Support keeps LCC programs alive, thriving.

Byline: Ron Bellamy The Register-Guard

An impressive story of determination and survival, the Lane Community College baseball program isn't down to its last strike anymore.

And yet, for the Titans, the reality is that it may always be the bottom of the ninth, and time to rally community support to keep the baseball program alive.

"It's basically a band-aid every year, trying to stop the bleeding," coach Rob Strickland said. "At some point, I want to move the program forward again, like it had been in the late 1990s and early 2000s."

That the program endures - and, in fact, succeeds, despite odds and despite being near extinction more than once - is a tribute to LCC's willingness to take a risk to give local kids an opportunity to play college baseball, and to the fund-raising efforts of folks like banker Dean Hansen and financial advisor Dale Hartley, and to the generosity of baseball people and the community at-large.

To that end, the third annual banquet and auction to support LCC baseball and the ascendent women's soccer program will be held Jan. 26, at LCC. Sponsored by Lithia Chrysler Dodge of Eugene and by Outback Steak House, the banquet and auction will seek to raise up to two-thirds of the $100,000 of private support that must be generated to keep the two sports programs going.

In an encouraging show of commitment, the LCC board has agreed to cover annual costs beyond that, a projected $40,000 this year.

"We use the word `sustainable' now," Hansen said, noting that such a commitment will assure potential players that the program has more than a one-year future.

Said Strickland: "We're really looking to the future. This is a bridge year, and it's going to be a difficult year for us, but the future looks brighter."

In the decade since Donny Harrel, now assistant coach at the University of Washington, became head coach at LCC - to be succeeded by his assistant, Strickland, in 2004 - the Titans have been consistently strong in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges, despite competing against better-funded programs.

The overall record: 308-145, with two league titles and 10 consecutive trips to the playoffs and of finishing first or second in the Southern Division.

In general, the Titans have done that with players from Lane County-area high schools and produced players who have been major league draft choices or gone on to four-year schools or become high school coaches.

"This is the bridge," Hartley said. "There are kids who without the opportunity to play do not pursue higher education."

Said Hansen: "Our motto is that they come for athletics, and they discover academics. We have lots of success stories."

Strickland said the the national championship victory of Oregon State, fueled by in-state players, has enhanced the credibility of Northwest baseball.

"Baseball in the Northwest has been underrated," Strickland said. "I talk to college coaches, they would like to recruit more kids up here, they know there are kids up here, they just need another opportunity."

Keynote speaker for the banquet will be once-and-future Eugene Emeralds manager Greg Riddoch, who will also conduct a clinic for youngsters in sixth grade through high school on Jan. 27.

Auction items include a variety of baseball packages for tickets and accommodations for Seattle Mariners and the San Francisco Giants games, as well as spring training and golf excursions.

This year, longtime Kansas City Royals scout Jeff McKay is helping the LCC program with fundraising and with staging the banquet.

"I want to see that there is a place for Lane County kids to play baseball," McKay said. "We need to continue to provide kids a chance."

For information about the auction and for banquet reservations ($100 per person, $750 per table), contact Dean Hansen, 984-2220, or E-mail [e-mail].