PORT ANGELES — Wilder Baseball, a tradition-rich Senior Babe Ruth program for ages 16-18, will host two tryouts for its upcoming summer season.
The primary tryout is Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Civic Field.
“I’d like everybody there if they want to play [for] Wilder, but if they are still in-season they can try out after the high school season ends,” Wilder’s second-year manager Mike Politika said, referencing the on-going playoffs for Sequim, Port Angeles and Quilcene.
The second tryout is planned for Civic Field at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“Players should bring their gear and come ready to play,” Politika said.
“We’ll run a normal practice and evaluate from there.”
Politika, a former Wilder player, will be joined on the bench by Wilder alumni Perry Knudson and Forks coach Wayne Daman.
Daman is a former Washington State Cougars pitcher who spent time in minor league baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
A new addition to the staff is Port Angeles baseball and basketball assistant coach Karl Myers.
Myers pitched at the NCAA Division I level for Gonzaga, graduating from the school in 2014.
Politika said the program is seeking 16 to 20 players and will travel with up to 18 for tournaments around the state.
Unlike last year when there was a senior team and a junior team, Wilder will have only one squad this season.
“We’ve had kids from every town and are available to all players on the Peninsula,” Politika said.
“Wilder has always provided the best baseball around.”
Success has been both collective and individual for Wilder.
The team boasts eight state championships, two regional titles and two Senior Babe Ruth World Series visits, in 1987 and 2012.
Originally called Aggies, before a switch in sponsors in 1994 to Wilder, the program has sent more than 100 players to play at the college level.
Seven Wilder alumni have played professional baseball including Daman, Scott Bedford, Derrin Doty, Matt Lane, Jared Prince, Easton Napiontek and Jeff Ridgway.
Ridgway broke through and pitched in the big leagues for Tampa Bay and Atlanta in 2007-08.
Wilder practices and plays at Civic Field.
“Civic Field has been our home since 1979,” Politika said.
This summer, Wilder will host the 17th annual Dick Brown Memorial Firecracker Classic over the Fourth of July weekend.
This will include Olympia-based Sandberg Baseball, which is coached by Eric Lane, a former Wilder player and three-sport standout for Port Angeles.
Lane played baseball at Lower Columbia College and then moved on for two more successful seasons at Gonzaga.
Politika credits multiple factors when asked to explain the team’s decades-long staying power.
“Much of it has to do with the program’s philosophy and the success that has followed,” Politika said.
“It’s a program that is very structured, where there’s lots of hard work, effort and discipline.
“The kids respond well, and that shows both on and off the field and with amount of alumni who come back and support the team.”
Politika also tipped his cap to lead sponsor Wilder Auto Group, and a host of other supporters.
“They provide the ability for us to field a team that plays high-level baseball and do it at such a low cost compared to other traveling teams,” Politika said.
Wilder opens its season with a tournament in Longview on Saturday and Sunday, May 30-31.
For more information, phone Politika at 360-477-3421.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
