PREPS: Cleveland baseball surprises with sweep of Grant

Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 7, 2016

The surprise team in Portland Interscholastic League after two rounds?

“I don’t think anyone expected much from us,” says Cleveland High senior Cray Hamilton.

But in back-to-back games against Grant, a team several coaches picked to finish second in the PIL, Hamilton and the Warriors delivered.

Cleveland held off the Generals 4-3 Wednesday at Powell Park, 24 hours after they rallied in the seventh inning at Grant to win the teams’ league opener 8-4.

Hamilton hit a tying home run with one out in the Cleveland seventh on Tuesday, and he got the win on the mound on Wednesday, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up two runs, one earned.

The Warriors led 3-0 on Wednesday and were up 4-1 through six innings, but Grant almost pulled out a win. The Generals had runners on second and third when junior Riley Oh struck out AJ Atherton to end the game.

“We’re a young team, so in preseason we just wanted to gain a lot of experience,” says Oh of the Warriors, who were 2-5 in nonleague games. “League is the only thing that matters, and we’re 2-0, so it’s going pretty good so far.”

The Warriors will get another test on Thursday, though, when they visit Madison for the first of two games against the Senators. That will be a chance to see if they can continue their more aggressive approach.

“We’ve been talking about us growing up and making momentum happen,” Cleveland coach Robbie Trebelhorn says. “Taking it to the other team and keeping that energy for the entire game.

“You don’t sit back and let the game come to you. You go get it. Momentum and energy are big in high school ball, and they can be contagious.”

Cleveland has a few other things going for it. In addition to the youth, the Warriors have a solid corps of returnees, including starting pitchers Hamilton, senior Collin Williams and junior Eli Morse, along with infielder Oh and junior catcher Ethan Gilhuly. And the Warriors have interchangeable parts, with most everyone capable of playing multiple positions. From game to game, and even in the middle of a game, Trebelhorn can shift around his entire infield or outfield, and he has multiple catching options available.

“Our team is really versatile,” Oh says.

“We’ve got guys who can play pretty much anywhere,” says Hamilton.

For most of the game on Wednesday, Morse played first base, Williams handled second, Oh was at shortstop and freshman Jacob Cobb covered third. When Oh went to the hill, Williams moved to third, Morse moved to short, Cobb slid across to second and freshman Jacob Healy played first.

The Warriors outfield consisted of twin juniors Dawson Currin and Riley Currin in left and center field and junior Logan Murphy Noren in right. “The Currins are lightning fast and cover the gaps,” Trebelhorn says.

Six of Cleveland’s eight juniors are new to the varsity. One of them, Noah Elkin, is 6 for 10, and helps give the Warriors options on offense.

“We’ve got a revolving door at designated hitter/pinch hitter,” Trebelhorn says.

The list includes sophomore Quinn Samolidis, Healy and Terrell Cunningham.

“So far those guys have made me look really smart,” Trebelhorn says.

The Warriors’ only seniors are Hamilton and Williams. Five freshmen are in the mix, along with two sophomores.

Weather conditions were as much of a challenge as youth in March for the Warriors. Like with many Portland teams, Cleveland had little chance to play or practice according to plan. Wednesday’s game was the first time this season the Warriors have been able to suit up at Powell Park.

Early losses to Tualatin, 5-0, and Sunset, 10-1, and at Mountain View, 11-1, didn’t indicate that the Warriors were ready to do anything special, but Trebelhorn says his team was hitting the ball well, even in defeat. On the plus side, Cleveland got 9-1 preseason victories on the road against South Albany and Newberg.

The big blow came Tuesday at Grant, where Hamilton smacked the first pitch over the fence in left field for his first career home run.

“At first I got the take sign, but then he (Trebelhorn) wiped it out, and I swung at the first pitch, a fastball low and inside, and pulled it down the line,” Hamilton says.

Coming into Wednesday’s game, “I kept the intensity from yesterday and kept the confidence going,” Hamilton says. “And our defense was there to pick me up today. I was trying to make Grant hit ground balls and pop-ups and pitch to contact.”

Coming out in the seventh was no problem for Hamilton.

“I was happy Riley got the close for me,” he says.

Oh gave up three walks, but he retired the final batter with a strike that had him called out on a checked swing.

“I was just trying to hit the outside corner all inning,” he says. “I was rushing it a little for a while.”

Hamilton was the key, Oh says, both on the mound and at the plate.

“Cray was amazing — he did everything. I would give all the credit to him,” Oh says.

On Tuesday, it was Williams who kept the Warriors in the game.

“He pitched a gem,” Trebelhorn says. “We spotted them two runs and gave them another one.”

Cleveland doesn’t have a lot of seasoned relief pitching, but the coach says he has faith in Oh, for various reasons.

“Riley has ice in his veins,” Trebelhorn says. “He’s an unassuming, quiet guy, but he puts the ball where it needs to be.”

Last year, Cleveland finished fifth in the eight-team PIL, going 7-10 in league and 9-13 overall.

Grant beat the Warriors 4-3 at Powell Park in the final game of the regular season. That kept Cleveland out of the state playoffs.

“So to come back and sweep them feels pretty good,” Hamilton says.

A big different is the physical state of the team.

“We’re healthy,” Trebelhorn says.

That wasn’t the case at times a year ago, when some key players battled injuries.

“Being healthy puts us in a good position to be competitive,” Trebelhorn says.

Team chemistry helps, too. The Warriors have a weekly lunch together down the street and are bonding as they go along.

In the PIL, defending champion Lincoln appears to be a dominant team again. But second place and all four automatic berths to the Oregon School Activities Association playoffs look like they’ll be up for grabs nearly all season.

Going into Thursday and the third round of PIL play, Lincoln, Wilson, Franklin and Cleveland are 2-0, with Grant, Madison, Roosevelt and Benson 0-2, but all but Benson having the material to contend.

“Going into the season, I wasn’t sure how good we were going to be,” Hamilton says. “I was wondering. But I think we can play with a lot people.”

sbrandon@portlandtribune.com