Jackson Hotchkiss shows off power as University of Washington beats Portland in Ridgefield baseball showcase

RIDGEFIELD - It was a heck of a homecoming for Jackson Hotchkiss.

The Battle Ground high school graduate led the University of Washington baseball team over the University of Portland 8-1 on Tuesday at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.

Batting in the leadoff spot, Hotchkiss blasted a three-run home run over the centerfield fence to key a five-run second inning.

The sophomore outfielder also tripled, finishing the game 3 for 6 and raising his batting average to .350 this season.

That thrilled the roughly 1,000 spectators who braved a cool, damp evening to watch the first Northwest Baseball Coaches Association Collegiate Classic, presented by the Ridgefield Raptors. Many in attendance were from local high school and youth baseball teams, who were let if free if they wore their uniforms.

"It's weird coming back with such a big school to such a small area," Hotchkiss said. "But I'm just doing my thing. Nothing really changes. It's fun to see the amount of people here."

In what organizers billed as a celebration of Southwest Washington baseball, it's fitting that a local product played a starring role.

Appearing in 29 games, Hotchkiss now leads the Huskies with 13 home runs, 32 RBI and 33 runs scored. That's despite missing the first month of the season with an oblique injury.

After hitting .241 with six home runs in 51 games as a freshman, Hotchkiss stepped away from baseball last summer to focus solely on getting stronger.

Three months of work in the weight room led to 20 pounds of muscle added to his 6-foot-3, now 190-pound frame.

"He looked like a totally different person when he came back in the fall compared to when he left our program in the spring," Washington coach Eddie Smith said.

Yet for his physical growth, Hotchkiss said a new mental outlook is just as important to this season's success. That was tested when he was injured shortly before UW's opener in mid-February.

"A few weeks out, it's tough to get an injury like that," Hotchkiss said. "But it's part of the sport. Things like that happen. It allowed me to slow things down, take a step back and realize this isn't all life is."

Hotchkiss has taken that more-patient approach through this season.

"I've been able to step back and relax a bit, not tense up after every at bat and get real down on myself," he said. "But that's the biggest thing. Just step back a little, calm down, loosen up and realize I don't have to be someone I'm not."

Hotchkiss was the No. 4 high school recruit in the state for the Class 2024, according to Baseball Northwest. He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who selected him in the 18th of 20 rounds.

In choosing UW over professional baseball, Hotchkiss has sent his draft stock soaring. Over Slot, a website that tracks baseball prospects, predicts Hotchkiss will be selected in the late-first or early-second rounds when he's once again draft eligible in 2027.

"He's a hard worker who has earned everything he's achieved at this point," Smith said. "The sky is the limit for him."

An Olympia native, Smith played at Centralia College and had his first head coaching job at Lower Columbia, where he earned National Coach of the Year honors in 2015. He joined UW last season after turning around the program at Utah Valley over three seasons.

The Raptors hope Tuesday's collegiate showcase becomes an annual event. Based on Smith's feedback, that plan is off to a good start.

"I really feel like Southwest Washington is where my roots are," Smith said. "What a job by the Ridgefield Raptors and (director of baseball operations) Jason Krohn in promoting it and getting the whole town out here tonight."

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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 7:15 AM.