OSAAtoday | Final Baseball Notebook: 2024 rocked! (2024)

Another memorable season in the books, with talent continuing to flourish in the Beaver State

The year 2024 will long be remembered for West Linn winning the 6A title for an unprecedented third straight year

In this final Notebook of 2024, find info on the state championship games. Find also complete All-State teams, our final college commitment list and our final stat leaders and stat superlatives for 2024.

It has been my absolute pleasure to cover the teams, players and coaches, and the sport itself, all season long. Thanks to the amazing coaches who support what I do with enthusiasm. You make it fun!

We are the champions!

Last Saturday, the OSAA and OnPoint Community Credit Union determined five state champions. Three of the state champions, West Linn, Thurston and Scappoose, were repeat winners, the first time ever in Oregon that three schools successfully defended their titles. One, West Linn in 6A, became the first large school ever to win three in a row. What a feat!

Only one OSAA-ranked No. 1 team, West Linn, won state. Thurston and Umpqua Valley Christian were No. 2 seeds. Scappoose and Warrenton were third seeds. There were no Cinderellas this year.

In the 6A final, Sunset, the last time in the state to lose a game, jumped on West Linn for three runs after three batters came to the plate in the top of the first. But West Linn answered with four in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of a Danny Wideman grand slam; added four more in the bottom of the second and senior right hander Gabe Howard made the lead stand up in the Lions’ 8-4 win.

Read the complete story here: https://www.osaa.org/today/article/3865/view?title=6A+baseball%3A+West+Linn+triples+up+by+doubling+up+Sunset%2C+8-4

In the 5A final, No. 2 Thurston edged No. 4 West Albany for the second straight year. The score on Saturday was 2-0. The Colts pushed two runs across in the first and that was enough for sophom*ore Grady Saunders, who shut down the Bulldogs over 6+ innings and got late relief help from Eli Crist.

Read Jesse Sowa’s complete story here: https://www.osaa.org/today/article/3861/view?title=5A+baseball+final%3A+Saunders%2C+Thurston+complete+repeat

In the 4A final, defending champion Scappoose took a significant early lead then withstood a late rally from upstart Marist Catholic to win, 5-4. Joe fa*gan went the distance for the champs and drove in a run.

Read the complete story here: https://www.osaa.org/today/article/3867/view?title=4A+baseball+final%3A++Scappoose+escapes+with+5-4+win

In the 3A final, Odin Wilson’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh broke a 5-5 tie and sent Warrenton over Brookings-Harbor for the title.

Read Jesse Sowa’s complete story here: https://www.osaa.org/today/article/3866/view?title=3A+baseball+final%3A+Warrenton+finishes+comeback+for+title

In the 2A/1A final, Umpqua Valley Christian used five straight hits to start the top of the first with four runs and held off Knappa, 13-9, in the highest-scoring small school final in 26 years.

Read the complete story here: https://www.osaa.org/today/article/3862/view?title=2A%2F1A+baseball+final%3A+UVC+fells+Loggers%2C+13-9

Final news and notes…

Warrenton’s 3A finals win was a total team effort. Of the 11 who played, three pitched and five played multiple positions.

“The game reflected how we value every guy and how we work to find roles for each one on the team,” said coach Lennie Wolfe. “In the final, every guy in the batting order had at least one meaningful time on base. Odie Wilson's steal of home was possible because Ryan Palmer, who had walked, perfectly executed a delayed steal. He drew the throw to second which allowed Odie to score. Two frosh players, RJ Thornton and Aaron Neahring, rotated as defensive players depending on who was pitching, and Palmer, also a frosh, was the DH in that spot. Our lone senior, Cam’Ron Daniels, was valuable all year as an opener on the hill, which allowed Kaison Smith to pitch middle innings without having to throw an excessive number of pitches. The top four guys in our order, Ryder Sturgell, Tyson McGrorty, Talon McGrorty and Brayden Greenawald, were the heart of our lineup all year both offensively and defensively, and they were again in the final.

