Kentlake’s baseball team has a problem: its pitching staff is seven deep.

It’s the kind of problem any high school baseball coach would love to have as most teams have a three-man rotation.

Beyond that, the Falcons look like a complete team, according to three of the six seniors on the squad.

“We’ve just got it to put it together,” said infielder Ryan Archibald. “We’ve got everything, we’ve just got to put it together. Everybody’s got to be energized.”

Archibald, who is going to play football at Central Washington University in the fall, said they learned that lesson in an early season league defeat to Thomas Jefferson when “we came out flat.”

“We just have more talent this year,” Archibald said. “And this year we’re working way harder. We’ve brought warmups and drills from our select teams. That’s made us better.”

This group, which finished fifth in the South Puget Sound League North division a year ago and was bounced from the district playoffs by league rival Kentridge, has an eye on the 4A state title game.

Center fielder Austin Pernell, who will play baseball at Washington State next year, declared as he walked back to Kentlake’s practice field on Monday afternoon to look for the Falcons in the state title game.

“Our expectations are to win this league, win state, win everything because we have the capability to do it if we play together,” Pernell said. “We all have to do our job, to use our talents as a team to do what we’re supposed to do.”

It’s a bold prediction but one echoed by his teammates.

“This year is definitely the year we can do it,” Archibald said. “We’ve had a target on our back the last three years. We need to just keep doing what we’re doing, don’t run out of gas too early. Last year we didn’t have it. This year I can definitely see it.”

Ryne Shelton, who plays second base, said that while the team is still putting all the pieces together they have high expectations.

“We’re still figuring out where everyone’s going to play and what roles they’re going to have once we get into the playoffs,” Shelton said. “We have a lot of guys that play select ball for the top teams. We should have a team with a lot of experience. From my point of view, we’re looking a lot better than a lot of other teams in the league.”

Kentlake, Shelton said, should finish first in the SPSL North.

And while there are tough teams on the league schedule, Shelton added, the team is looking forward to the playoffs and taking on opponents such as Jackson and Puyallup.

A nonleague loss to Puyallup, which plays in the SPSL South, was one Shelton said Kentlake would like to avenge and they likely will get the opportunity in the league tournament in early May.

Pernell said the team has a number of strengths.

“Our defense, we have a really good defense,” he said. “We have really good hitting. Our lineup is strong from one to nine.”

And the fact there are six seniors who want to win could be that intangible that help bring it all together.

“It’s my senior year and it’s a lot of other kids’ senior year,” Pernell said. “So, we want to win. We’re still going to be representing Kentlake in what we do so I want to go out with a bang.”

Having a half dozen seniors — including Tanner Lucas, Pernell and Archibald who played on Kentlake’s football team which won the SPSL North and went to the state playoffs — also means that maturity could come into play.

“Along with that and our experience because we’re seniors, we know how to calm down,” Archibald said. “It’s a long season. Work hard but don’t rush yourself.”

While Kentlake may have plenty of pitching, the players also have the will to win, the experience and the talent, the way Pernell looks at it.

“We’re coming to play no matter what and you better be ready to play or else you’re going to lose by a lot,” he said.