Sports
B1
Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
CLASS 2A/1A SOFTBALL STATE SEMIFINALS
Kennedy’s rally falls short in semis
GARY HOROWITZ
STATESMAN JOURNAL
MT. ANGEL - A matter of inches was
the difference for No. 1 seed Kennedy in
a 3-2 loss to No. 5 seed North Douglas on
May 30 in the OSAA Class 2A/1A softball
state semifinals at Kennedy High
School.
Trailing 3-2 with a runner on third and
two outs in the bottom of the seventh in-
ning, Kennedy junior first baseman Mol-
ly Jaeger hit a liner down the third base
line that landed just outside of the third
base bag in foul territory. Two pitches
later she struck out swinging to end the
game.
Kennedy (19-6) found itself down 3-0
in the bottom of the sixth inning, but ral-
lied for two runs off North Douglas
freshman pitcher Nicki Derrick, who
went the distance.
Jaeger and junior shortstop Hannah
Arritola opened the sixth with back-to-
back singles, and junior pitcher Tressa
Riedman followed with a two-run double
to the fence in right center.
The Trojans were in position for a big
inning, but a diving catch by freshman
center fielder Joanna Alcantar on junior
catcher Abby Frey’s sinking fly ball
helped North Douglas maintain a one-
run lead heading to the seventh.
Alcantar came through again in Ken-
nedy’s final at bat, robbing senior third
baseman Rheannon Hernandez of extra
bases on a diving catch in right center to
lead off the inning.
“I don’t get that one last game with my
teammates,” Hernandez said. “It hurts
GARY HOROWITZ/STATESMAN JOURNAL
The Kennedy softball team meets after a 3-2 loss to North Douglas in the OSAA Class 2A/1A
state semifinals at Kennedy High School.
really bad. We did so good. I’m proud. I’m
mad. I’m sad. A lot of emotions.”
It was pitcher’s duel for most of the
game between Derrick and Riedman.
North Douglas took a 1-0 lead in the third
inning, and added two runs in the sixth
off freshman pitcher Grace Schaecher.
Riedman returned to the hill with two
outs in the sixth, and kept the Warriors of
the scoreboard in the seventh, keeping
Kennedy within striking distance.
In the end, Kennedy’s final rally fell
short.
“We’re very resilient and we didn’t
give up. I thought it was a great team ef-
fort,” Riedman said.
North Douglas (21-4) advances to the
state championship game against No. 2
seed Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii on Friday at
the Oregon State softball complex.
Kennedy lost in the state semifinals
for the second year in a row.
“They’re center fielder made some
amazing plays out there,” Kennedy
coach Walt Simmons said. “That was
good for them.”
And perhaps the difference between
victory and defeat for the Tri-River Con-
ference champion Trojans.
Simmons was pleased with his team’s
resiliency, and outstanding play
throughout the season.
“They tried to get better every game,
every practice, and that showed from
the defensive side,” Simmons said.
“They worked extremely hard.
The Trojans lose just three seniors off
this year’s team, making another state
tournament run likely next season.
“I think we definitely can. We have a
lot of returners,” Riedman said. “We
have some eighth graders coming up
that I think will improve our team. I
think we just need to keep battling like
we did this year.”
ghorowitz@StatesmanJournal.com,
or Twitter.com/ghorowitz
North Douglas 3, Kennedy 2
N. Douglas – 0-0-1-0-0-2-0 – 3-6-0
Kennedy - 0-0-0-0-0-2-0 – 2-5-1
Riedman, Schaecher (6), Riedman (6)
and Jaeger. Derrick and Toy. WP: Der-
rick. LP Riedman.
CLASS 5A SOFTBALL STATE SEMIFINALS
SILVERTON FALLS TO DALLAS
PETE MARTINI / STATESMAN JOURNAL
The Dallas softball team celebrates beating Silverton to reach the OSAA Class 5A state championship game.
After early deficit, the Dragons scored 10 unanswered runs
PETE MARTINI
STATESMAN JOURNAL
DALLAS - The Dallas softball team
hasn’t lost a game since March, and now
the Dragons are one win away from a
state championship.
Dallas rallied from an early 2-0 deficit
May 30 to beat Silverton 10-2 in the OSAA
Class 5A state semifinals and advance to
Saturday’s championship game at Ore-
gon State.
“It’s amazing. Unreal,” Dallas senior
Ashlee Lichtenberger said. “I think we
were nervous in the first two innings. We
just took a step back and took a deep
breath. We just needed to relax. And then
in the third inning is when we just re-
laxed and started hitting.”
Dallas will face Marist in the state
championship game. The game time has
not yet been determined.
“We need to come out with energy,”
Dallas senior Olivia Nelson said about
the title game. “We need to be relaxed
and just play our game.”
The Dragons scored two runs in the
third inning to tie the game, and then Jor-
dan Dippel had an RBI triple in the fifth
inning to give Dallas the lead. The Drag-
ons tacked on two more runs in the fifth
and five runs in the sixth to put the game
away.
“We obviously like to make it hard on
ourselves,” Dallas coach Brandi Jackson
said, with a laugh, about the early deficit.
“It’s huge for this team. It’s huge for this
community, and obviously you see the
support we get. You couldn’t ask for a
better home crowd.”
Silverton was playing without Mid-
Willamette Conference co-player of the
year Maggie Buckholz. Silverton coach
Ralph Cortez declined to comment on
Buckholz’s situation, but her name was
not on the team’s roster May 30.
“I cannot comment. The kids that
were here with us came through like we
wanted them to,” Cortez said. “Today
was a game where I thought we had them
nervous and on the run.”
The Foxes end the season with a 19-9
overall record.
“I think we’re a different team from
the beginning of the season to right now,”
Cortez said. “The kids came through.
Man, they stepped up. We knew it was go-
ing to be tough. But we thought we had
their number. We thought we could get
this one from them. I don’t think anybody
saw us getting as far as we did.”
Dallas enters the June 30 title game
on a 23-game winning streak.
“At the beginning of the year, you al-
ways talk about it as a goal,” Jackson said
about reaching the championship game.
“And now that it’s finally reality, I just
want them all to take it in. It’s something
that they’ll never forget.”
Jackson said the Dragons are excited
about the opportunity to bring a state
championship home to Dallas. “It makes
it easy to come out and play when we
have so much support,” she said. “I
couldn’t be more proud of these kids. No-
body deserves it more than they do.”