As the Tualatin baseball and softball teams enter into Three Rivers League play, both look prime for deep playoff runs.
The baseball team sits at 14-3 and is ranked No. 2 in the state, according to the Oregon School Activities Association, as of our press deadline. The softball team is 12-3 and ranked eighth in the state.
Here’s a look at how each team got off to their hot start this season:
Baseball
The Timberwolves baseball team is led by an impressive pitching staff. So far, Tualatin has five shutouts this season, including three in a row at one point.
Head Coach Jacob Austin said it starts with the team’s top starter, Trenton Hertzog, who was named to the All-State First Team last year as a pitcher, and is committed to play collegiately at University of Oregon.
“We’re confident in our pitching staff,” Austin said. “We feel really strong with our defense. We have a strong core behind our staff. Our infield play, our outfield play, we’re catching everything. We make that the foundation of our team.”
Along with Hertzog, Austin said the team has had stellar pitching from Ben Fong, Shane Haddad Jr. and Parker McCormack as starters, and then Cole Newton as the team’s closer.
“We’re comfortable giving any one of them the ball,” Austin said.
Hertzog and Calen Simonelic, a senior outfielder, both agree that the pitching and defense have been a strong point for the team this year.
“Our pitching has been very lights out, but I think our hitting is starting to catch up,” Simonelic said. “Now that we’re getting deeper into the season, I have full faith in everyone in our lineup to just be ready.”
Austin said he’s been pleased with his team’s play through the out-of-league schedule and hoped it would build up some momentum heading into league play.
Hertzog said the team is ready for the Three Rivers League schedule and wants to come out atop the league standings.
“We have a little fire in our system,” he said. “We’re always the team that can’t make it on top of the league.”
The Timberwolves haven’t won the Three Rivers League since joining in 2015. Their best finish was second in 2021. The last time Tualatin won a conference title was in 2014, when the Timberwolves finished atop the Pacific Conference standings.
Softball
The Tualatin softball team’s success isn’t a surprise to Head Coach Shannon Strode, but it is maybe a bit ahead of schedule.
The Timberwolves are a very young team this year. Four of the team’s 16 players are seniors, and just three are juniors.
“We’ve got a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and a lot of them are playing,” she said. “We’re still trying to figure out what works best for the team and where everyone fits. We have a small but great group of seniors really leading the team. We’re learning and growing every game.”
Unlike the baseball team, the softball team doesn’t have much of a pitching staff, but the pitching has still been strong thanks to sophomore Reese Strode, daughter of the coach. Last year, Strode was the team’s main starter as a freshman and was named All-League Second Team.
“She’s really strong and throwing all of our innings,” Shannon Strode said. “We have only one pitcher this year. She’s one of the best in the state.”
Strode said that while she has seen improvement from Reese Strode as a pitcher, the sophomore is looking to step up elsewhere this year, as well.
“Her mental toughness and her leadership have improved this year,” Shannon Strode said. “It’s hard to step in as a freshman, and vocalize your leadership when you’ve got upperclassmen. The group that we have this year embraces that. She is in the circle and she is a leader.”
Shannon Strode said senior Emalee Andrade is having a strong year for the Timberwolves.
“She really holds down our outfield for us,” she said. “She has a lot of speed and is a phenomenal leader for our team.”
One of the freshmen in the starting lineup is Gianna Paulson, who is the team’s shortstop. Tualatin dropped a game to Lake Oswego on April 24, in which the Timberwolves lost 5-3. All three runs were driven in by Paulson, who ripped a line drive over the left fielder’s head with the bases loaded to bring all three runners to the plate.
While the team is young, Strode still thinks they have the talent to compete this year.
“We think we’re one of the best teams in the state, even though we’re very young,” she said. “We’re looking to compete in every game to get experience. We have some kids who haven’t played at this level yet. They’ve played at a high level, but not at the high school varsity level, where you’re facing senior pitchers who are really strong. There’s going to be a learning curve.”
While Strode expects big things from the team this year, she’s also, obviously, excited about the young group of girls on the team and where the program is heading in the immediate future, as well.
“Their chemistry is phenomenal, and that will continue to build,” she said. “We want to finish really high this year. We think we can compete in our league. But we’re also building for the future because we’ve got such a young group.”
