After an evenly-matched fall world series came to a conclusion yesterday in front of a packed field under sunny skies, the upcoming 2018 spring schedule has been released, in tentative format. The Bulldogs will open up pre-season play at Yakima Valley, the 2016 NWAC Champions. Last year, the Bulldogs hosted Yakima and swept the Yaks in a dramatic season opener at Courter Field. Bellevue will then play a series of four-game sets against West Region squads within close proximity to Bellevue, in Green River, Pierce, and Tacoma. The ‘dogs will then head to Eugene, OR to take on Lane in a four-game set at PK Park, the home field for the University of Oregon. “To make a trip that far, we would need an artificial turf field as a bit of insurance, so we have agreed to play at a neutral site, not only a turf field, but one of the top college facilities in the country,” says Head Coach Mark Yoshino. “Lane also has tremendous arms, running out starters all weekend with division one caliber velocity, so it will be a good test for our veteran lineup.” Bellevue will then travel to Spokane for a weekend set immediately after academic finals are over on Thursday March 22.
Bellevue opens up league play against Douglas, with the final games of that set tentatively scheduled for Easter Sunday up in Surrey, B.C. The Bulldogs face the remainder of their North Region foes, with an interesting ending; the final regular season series will pit the Bulldogs against league rival Everett, a team that has battled Bellevue and Edmonds for region bragging rights for the last several years. It is an all-time first in program history that the two squads will end league play against each other, and quite possibly with the region title and only championship automatic entry on the line. And to make the finale even more unique will be the absence of Everett Head Coach Levi Lacey, who recently resigned after a successful 16-year run to take a scouting position in professional baseball. Only Yoshino, who is on year twenty as Head Coach at Bellevue, was in the region longer. Yoshino adds, “For the last few years, the home plate meetings before game one have been memorable for me and Levi. We would give each other a look and say ‘how many more years are we going to do this?’ before a great series. I know the players for both sides are loving this finale matchup, but I’m not going to lie, it won’t quite be the same for me with no Levi to shake hands with.”
Here is the complete 2018 schedule in tentative format.
Last Updated November 12, 2017
