There’s plenty of arms on The Chronicle’s 2012 All-Area Baseball Team — and, not surprisingly, the biggest arm of them all gets top billing.
W.F. West ace Mitch Gueller, drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 54th pick in this year’s MLB Draft on Monday, was tabbed the MVP of this installment of the All-Area team, which includes an additional eight pitchers.
Nearly all of them, however, do a lot more than just deal strikes, starting with Gueller. The Bearcat senior hit .323 this season with five home runs and was walked 28 times, on top of his 0.80 earned-run average and 70 strikeouts in 42 ⅔ innings.
Mossyrock’s 1-2 pitching duo of John Pomeroy and Josh Vogel also landed on the team, as well as Viking coach Cole Kanyer — who, in his third season at the helm, led the team to a third-place finish at the State 2B championships. Pomeroy, the Central 2B League MVP, went 9-3 on the mound with a 2.46 ERA and opponent average of .129, with 113 strikeouts in 62 ⅔ innings, and topped it off with a .373 batting average and 22 RBIs. Vogel, last year’s C2BL MVP, hit .333 with nine doubles and went 9-2 on the mound with a 1.04 ERA.
Adna, which reached the State 2B quarterfinals and the District IV title game, had senior pitching and catching duo Garrett Driver and Bubba Lara on the All-Area squad. Driver hit .397 with 21 RBIs and went 8-1 on the mound with a 2.60 ERA — though his only loss was a one-hit effort in a 1-0 loss in the district title game. Lara led the team with 24 RBIs and hit .438 with a pair of home runs.
Rylon Kolb, a sophomore pitcher and shortstop, led Morton-White Pass on the mound. The Timberwolves made the State 2B playoffs with Kolb hitting .388 with 17 RBIs and 21 stolen bases, and went 7-3 on the mound with a 2.75 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 61 frames.
Onalaska’s Kyle Shepherd was a SWW 1A League Evergreen Division All-League pitcher, posting a 2.29 earned-run average with 47 strikeouts in 30 innings — and a 1.04 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) ratio. He made the All-Area team a third time.
Tenino finished second in the SWW 1A League Evergreen Division, with big efforts from Devante Harris and Zack Chamberlain. Harris, a junior leadoff hitter and center fielder, hit .438 and stole 26 bases in 19 games to score 31 runs on the year. Chamberlain, a sophomore catcher, hit .459 with 17 RBIs and drew 15 walks, eight of which were intentional.
Rochester senior John Holman, who played first base for the Warriors, hit .426 with a .595 on-base percentage and drew 17 walks on the year. He added three home runs and five doubles, and led his team with seven swiped bases.
Mack Gaul, a junior for Toledo-Winlock, was another two-way threat. On the mound he posted a 7-2 record and allowed only 3 earned runs (0.41 ERA) with 89 strikeouts in 51 innings of work. He was no slouch at the plate, either, hitting .490 with three homers, 22 RBIs and 21 stolen bases, reaching base over 72 percent of the time.
Gueller wasn’t the only local standout from the Evergreen 2A Conference. Centralia’s Andrew Pullin — who was drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round on Tuesday — made the All-Area team a fourth time, batting an even .300 this season and wrapping up a career for the Tigers in which he hit .409 with 17 home runs, 24 doubles and 87 RBIs.
W.F. West juniors Keylen Steen and Brady Calkins also made the All-Area team, a first for both. Steen, a catcher, hit .304 with 16 RBIs and 17 walks, while Calkins — the Bearcats’ No. 2 starter — hit .280 and went 5-2 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA.
The Chronicle’s 2012 All-Area Baseball Team
MVP: Mitch Gueller, Senior, P, W.F. West
Coach of the Year: Cole Kanyer, Mossyrock
Andrew Pullin Sr. OF Centralia
Josh Vogel Sr. P/C Mossyrock
John Pomeroy Jr. P/DH Mossyrock
Rylon Kolb So. P/SS Morton-White Pass
Garrett Driver Sr. P/1B Adna
Bubba Lara Sr. C Adna
Mack Gaul Jr. P/1B Toled-Winlock
Kyle Shepherd Sr. P/SS Onalaska
Devante Harris Jr. OF Tenino
Zack Chamberlain So. C Tenino
John Holman Sr. 1B Rochester
Brady Calkins Jr. P/3B W.F. West
Keylen Steen Jr. C W.F. West
