>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

READY TO REPEAT: Richie Carmichael will open the Class 4A State playoffs on the mound for the Tigers at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Observer file photo

Anthony picked up his brother, Zach Nice. Jordan Lanman rushed toward them from behind the plate, tackling his teammates. A pile up ensued. The crowd roared. And right then and there, on that second day of June, La Grande had its first Class 4A Baseball State Championship.

“It didn’t really hit me just then,” Anthony Nice said about making that final putout, thanks to his brother Zach slamming the door with his cool, calm, collective pitching, clinching the title.

“I was kind of in shock more than anything.”

Over time, it has settled in. And now, it’s time to try and capture the magic, once again. The postseason is here, starting Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Scappoose at Optimist Field in the OSAA playoff opening round.

One pitch at a time. One inning at a time. One opponent at a time.

That’s the focus, says Tigers coach Mark Lanman.

“We expect a tough hitting, fielding, defensive team,” Lanman said about Scappoose.

“We expect them to be darn good.”

Darn good is that Tigers’ infield defense, outfield defense and lineup. Superb is that 1-2 punch on the mound — Richie Carmichael, Zach Nice.

Two overpowering fastballs. Two dominating starters. And, as Lanman previously said, two of the best pitchers in the state.

Carmichael is slated to start each game, and will stay on the mound until the opposing batting order reaches its third plate appearance. Then again, if he’s pitching a gem like he has many times this season, he’ll stay in the game. But if he is pulled, it will be Zach Nice taking the mound, hoping to slam the door.

“To have the two that we have, it’s huge,” Lanman said. “They both have showed that they can pitch pretty successfully and be overwhelming. They can throw a fastball, and they can also throw a change or curve ball to go with it.

“That’s pretty hard to hit off of. Teams fear that stuff.”

Teams also fear that potent Tigers lineup, led by Anthony Nice in the leadoff spot. He works counts. Draws walks. Sprays pitches all over the field. And following him is Carmichael, who hit three home runs in three consecutive plate appearances when the Tigers clinched that GOL crown at Mac-Hi in the season finale. Then there’s Cody McKague, Zach Nice and Jacob Johnston, filling out the top five hitters. Murderer’s row, it can be. And it doesn’t stop there, either.

As of late, the bottom order has been coming up big, too, providing clutch hits. Evan Humphrey delivered versus Heppner this past Wednesday, clearing the bases for a three-RBI hit, helping La Grande win. Don’t forget about Andrew Tao, Josh Homan, Josh Yundt and Kole Stein, either.

“I’m feeling better about our lineup,” Lanman said. “From the fifth spot on down, we’ve been getting a lot more base hits, which is a pretty good sign, I think.”

Another good sign is watching that ground-ball eating, Hoover-vacuum like infield defense shine all year long. Humphrey (3B), Anthony Nice (2B), Zach Nice (SS) and Josh Yundt (1B) are a black hole for opposing batters. Hit it into them, the ball disappears. Poof. Gone. Out.

“We believe we have one of the best infields in the state of Oregon, definitely 4A, we believe,” Lanman said. “We started seeing it last year: diving for balls up the middle. Stopping them. Flipping it to second, turning to first.

“Then we got Josh Yundt over there. He’s money. Like I said last week, I’m going to buy him a big spoon at the end of the year. He blocks everything. He scoops everything. He moves well.”

So Scappoose lies ahead, the first roadblock on this OSAA postseason schedule.

La Grande is playing well. Well enough to overcome three departed seniors (Jordan Lanman, Travis Hudson, Landon Weaver) from that ’07 title run. Well enough to overcome a slow start this season. Well enough to win the GOL title — again.

Well enough to repeat? That’s left to be seen, but the table is set. The leadership is there — from Lanman barking out insightful orders on that seat outside the dugout to the words of wisdom from assistant coach Todd Nice to the senior maturity from Anthony Nice and Carmichael.

One pitch at a time. One inning at a time. One opponent at a time.

It’s time to defend that precious 4A title.

“It’s just about who gets hot at the right time,” Anthony Nice said.

“We’ve been playing well lately, and I think we’re going to carry it into the playoffs.”