LONGVIEW — Eric Lane, the former Port Angeles High School three-sport standout and head coach of the Lower Columbia College baseball program, has stepped down after a decade of involvement with the Red Devils.
Lane is joining the staff of Western Pacific Building Materials based in Portland. Lane and his wife Jill plan to continue making their home in Longview.
“I cannot thank LCC enough for the opportunities given me over a decade I spent as a player, assistant coach and head coach for the Red Devils,” Lane said in a statement. “The support given me, my assistants and the student-athletes will never be forgotten. I have grown so much as a person through my time spent at Lower Columbia College and I will be better for it in my next adventure. I will cherish the memories and relationships that I have created as they are some of the strongest in my life. I look forward to fully supporting LCC athletics in the future.”
Lane was part of five NWAC championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach and had recruited the Olympic Peninsula heavily, continuing a long-standing talent pipeline of area talents heading to Longview.
He led the Devils to NWAC titles in his first two seasons as head coach in 2018 and 2019 and navigated the program through the pandemic, including a 23-3 record this season, the second straight season with no championship tournament.
Lane came to Lower Columbia as a freshman in the fall of 2008 after starring in baseball, basketball and football for Port Angeles. He was an All-League player during the 2009 season and then followed that up with an NWAC MVP season in 2010 as the Red Devils won the NWAC title.
Lane then went on to Gonzaga University where he played third base for two years.
He then served as a grad assistant coach at Gonzaga before coming back to Lower Columbia to serve as an assistant for Eddie Smith from 2014-17, including an NWAC title in 2017, before taking over as head coach in 2018.
Assistant coach Kurt Lupinski will take over as the interim head coach.
Two Port Angeles athletes played for Lane at Lower Columbia in 2021 — catcher Joel Wood and pitcher Brody Merritt.
