HRV eyes another baseball state playoff run

“I think this year’s roster is deeper … with as solid of athletic baseball players as I’ve had since I’ve been here. The floor of the roster is quite high,” he said. “We’ve got some guys coming back with experience and that always helps.”

The seven seniors include Grady Williams, who was a second-team, all-Northwest Oregon Conference pick as an infielder, along with first baseman Jordan Webber. The left-handed Webber was an honorable mention all-NWOC selection as a pitcher. Other seniors include catcher/outfielder Ethan Rivera, outfielder Coeur Fellows, infielder/pitcher Hunter Duckwall, first baseman/outfielder Gionni Villalobos, and outfielder Brycen Lauritsen.

“The senior group tends to have a huge influence on the look of the team and how the team functions and performs,” Reitz added. “We’ve got seven quality senior kids; last year we had two trying to carry that load.”

Hood River Valley finished in fourth place in its first season in the NWOC in 2023 with a 14-12 overall record, 9-8 in NWOC games. The Eagles qualified for the state playoffs, losing 4-3 in the first round to eventual champion Thurston High of Springfield. Five NWOC teams — also Wilsonville, Canby, LaSalle Prep, and Putnam — qualified for state.

Hood River has qualified for state every year since 2014, excluding the two COVID-affected seasons in 2020 and 2021.

“We’ll rely on depth a lot this year; depth all over the field; depth of hitters, versatility in our position player group and depth of kids that we believe we can get on the mound and trust to throw strikes,” said Reitz.

That includes Williams, who will move to centerfield. “He’s going to transfer to the outfield as his primary position,” Reitz said. “It is important to me to note that Traner Field has a huge outfield, and our centerfielder really needs to be able to run and it’s really important that you have someone out there who is athletic and can really cover some ground.”

Williams, who will play baseball next season at Santa Barbara Community College, will join Webber in HRV’s pitching rotation.

The Eagles will travel to Arizona for four games over spring break. Between now and then are some tough Oregon opponents, including the team’s scheduled games against Scappoose and Pendleton, who finished 1-2 in the Class 4A playoffs last season.

“This is, by far, the toughest scheduled we’ve ever played in the three years I’ve been here,” said Reitz, who was an assistant for a season. “Counting the Arizona games, we play 17 road games and only 10 home games.”

The playoff road begins March 11 at a jamboree at Sandy High, followed by a seven-inning test at Scappoose on March 13.