Pioneer High School's Landon Dahler grinds Patriots past Wolves en route to series sweep
At times last week, Pioneer High School junior Landon Dahler seemed to have endless chances to terrorize the base paths against crosstown rivals Woodland High School during the team's three-game series.
Every time the Patriots were about to rip off a big inning or were in the midst of one, Dahler was right there, starting the fun or ending it, making significant contributions with his bat and baserunning.
While season-defining series' against Dixon and Casa Roble remain on the horizon, the Patriots, led by head coach Craig Marquez, are glad Dahler was in top form against the Wolves, who happen to be last season's Golden Empire League champions.
“Anything you ask of him, he'll do,” Marquez said. “He'll run through a wall and do whatever else it takes for the team. Really, the simplest way to put it is that he is a football player out there playing baseball. If you spend five minutes with him, you'll see he's a ball of energy, a true competitor and everything else you'd expect.
Then, if you have a conversation with him, he can have you laughing in two seconds.”
In game one of the series last Tuesday, a 6-3
Patriots win at Clark
Field, Dahelr had a fine day at the plate. He scored a run, hit a single and double, and reached base via a hit by a pitch.
He topped that performance in Thursday's 1110 classic with the walk-off game-winning run after a Sammy Sanchez single to the center field. Along with the winner, Dahler went 4-for-5 at the plate and scored 2 other runs.
In the series finale back at Clark Field, Dahler opened the scoring in the top of the first for the Patriots after Sanchez drove him in. Then in the top of the fourth inning, with two outs and on a full count, Dahler blasted a triple into right field, scoring both Van Court and Garcia to make it 4-0.
“He (Dahler) was awesome this series,” Marquez said. “He is our leadoff man for a reason. He goes as we go. He has a big personality and is great at everything he does. He is a fun kid to coach. He knows how I coach and what we expect out of him.”
While he brings plenty to the table via his hitting and baserunning, he also happens to make a big impact on defense as the team's centerfielder.
“He is the quiet assassin out there,” Marquez said. You put him out in center, and he catches a lot of difficult balls that aren't routine, but he makes them look like it. I know that I can put him anywhere on the field, and I'd be happy with it. He gives you 110% and tells the other team they aren't going to score. You can't ask more out of his attitude.”
According to the stats provided on Maxpreps.com, Dahler is third on the team in batting average (.520), first in at-bats (25), runs (16), walks (5) and hit by pitches (4), second in hits (13), tied for fourth in RBI (5) as a leadoff hitter, and third in slugging percentage (.640) and OPS (1.207).
With plenty of experience at the varsity level, having played there for a few weeks as a freshman, Dahler has steadily gotten better each season. With
his senior season left to go, Marquez is opting to just enjoy the improvements he's already shown.
“His confidence is different this year,” Marquez said. “He knows that he can play at this level, especially with how
he played in the playoffs last year and how far we went. His home run against Poderosa was so big. I had the option of having him bunt in that situation. He said, `Coach, I'll do whatever you want,' so I told him to swing away, and he ended up hitting a home run. Seeing that confidence on the field and life in general is fun.”