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UVC snaps Kennedy’s state-record 46-game winning streak; other news and notes from around Oregon

April 3, 2024 by John Tawa, OSAAtoday
Liberty's Reid Linkmeyer prepares to launch in his massive three-homer game versus Milwaukie
Liberty's Reid Linkmeyer prepares to launch in his massive three-homer game versus Milwaukie

At least every other week during the spring season, we’ll talk some Oregon high school baseball. This is the place!


UVC 86’s Kennedy’s state-record 46-game winning streak

Umpqua Valley Christian scored three runs in the bottom of the first yesterday and never trailed in handing two-time defending 2A/1A champion Kennedy (8-1) an 8-2 defeat yesterday. The loss snapped Kennedy’s 46-game unbeaten streak spanning three seasons, a state record.

"That was a good win against a good program," UVC coach Dave York told a local paper. "They lost a lot from last year (12 seniors) and are pretty inexperienced, but it's always good beating those guys. They're well-coached, and have had our number the last few years, so it's good to come out on top."

“Breaking a streak didn’t mean as much to us as getting a good win against a quality opponent and program,” York added. 

UVC won in all facets. The Monarchs out-pitched, out-hit and out-fielded Kennedy.

Sean Simonson threw six strong for the victors, striking out 10 while walking none and yielding just five hits. Tygue Barron led the offense, going 3-3 with a double and four RBIs. Daniel Withers, Ty Hellenthal and Tyler Hanes added two hits apiece.

There’s no shame in losing to UVC. The Monarchs won state in 2019, finished runner up to Kennedy in 2022 and made the state semifinals last year.

Kennedy had set the all-time record of 43 wins in a row just one week earlier.

“We didn't play poorly; they played well,” said Kennedy coach Kevin Moffatt. “And we had some things that have gone our way for a while not go our way: a ball a guy lost in the sun, missing a ball by an inch, things like that. And they are very good. They do everything right and are very well coached. No disappointment at all on this one.”

Coincidentally, Umpqua Valley Christian also broke Knappa’s Oregon record streak of home wins and wins in the state of Oregon in 2019.


Unbeatens

The 2024 season is barely three weeks old and how many of the OSAA’s 199 teams are still undefeated? A grand total of six!

What’s most surprising is that four of the undefeated teams reside in 6A. Sprague is 10-0, South Salem and Sandy are each 9-0 and Sunset is 7-0.

In 4A, Ontario is 7-0.

In 2A/1A, Crosshill Christian has yet to lose but has played just two contests.

Sandy’s 9-0 start includes a 3-0 shutout of vaunted Lakeridge yesterday. Senior RHP Matt Kosderka tossed a no-hitter at the Pacers, with 15 strike outs.

The Pioneers went 4-0 in Arizona over Spring Break. The winning formula was strong pitching, excellent defense and doing the little things well to help win games, said coach Eric Fogle.

South Salem’s ninth win in a row came at the expense of Roseburg yesterday. Senior right hander Carter Nelson struck out seven in a five-inning perfect game in the 13-0 win.


“Missing Link” has career day

Shortstop Reid Linkmeyer missed almost all of 2023 with an injury. He almost made up for it on one day this season.

Last Thursday, at Nelson High School versus Milwaukie, the junior swung the bat three times. Three times he hit no doubt blasts, driving in nine in a 16-7 win. After being hit by a pitch in the first inning, Linkmeyer hit a three-run homer in the second, two-run homer in the third and grand slam in the fourth.

“The wind was blowing out, but these weren’t wind aided in my opinion,” said Liberty coach Ryan Raagas.

Linkmeyer’s big day put him in the Oregon record books. His three homers tied him with 16 others for most homers in a game in Oregon prep history. And his nine RBIs, the most by any player in a decade, put him in a tie for eighth place on the all-time single-game list.


5-5 x 2

In a game at Grants Pass on March 25, BOTH senior SS Zane Garvey and senior OF Kaz Kalish went 5-5 in Southridge’s 11-1 win.  Each had a 2B, an RBI, and two runs scored. I wonder who was the copycat…


How did they manage to go 3-1?

Ida B. Wells went 3-1 on its baseball trip to San Diego over Spring Break, but it’s a wonder the Guardians were able to concentrate on the field at all given the whirlwind they experienced off of it.

One of the players commented that it was more like a guided tour than a field trip for baseball.

