First-year American Legion head coach Matt Eby admits that the 2015 season will be one of excitement as he stacks his roster with an experienced Columbia Gorge ‘AAA’ Hustlers group that is looking to advance further than the Super Regionals last year’s squad did. With players like Nolan McCall, Clay Copper and Austin Wilson, the 2014 Hustlers lost two games to Wilson Alpenrose to have their season cut short.
With returners Colton Walker, Colin Noonan, Payton Eaton, Steven Bartells, coupled with newcomers Chris Trunkey, Kam Walker, Patrick Harvey and Andrew Roberts, the Hustlers have a group that is very formidable.
“I am looking forward to working with the guys,” Eby said. “Everybody is excited to play and get after it. We have good team speed and we have some guys that have some power in the lineup. Pitching will be the key to our success. We got guys who can throw on the mound.”
Added to the roster this year are Eli Holeman, Kellen Mathisen, Ross Kohl, Dawson Hoffman, Dylan DesRochers and J.C. Cline, so Eby not only has skill at several positions, but depth.
Much of that depth is on the mound, where Harvey and Kam and Colton Walker provide as good of a 1-2-3 punch as any state team.
Some other players like Trunkey, Boston Bate, Ross Kohl will earn some mound time through the season, so it gives new pitching coach Connor Mathisen and assistant Chris Loyd a lot of maneuverability with matchups.
“Everybody is going to get their chance until district tournament time when we see who the top pitchers are. We want our guys to compete hard, put pitches in the zone and let the defense work behind them,” Connor Mathisen said. “That is the key. We need to work hard on playing hard defense and help our pitchers.”
Offensively, the ‘AAA’ Hustlers have an ability to hit the long ball, and also create scoring opportunities with hitters who have an ability to find gaps in the outfield and holes across the infield.
Trunkey, Kohl, Hoffman and Noonan give the team speed at the top of the order, and Kellen Mathisen, Colton Walker, DesRochers, Walker and Harvey add some run-scoring ability with their hitting prowess.
Eby will have hitting instructor Doug Sawyer working with the batters, so he is feeling good about what this team can do.
In their first game of the season, the Hustlers pounded out 16 hits against Yakima, Wash., so that effort serves as a first step.
“I think our offense is going to be great. We have a lot of talented players here,” said Trunkey, out of Goldendale, Wash. “We need to work on making contact and having good at-bats. We are going to play some tough teams, but I think we have a good team that can do some damage. As long as we stay together and play for each other, we should win a lot of games.”
Looking ahead, the Hustlers have a challenging schedule ahead of them in the opening month of the season with contests versus Corvallis, Walla Walla, Wash., NW Star, West Linn and North Marion.
By the time July rolls around on the calendar, positions and depth charts will be more solidified.
“The first thing you have to do is see where the guys are going to stand. It will take time to get to know this team and see how they respond in game situations,” Eby said. “I am looking forward to evaluating the talent to see where our strengths are. Watching them and evaluating them dictates the roster and the offense we are going to use. As long as we execute the fundamentals of the game, move guys over and do those types of things, we should score some runs.”
Instead of a district tournament, the AAA Hustlers will compete in a playoff game and a state play-in game with wins garnering a state playoff berth.
“Our ultimate goal is to play in the state tournament and see how far we can go. In the state tournament, we will face a pretty good level of play,” Holeman said. “It is good for our guys to play against guys their age or older. This season should be fun. I think we should do well.”
Up next, the Hustlers (0-1 overall) host Richland, Wash. at 5:30 p.m. Thursday evening at Quinton Street Ballpark for two games.
At noon Saturday, CG hosts Alpenrose for two league games.
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