Hamilton dominant so far in Boras Classic

March 14, 2024 by Jose Garcia, AZPreps365


Battery mates Boston Kellner (left) and Liam Wilson helped lift Hamilton to the Boras Classic semifinals. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365)

Snow Canyon Utah and Basic Nevada experienced what Arizona opponents often see from the Hamilton Huskies.

And it wasn’t something to write home about.

The dominant Huskies scored a combined 23 runs against Snow Canyon and Basic to kick off their 2024 Boras Classic outing. On Thursday, Hamilton blasted three homers during its 10-2 victory over Basic at Corona del Sol to advance to the tournament’s semifinals.

It may not seem fair, but Hamilton is home to two of Arizona’s best catchers, Liam Wilson and Drew Rogers, whose bats launched the homers. To boot, they are both intelligent, as Wilson is a Harvard University commit, and Rogers, a Georgia Tech pledge, was last year’s maxpreps’ Baseball Player of the Year in Minnesota.

“We made a mistake today, but we’ve played a lot better defense these last two games,” Hamilton’s skipper, Mike Woods, said. “Our bats have been really good. We’ve been swinging it really well these last couple of games. We’ve been swinging well all year as a matter of fact. But we’ve hit some home runs in the last two games.”

That mistake led to an unearned run.

But junior hurler Boston Kellner allowed just three hits during Hamilton’s dominant performance against Basic. Kellner also had two hits from the leadoff spot.

The junior was throwing his fastball for strikes in different counts during his complete game performance.

There’s also depth on this year’s roster for Woods. The No. 6 hitter for the Huskies, Ben Ball, had himself a day.

The right fielder threw out a runner at home with Hamilton holding a 3-2 lead to end the top of the fourth inning threat. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, Ball’s two-out RBI double helped his team regain the momentum and up its lead to 5-2.

Ben Ball had plenty of reasons to celebrate Thursday. (Jose Garcia/azpreps365) Wilson also threw out a runner. The four-year starter, a remarkable feat for a catcher at 9-time state champ Hamilton, hit two home runs and drove in four runs.

His solo shot went to the opposite field, over the right field fence, in the first inning. Wilson went with the outside pitch, which Woods praised, as Basic was at times throwing away from Hamilton’s hitters.

Wilson may have picked up a pointer or two from his dad, Stephen, an international crosschecker for the Yankees.

“We’ve got guys all throughout the lineup, one through nine,” Wilson said. “We don’t have a drop off in our lineup at all. I think that’s one of the things that really separates us from other teams. We have guys that can pick each other up at any time, and we have trust in our teammates. We’ve got great team chemistry.”

Backing Wilson in the lineup is Rogers, the cleanup hitter.

Wilson and Rogers share the backstop duties, but Rogers and Kellner are the two main arms for Hamilton as well. Against Basic, Rogers’s bat did all the talking this time.

He was on base four times and uncorked a three-run shot way over the left field fence in the sixth inning.

It’s truly an embarrassment of riches for the Huskies. The team did lose twice, however, before the Boras Classic.

It lost 6-3 to a very good 7-1 Sandra Day O’Connor team, and miscues hurt Hamilton during another defeat to another solid program, Corona del Sol. But 5-2 Hamilton seems to be back on track.

To continue its successful trek in the Boras Classic, it will play La Cueva New Mexico on Friday with a trip to the Boras final on the line.