PULLMAN — Ryan Hadfield saw it, Brandon Schmitten saw it and now Donnie Marbut sees it.

From his days with the Apple Valley Packers to his time at Eastmont High School and now in his freshman season as a baseball player at Washington State University, Ian Sagdal has shown “it,” that undefinable quality that enables him to come up biggest when it matters most.

“The one thing that sticks out for me personally about Ian is that big situations don’t overwhelm him,” Marbut said. “He certainly has the makings of having ‘it.’ He has a swagger and a confidence put together with a belief in himself. He believes in his ability.”

“He steps up. The bigger the game, the better he was,” Schmitten said Sagdal, who played shortstop and pitched for Eastmont.

Sagdal was expected to contribute for the Cougars, but not even Marbut expected the 6-foot-1 shortstop to be hitting .298 in 29 games.

“He was great in the fall, but in the early winter he wasn’t great,” Marbut said. “He’s just one of those kids that people like to be around. I love the kid more than the baseball player, and he’s a good player. I tell him the same thing every day: ‘Do you want to be good or do you want to be great?’ If he commits himself to getting stronger, than he has a chance to be a great Pac-12 player.”

Sagdal has never lacked confidence, and said his success this season has validated his belief that he could succeed in the Pac-12.

“I just go out and do my thing, and when I have opportunities I’m always trying to pick them up, whether it’s a base hit or a ground ball to the right side,” Sagdal said.

Sagdal has hit at every level, but there was some question as to where he’d fit in defensively at the collegiate level.

Thus far, despite making a team-high eight errors in 29 games, he’s been given the opportunity to stick at shortstop.

“He’s getting better defensively,” Marbut said. “Athletically he’s probably not a Pac-12 shortstop right now in terms of strength and size, but if he improves his habits and nutrition he could stay in that position. He’s a little bit out of position right now, but he’s doing a fine job.”

“It requires a lot of work,” Sagdal said of playing short in the Pac-12. “It was harder than I was expecting, but I’m adjusting to it.”

Sagdal said he likes playing shortstop, but he’s not opposed to a position change.

“As long as the team needs me at shortstop I’d like to be there, but if they need me at center field or catcher, I don’t care as long as I’m helping the team,” he said.

Sagdal credits Trace Tam Sing, whom he replaced as the team’s shortstop when Sing got injured early in the season, for easing his transition from high school ball.

Sagdal has committed to play for the Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League this summer, and shared a welcome-to-college-baseball moment with two former opponents when the Cougars played at UCLA earlier this spring.

“Spencer Jackson, Ty Jackson and I were warming up and we were talking about how last year we were playing against each other (the Jacksons starred at Southridge) and now we’re playing together at Jackie Robinson Stadium,” he said. “There’s a lot of tradition down there, and it was cool to be there for the first time.”

Alix Crilly, a senior coxswain on the women’s crew team at Western Washington University, was profiled last week in the Bellingham Herald.

Crilly is trying to help the Vikings win their eighth consecutive NCAA Division II national championship.

Crilly went to Wenatchee High.

Jacob Sealby, a sophomore sprinter at Washington State, was an all-academic selection in indoor track and field, but has had a late start to the outdoor season after a bout with strep throat. Sealby won multiple state titles at Wenatchee High.

Kelli Bowers, a sophomore on the Washington women’s golf team, finished tied for 75th at the PING/ASU Invitational on April 1 at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.

Bowers won four state championships at Chelan High.

Brian Adamowsky: 664-7157

adamowsky@wenatcheeworld.com