College Report: Ex-LCC player George leads OSU
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 6:20 AM PDT
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleFormer Lower Columbia College baseball player Drew George is having a senior season to remember at Oregon State University.
George, who is hitting a team-leading .429 with 12 runs batted in, belted a pair of home runs and knocked in a career-high six runs as the two-time defending NCAA champion Beavers routed San Diego State 22-3 earlier this month.
The Lebanon, Ore., native drilled a two-run homer in the third inning from the left side of the plate, and belted a grand slam from the right side in the sixth inning to give him three circuit clouts in his two seasons at OSU.
George finished with four hits, including two singles, to give another ex-LCC player, Josh Keller, his first OSU victory in relief. Keller pitched 2 1/3 innings, striking out five and allowing two hits.
Keller has a 2-0 record with a 3.00 earned run average. In nine innings, he has allowed seven hits while notching 11 strikeouts and giving up three walks. Castle Rock High grad and former LCC pitcher Kyle Foster has made two appearances for the Beavers (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 1/3 innings).
Kelso's Taylor Starr, a freshman pitcher at OSU, also has a 0-0 record with a spotless ERA. In three appearances over three innings, he has walked three and struck out one.
Former R.A. Long High and LCC outfielder Jonah Hobson is hitting .292 with 12 RBIs and has started 13 of the 14 games he has appeared in with the Hawaii Pacific University baseball team.
Hobson, a redshirt junior who missed last season with a high-ankle sprain, was a standout in a recent doubleheader sweep of California State University-Dominguez Hills. He finished 4-for-7 with an RBI in the opener, and went 2-for-3 with four RBIs in the nightcap.
Kelso High and LCC grad Cort Carpenter, now a junior at the University of Portland, has started seven of 15 games he has appeared in, and is hitting .147 with seven RBIs for the Pilots.
Tony Polis, a freshman pitcher/infielder at the University of Puget Sound, has started in three of four games he has appeared in, and is hitting .364 with a double and an RBI. A Mark Morris graduate, Polis has pitched less than an inning and has a 13.50 earned run average.
Another MM product, freshman pitcher/third baseman Matt Argyropoulos, is hitting .250 with three RBIs in three of seven games he has appeared in at Washington State University. He also has a 0-0 record with a 2.84 earned run average on the mound, and has allowed eight hits, struck out four and walked three in six innings.
Travis Jewett, a former LCC first baseman, is an associate head coach at Washington State University.
Two other former MM standouts are making contributions on their respective college teams.
Ryan Lewis is a junior outfielder hitting .240 with a home run and 14 RBIs as a starting outfielder at Western Oregon University, and Mac Collette is a sophomore infielder with freshman eligibility at Whitworth. In the 12 games he has started, Collette is hitting .231 with two RBIs.
Another Western Oregon player, ex-LCC catcher Tony Jones, has started 10 of 14 games he has appeared in and is hitting .152.
A pair of former LCC pitchers are members of the University of Washington staff this season.
Jorden Merry is a junior with a 2-0 record and a 1.98 ERA. In four appearances spanning 14 innings, he has allowed 12 hits, struck out 14 and walked six. Paul Dickey, also a junior, is 0-0 with a 2.00 ERA. In nine innings, he has given up seven hits, struck out seven and walked one.
Three ex-LCC hurlers are members of the Concordia University pitching staff.
Jason Grisham is a senior with a 1-1 record, a save and a 9.53 ERA; Myles Stratton is a junior with no record and a 27.00 ERA; and Chris Williamson is a junior who hasn't appeared in a game this season.
Missouri Western University in St. Joseph has a pair of former LCC players.
Billy Jones is a senior left-handed pitcher with an 0-1 record and a 5.73 ERA, and
Jesse Gibson is a junior infielder who hasn't played this season.
Ex-LCC outfielder Ben Greenslitt is a senior outfielder at Gonzaga University.
A pair of former area prep standouts are redshirt non-participants with their respective teams. Woodland's Seth Drake is working out at St. Martin's University, and Ilwaco's Anthony Wirkkala is a freshman with the Central Washington University pitching staff.
Rick McCorkle is a sportswriter for The Daily News. If you know of a local athlete in college sports who hasn't been mentioned in this report, contact him at 577-2529 or
rickmc@tdn.com
Past Month's Most Commented Stories