Clackamas, Lakeridge, Putnam, Gladstone baseball ready to battle in 2022
No one has waited longer for a return to normalcy.
Clackamas County's high school baseball players — after losing the entire 2020 season to COVID-19 restrictions and seeing 2021 limited to just six weeks with no state championship — are back to normalcy in 2022 for the first time since this year's seniors were freshmen.
With that as pretext, the varsity teams at Lake Oswego, Lakeridge, Oregon City, West Linn, Clackamas, Nelson, La Salle, Milwaukie, Putnam, Wilsonville and Gladstone are ready to go, a group that includes returning league champions from Clackamas, Lakeridge, Putnam and Gladstone.
Read more about each team's 2022 prospects below.
Three Rivers League
Lake Oswego
Head coach: Jake Anders
2021 record: 6-5 in TRL play, 9-9 overall
2022 outlook: "I believe we have a team that by the end of the year will be very competitive and will be a challenge for anyone to play." — Jake Anders
League contenders: Lakeridge, Lake Oswego.
Top pitchers: Senior Blaise Heher, senior Carson Bush
Top players: Senior infielder/pitcher Andrew Wong, senior infielder Asher Abreu, senior first baseman Kellen Krebs, junior left fielder Grant Maxwell, senior outfielder Blaise Heher, senior outfielder Carson Bush
Lakeridge
Head coach: Ray Pearson
2021 record: 10-0 in TRL play, 15-2 overall
2022 outlook: "I think our hope for the year is to compete in a very tough Three Rivers League, to just battle and take it one game at a time." — Ray Pearson
League contenders: West Linn, Lake Oswego, Tualatin, Lakeridge
Top pitchers: Senior Zach Johnson, senior Gus Rogers, junior Paul Wilson, junior Erik Hoffberg
Top players: Senior catcher Mason Utech, senior second baseman/shortstop Dawson Santana, senior second baseman/shortstop Zach Johnson, senior outfielder Alan Dechard, senior third baseman Beau Spiekerman
Oregon City
Head coach: Justin Bugni
2021 record: 1-6 in TRL play, 5-9 overall
2022 outlook: "We have the talent and experience to make some noise in the most difficult league in the state." — Justin Bugni
League contenders: Lakeridge, West Linn, Lake Oswego
Top pitchers: Junior Dane Lais, senior Dylan Ha, senior Colin Grimmer
Top players: Sophomore catcher Ryder Loftis, senior first baseman Autie Oistad, sophomore outfielder Jack Turnquist
West Linn
Head coach: Joe Monahan
2021 record: 6-6 in TRL play, 11-8 overall
2022 outlook: "We are still pretty young in some key positions but feel overall we have some pretty good talent and should be in mix to contend for a league championship. There are a ton of really good teams in our league so we will have to bring it every game to have a chance of winning." — Joe Monahan
League contenders: Lakeridge, Lake Oswego, Tualatin, Tigard
Top pitchers: Junior Drew Talavs, sophomore Gabe Howard, senior Wyatt Norris, junior Drake Gabel, senior Jacob Moss
Top players: Sophomore catcher Ryan Vandenbrink, senior shortstop Kace Naone, junior utility Max Wright, junior first baseman Jake Holmes, junior third baseman Jackson Curdy, senior center fielder Barret Brundage, senior right fielder Spencer Sullivan, senior outfielder/pitcher Jordy Tawa
Mt. Hood Conference
Clackamas
Head coach: J.J. Winkle
2022 outlook: "We are senior laden (with a) lot of experience." — J.J. Winkle
League contenders: Central Catholic, Barlow, Sandy, Clackamas
Nelson
Head coach: Corey Davis
2022 outlook: "We are very young with zero varsity experience, (but we're) making developmental strides every day." — Corey Davis
League contenders: Clackamas, Barlow, Central Catholic
Northwest Oregon Conference
La Salle
Head coach: Nate Fogle
2021 record: 7-1 in NWOC play, 13-6 overall
Outlook: "We graduated a lot of good seniors and have a bunch of new faces on our varsity team. We're going to be a team that focuses on getting better every time we step on the field, and be our best version at the end of the year." — Nate Fogle
Top pitchers: Junior Finbar O'Brien, senior Aidan O'Brien, senior Owen Cote, senior Devin Poling
Top Players: Junior shortstop Finbar O'Brien, senior center fielder Aidan O'Brien, senior right fielder Devin Poling, senior first baseman Aiden McGuire, junior outfielder Sawyer Chalmers
Milwaukie
Head coach: Terrell Ayo
2021 record: 5-5 in NWOC play, 9-7 overall
2022 outlook: "This year, the team is very young with mostly sophomores and juniors with freshmen to be sprinkled in." Terrell Ayo
League contenders: Wilsonville, Putnam, Scappoose
Top pitchers: Junior Kaden Harris, junior Andrew Deleon, sophomore Gavin Lyski
Top players: Junior pitcher/shortstop/catcher Kaden Harris, junior pitcher/shortstop
Andrew Deleon, sophomore pitcher/catcher Gavin Lyski, sophomore first baseman/outfielder Trevor Olsen
Rex Putnam
Head coach: Chad McGowan
2021 record: 9-3 in NWOC play, 10-5 overall
2022 outlook: "We have some talented guys in the right spots. If we stay healthy, we should end up somewhere near the top of the NWOC." — Chad McGowan
League contenders: La Salle, Wilsonville, Rex Putnam
Top pitchers: Junior Leo Renzema, junior Terrence Cheyne, senior Vinny Salvione
Top players: Senior shortstop Vinny Salvione, sophomore first baseman/pitcher Jackson Fera, freshman second baseman/shortstop Ian Pollard, junior utility Elliot Carrillo
Wilsonville
Head coach: Bryn Card
2021 record: 7-7
2022 outlook: "(We) will compete for a league title and are looking for a top eight bid into the 5A playoffs." — Bryn Card
League contenders: Wilsonville, La Salle, Putnam
Top pitchers: Junior Jacob Ogden, senior Matthew Gomez, senior Keenan Sanford, sophomore Justin Schramm
Top players: Senior shortstop Cole Hubka (Utah commit), senior catcher Max Bledy (University of the Pacific commit), senior outfielder Rochne Beecham (Pacific Lutheran commit), junior outfielder Jacob Ogden
Tri-Valley Conference
Gladstone
Head coach: Casey Webster
2021 record: 11-2 in TVC play, 11-4 overall
2022 outlook: "We are looking to improve on last season's record with a good nucleus of returners." — Casey Webster
League contenders: North Marion, Estacada
Top pitchers: Junior Hayden Smith, senior Ethan Walch, junior Brysen Bryan
Top players: Junior outfielder Bradye Owen, senior catcher Garrett Finch, junior third baseman Asher Gonzolez
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