After Toutle Lake breezed through the C2BL regular season and the District 4 Tournament last spring, many assumed the Ducks would continue to roll deep into the state tournament.
They made it to the semifinals, but ran into Adna, which was on a tear of its own, and the Pirates dispatched the Ducks to advance to the state title game.
While the Pirates fell short in that title game, they’re hoping to build on that run to remain in the top tier of the C2BL.
Both Danner Hoinowski and Tristan Percival are back for the Pirates, two all-area honorees from last spring.
Hoinowski hit .379 last spring with 18 RBIs, and he struck out 28 batters over 26 innings of work. Percival was named The Chronicle’s All-Area MVP, posting an 8-2 record and a 1.29 ERA with 121 strikeouts on the mound while also hitting just under .500 at the plate with 23 RBIs.
Toledo will also be looking to return to the state tournament this May, and the Riverhawks are led by Caiden Schultz.
Last season, Schultz earned first-team and all-area honors hitting .356 with two home runs and 17 RBIs on the mound, and he was even more impressive on the mound.
There, in limited innings due to an injury before the postseason, he posted an ERA of just 0.76 and struck out 95 hitters in just 46 innings.
It’s been a rough start for the Riverhawks, who are winless through five games, but those losses have come against Toutle Lake, Napavine, and Tenino.
Napavine will also look to stay in the upper echelon of the league. Back is the all-league trio of Ashton Demarest, Conner Holmes, and Cal Bullock, who will look to help lead the Tigers to their second district title in three seasons.
Last season, Demarest hit nearly .330 while driving in 20 and striking out 50 on the bump, while Holmes hit .451 with 23 runs batted in.
After not fielding a team last season due, the Onalaska Loggers are back in action this spring. And though they’re off to a slow start, they’ll look to be more competitive and can be a tricky task for anybody as the season goes on.
The same goes for Morton-White Pass, which didn’t win a game last season, but has already been competitive against both Rainier and Wahkiakum so far this season.
Winlock is also looking to improve from last year, and they’ve already nearly matched their win total before hitting April.
Down south, Toutle Lake will still be a force, as Oregon State commit Zach Swanson and Portland commit Connor Cox are back again, and Kalama is also off to a perfect 4-0 start in league play.
