By Michael Carman
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — As dynamic on the diamond as he is off it, Port Angeles’ pitcher Hayden Woods signed a letter of intent Friday to play baseball for Northwest Athletic Conference-powerhouse Lower Columbia College next season.
Woods is the seventh Roughrider baseball player from the Class of 2019 to sign to continue his playing career at the next level.
A large crowd of family, friends, former coaches and well-wishers gathered to support Woods during a ceremony in the school library.
“I think I’ve had that support my whole life,” Woods said. “All of them have been there to support me through everything in life, not just baseball but life, in general. All the family members, community members, coaches and friends have always been there for me and I couldn’t thank them enough.”
Port Angeles and Wilder Senior head coach Karl Myers knew he had someone a little bit different when he began coaching Woods as a freshman on junior varsity.
“When I asked him what position he played he said, ‘Outfield, infield, pitcher, catcher.’ I said, ‘OK, great. It’s going to be a good year.’
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“I had to get used to practice being over, locking up the field and seeing a kid in full uniform on a BMX bike at the skate park. That was kind of my first introduction to who Hayden is. He’s more than just an athlete. He’s a student-athlete, an incredible kid and just a very dynamic person.”
Some of that dynamism stems from an inability to sit still.
“I hate being inside,” Woods said. “I play video games every once in a while but I’m always outside. I ride BMX, I skateboard, I hunt, I fish. I worked at Hurricane Ridge in the winter.
“If it’s outdoors, I want to get good at it.”
Woods was plenty good his senior year for Port Angeles.
Despite dealing with some injury issues that limited his outings, Woods still made second-team All-Olympic League with a 2-1 record, two saves and a 0.618 ERA in 22 innings.
Oh, and Woods also placed eighth in singles at the Class 2A State Tennis Tournament on May 25, shaking off six months of rust (boys tennis is a fall sport that holds its state championships in spring) with just three practices in the week before the tourney.
“Lower Columbia is getting a lot more than just a player,” Myers said. “He’s going to be a great teammate, a kid who does the right thing. He may be a kid who pushes your buttons at times, but he’s a kid that you can count on no matter what.
“The growth from freshman year to now has been remarkable and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Woods will play for 2008 Port Angeles grad Eric Lane, a three-sport standout as a Roughrider who played ball at Lower Columbia and then for Gonzaga.
Lane has led the Red Devils to NWAC titles in his two seasons as head coach, part of a three-peat run for Lower Columbia. He also was an assistant on the 2017 champs.
“I’ve been in the same seat as you have, we didn’t have signing ceremonies, so not the exact same seat, but as far as being a guy recruited by Lower Columbia and signing a [Letter of Intent] and being able to play for such a great program — I’ve been there before,” Lane said.
“Now I get to be the head coach at the same program that I went through all this stuff in the recruiting process. To see another Port Angeles guy go through it, a few guys this year and a few guys in the past three or four years, it’s exciting and it’s exciting in a different way than for the guys we recruit from Seattle, Portland, Texas, Canada.
“Coming from [the school] where I went for four years, where I played for a lot of these coaches that are sitting here … the upbringing here shaped who I am as a coach, who I am as a person and we try to reflect that to our players as well.”
The other guy Lane referenced is Port Angeles catcher Joel Wood who signed with the Red Devils back in November.
“The dynamic duo,” Woods said of his buddy and battery mate on the diamond, Wood.
Woods and Wood plan to live with Port Angeles’ Kyle Benedict, who will play basketball for Lower Columbia.
“I’ve played since I was six, so this has been one of my life goals to play college baseball — and to be able to do it with my good friends will be amazing,” Woods said.
