THE FRONT ROW with BRUCE BOURQUIN July 8, 2016

Northern Lakes Mountaineer Dalton Strong is quite accomplished on the baseball diamond, primarily as a first baseman and a left-handed pitcher on the class AA American Legion team.

But as the only player older than a high school junior — he’s a sophomore-to-be at the College of Idaho in Caldwell — it is the former Lakeland High player’s leadership that counts the most. Northern Lakes has eight juniors and three sophomores and no high school seniors or other college players.

“He takes control of the team,” Northern Lakes coach Al Bevacqua said. “After the coaches are done talking with the team, he’ll run things with the players. He knows how to get through to them, when to put an arm around them or get on them a little. This summer’s helped him.”

AS A player who can double as another assistant coach of sorts on the field, the 19-year-old raised in Rathdrum leads Northern Lakes with a .391 batting average and 22 RBIs as its cleanup hitter. He bats right as well.

“You feel like a coach,” Strong said. “I just pass on respect for the game. (After games), I go over stuff we could do better, like hitting with runners in scoring position, hitting with two outs, whether or not we communicated well. If you go out, work hard and play how the game’s supposed to be played, the game will reward you.”

Strong is one of the original members on a team that had its first season last summer, finishing 6-6 in the North Idaho League (17-24 overall).

“Players like him are why programs keep going,” Bevacqua said. “In my 16 years of coaching, he’s one of the smoothest fielding first basemen I’ve ever seen, which is nice to have as a coach because it’s always a tough position to play.”

Strong, listed at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, will fight for a starting first baseman spot with at least two other returning first baseman at C of I for the Yotes, who finished 22-13 (38-22 overall) in the NAIA’s Cascade Collegiate Conference, which includes perennial NAIA World Series contender Lewis-Clark State College of Lewiston.

“At first, it was really weird,” Strong said of playing American Legion baseball. “I came from playing with 21- and 22-year-olds to playing with guys a little younger. It was a little different, but I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been fun playing with guys I used to play with. Here, you face pitchers throwing high-70s, low-80s. In college, they throw high-80s, low-90s.”

At the College of Idaho, Strong was primarily used as a left-handed reliever, with his only action coming Feb. 6 against Minot State of Minot, N.D. He allowed three earned runs, one hit, one walk and he hit a batter, but College of Idaho won, 13-10, in the first game of a doubleheader.

“I was given an opportunity and I never expected to play (the entire season),” Strong said. “I’m not at the college level offensively. I’ve been working out to the point of seeing some high-end pitchers who play for teams in our conference. I’m going to work my butt off (to try to earn more playing time at first). I didn’t hit at all last spring, so coming in I’ve been nervous. But it’s been like riding a bike.”

WITH ALL of the accomplishments Strong has done thus far, one of the things he’s the most proud of is making the dean’s list at College of Idaho. In order to make it, Strong had to earn at least a 3.75 grade-point average. He is a business major, with an emphasis on accounting.

“I earned a 3.769 GPA,” Strong said. “That had a lot to do with my mom, Deb. When I was doing my math homework, she’d take hours reading my books, understand them and teach me to where I’d get it. I think that’s where my love of math and decision to go into accounting comes from.”

Deb Strong is the owner of Strong Utility, Inc. in Rathdrum, which is in the business of running power underground, as well as some phone lines. Her husband, Mark Strong, is the head of operations and both have instilled a strong — pun intended — work ethic in their son.

“My mom taught me to take advantage of every opportunity, because it could all be gone,” Dalton said. “My father’s a real big part of who I am. The way he raised me, he told me you get out of it what you put into it. I strived to be the best I can be, so they (my Northern Lakes teammates) can be the best they can be.”

Coach Bevacqua has, of course, seen his work ethic come out over the years. He also coached Strong and others on the Lakeland football team, calling him “one of the best pulling guards I’ve seen.”

“He takes a lot of pride in his schoolwork,” Bevacqua said. “He’s taking a summer course in psychology online at College of Idaho. His parents push him to be the best he can be and having kids of my own, he’s an inspiration for me. He has a game plan to get out in the working world as soon as he can.”

TWO YEARS ago, while playing for Lakeland as a junior, Strong’s squad lost 4-1 to Twin Falls in the state 4A championship game at Rodeo Park in Nampa. It was the first time the Hawks (16-8) reached the title game since 1997, when they won the 3A title. They were regional champions and Strong was named to the all-4A Inland Empire League team in both baseball and football.

As a senior in 2015, Lakeland did not reach the state tournament. This past year, when Lakeland reached the state tournament but was rained out of a loser-out game, Strong said he would have made the two-hour drive to Twin Falls from Caldwell to watch a game or two, but was in the middle of taking final exams.

“It was the journey,” Strong said. “I hate losing, but to see our team play well, that was great. We won two in a row to get to the state championship. I just want to respect the game and take advantage of my opportunities.”

Strong is certainly doing that — in baseball and beyond.

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