Sophomore Cole Hamilton shows character on and off the field

With a total of 16 freshmen players on the roster, the 2014 Saints baseball team is young. With such youth it’s important to have veteran leadership, and that’s where sophomore shortstop Cole Hamilton comes in.

Hamilton, who won Southern Region Gold Glove award for excellent fielding last season, is taking younger players under his wing, showing them the tricks of the trade. He also leads all Saints in hits (25) and batting average (.325), through Thursday.

Hamilton, who attended Cleveland High School in Portland, has been playing baseball for a long time. “I’ve been playing baseball since I was five; I think that was my first year of tee ball,” he said. “When I was younger, I used to travel a lot, like Arizona, California (for games). I went to Puerto Rico one time , which was really cool. I’ve done a lot of camps and showcases.”

Away from the field, Hamilton enjoys hanging with friends and being outdoors. He counts playing sports with friends, hunting and fishing as hobbies.

Hamilton’s favorite athlete is none other than New York Yankees future hall-of-fame shortstop, Derek Jeter.

“He’s one of the best to ever do it and just the way he plays the right way, he’s a really classy guy, and he’s also one of the greatest shortstop’s to ever play the game,” Hamilton said of Jeter.

Hamilton is pursuing a degree in business. Currently, he is taking accounting, economics, statistics and probability, anthropology, and an online business class.

After Mt. Hood, he would like to continue playing baseball. “I’ve been getting some offers from schools, but being a junior college player, it kind of takes a while for that communication with coaches, so I probably won’t make a decision until the end of the season,” he said. “Obviously I want to continue playing, but I just want to find the best fit for me both academically and baseball-wise. I want to take my time and make sure I actually pick the right school.”

Western Oregon University, Central Washington University, George Fox University, Concordia University, and Missouri Western State University all interest Hamilton as possible destinations. Missouri Western already has three former Saints in its program, including Cody Childs, Hunter Weiss, and Ryan Degner. Hamilton also would enjoy going south to a California school, he said.

Playing baseball is Hamilton’s dream job. If that doesn’t work out, he would like to own his own business, possibly starting a baseball academy in which kids can work out.

Hamilton enjoys playing under Saints head coach Bryan Donohue. “It’s fun. I mean he’s tough sometimes, but he just loves to win. And I really like that, because I like to win,” he said. “You can tell just by the way he talks to us, especially after losses. It’s not that he wants you to be perfect, he just wants you to do your job, because he knows if everyone does their job then we can win.”

Donohue enjoys having Hamilton on his team as well.

“He’s an above-average runner, I think at our level he has an above-average arm, and he has unbelievable hands,” Donohue said. “Some of the hops that he fields cleanly, the majority of infielders at our level just don’t field. He’s made some tremendous plays. He’s a difference maker for us; it’s been good to have him here for two years.

“Offensively he has done some things that have really helped us out in some big moments,” Donohue continued. “He’s done a really good job with timely hitting, a lot of big RBIs and singles, and has basically got himself to a point to where he’s an offensive threat.

“Personally, I think he is one of the best defensive short stops I’ve ever coached,” the coach said.

Individually, Hamilton would like to be named the South Region Player of the Year and bring home another Gold Glove, he said. But, his main goal this season is winning. “The biggest thing for me is that I’d like to win (the Saints team) the South again. And win an NWAACC Championship. I’ve never won a championship in my life, so this would be a good year to start that.”

Cole Hamilton is one of five players for the Saints that has played every game this season.

Advocate Staff