Jun. 27—The foundation for the Moscow Blue Devils American Legion baseball program starts well beyond the diamond.
Built around a core group of longtime friends and some welcomed newcomers, the Blue Devils (19U) have created a culture centered on accountability, toughness and a deep sense of brotherhood — something that coach Tim Ogilvie believes has positioned the program to compete deep into the postseason.
The Blue Devils currently hold a record of 14-9-1 as the lengthy season approaches July.
Built on a ‘brotherhood’
Ogilvie said that there is no outside source that the Blue Devils need to get motivation from; he said that he sees the process on a daily basis.
“I think what motivates them is just the brotherhood,” Ogilvie said. “They love playing with each other, and they don’t want to let each other down, and sometimes it’s just tough, because they want it so bad that they get down on themselves, not because of failure, but because of just not holding up their end of the bargain to their teammates.”
Ogilvie said that the team is very tight-knit and that the core group has been playing ball together for “many, many years.” This drives them further because they want to succeed together.
“We were laughing tonight at practice, we’re hitting, and it’s like ‘I can see you guys all playing men’s slow pitch softball one day,’ and they go, ‘We’ve talked about it,'” Ogilvie said. “I’m like, ‘You guys are gonna be friends for life.’ I mean, that’s how tight they are. They love to be around each other.”
The “brotherhood” has been built into this group long before the Blue Devils got hold of the players, the coach said, with many of the players attending school together in Moscow and beyond.
“That core group has built just an acceptance for folks outside of them that a person from Genesee or Troy or a Kendrick or a Potlatch can come on board,” Ogilvie said. “If you work hard and you do what they do and what they expect out of you, because they live it, then they accept you 100%.”
Goals set at the beginning of the season
Looking at how the team is built, Ogilvie said that it would be unfair to his team as a whole to name some standout players. He said that the team is full of “a bunch of scrappers” and that anybody can step up at any given time.
“That’s what’s unique about this squad, you never know who’s going to step up and come to play, it could be anybody, and that’s the joy of it really,” Ogilvie said.
A few players who have stepped up include Sam Rigney, Brock Fealy, Trey Magallon, Benson Godfrey and Huckleberry O’Donnell.
Rigney has stepped up as both a pitcher and a hitter. On Thursday, against the Libby Loggers, he threw seven innings and fanned nine batters while allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits.
Rigney also had three hits, including a double, and totaled two RBI for the Blue Devils. In the same game, Fealy had two hits and two RBI.
Godfrey has worked as Moscow’s every day catcher and has been a solid batter as well.
Before the season even started, one of the first things the Blue Devils did was sit down and write out their individual and team goals. Unanimously, everybody wanted to go to State, the coach said.
Moscow is a 19U program in the A division in Idaho, meaning it can finish its season at the state regional.
“They want to win that first or second place in the district and qualify for State this year,” Ogilvie said. “And realistically, I think that’s a goal that we can attain if everything goes right, and the game of baseball can be funny, but I think we have a realistic shot at that.”
The main goal for the team’s development is to just get better. With Moscow being such a young team, built up of mostly sophomores, there has been a chance to build up on some of the same ideals that were taught last year.
Ogilvie said that realistically, he could have these players for two to three more years, so he wants to keep building them to become better players each and every year. The expectations created are to win more games, achieve their goals, and eventually make it to state regionals.
“That’s kind of the trajectory of where we’re going, and we expect to get that way because of just how hard they work, and we’re just going to keep pushing them to learn more about the game of baseball, and get more mental toughness,” Ogilvie said. “A lot of people overlook the mental toughness and focus on the physical aspects, but this game is so much more mental than people give it credit for.”
The staff and their plan to build good young men
Ogilvie is in his second year of coaching the Blue Devils, but has more than 30 years of coaching experience in Oregon and has served for two years as an assistant for Kendrick.
His coaching staff includes Hunter Redinger as the assistant head coach and Jacob Perry and Levi Collett as other assistants.
During the spring, Redinger is an assistant coach for Moscow High’s varsity team, Perry is the assistant JV coach at Moscow and Collett is the varsity coach at Troy.
Ogilvie said that these coaches bring a ton of knowledge into the program and the team wouldn’t be successful without the foundation the group has built.
“It helps these kids do what they do, and I gotta give those guys credit, because they’re phenomenal,” Ogilvie said. “They make my job a lot easier for darn sure.”
The plan the staff has created is to build up the players to be better human beings, better sons and, eventually, better husbands and fathers.
“I mean, I look at it as kind of my mission field,” Ogilvie said. “I like to mentor the young men through the game of baseball, and it’s just fun, and that’s why I still continue to do it because I just like all the aspects.”
The headman said that through baseball, many life lessons can be taught. He said it is a great place for players to leave their issues outside the fences and enjoy the game as well.
“We’re not always talking about baseball; we’re trying to teach life lessons, and people don’t always come to the practice in good shape,” Ogilvie said. “They might have had a bad day … because life beats you up. And so we try, as a coaching staff, to lend an ear and talk about things non-baseball, and just to try to be there for them, and encourage them and build those relationships.”
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X @TrevorJunt.
