THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, July 25, 2014

Colton Gray, a catcher with the American Legion "AA" Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen, is already a bit immersed in the world of engineering and plans to continue his studies at the University of Idaho this fall as an electrical engineering major.

The 18-year-old who has caught nearly every inning for the Lums this season and was a backup catcher with the Coeur d'Alene High baseball team is wrapping up his final competitive baseball season, as he said he is not interested in playing college baseball, outside of a possible club team.

Gray and the Lums are in the midst of trying to qualify for state, playing this week in the Area A (district) tournament at Post Falls High.

TOWARD THE end of his senior year, Gray worked on a senior project paper to help improve the roads around the nation.

"I did that on civil engineering," said Gray, who had a 4.0 GPA his junior and senior year at Coeur d'Alene High. "I did my paper on how to improve infrastructure, like building roads and how money needs to be invested in that and the country."

In September, Gray worked as a job shadow in a mentor program in Osburn, working with Jim Roletto, who has been an engineer with more than 28 years of experience. Roletto currently works for Triangle Consulting as its Chief Operating Officer.

"At first they had this Yellowstone piping project," Gray said. "It's a private company that has a gas line that is under the Coeur d'Alene River Road near the Snake Pit, about 7 miles from there. They're going to replace some of the pipe under there and I think it goes underneath the river. That's one of the main projects going on."

Gray talked about why he's choosing electrical over civil engineering, for now.

"I know more about civil engineering than electrical," Gray said. "I'm not really hands-on, I think I'm more of a design (type) and how to apply it. I don't know much about electrical engineering yet, I just want to wait and see. I'm not sure the type of engineer I want to be. You don't really have to decide which specific type until two years in. I thought it'd be pretty cool and it looks interesting to me. I'm pretty good at math and science; I'm book smart."

BACK TO the baseball diamond. Gray showed plenty of toughness the entire season, especially behind the plate.

Coeur d'Alene coach Zach Clanton gave a vivid example from a game on Saturday during the Baden Northwest Invitational in western Washington. Gray held on to the ball at the plate despite being run into by a baserunner in the bottom of the seventh inning, of a game the Lumbermen won 7-4 over the Thurston County Saints.

"Reggie Nault, our right fielder, threw a ball to the plate for the last out and the kid (for Thurston County) tried to run him over, tried to jar the ball loose. Colton stood his ground, he knew it was going to come and he braced himself for it. For him to take a hit like that, definitely opens up a coach's eyes and a teammate's eyes as well, knowing you have a catcher that'll take a shot like that. Had they left that runner on (third), the tying run would have been coming to the plate. So it was a big momentum thing for us. They strung together some hits and for Colton to stop the bleeding right there, helped get us the win.

"His knowledge shows up on the baseball field," Clanton added. "He's really savvy during games. He knows situations very well. He knows when and where he's supposed to be. He knows what to do during certain at-bats, whether he needs to move a runner over, things like that."

Colby Kennedy and Gray are the only two seniors on the Lumbermen team and Clanton has enjoyed coaching Gray this summer.

"His work ethic is second to none," Clanton said. "He'll run through a brick wall for you. Whether it be any kind of volunteer or mandatory workout, he's going to be there trying to get better. Anything a coach has told him, he's taken to heart. He's done everything he can to really try to do what the coaches ask him to do. For him being among the older players on the team, that says a lot."

Gray, who played two years on the Viking varsity, is finishing his fourth season playing Legion baseball - second for the "AA" team.

"I'm levelheaded, more logical on the field," Gray said. "I try not to let one thing bother me. It's really cool. I'm a little burned out. I didn't play that much (for Coeur d'Alene High) but it was pretty cool. It was pretty fun, hanging out with my teammates on road trips."

GRAY HAS also been a jetsetting traveler, with his father, Jim, an insurance agent who works for Allstate Insurance, and his mother, Kristi, who works as an accounting manager for ishoutout.com.

"I've been on vacations to Europe and we've been to Hawaii at least six times and Mexico once," said Gray, an only child who was born and raised in Coeur d'Alene. "I've been to Paris, I've been to Italy and I've been to London. I think it's quite a bit different, they have ancient history over there. I've seen the Mona Lisa. There are museums that have been there for hundreds of years and it puts a different perspective on things. There are people that are different than in North Idaho. It'd be cool to (one day) be able to work there. I'd like to go to Australia a lot."

Gray said he wants to live somewhere warm, either in California, Hawaii or elsewhere. He can take his engineering knowledge with him.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at bbourquin@cdapress.com Follow him on Twitter @bourq25