Colton Smith was named the baseball team’s Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year during the team’s annual awards banquet held Thursday, June 6.
Offensively, the senior was always a threat at the plate and always gave his team a good chance to win when he was on the mound, said Coach John Best. Smith led the team in hitting, averaging .441 in league and .384 overall, with 29 runs and 28 RBIs. He tied the school record with 24 RBIs in league play, and he hit three home runs.
He threw a school record 0.69 earned run average and went 6-1 in league play, with a no-hitter against Woodburn. He had 1.89 overall earned run average and went 8-3 on the season, pitching 63 innings and striking out 64 batters.
He was voted the Oregon West Conference Player of the Year and was second-team all-state as a pitcher. He was voted into the 4A All-Star Series.
Defensive Player of the Year went to senior Nate Virtue. Best said he was a “defensive stud” at third base. At bat, Virtue hit .403 in league and .388 on the year, with 25 runs, 17 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He had 67 at bats in league, a school record. On the mount, Virtue had a 2.38 earned run average with four wins. He threw 47 innings and struck out 26. He was voted into the All-Star Series.
Junior Travis Thorpe was the team’s Most Improved. Best said Thorpe started out well, and then he got even better.
He hit .300 in league, with a huge RBI in playoffs against La Grande, Best said. At catcher, he threw out 12 potential base stealers, nine of them in league, tying the school record.
Junior Zach Luttmer received the team’s Hustle Award.
“I would consider Zach our leader in the infield,” Best said. He is a “super hard worker,” competitive and harder on himself than any coach.
Luttmer started off the year hitting the ball hard, Best said – “just right at defenders.”
That was frustrating for him, but he ended up having a good year, Best said. He hit .326 in league and .294 on the season with 33 runs and 15 RBIs.
He is “always working hard, taking extra balls after practice, hitting in the cages,” Best said. He “just loves playing the game the right way.”
Sophomore Aiden Tyler was the Rookie of the Year. He mostly played second base and often pitched in relief. Tyler started one game against Woodburn and played a few innings at first base. He hit .385 in league and .333 on the year with 24 runs and 18 RBIs. He had a 3.2 earned run average in 19 2/3 innings and struck out 18 batters.
Sweet Home finished the season 13-5 and second in league behind Newport, finishing 17-10 overall. The Huskies swept three teams in league, including Woodburn, Stayton and Sisters. They had a shot for the league title in the final game of the regular season against Newport.
They moved on to shut out La Grande 2-0 in the first round of state playoffs.
“That was an amazing win,” Best said. Two years ago, Sweet Home ended its season at La Grande. “We wanted that one bad.”
The season ended with an 8-1 loss at home to Astoria in the second round. Astoria went on to lose 9-3 to Henley in the third round. Banks beat Henley 3-1 for the state championship.
Sweet Home’s players set lofty goals, Best said.
“Though we didn’t meet those, I feel the varsity season was very successful.”
As a team, in league, the Huskies batted .333; scoring 148 runs, a school record; and collecting 122 RBIs. They had 163 hits on 469 at bats, a school record.
The pitching staff had a 2.73 earned run average with 89 strikeouts and 64 walks on 112 2/3 innings.
On the season, the Huskies batted .306 with 195 runs and 160 RBIs. They had 227 hits with 45 extra base hits. They had 52 steals and were caught just six times. Overall, they had a 3.26 earned run average on 175 2/3 innings with 146 strikeouts and 94 walks.
First-year lettermen were seniors Austin Olin and Seth Gaylord; junior Cole Mizsei; and sophomores Treyson Smith, Dawson Armstrong and Aiden Tyler.
Earning their second letters were senior Nate Jeppsen and juniors Gavin Nichols, Zach Luttmer, Travis Thorpe and Zach Zanona.
Third-year lettermen were seniors Colton Smith and Nate Virtue.