Over 10 days and nine nights on a chartered bus, here’s a look at some of the things Ida B. Wells experienced in addition to playing baseball:

Alcatraz tour

Utah at Cal baseball game

“Team behind the team” tour at Oracle Park

Griffith Observatory

Santa Monica Pier

Balboa Park Museums

BP at The Brickyard Cages

Padres/Mariners spring training game

USS Midway tour

OSU vs USC at UC Irvine

Six Flags-Magic Mountain


News and notes

Grant went 4-0 at the Coach Bob National Invitational in Phoenix over Spring Break, including a comeback win in the final game, when the Generals scored four runs in the seventh inning.

Junior OF Rafferty Cruikshank had some clutch hits for Grant, and drove in nine runs in the four games in Arizona. He also hit .461 in the Grand Canyon State, a stat exceeded only by senior 3B Patrick Lawes, who hit .500.

Sophomores Elliot Raiton and Jinki Tomita and junior Kaeden Cruse all performed well on the mound for the Generals.

***

North Eugene senior C Caiden Gould has had a Midas touch throwing out baserunners to start the year. The Linfield commit has gunned down seven of the 13 trying to steal on him this year and has also back-picked two others!

***

Marshfield went 2-1 at the Hidden Valley Spring Break Tournament. The Pirates were led offensively by junior Lucas Folau, who hit .500 with four extra base hits; and sophomore Traiven Karow, an on-base machine who scored four runs and had three steals.

***

Mountain View went 4-0 in the Major Division of the San Diego Lions Tournament over Spring Break. The Cougars defeated Rancho Buena Vista, 7-1, for the championship. Junior 2B Ethan Bruce took home MVP honors, going 9-11 at the plate over four games.


STATS CATEGORIES

We debut our stats categories for 2024. The idea here is to recognize only those players achieving at the highest levels in the state of Oregon. They are not designed to produce massive, labor-intensive lists.

Any varsity baseball coach wanting to add someone to a list may email [email protected], list the category and supply the name of a player using the specific format for the category.


Going going gone goodbye!

Everyone digs the long ball.

Here, we will recognize those Oregonians who have gone yard three or more times so far this season. We will add to it in subsequent Baseball Notebooks as coaches tell us about the players who are dinger ringers.

5 -- Reid Linkmeyer, junior SS, Liberty

4 – Gavin Price, junior OF, South Salem

3 – Kaiden Roberts, senior IB/INF, Harrisburg


It’s a blur

Throwing hard in high school is the easiest way to get outs.

Here, we recognize those Oregon hurlers who hit 87 mph or higher when they get on the bump.

Drew Bartels, junior RHP, Blanchet Catholic

Blake Crawford, senior LHP, West Linn

Slater de Brun, junior LHP, Summit

Gavin Derr, senior LHP, Mountain View

Finn Edwards, senior RHP, Summit

Gabe Howard, senior RHP, West Linn

Aidan Kelly, senior RHP, Sherwood

Matt Kosderka, senior RHP, Sandy

Andy Manning, senior RHP, Sherwood

Connor Molony, junior RHP, Thurston

Connor Parry, junior RHP, Sherwood

Isaac Pfeifer, junior RHP, Tualatin

Grady Saunders, sophomore RHP, Thurston

Justin Schramm, senior RHP, Wilsonville

Kruz Schoolcraft, junior LHP, Sunset

Griffin Scott, senior LHP, Ida B. Wells

Nolan Umlandt, senior RHP, Sherwood

Alex Via, junior RHP, Summit

Mark Wiepert, junior RHP, Wilsonville


Speed merchants

In this space, we recognize Oregon baseball players who have 10 or more stolen bases at this point in the season, based on the information we have received.

18 – Braden Marthaller, freshman 1B, Toledo

15 -- Mason Koker, junior 3B, Toledo

13 -- Maddox Law, freshman OF, Toledo

13 -- Riley Tyler, freshman SS, Toledo

12 – Wilson Medina, junior OF, Sherwood

12 -- Christian Retherford, senior C, Toledo

12 – Teagan Scott, sophomore C, South Salem

11 -- Ayden Aleckson, junior OF, Toledo

10 -- Jace Bateman, senior 3B, Nyssa / Adrian

10 – Colby Crowell, sophomore C/SS, Riverside

10 -- Ramon Iniguez, senior 1B, Nyssa / Adrian

10 -- Hudson Hughes, junior C, Stayton


Get a whiff of this!

Missing bats is an art.

This list recognizes those pitchers who have fanned two or more batters per inning after a minimum of 10 innings pitched.

