HAWKS A HIT

HOUSTON — When Mitch Montreuil arrived as a freshman at Houston High School four years ago, Montreuil couldn’t help but be disappointed. Montreuil was a baseball player attending a school with no baseball team.

But things have changed, and Montreuil and his classmates finally had a chance to hit the baseball diamond in a Hawks uniform before they bid farewell to Houston High.

“I came in playing baseball my whole life,” the Houston senior said. “It was disappointing, so I talked to all of the teachers seeing if we were going to start a program. When I heard that we were starting a program, I got really excited and just rounded up as many players as possible.”

Last year, Houston resurrected a program that had been dead for several seasons, playing a junior varsity schedule. But this season, the Hawks have been a hit on the varsity ranks.

The Hawks started the 2010 campaign with a 10-0 record in junior varsity games and graduated its 13 players to a varsity schedule. Since, the Hawks have scored wins over Valley rivals Wasilla and Palmer, and debuted what they hope is an annual season-ending tourney for programs from Alaska small schools, the Houston Invitational Tournament, which started Thursday at Houston High School.

On Friday, Montreuil helped Houston improve to 2-0 in the tourney and 6-2 as a varsity program with a 27-1 drubbing of Monroe Catholic during the second day of the Houston tourney. Montreuil finished 3-for-4 with five RBI and four runs scored. The captain tripled twice for a Hawks team that collected 18 hits during the five-inning win.

“We’re a contact hitting team,” Montreuil said. “We just want to make contact and put it into play.”

Montreuil was one of five Hawks to record a triple in the game and one of two to drive in five runs.

“We’re a pretty fast team,” said sophomore Russ Ruta, who grabbed one of Houston’s six three-baggers in the win. “We can use that to our advantage.”

Ruta also drove in five runs in the game, scored four runs and finished a home run short of the cycle. Sophomore Josh Grissom was 4-for-5 at the plate, with three RBI and three runs scored. Greg Schmidt was 2-for-3, with four RBI and three runs scored.

Schmidt and leadoff hitter Scott Kramer also tripled in the win.

Houston took the early lead in the first when Montreuil tripled and scored on a Grissom single. Ruta followed with a double that scored Grissom during a three-run first inning for the Hawks.

After Monroe cut Houston’s lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the first, the Hawks blew open the game with five runs in the second. Cody Reddish drove in a pair of runs in the inning and Patrick Fitzgerald posted a run-scoring single.

Houston scored six times in a third inning highlighted by run-scoring triples by both Ruta and Schmidt.

Schmidt also cleared the bases with a bases loaded double during Houston’s nine-run sixth inning.

Supported by plenty of offense, Ruta worked quickly on the mound, allowing only one run on five Monroe hits.

“I felt good,” Ruta said. “I kept my pace up.”

Monroe tagged Ruta for its lone run, turning a leadoff infield single into a first-inning score. Three of Monroe’s five hits came during the first inning.

On Thursday, senior Zack Qual used a walk-off single to give Houston a 3-2 extra-innings win over Homer during the opening day of the round-robin tournament.

“Both teams played hard and it came right down to the end,” Montreuil said.

Houston took the early lead over the Mariners when Grissom drove in Montreuil during the first inning. Homer tied the score at 1 in the fifth, and took the 2-1 lead in the sixth with a run-scoring triple.

In the bottom of the sixth, Fitzgerald posted an RBI-single to drive in Ruta and tie the score at 2. The Hawks had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh, but failed to push across the run after loading the bases with just one out. Qual came through for the Hawks in the eighth to give Houston the win.

Nate Graber made the start on the mound against Homer. Graber fanned six and didn’t allow an earned run through 5 1/3 innings. Montreuil earned the win in relief, recording three strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.

The weekend marks the final stretch of high school baseball for Houston seniors such as Montreuil and Qual. But with a talented crop of young players, Montreuil sees a promising future for Houston baseball.

“It’s nice to lay the foundation for the school, start something new,” Montreuil said. “All the classes coming up have good athletes, good potential.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.