Dogs to share turf with wolves

Come late spring this year, East Multnomah County residents and Mt. Hood students not only have Saints baseball and softball to look forward to, but a new team, as well. Mt. Hood’s Oslund Field, home of the baseball Saints, will be their den; their mascot, a brethren. They are the Gresham GreyWolves.

An expansion team into the wooden-bat West Coast League, the GreyWolves take their name from the animal that used to stalk these woods. The brainchild of owners Jerry and Lisa Walker (who also own the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Class A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants), they join ten other teams in the WCL, including the Bend Elks, Walla Walla Sweets and Victoria HarbourCats. They’ll split 54 league games between home and road series, from early June through mid-August, with the first pitch slated for Friday, June 3.

The team name was revealed in the wake of a “Name the Team” campaign, in which “The Gresham Growlers” had the highest number of votes, but the GreyWolves moniker was chosen because of the area’s history.

The Volcanoes have had a positive reaction from their community once the Walkers relocated them in 1997 from Bellingham, Wash., and have received support from both the city of Keizer as well as Key Bank, a good sign for the advancement of Gresham’s team.

In case you’re already stoked on the Gresham GreyWolves, you’ll need to shop for attire in the team colors, which are black, white, gold (to insinuate excellence) and, big shocker here, grey (certainly appropriate for the locale – have you looked outside lately?)

The collegiate West Coast League has sent many former and current players to baseball’s major leagues, with quite a few of them becoming All-Stars. Last year’s home run king, Chris Davis, played for the Kelowna Falcons. The Corvallis Knights helped mold Matt Duffy of the Giants.  Highly touted Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales came out of the Wanatchee AppleSox program.  The list goes on, but you get the point. Now it is Gresham’s opportunity to turn out major league talent and make a name for themselves.

While the Wolves’ roster is still under development, they did name Justin Barchus their first coach. The PSU grad had coached the Klamath Falls Gems before they transitioned out of the WCL and into the Golden State Baseball League.

The initial announcement was made on Oct. 22 by Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis and WCL President Dennis Koho in front of the Oslund Field backstop. In a news release by the city of Gresham, Jerry Walker was quoted as saying, “Lisa and I join the entire WCL, City of Gresham, Mt. Hood Community College and area fans in celebrating this next chapter in community-based, family friendly, championship-caliber baseball.”

MHCC President Debbie Derr was quoted saying that Mt. Hood was honored to host the GreyWolves and thinks it will be a great local addition.

Koho said in the release, “The West Coast League is very excited to be partnering with Gresham and Mt. Hood Community College. Both represent high standards of growth and excellence as does the West Coast League. Every community in which we play gets a chance at winning a championship, and I am confident that the new Gresham club will bring a strong brand to town in 2016.”

Details are still being worked and released, and despite the club using the Saints facilities, there is still a clear divide between the school and team ownership. The GreyWolves will essentially pay rent to the school, control promotions, direct ticket prices and determine possible discounts for students.

As for field maintenance, Rick Doughty, Mt. Hood vice president of adminstrative services, says, “If usage increases, it is likely the GreyWolves and the City of Gresham will benefit in terms of (economic) income and will be interested in and supportive of continued improvements.”

It is clear Mt. Hood officials see this cooperation as a boon, with a chance to expose more of the public to the campus.

“If the community sees the college as a vital and necessary part of their community, they will send students here, support bond measures that improve the campus and programs to the benefit of students, and volunteer to make our college a better institution,” Doughty added.

It sounds like a great fit and one that should benefit Mt. Hood and Gresham, moving forward.

Advocate Staff