A lot of good baseball was played by the Federal Way Buzz boys U-18 team last year.

"We got all the way to the state final and lost to the Columbia River Dogs, 5-3," said eight-year head coach Dave Richardson, who also is helped by his son, Dan, who played ball at Thomas Jefferson in the late 1990s.

Actually the Buzz have had good seasons for a long time now.

"Dan has been keeping track of how we have done the last five years and it's been something like 147-79," said Richardson. "That is a pretty good winning percentage."

It is. So is this.

"We have never had a losing season," said Richardson, whose wife, Lona, helped out in this family affair.

"My wife has been the official scorekeeper all these years every summer," said Richardson. "She knows stats. She likes baseball, too. It's not "What do you want to watch on TV?" It's "What game do we want to watch?"

Not just Richardson, his wife and Dan have been good to Buzz baseball, so have the ball players -- like Jarrett Jackson, who played for the Buzz before going on to the UW. Jackson was also a TJ Raider in high school.

"It's fun to see these kids develop in the program," said Richardson, who altogether has coached or been an assistant in baseball for 21 years now.

But it looks like this season, his last, by the way, will be the one that he may remember the most, because it could be the best. Already the Buzz sports a 7-0 record in their Senior Babe Ruth League and are 9-2 overall.

"I like our chances this year," said Richardson. "The guys are hitting the ball. Last year, the bats didn't start coming around until the end of the season."

The group is seasoned with a lot of talent, including some players from area teams that led their respective teams.

"The kids want to get back to the championship," said Richardson. "That is their focus."

This team was just a win away from making the World Series of the Senior Babe Ruth League last year -- and this year, if they do make it past second in the state, they will go to Ohio for the World Series.

"No teams from here have ever got to the World Series in Babe Ruth," Richardson said.

This team has a lot of teams that did well, like Federal Way that, under coach Danny Graham, went almost winless the first half of the South Puget Sound League season before coming back to make the postseason. Players on this Buzz team helped the Eagles become good as they got by season's end.

Thomas Jefferson's baseball team took second in the SPSL North, and one reason why was pitcher Jordan Beers. He pitched strong then and he is going to be pitching strong now this summer for the Buzz. Beers has a win and a save thus far.

"He's a real level-headed kid," said Richardson. "He's playing second base for us, too."

Another that will make a difference with the glove and the bat is Federal Way Eagles player Shane Elliot, who will play in the outfield and bat No.5 or No. 6 in the batting order. His average out of the gate this season is .321.

"We have a lot of hitters," said Richardson, noting that Elliot is in the running for FWHS player of the year at that school.

First base for the Buzz will mostly be played by Jerett Hardy, another TJ kid.

"He's good at picks (short-hop throws from shortstop and third base on routine ground outs)," said Richardson. "He's doing pretty good. He's confident. He's not flashy but he gets the job done and that is what is important."

Another out there making things happen is FW player Heath Hart, who is hitting .529 so far this season for the Buzz.

"He has good power and hits the ball hard," said Richardson. "I expect him to have a couple home runs this season."

Hart missed most of last summer's Buzz season with a torn quadricep muscle.

"He's had some bad luck," said Richarson. "He missed a couple games this season with a wrist injury. He took a foul tip off the wrist area that bruised the bone."

Another TJ ballplayer is Taylor Stark, who has a 2-1 record so far this season with a 3.75 ERA.

"He is a backwards pitcher, throwing off speed stuff to make his fastball look faster," said Richardson. "He will primarily be a pitcher for us but will play some first and third base for us, too."

Spencer LeCompte, another TJ guy, is batting .308 this season. The outfielder was a late find.

"We picked him up late," said Richardson. "He has speed on the basepaths and is a decent hitter."

Richardson has a good group of players, from different schools, that all mix together.

"Some teams have egos, in-fighting," said Richardson. "These guys don't and I am sure that is a reason for our success. They come from a lot of different schools, but they all come here to support each other.

"It's neat to have been able to have my son as an assistant coach," said Richardson. "And another assistant coach is Ed Spahr, who was on a team I coached with head coach Claude Hislop back in 1999."

That is really what it is all about for Richardson, having fun with friends and family during the fun days of summer at a sport he loves, but will leave now after two decades plus coaching it in one way or another.

"That's the payoff for me," said Richardson. "Seeing where these kids go from here. I want to help them keep their careers going on successfully in baseball."