Drew Bartels, junior RHP, Blanchet Catholic – 24 Ks over 12 innings

Jace Bateman, senior RHP, Nyssa / Adrian – 27 Ks over 13 innings

Will Booth, junior LHP, The Dalles – 21 Ks over 10 innings

Drew Camp, junior LHP, South Umpqua -- 35 Ks over 17.1 innings

Braden Marthaller, freshman RHP, Toledo – 39 Ks over 17 innings

Grady Saunders, sophomore RHP, Thurston – 41 Ks over 20 innings

Kruz Schoolcraft, junior LHP, Sunset – 33 Ks over 16.1 innings

Sam Shaver, senior LHP, The Dalles – 22 Ks over 10.1 innings

Tyson Smith, sophomore RHP, Country Christian – 44 Ks over 21.2 innings


Wait! What?

In this space, we recognize hitters who have put up outrageous stat lines in a single game.

Tygue Barron, senior 1B, Umpqua Valley Christian – 3-for-3 with a double and four RBIs in 8-2 win over Kennedy on April 2

Drew Bartels, junior SS, Blanchet Catholic – 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBIs in March 16 win over Thomas Jefferson of Washington

Brayden Buck, junior OF, Tualatin – 3-for-4 with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored on March 15 in 6-2 win over Willamette

Dylan Cuff, junior C, Blanchet Catholic – 2-for-2 with a double, triple and five RBIs in April 2 win over Dayton

Reid Linkmeyer, junior SS, Liberty – 3-for-3 with three HRs and nine RBIs in 17-6 win, March 28 versus Milwaukie

Gavin Price, junior OF, South Salem – two three-runs homers in 9-0 win over Reynolds on March 28

Kaiden Roberts, senior 1B/2B, Harrisburg – 2-for-2 with two HRs, including a grand slam; five RBIs and three runs scored in March 16 rout of Sheridan

Teagan Scott, sophomore C, South Salem – 4-for-4 with five steals and an RBI in a 5-0 win over Tigard on March 18. Scott also threw out a would-be base stealer


Perfecto!

Below, we recognize pitchers who have thrown seven-inning no-hitters this year.

Matt Kosderka, senior RHP, Sandy – Struck out 15 and walked none (two errors) in 3-0 win over Lakeridge on April 2


.600 or better batting average

Below, we recognize those hitters who, with a minimum of 20 plate appearances, are hitting .600 or better on the season.

.714 -- Teagan Scott, sophomore C, South Salem


10 or more RBIs

Below we recognize those Oregon hitters with 10 or more runs driven in this season.

20 – Kaiden Roberts, senior 1B/INF, Harrisburg

18 – Reid Linkmeyer, junior SS, Liberty

17 -- Gavin Price, junior OF, South Salem

16 – Dylan Cuff, junior C, Blanchet Catholic

15 – Grayson Grover, senior 3B, Scappoose

15 – Drew Bartels, junior SS, Blanchet Catholic

13 – Cody Agidius, junior 1B, The Dalles

13 – Tyson Smith, junior OF, Blanchet Catholic

12 – Noah Hancock, junior 2B, Blanchet Catholic

11 – Carson McNally, junior 1B, Blanchet Catholic

10 -- Quinton Olson, junior 2B, Scappoose

10 -- Riley DuBois, junior C, Scappoose

10 – Brayden Webb, senior SS, Oakland

10 – Rafferty Cruikshank, junior OF, Grant


ERA of zero

Below we recognize pitchers with a current earned run average of zero with 10 or more innings pitched.

Drew Bartels, junior RHP, Blanchet Catholic -- zero runs over 14 innings

Will Booth, junior LHP, The Dalles – zero runs over 10 innings

Carter Nelson, senior RHP, South Salem – zero runs over 21 innings

Kruz Schoolcraft, junior LHP, Sunset – zero runs over 16.1 innings

Griffin Scott, senior LHP, Ida B. Wells, zero runs over 11 innings


College-Bound!

In this space, we list those players, in the current senior class and younger, who have signed National Letters of Intent in baseball or have made a commitment to attend a college or university of their choice. Congrats! It can be so demanding but at the same time is so rewarding.

Here are the 69 commitments that have been reported to us. Of those, 33, including 17 seniors; are going Division I, a massive number and evidence of the continued surge in baseball talent across the state.


