Haylee Baker to coach Spartans fastpitch team

Published 12:44 pm Monday, December 7, 2015

A softball player who is accustoming to winning the big games will take over the helm of the Bainbridge High fastpitch team.

Former Spartan standout Haylee Baker is in line to be Bainbridge’s new girls varsity fastpitch softball coach.

The Bainbridge Island School Board is expected to approve her hiring at its meeting this week.

Baker will take over the coaching duties following the resignation earlier this fall of Liz McCloskey, who stepped down after 11 seasons at the helm of the team to devote more time to her professional career with the Seattle Mariners.

Baker was an all-star during her college softball career at Bellevue CC and transferred to Western Washington University for her senior year in 2014.

She was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges All-American at Bellevue CC as a sophomore in 2012, and was also a North Region Most Valuable Player and first-team NWAACC all-star.

While at Bellevue CC, she helped the Bulldogs race to 44-5 record, a first place (24-0) in the North Region standings and fourth-place finish at NWAACC Championships.

A team co-captain, she hit .455 (65-for-143) with 60 runs scored and 54 runs batted in (with 13 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs) during her final year in Bellevue.

At Bainbridge High, Baker went to state with the Spartans four times for the 3A championship tournament. She was the Metro League MVP as a senior on the team that placed second at state.

In her junior year, she rebounded from a broken neck she sustained in an early morning car crash to come back to play the rest of the season. The Spartans won the 3A title that year (2008-2009), as Bainbridge bested Holy Names for the crown.

During her time at BHS, Baker was honored four times as a first-team Class 3A all-state and all-Metro League selection.