A little four-sight.

Byline: Steve Mims The Register-Guard

Churchill is favored to become the first Midwestern League team in history to win four straight baseball titles.

The Lancers have their goals set even higher.

"The goal now is to win a state championship," Churchill coach Erik Hoberg said. "I think anything less would be a disappointment. Most of these guys have seen the losses in the playoffs after winning league championships with high expectations. They've seen the failures, and hopefully that experience will lead them to figure out a way to get it done in the playoffs."

The league's baseball history does not feature many state champions, and none of the six teams that remain in the current configuration has reached a state title game.

South Eugene won the state title in 1961 and was a co-champion in 1962, and those are the league's only baseball championships. Sheldon, which lost in the 1966 final, and North Bend, which lost in the 1991 final, are the only other two schools in league history to reach the final.

Churchill has compiled an overall record of 42-6 while winning the past three league titles, but its postseason has followed a familiar routine. The Lancers have been highly ranked entering the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, but they lost in the third round during each of those years.

The Lancers are favored to make it four league titles in a row - something no school in MWL history has done - in The Register-Guard's coaches poll. Churchill, which opens league play today at home against Marshfield, has six players who earned all-league honors last year.

Senior Andrew Schumacher, who led Churchill into the playoffs in football and basketball, leads the Lancers after earning first-team all-league and second-team all-state honors last year. Schumacher is the No. 1 starter on the pitching staff and a solid hitter as a center fielder.

"I see Andrew continuing the same path as in the other two sports, making the all-state team," Hoberg said. "He is a great athlete who can come in and get his two or three hits each game. He is just a competitor, especially on the mound when we need him to step up and compete."

Schumacher is part of a powerful lineup that includes all-leaguers Antony Kreitz, Justin Hoffman and Drew Irsfeld and was boosted by the addition of junior Darrell Hunter, a second-team all-league selection who transferred from Thurston.

"I think offensively, our potential is much better than our performance level right now. I think this group top to bottom reminds me of our 2004 team, the first league champions," Hoberg said, referring to the team that was led by Ryan Royster, who plays in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. "We had a lot of power throughout the lineup, and this team has the potential to show that."

Kreitz, a senior left fielder, and junior shortstop Peter Straka, who were both second-team all-league selections, hit at the top of the order, followed by Hunter, Schumacher, and catcher Justin Hoffman, who earned honorable mention all-league honors last year as a sophomore.

Irsfeld was an honorable mention all-league first baseman, and sophomore infielders Matt Myrmo and Ethan Rasmussen are in the starting lineup along with junior outfielder Ryan Layson.

Schumacher figures to team with Irsfeld - who was a first-team all-league relief pitcher as a sophomore - to give the Lancers a solid pair of starters along with Hunter and Myrmo, while J.D. Davis is a reliever. Irsfeld is recovering from an elbow injury suffered in the preseason.

Churchill had not won a league title since 1980 before it captured the 2004 title and the Lancers have not relinquished the top spot since then.

"It's just nice to have kids that get into the program and believe in what we are doing here on and off the field," Hoberg said. "I think we just try to get them to buy into hard work and character building. They had some success early and they have seen kids go on and do well in baseball like Royster in the pros."

North Eugene, which won or shared three straight league titles from 2001-03 is considered the top contender to end Churchill's streak of championships.

The Highlanders are led by senior outfielder Dan Winterstein, who has been an all-league selection since he was a freshman and earned first-team honors during each of the past two seasons. He has hit over .400 every season with the Highlanders.

"Winterstein is having a good year and he has played a lot of baseball in the last four years," North Eugene coach Corey Nicholsen said. "We're hoping he can drive in some runs, get on base, score runs, and steal some bases. We just need for guys in front of him to get on base."

Nicholsen said North Eugene has been hitting well early in the season although the hits have not always come in the same inning.

"We've been OK offensively, but we just need to get some more hits with runners in scoring position," Nicholsen said. "We've left a lot of runners in scoring position, and that is one thing we have talked about. We lost 10-5 against Pendleton and we outhit them 10-9 and had the same number of errors. The difference was that they got runners on and drove them in, and we left the bases loaded several times."

Junior shortstop Tyler Woodke, senior left fielder Tyler Mahan, and junior second baseman Ben DeMoss have been hitting at the top of the order, followed by Winterstein, senior infielder Markus Lindsey, and junior first baseman Scott Womack in the middle of the order along with junior outfielder Brandon Saboe, who was an honorable mention, all-league selection last year.

"I'm really looking for someone who is aggressive at the plate and who can drive in runs with runners in scoring position," Nicholsen said.

Sophomore right-hander Tim Keller, whose brother Jon was an all-league pitcher for the Highlanders, is the top starting pitcher. Keller kept Oregon City scoreless for five innings in a recent outing.

"Tim has done a nice job, and he competes on the mound, which is nice," Nicholsen said. "His velocity is better than it was in the summer, and he throws a curveball for strikes."

Woodke, a second-team all-league relief pitcher last season, will start, and Winterstein can be a starter or a reliever. Devin Ivey is a relief pitcher.

With the league being cut from nine teams to six because of reclassification, all teams will face each other three times during the 15-game league schedule.

"It'll be interesting, but I'm not exactly sure how I feel about playing teams three times," Nicholsen said. "It will solve some things with tiebreakers, but it is tough to beat someone three times in any sport."

Hoberg said the additional game against each team might force coaches to adjust their pitching rotation.

"I do worry about throwing a guy at a team three times, so I may look at that depending on how things go," he said. "That could be one thing that changes, throwing your No. 1 pitcher at top teams. If they have to face the same team three times, that is a tough task, and hitters usually figure out a pitcher."

Thurston coach Mike Michel said he would like to see the league have teams play a three-game series against the same team during the week.