The EvCC Trojans will face Lane Community College in the opening round of the NWAC Baseball Championship on May 25.

The tournament will take place in Longview, WA and will feature 8 strong teams from different divisions of the league.

Coming off of a five game win streak and being ranked number one in the Under Armour Baseball Coaches Poll on May 3, the Trojans are a dangerous team looking to capture their second NWAC Championship under Coach Levi Lacey.

In 2013, Lacey and the Trojans fought their way to a championship, defeating Pierce Community College in the final round and bringing EvCC its first baseball championship in 47 years.

Last year, Everett fell to Yakima Valley in the championship game.

Everett drew Lane Community College in the first round and will have a tough matchup against Austin Crowson, the probable pitcher for the Titans.

“They’re a pitch-strong school so we’re going to have to show up with our minds ready at the plate,” said Lacey when asked about Everett’s matchup.

Crowson has committed to the University of Nevada and is sporting an impressive 2.06 ERA across 13 appearances. The sophomore sits in the number seven spot for strikeouts in the NWAC  with 73 punchouts.

The Trojans are undefeated against Lane this season, having beaten them twice in late February.

For the earlier rounds of the tournament, Everett plans on changing up their pitching rotation due to the lack of doubleheaders.

Ryan Sandifer, the second starting pitcher in the Trojans’ rotation, will come out of the bullpen to provide relief in later innings.

“He bounces back better than the rest of the starters so we’ll put him in the bullpen early,” said Lacey when discussing the decision.

Sandifer has been a consistent pitcher for the Trojans this season. His 7-1 record is tied for third best in the NWAC and he sports a solid 2.36 ERA.

“If I need to throw every single game to close out our games, I’ll do that,” said Sandifer when asked about being moved to the bullpen. “Our ultimate goal is to return to dominance and we’ve got to be able to beat some pretty good teams along the way.”

Everett finished their season 19-5 in conference play and 33-11 overall and bounced back from a 1-4 skid with a five game win streak to close out the season.

“For us, the momentum hasn’t went anywhere,” said Lacey. “Even after we lost those games, we knew we were better than we played and we knew we would get back on track.”

On Everett’s side of the tournament bracket is Lower Columbia, the second ranked team in the Under Armour Coaches poll from May 3.  While the journey to the championship will be anything from easy, the Trojans will look to bring the same intensity they have displayed all year to the NWAC Championship in Longview.