THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: A chance meeting, a friendship blossomed and an opportunity to play baseball again for Kolden

Like many baseball fans, Kodie Kolden liked to make annual trips to spring training.

In 2012, on the day he and his family were to return to Idaho from Arizona, there were no games that morning to attend.

“So we went to an Angels practice,” Kolden recalled. “Practice was finished and we were waiting in the stadium, because our flight wasn’t until later, so we were going to wait there instead of wait in the airport. We were the only people in the stadium.

(It was Kodie, his dad Brady and sister KaeLee. Kodie’s mom, Carey, had gone back to the motel to collect the family’s gear.)

Soon Angels pitcher LaTroy Hawkins and his daughter Troi and his mom came onto the field, and LaTroy and his daughter began playing catch and doing some other baseball stuff.

“He asked me if I wanted to come join him down on the field,” Kodie recalled. “At first I just went up to the rail, expecting he was just going to give me an autograph or something, but instead he asked me to come down on the field, and I got to play catch with him, and take ground balls, and hit BP on the field ... it was super cool.”

Kodie and Troi hit off LaTroy in the outfield, so they could try to hit the ball over the outfield fence.

Brady Kolden even re-booked the flight home for later in the evening, so Kodie could spend more time with his new friend.

When it was time to leave, LaTroy gave his email to the family, and said to keep in touch.

A few months later, when Kodie Kolden and his Post Falls Little League team were in San Bernardino, Calif., at the Northwest Regional, LaTroy left tickets for Kodie and another Post Falls player to attend an Angels game in Anaheim.

“We actually got to go down into the tunnel after the game and meet Mike Trout and Torii Hunter and some other players, and it was super cool,” Kodie recalled.

LaTroy and the Koldens have since hooked up over the years since then at spring training. One offseason, LaTroy and Brady spent 10 days hunting in Africa.

“He’s always been kind of a resource for me,” Kodie said of LaTroy.

Soon after Kodie, a sophomore at Washington State, committed to play in last weekend’s Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational in Bryan, Texas, near College Station — the first baseball games for college players since COVID-19 shut down things in mid-March — game organizers learned of the Koldens’ connection with Hawkins.

Hawkins, who pitched in the majors for 21 seasons before retiring in 2015, is in his fourth season as a special assistant in the Minnesota Twins organization.

They asked the Koldens to reach out to LaTroy, and he committed to coach one of the four teams in the three-day showcase.

And, probably not by accident, Kodie was placed on LaTroy’s team, batting second and playing shortstop.

“It was awesome to get to play for him,” Kolden said.

Hawkins recalled that meeting recently, on social media:

“Can’t remember how long he was on the field. But I do remember his dad walking out to CF to give us the bad news. The family had a flight to catch back to Spokane and they had to go. The look on Kod’s face. They leave, Troi and I continue on. A short time later Kod’s running back on the field screaming — ‘LaTroy I can stay. My dad changed our flight.’ KaeLee was being a great little sister just watching and taking it all in. Knowing her now, I’m sure in her mind she’s wondering, ‘Why didn’t LaTroy invite me on the field?’ KaeLee I apologize. The rest is history.”

KODIE SAID when organizers of the event reached out to him to play, “I went through all the compliance stuff, and I was told I could play, then I couldn’t play, then I could play again. So I finally signed the contract four days before it started, found a flight and flew out there.”

Once the players got to Texas, they were tested for the COVID-19 antibodies — a blood test.

“Once you did that, you went up to your room, and that’s when we got tested for COVID, and that’s when we got the massive Q-tip stuck up our nose, which is an awful feeling,” Kodie said. “I never want to do it again.

The players had to wait about a day for everyone’s COVID tests to come back, then they could practice, and eventually play.

There were only a few people in the stands, mostly those involved in putting on the tournament.

The players and coaches were shuttled from the hotel to the field and back. All meals were provided at the hotel.

“It was all considered ‘in the bubble,’ and you weren’t allowed to leave the bubble,” Kodie said. “Then we got tested for COVID right before we left.”

Though it was considered a showcase tournament of sorts, with some baseball scouts at the stadium and some watching on TV and the internet, Kodie said he was just happy to get on a baseball field again.

“I kinda went into it with the main reason of meeting new people, and getting to know new players, because that’s the coolest part in my opinion,” he said. “Just meeting guys from all over the country, ... just learning about how they do things.

KOLDEN, WHO helped Lake City win a state 5A baseball title in 2016, and graduated in 2018, appeared in 42 games as a freshman, starting 39 at third base, and hit .217.

This year, he overcame a slow start and was hitting .256. He played in 13 games, starting 12 at shortstop.

“To see the season shut down as I was getting back to normal was tough for me personally,” Kolden said.

Plus, the Cougars were getting better — they were 9-7 when the season was shut down, after going just 11-42-1 in Kolden’s freshman year.

“More guys cared, and more guys took it seriously, and it kinda turned around,” Kolden said. “I’m excited for next year, to hopefully get a full season in.”

Once the season was shut down, Kolden came home. He and his dad built a batting cage in the garage of the family home in Hauser. It wasn’t regulation size, obviously, but big enough to get in some work off the tee. Later, he and some friends were able to get onto a couple local fields in the area, to take some grounders and get some swings in.

Still, returning to live action was another thing altogether.

“It was definitely a challenge, not seeing live pitching in months,” Kodie said. “A 92 mph fastball was looking like a 102 mph fastball to me. But it was a great experience, and one I would definitely do again.”

WSU head coach Marty Lees and his staff were let go following last year’s 11-win season. Kodie, naturally, entertained the thought of transferring, but said after a few talks with new coach Brian Green, “I decided to stay, and I was glad I did.”

Fellow sophomore Kyle Manzardo, Kodie’s teammate at Lake City was off to a torrid start when the pandemic halted the season, with hits in each of WSU’s first 16 games and an average of .435.

“Holy cow, he was raking,” Kolden said of the lefty swinging Manzardo. “I don’t know how people even got him out. Insane. He was just mashing the ball. It was just stupid. It was like, ‘Oh, Kyle’s up. Get ready for another hit.’”

Kolden has been making the adjustments from high school to college baseball, and hopes to be back raking again soon,

“I think this year was going to be a year where I could have broke out, because I felt I made huge strides in the fall and during winter break,” he said. “I think I’ll get to where I want to be soon. I’m close, but not quite there.”

The good news — not only did this year’s seniors get an extra year of college eligibility, so did all players, including Kolden.

“Next year I’ll be a corona redshirt sophomore, or whatever you want to call it,” he said with a laugh.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.