RIDGEFIELD — It wasn’t on their home turf or under the bright lights of a Division I stadium, but as the Washington Huskies celebrated their victory over Portland on Tuesday, Washington coach Eddie Smith was all smiles regardless.
“This is home,” Smith said. “The state of Washington is home, but I really feel like Southwest Washington is where my roots are.”
The Centralia College alum and former CC coach had plenty to celebrate in Ridgefield, where the Huskies topped the Pilots 8-1 in the first Northwest Baseball Coaches Association (NWBCA) College Classic.
The event, which was presented by the host Ridgefield Raptors of the West Coast League, was put on to showcase the two programs and D-I baseball, and organizers hope it becomes an annual event.
“What a job by Ridgefield and (Ridgefield Raptors Director of Baseball and Game Day Operations) Jason Krohn promoting it and getting the whole town out here tonight,” Smith said. “Really cool.”
Dozens of youth and high school athletes saw the Washington offense put the Huskies ahead early.
After a scoreless first, Aidan Dougherty and Ethan Swidler put UW on the board with back-to-back RBI singles in the second, and after a four-pitch walk put Ty Cowan on base, Jackson Hotchkiss hit a 401-foot blast to left to put the Huskies up 5-0.
Hotchkiss, a Battle Ground native who was drafted late in the 2024 MLB draft before going the college route, led the team in batting average coming into the game, and he finished Tuesday’s matchup a double shy of the cycle.
“It’s so neat to see that,” Smith said. “He’s matured so much and he’s flourished so much. We didn’t have him for the first month of the season, and when he re-entered the lineup, it just transformed our entire team real quick. He’s a hard worker, he earns everything that he’s achieved at this point, and the sky is the limit for him.”
After Portland got on the board in the fourth, Sam DeCarlo knocked in a run and scored on a wild pitch to add on in the sixth, and Dougherty scored in the ninth during a Cowan rundown between first and second to make it 8-1.
On the bump, four Huskies combined to allow just two hits, walk just two, and strike out 17.
Jack Wade set the tone early, striking out eight across three and a third, while Carson Boesel struck out three over the next inning and two-third. Tyler Walker and Liam Lierman followed with two innings each, combining for six strikeouts.
“I think everybody did such a great job,” Smith said. “Jack Wade at the start, really good to see that. Boesel followed it up by attacking hitters, and then two lefty freshmen (Walker and Lierman). It was really good to see two Washington resident freshmen came in and did a really nice job, so it was awesome to see.”
Smith wasn’t the only CC alum in the UW dugout on Tuesday.
Casen Taggart, who spent 2022 and 2023 with the Trailblazers, finished the day 1 for 4 with a single and a walk. He was in a slump across late March and early April, but over the last three games, he’s hitting .333, and he’s also reached base in five of his last 12 trips to the plate.
Heading into Tuesday, he homered in both of UW’s previous two games.
“I’m just simplifying my approach,” Taggart said. “Just spreading out and seeing the ball better, seeing deeper. In the past, I was more trying to swing first then see it. Now I’m dialing it in, seeing it first, then swinging and letting my body react to it.”
Taggart earned All-NWAC First-Team honors and he was named to the Pacific Association All-America Third-Team after a successful sophomore season at Centralia College, and he made the jump to Division I baseball by playing for Washington State in 2024.
“My time at Centralia, I really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t give it up for anything,” Taggart said. “Looking back, it’s probably the most fun time I had. Just enjoying the guys and playing really fun and gritty baseball.”
In 2025, Taggart transferred to UW to play for Smith, and he hit .326 and posted an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .963. This year, the success hasn’t been as consistent statistically, but Smith is confident that he’s in line
“The last three or four weeks, he’s practiced so hard, and he’s competed so much harder,” Smith said. “He’s starting to look about the self that he was a year ago when he was so successful for the first three quarters of the season. And we need that right now. There’s no doubt about that. We really, really need that, and I’m hoping that he can continue that here as we go forward. It’ll be the key to our team here as we go forward.”
Washington (18-22, 8-10 Big Ten) will head to Michigan later this week, first for a three-game weekend series against Michigan, then for a midweek matchup against Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti on Tuesday. After that, the Huskies will return home to host a three-game set against Oregon.
“We’re building up right now,” Taggart said. “We just got to keep it going. Keep playing hard and playing our game.”
