Fastballer brings relief to Goldpanners' summer
When Eric Doble joined the Goldpanners pitching squad midway through the 2000 season the team was struggling. This was not what anyone had expected at the beginning of the summer.
But if Eric was unnerved by this, it sure didn’t show as he came out of the bullpen to save five games for the Panners, with 14 strikeouts in 21.67 innings and a 1.25 ERA.
"Coach (Dan Cowgill) told us we were pretty much out of the tournament," Doble said. "I think that gave us a more relaxed attitude."
That attitude returned the Goldpanners to a winning streak that would lead them to a playoff game for second place in the league and a spot in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
"He’s a good fastballer. He has a lot of movement," ASU and Goldpanners teammate Jonah Martin said. "And he’s a fierce competitor."
Doble’s competitive nature came out as he faced the prospect of a possible playoff game between the Goldpanners and the Mat-Su Miners. While most held their breath that the Miners would lose their final game against Kenai, thus handing the Wichita trip to the Panners on a silver platter, Doble was itching for a the intensity of a one-game championship match.
"I’d like a playoff game," he said with anticipation. "It would be neat to have a playoff atmosphere."
"He gets us automatic strikeouts in big situations," Brooks Conrad, also of ASU, said, calling Doble "a great addition to our pitching staff."
Headed into his senior year at ASU, spending the summer in Alaska gave the reliever a nice change from the Arizona heat. It also didn’t hurt his pitching.
"It’s easier to pitch here. I’m not sweating," Doble said. "Down there I’m playing in 116 degrees, 80 percent humidity."
Although the Goldpanners had been playing together for several weeks and were well acquainted with their host families, coaches and the Fairbanks fans, Doble had his own Arizona connections to help him feel at home. Not only was ASU’s Jeff Phelps late to arrive in Alaska as well, but Doble’s Arizona roommate, Matt Parks, is a native of Fairbanks. Doble spent the summer with Parks and his family, who have acquainted him with Alaska.
"They’ve been great," Doble said. "They’ve taken me fishing and shown me around Fairbanks."
The closer held a 3.35 ERA with nine saves in 51 innings of work for the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 1999-2000 season. He will graduate next year with a degree in recreational management. For Doble, who was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in June, playing baseball is a dream he hopes will continue into a lifelong career. Doble would be the first in his family to play professionally. "My dad played in college, and my brother played some," he said. "I don’t know where I came from."
Wherever he came from, keep your eyes and ears open, because Eric Doble could be one of the next Goldpanners to show up in the major leagues.
Michelle Eastty