Ben Allen, senior C, McNary -- University of Portland

Jake Allen, senior OF, McNary-- University of Portland

Fischer Barber, junior RHP, Bend – Oregon State

Jonah Barkoff, senior LHP, Lake Oswego – University of Oregon

Jaxson Bowen, senior RHP, Sherwood - Centralia CC

Blake Crawford, senior LHP, West Linn – University of Oregon

Eli Crist, senior 3B/RHP, Thurston -- Bushnell University

Gavin Derr, senior LHP, Mountain View -- Washington State

Alex Dexter, senior LHP, Lincoln – Occidental College

Nolan Donivan, senior INF/RHP, The Dalles - Lane CC

Ervin Dorsett, Jr., senior INF -- Sacramento State 

Quin Dufort, senior LHP, Ida B. Wells – University of Portland

De’Quan Duncan, senior OF, Tualatin – Mt. Hood CC

Adam Elliott, senior OF, Thurston -- Mt. Hood CC

Reuben Elliston, Sr.. OF, Grant - Centralia Community College

Jace Elzy, senior SS, North Valley - Oregon Tech 

Quintin Esmay, senior RHP/OF, Canby – Blue Mountain CC

Parker Fabrycki, senior RHP, Sherwood - Eastern Oregon University

Joe Fagan, junior SS, Scappoose - University of Portland

Reece Fisher, senior OF, Lincoln – Clark CC

Cade Gehlen, senior OF, Central Catholic – University of Portland

Will Goodman, junior INF, Bend – University of Washington

Caiden Gould, senior C - North Eugene -- Linfield University 

Calvin Gregory, junior LHP, Lakeridge – Oregon State

Grayson Grover, senior 3B/RHP, Scappoose - Southwestern Oregon CC

Luke Haener, senior RHP, Wilsonville- Regis University 

River Hamilton, junior RHP, Barlow – Oregon State

Joseph Herbert, senior 2B, Marshfield -- Simpson University 

Gabe Howard, senior RHP, West Linn – University of Oregon

Cole Katatyama-Stall, senior RHP/INF, Westview -- University of Portland

Aidan Kelly, senior RHP, Sherwood - Eastern Oregon University

John Kent, senior RHP, Grant - Kenyon College

Liam Kliever, senior C, Sherwood - Pacific University

Kheller Larson, senior INF/ RHP, Wilsonville- Arizona Christian University

Luke Larson, senior OF, Wilsonville - George Fox University 

Nykori Lewis, senior C, Tualatin – Mt. Hood CC

Glen Maduro III, senior 1B/RHP, Tualatin – Mt. Hood CC

Ethan Matsuoka, senior INF, Tualatin -- University of Portland

Mickey McClaskey, senior RHP, Jesuit – University of La Verne

Nolan McCormack, senior 1B, Tualatin – Mt. Hood CC

Nolan Miller, senior LHP, Sheldon – University of Portland

Connor Molony, junior 1B/RHP, Thurston -- University of Oregon

Jayden Nakamura, junior SS, Aloha – University of Washington

Carter Nelson, senior RHP, South Salem – University of Oregon

Sawyer Nelson, sophomore SS, South Salem – University of Washington

Connor Parry, junior RHP/1B, Sherwood - University of Portland

Gunnar Pedersen- senior INF, Westview -- Eastern Arizona College

Isaac Pfeifer, junior C, Tualatin -- Arizona State

Riley Pratt, senior RHP. Blanchet Catholic – Corban University

Trevor Ratliff, senior SS, McNary -- Umpqua CC

Berkley Reents, senior INF, Wilsonville- George Fox University 

Aiden Rice, junior INF, Central Catholic – University of Portland

Jeremiah Robbins, senior C, North Medford – Umpqua CC

Mitch Rowe, senior SS, West Linn – Centralia CC

Frankie Rutigliano, senior SS/RHP, North Medford – University of Portland

Kainoa Santiago, junior OF, Jesuit – Gonzaga University

Grady Saunders, sophomore RHP/Utility, Thurston – Oregon State

Garrett Schmokel, senior RHP, Lincoln – Everett CC

Justin Schramm, senior RHP, Wilsonville - Colorado Mesa University 

Griffin Scott, senior LHP, Ida B. Wells – University of Utah

Teagan Scott, sophomore C, South Salem – Oregon State

Bryant Starr, senior RHP/SS, Lebanon - Linn Benton CC

Nolan Umlandt, senior RHP, Sherwood – University of Portland

Ryan Vanden Brink, senior C, West Linn – Oregon State

Alex Via, junior RHP, Summit -- University of Portland

Ezra Vice, senior OF, Westview – Lane CC

Danny Wideman, junior SS/OF, West Linn – University of Oregon

Mark Wiepert, junior C/3B, Wilsonville -- Oregon State

Kellen Willer, senior RHP/1B, North Medford – Grays Harbor College

Email [email protected] to make corrections or add to this list.