Former South Kitsap standout Brady Steiger will be switching roles for Washington State University’s baseball program this season.

Steiger, who played first and third base for the Cougars as a freshman last season, hit .318 in 22 at-bats. He missed most of the year because of a stress fracture in his ribs and coach Don Marbut said Steiger qualified for a medical redshirt because of it.

Steiger said he simply “burned out.” Because of the increased level of competition in the Pac-10 and the success of WSU, which had a 37-22 record and advanced the NCAA Regionals for a second consecutive year, Steiger felt the need to arrive at practice three hours early for extra work. In addition to that, he knew playing time would be difficult because Matt Argyropoulos was entrench at third base and “our two or three first basemen are all upperclassmen and very good.”

Then came the injury.

“That’s when I started thinking about (leaving the sport), but I don’t want to say that was part of the reason,” Steiger said.

He said the travel with three-game road trips against Pac-10 opponents nearly every other weekend also was a factor in his decision.

All of it was enough for him to make his decision earlier this month.

“I just got tired of it,” Steiger said. “I realized it was only going to be harder from there.”

But Steiger, a business major who hopes to coach in the future, did not want to leave the game. Marbut, who said he was surprised by Steiger’s decision, invited him to remain with the program as an equipment manager.

And if Steiger changes his mind, Marbut said he will welcome him back as a player.

“Absolutely,” he said. “He’s a great kid. It’s nice that he made a decision that’s best for him.”

Wolfpack tryouts set

Tryouts for the 2011 Wolfpack baseball club begin Aug. 21-22 from 10 a.m. to noon for 18U; 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for 14U; and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. for 15U. All three are held at Marcus Whitman Junior High.

For 13U, tryouts are from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 28-29 at Cedar Heights Junior High.

Narrows Baseball Club seeks players

The Narrows Baseball Club is holding tryouts for 13U-14U from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 15U-18U from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 21 and Aug. 28 at Peninsula High School.

Visit www.narrowsbaseballclub.org to print the registration form.

Gold Mountain Ladies Club results

Aug. 3 and Aug. 10 Club Championship results

Champion: Barb Evans 167.

Second place: Cindy Garfein 169.

Division 2: Sue Burklund 170.

Division 3: Penny Swan 188.

Division 4: Sheila Clemans 217.

Low net

Division 1: 1, Janet Weiland 146; 2, Cathy Backlund 151.

Division 2: 1, Kris Sharp 144; 2, Cindy LeMay 147.

Division 3: 1, Phyllis Keithly 143; 2, BJ Jones 147.

Division 4: 1, Patricia Pieropan 147; 2, Colleen Shorrock 152.