielder through an open tryout. Bucks coach James Cordes, who is a special-education teacher at Redmond Proficiency Academy in his day job, said Hockett made strides by working with Bucks pitching coach Doug Davis, a Major League pitcher from 1999-2011.

At the plate, Hockett had a .241 batting average in 29 at bats, with four of his seven hits being doubles. He also had three walks and struck out 12 times.

Hockett has been known to drive the ball into the Eberhard’s and C.E. Lovejoy’s market signs in the Vince Genna outfield.

“The thing that jumps of the page is his bat speed,” Cordes said. “His bat speed compares favorably with anyone else on the team.”

Cordes, who coached high school baseball in California, as well as three years in prestigious Cape Cod League summer ball, said Hockett’s pitching line is one of the more remarkable he has seen. In 8 2/3 innings pitched, Hockett allowed only two hits and two runs, along with 15 walks and seven strikeouts. His earned-run average was 0.00.

Hockett, who was named first-team All-Intermountain Conference as a junior, has enjoyed his first season with the Bucks.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “I got a lot of experience I wasn’t able to get during the high school season.”

Playing with the Bucks could give Hockett more of an edge in finding a college to play baseball for, he said.

“You get to compete against a lot of the guys you don’t get to see in high school, a lot of older guys,” Hockett said. “I feel like I’m going to be much better (in high school) than last year.”

Elliott, a second-team all-state selection his senior year at Redmond in 2017, pitched 21 innings for the Bucks in 2018, his third summer with the club. He missed a couple weeks dealing with a shoulder impingement, but felt it was a successful campaign. He allowed 22 hits and 14 runs, 10 of them earned. He also struck out 27 while walking 12.

“He’s a bulldog on the mound,” Cordes said. “If he was 150 pitches in, not that he would be, and you go out to the mound, he’d say let me finish it.”

Elliott also credits Davis with helping him improve his command on the mound. He even visited the coach’s house.

“It’s actually amazing, the whole vibe is baseball,” he said. “He really gave me the confidence that he knows what he’s doing. Certain mechanics may not work out right now, but in the long run, I know they will because he knows what he’s talking about.”

While Elliott looks forward to trying to reach the next level, he said his main goal for the 2019 college season is to win a Northwest Athletic Conference championship with Mt. Hood.

The Bucks let players see a variety of competition from around the region.

Because the Bucks aren’t in a league, they have to schedule their own games, which can sometimes lead to last-minute cancellations by opponents, Cordes said. They only played 24 of the 32 games they had scheduled this season.

With six high schools represented on the Bucks roster, Cordes said they make an effort to be representative of all of Central Oregon.

“We love that it’s not just the Bend Bucks, it’s a wide variety of ballplayers,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com