“Of our bench guys, Wyatt Bond was valuable a number of times in the season at first base; Eli Neahring filled in when Zephan Pierce movedbehind the plate to give our catcher’s arm a break one week; Blake Tingstrom was one of our leading hitters all year and missed the playoffs only due to a broken finger. All 14 guys were crucial.

“I’m fortunate to have four incredible assistants: Boomer Bjaranson, Ryker Thornton, Ron Dyer and Scott Norman. In the two-week postseason run, we were able to improve because we could break practice into stations that allowed more to get done, and, as a group, we could identify and plan how to address areas of concern. We had just reviewed the delayed double steal in practice the day before, for example.

“Finally, I hope there’s room for me to acknowledge my own family. My son, daughter, their spouses and my grandchildren all love Warrenton Baseball and my guys, and are a constant source of support. My wife Michelle has run our concessions for 33 years, and has missed feeding the guys after home games just once in that time. Every player I’ve had is one of her kids, and she doesn’t let me forget that!

“I guess the point I’m trying to make isthat a Championship happens because of a collective effort, and that's why our celebration will include so many people. I'm so grateful to get the opportunity to call Warrenton my home.”

***

2A/1A champion Umpqua Valley Christian had two pitchers, Sean Simonson and Ty Hellenthal, finish with 10 wins, the second most all-time in Monarch history.

Tyler Haynes’ first-inning triple was his 10th on the season, a UVC school record.

***

St. Paul’s run to the 2A/1A quarterfinals was remarkable because the Buckaroos graduated 11 seniors off of their 1A roster and came back almost as strong. The team had 28 boys come out for baseball – that’s more than 80 percent of the male population at the school – and five freshmen played varsity this year.

The team ended the regular season playing 11 games over 10 days while missing players who also were competing in track and field. Three players won state championships at track!

All-State Selections

Below please find the All-State teams as voted on by coaches in the five classifications. The formatting will be different for each classification. Please bring errors to my attention ([emailprotected]) immediately so that I may correct them.

