ONCE AGAIN, SAINTS BUILT FOR SUCCESS

The Saints baseball team has had a phenomenal season so far with a record of 22-9 (12-4 in conference play), and has climbed into a first-place tie with Linn-Benton Community College with just four games remaining.

Veteran head coach Bryan Donohue has continually led Mt. Hood to regional titles, and this season could be no different.

“We’ve been dealing with some injuries lately that have caused us to adjust some things here and there,” the coach remarked. “But the guys are playing good right now and I think more than anything else we’re just trying to get excited for the opportunity of finishing strong, hopefully winning a (South) region title.”

The Saints host Clark College in a double header Friday (games start at 4 and 7 p.m.) in their final games at Oslund Field, then play the Penguins twice again Saturday in Vancouver. 

Donohue was asked the keys to the team’s run this season.

“We’ve hit really well. Our offense has been consistently one of our best successes,” he said. “We’ve done a really good job of scoring runs consistently. Our defense has also proved to step up in big situations. We’ve had some individual pitching performances that have been pretty special to get us the win against some teams we’ve really battled against.”  

Pitching staffs at this college level are typically between eight and 10 guys, but a few Mt. Hood pitchers have really stood out, the coach said.

“Dawson Day (second in the NWAC with 91 strikeouts on the season) is one of our proficient pitchers who has also led our team in hitting (as an outfielder, batting .434 in South Region play). He’s been solid this season – dominant, really.

“We have had some other guys like Tyler Elliot, who stepped into a starting role for us and has been pitching consistently for us. Our closer Tucker Grote (five saves, with a 1.67 ERA) has also stepped up in some huge roles. He’s battling some arm issues right now but we hope to have him back by the end of this week.” Donohue paused to reflect for moment. “It’s been a lot of different guys on different days that have been asked to step up and do a job for us and have really followed through, to execute,” he said.

With a program that has been so consistently successful through the years, it’s not a surprise that there are prospects on the Saints roster looking at moving on to play at the four-year university level.

“Most of our sophomores will be moving on. A lot of them are still trying to decide where they’re going to end up going. There are some pretty good universities that some guys are getting recruited by,” Donohue said. “Day is getting recruited by some big Division I schools; he’s trying to figure out what he wants to do.”

Already, pitcher Tyler Elliot has signed to play at Montana State-Billings, and outfielder Brian Rice has signed at the University of Jamestown, in North Dakota, said Donohue. “There are a handful of other guys that are talking with schools and just trying to figure out what the best spot for them is.” 

In summing up the Saints, Donohue added, “I think the biggest thing about our team is that we’ve shown depth, not only on the mound but as an offensive team, too. It’s been fun to work with because they’re a lot of guys who just do what they need to do to help us succeed in every game.”

The Mt. Hood freshmen have also contributed to the team’s momentum. The Advocate was able to interview a pair of first-year players. “The way we practice really leads us to success,” said outfielder Trevor Bentley. “We have a high intensity environment – we’re also a family.”

Bentley recalled a highlight earlier this week when the Saints played Everett on the road. “We had one inning left and we were down 3-1 and then we ended up scoring five, just like that,” he said. “We all just stepped up and contributed to play the team game.” 

Pitcher Koben Jamison said, “As a team, hitting-wise, when we get going, we go strong. We’re able to hit the ball well. Defensive-wise we’re pretty solid in the middle of the field. Our outfield covers all of it really well. Our pitching staff is playing great too, all of them.”  

If there was one thing one could say to size up the Saints in 2019, Jamison said, “We’re a blue collar team and we work hard.”