Over the past three seasons, the Lakeland High School baseball program has had a combined record of 11-57. The Hawks have been coached by Jason Bradbury for the past 21 years, but the keys are being handed over to Al Bevacqua this upcoming spring.
Bevacqua is a former Lakeland athlete who graduated in 1996. He won two state championships during his time here while also being a four-year starter, All-League, and an Idaho All-Star.
Bevacqua was also a part of the Lake City Timberwolves coaching staff while being the head coach for three years. While being an assistant coach, he won one state championship in 2007 and then took second place in 2008. Along with this, he has been an assistant coach for LHS football for the past 11 years.
While it has been a couple of years, Bevacqua is excited to get back into the groove of things.
“Coming back to being a baseball coach is like riding a bike,” Bevacqua said. “I’ve been coaching little league teams the past couple of years, so I’m excited.”
LHS has struggled to find wins the past few years, but Bevacqua plans to change that.
“Winning culture has always been here, even with Bradbury and with my old head coach, Coach Bush. But it is all going to start with practice,” Bevacqua said. “We are going to get back to basics and work hard at practice. Practicing game situations so that when we get into games, these become easier and easier.”
He would like to thank the administration for this opportunity and looks forward to returning to the green and gold.
“I have always been proud of Lakeland Baseball. I wish the new coach, Al Bevacqua, the best.” Bradbury said.
His favorite coaching moment has been the accolades and records that he has built up. He has a combined winning record against 4A league rivals Moscow and Sandpoint. His favorite game he ever was a part of was the 2014 state semi-final game, where the Hawks were down by six runs in the 4th inning but were able to come back and complete the comeback. That year, the team became the first LHS team to make it to a state championship since moving up to the 4A division.
This past season, the Hawks were led by now-George Fox University player Blaze Day, along with a young group of guys. The team consisted of three freshmen and two sophomores in the everyday starting lineup.
The pitching staff was led by Tadgh Ellwood, who threw 46.2 innings, while the second most innings was 16 for Roan Reilly. Tadgh also was able to put up a good batting average at the plate of .312, and his older brother, Raiston Ellwood, had a .364 batting average.
Unfortunately, over the summer, the Ellwood brothers moved away, leaving a hole to fill in the Hawks lineup.
The Hawks are going into the 2024 season with eight seniors on the roster. One of the seniors, Jace Cooksey, is feeling great going into this year, “I feel optimistic, he (Bevacqua) says that he is going to do things differently and the culture is going to change. I am feeling optimistic with all the changes that are going to be made.” Cooksey said.
“I think it’s going to be fun to see how it’s going to play out. I’m excited to see how the season is going to be,” sophomore Cash Lund said.
Lund was a pivotal part of the Hawk’s season last year, being one of three freshmen to crack the starting lineup.
Bevacqua and the Hawks are looking forward to seeing how the year plays out and are excited to go out on the diamond.