2024 6A All-State Baseball Team

INFIELD

1st Team

Mitch Rowe West Linn 12

Amari Reynolds Barlow 9

Trevor Ratliff McNary 12

Jayden Nakamura Aloha 11

Eli Rolfe McMinnville 12

2nd Team

Noah Boria Nelson 11

Andrew Mhoon Sprague 11

Frankie Rutigliano North Medford 12

Lucas Geren Cleveland 12

Reid Linkmeyer Liberty 11

Honorable Mention

Jaden Tragressor Lakeridge 10

Ervin Dorsett III Tualatin 12

Josh Feik South Salem 11

Sawyer Nelson South Salem 10

Max Ellerbrook Sunset 12

Gunnar Pedersen Westview 12

Landon Lea South Eugene 12

Ian Kolmer Ida B Wells 11

OUTFIELD

1st Team

Nick Vilarino Lake Oswego 12

Henry Mhoon Sprague 11

Gavin Price South Salem 11

Garrett Schmokel Lincoln 12

2nd Team

Kaz Kalish Southridge 12

Chase Austin Beaverton 9

Cody Roletto Ida B Wells 11

Wilson Medina Sherwood 11

Honorable Mention

Noah Scharer South Salem 11

Caeden Baughman Westview 12

Reese Reynolds Grants Pass 11

Tanner Steinbach Liberty 12

1ST BASE

1st Team

Kayle Pisano Clackamas 12

Carter Stewart Jesuit 11

2nd Team

Alex Pearson Tigard 11

Kellen Willer North Medford 12

Honorable Mention

Phil Curry Century 12

CATCHER

1st Team

Ryan Vanden Brink West Linn 12

Teagan Scott South Salem 10

Troy Osbourne Grants Pass 12

2nd Team

Ransom Lorenzen Barlow 12

Honorable Mention

Isaac Pfeifer Tualatin 11

Dakota Chun Sunset 11

Brode Lyman Jesuit 12

UTILITY

1st Team

Danny Wideman West Linn 11

2nd Team

Cole Katayama-Stall Westview 12

Honorable Mention

Cole Carnes Grants Pass 12

DESIGNATED HITTER

1st Team

Gabe Coltman Lincoln 11

2nd Team

Eli Breault Century 12

Honorable Mention

Peyton Moussavi West Linn 12

Kameron Splonski West Salem 12

Joey Garboden Willamette 12

Elliot Raiton Grant 10

PITCHER

1st Team

Blake Crawford West Linn 12

Gabe Howard West Linn 12

Matt Kosderka Sandy 12

River Hamilton Barlow 11

Kruz Schoolcraft Sunset 11

2nd Team

Carter Nelson South Salem 12

Parker Raubuch Sunset 10

Alex Dexter Lincoln 12

Quinn Dufort Ida B Wells 12

Nolan Umlandt Sherwood 12

Honorable Mention

Nolan McCormack Tualatin 12

Brayden Sieversten Sandy 11

Carter Hawley McNary 12

Will Slater Sunset 11

Mickey McClaskey Jesuit 12

Nolan Miller Sheldon 12

Brayden Mix McMinnville 11

RELIEF PITCHER

1st Team

Griffin Scott Ida B Wells 12

2nd Team

Julius Christensen Jesuit 12

Honorable Mention

Carson Boyer West Linn 11

Player of the Year -- Vanden Brink

Pitcher of the Year -- Howard

Coach of the Year – Joe Monahan, West Linn

2024 5A All-State Baseball Team

1st Team

Catcher

Mark Weipert, Wilsonville, 11

Joe Mendazona, Central, 9

Brady Ackerman, Canby, 11

Jackson Fera, Putnam, 12

Infield

Bryant Starr, Lebanon, 12

Eli Crist, Thurston, 12

Connor Crum, Mountain View, 12

Brock Johnson, Thurston, 10

Jackson Hertel, Ridgeview, 11

Nick Gimino, Crescent Valley, 12

Andrew Yost, West Albany, 12

Camden Hartlaub, Caldera, 11

Outfield

Adam Elliott, Thurston, 12

Luey Campos, Crescent Valley, 12

Kyle Miller, Thurston, 11

Easton Herberger, Mountain View, 12

Slater deBrun, Summit, 11

Utility

Aiden Metzker, West Albany, 12

Connor Molony, Thurston, 11

Finn Edwards, Summit, 12

Pitcher

Drew Rice, West Albany, 11

Grady Saunders, Thurston, 10

Justin Schramm, Wilsonville, 12

Alex Via, Summit, 11

Joe Scott, Canby, 12

Luke Schoeffler, Crescent Valley, 11

Collin Hernandez, Thurston, 11

2nd Team

Catcher

Jimmy Morgan, Crater, 12,

Caiden Gould, North Eugene, 12

Cameron Bruce, Crater, 11

Infield

Ian Pollard, Putnam, 11

Hayden Davis, Canby, 11

TJ Deen, Crescent Valley, 12

Jackson Rosenthal, Ashland, 12

Logan Nakamura, Ridgeview, 11

Outfield

Mateo Moore, Ashland, 12

Thomas Byler, Lebanon, 12

Talan Fery, Centennial, 12

Drew Hall, Wilsonville, 11

Utility

Ryan Carpenter, Mountain View, 9

Liam Hale, Dallas, 12

Pitcher

Logan Trivette, Ashland, 10

Jack Brauckmiller, Canby, 9

Lukas Hews, West Albany, 12

Gavin Derr, Mountain View, 12

Honorable Mention

Catcher

Wyatt Postlewait, Silverton, 11

Colton Horner, Redmond, 12

Spencer Dildine, Bend, 10

Hunter Rivers, Dallas, 10

Infield

Shannon Pando, Putnam, 12

Collin Cordle, South Albany, 11

Roy Bannister, Corvallis, 9