SPOKANE — Eric Lane had to wait two extra years.
But now that he’s finally reached the highest level of college baseball, the Port Angeles High School graduate is wasting little time making an impact.
After getting inserted into the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ starting lineup for the first game of the season two months ago, Lane hasn’t been taken out of it since.
For a player who’s been named MVP of his league four straight years — twice at Lower Columbia Community College and twice at Port Angeles High — frequent playing shouldn’t be much of a surprise.
Not that Lane’s near-seamless transition to the Division I level is entirely common.
“Sometimes it takes a little adjustment period for junior college guys, but he’s been able to do it from the get-go,” said Danny Evans, associate head coach at Gonzaga and the man who recruited Lane to the West Coast Conference school.
“He’s come in right away, fielded the ball great and swung the bat really well, and more so has brought a leadership aspect to our program that we needed.”
In what has become a common refrain throughout his athletic career, Lane has found a way to adapt at Gonzaga.
He has the team’s third-best batting average (.306) and most runs scored (19) while hitting regularly in the No. 2 spot.
And after being asked to move from his natural position, second base, to third, he hasn’t miss a beat there either for the WCC contenders.
Twenty five games into the season, he’s committed just one error — “that they put in the book,” Lane quipped)
“I’ve been at second base so long that things started getting too routine,” Lane said. “[Switching to third] was cool because it was something unique, something new.
“I knew my arm was good enough to be over there. It’s just reacting to the ball. You don’t have to wait so long for the ball to get to you, [and] you have to field bunts . . . but I’m still getting used to it.”
Lane switched positions and roles often as a three-sport star in Port Angeles.
He was the football team’s leading receiver as a junior. A year later, he was moved to quarterback and broke the school record for passing yards in a season.
On the basketball team he morphed from pure point guard and supporting player to leading scorer and Olympic League MVP between his junior and senior years.
In baseball, he took to a switch from shortstop to second base without complaint.
“He would have got behind the dish if we asked him to and he never would have said a word,” Port Angeles baseball coach Bob Withrow said.
“We kind of felt like a lot of colleges missed an opportunity with him.”
And now Gonzaga (16-8-1 overall) is reaping the benefits.
After starting out the year with five straight losses, the Bulldogs have gone 16-3-1 in their last 20 games.
That surge led to the team’s first 2011 national ranking — 24th in Collegiate Baseball’s top 30 — this week.
Bulldogs head coach Mark Machtolf said Lane has played a key role in making that happen.
“He’s played every day, hit at the top of the order and played great defensively, so he’s been an huge part of that,” said Machtolf, in his eighth year in Spokane.
“He’s probably been one of the most consistent hitters on our team. He’s a leader both ways: He’s vocal and he does it by example playing hard every day.”
Almost two months into his first season, Lane’s comfort level appears to be at an all-time high.
By going 2-for-4 in a win over New Mexico last Sunday, he had hit safely in seven straight games.
Lane’s batting average is .333 with seven runs and four RBIs during that time — a period that has seen the Bulldogs win six of seven.
“It wasn’t a huge change,” Lane said of facing Division I pitchers compared with their NWAACC counterparts.
“There’s obviously pitchers that are a lot better than what I’ve face before, but you get kind of used to it once you see it a lot. It starts to become a little easier and easier.
“Not that it’s easy to hit a baseball.”
Of course, Lane has made it look easy throughout his baseball career.
If he continues that trend, there’s a chance a few professional scouts might start paying attention.
He’ll be already draft-eligible at the end of the season as a junior. His older brother, Matt, was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 2006 after four years at University of Washington.
Eric doesn’t sound too concerned about scouting right now, however.
He said he’s gotten “little bites here and there,” but hasn’t heard much about it.
He just opts to focus on his studies as a physical education and history major and what he can do for Gonzaga on the diamond.
“It’s kind of hard for me to predict what pro scouts are going to do,” Machtolf said.
“I think he can definitely move on some day.”
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Sportswriter Matt Schubert can be reached at 360-417-3526 or at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
