KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — To say Josh Kallstrom has settled in at the next level is a little like saying, “Yeah, Aaron Judge can play a little bit.”

The former Big Bend, Ephrata, Columbia Basin River Dog standout cut his teeth playing for some of the best baseball coaches in the area. Guys like River Dog coaches Dave Johnson and Randy Boruff, Ephrata manager Jason Laugen and long-time Big Bend skipper Pete Doumit.

He’s taken all that local knowledge and exploded onto the NAIA scene at Oregon Technical Institute where he’s a rising star in coach Matt Miles’ program in Klamath Falls, Ore.

In fact that star rose over the nation earlier this month when he was named the NAIA Baseball National Player of the Week (April 10).

“(Oregon Tech) has been a good fit. I wanted to continue playing when I was done at Big Bend and (then assistant) Jameson Lange made a few calls for me and put me in contact with coach Miles and here I am,” said Kallstrom, who was one of seven players from the 2017 Vikings team to continue their careers.

“I’m enjoying baseball as much as I ever have. I enjoy going to the ballpark. I enjoy my teammates. We have great team chemistry. They’re not just teammates, they’re my friends. Yeah, it’s all good.”

It’s all good and so is his game.

Kallstrom was selected for his performance from April 2 – 8 from a pool of conference award winners. The 6-foot-1, junior, first baseman from Ephrata scored 10 runs and drove in eight RBI to lead the Owls with a .647 batting average (11-for-17) for the week that included three doubles and two home runs.

“Josh Kallstrom is a tremendous player with the work ethic and great attitude it takes to have the success he is having,” Miles said. “As a team leader and great teammate he has been the catalyst for the Owls to get on a hot streak of winning big games during the playoff run. Josh is putting his name in the Oregon Tech record book in many categories and if he finishes hot should be up for All-American accolades.”

He’s currently leading the NAIA-West in batting average (.409), slugging percentage (.720), hits (67), doubles (19), home runs (10), total bases (118), and runs batted in (42).

“When I was at Big Bend, Ryan (Doumit) told me whenever you have a good game, look back at the things you did well,” said Kallstrom, who was also named the Cascade Conference Red Lion Baseball Player of the Week (April 9). “I’ve been working on my timing and getting little things down, trusting my hands and trusting my eyes that I’m reading the pitchers correctly. It’s basically about trusting my swing.”

He’s had a guy or two over the years help with that swing. He got some advice from Gabe Boruff, who was a member of the 1998 River Dogs Senior Babe Ruth world championship and later drafted by the Kansas City Royals. Ryan Doumit joined the Big Bend staff Kallstrom’s sophomore season after playing 10 years in the Major League.

“Playing in the River Dog organization really helped getting me to this level,” said Kallstrom, who was on the all-world series tournament team when the River Dogs won the 2015 national championship in, ironically, Klamath Falls.

“Coach (Randy) Boruff and Johnson had high expectations and they saw my potential. I worked hard to take that instruction and put it to the best use I could.

“I was going through a tough time and Gabe Boruff came by and give me some pointers. We hit for an hour, maybe two. The next day I had a breakout game. I still think back on the things he told me and what a difference it made.”

Kallstrom is working on a degree in engineering, and again, he’s in the right place in terms of his education process as well. The 2017 Owls team had the seventh best GPA (3.31) in the nation of the 188 colleges competing in baseball at the NAIA level, moving up a spot from the 2016 squad, which was eighth.

Rodney Harwood is sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com