The amplifier., April 01, 2011, Page 10, Image 10

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10
Sports
April
Baseball team enjoys success against elite talent
S ean P ebler _________________
*
To be the best you have
to beat the best. The baseball
team has followed this credo
closely in the early season,
competing against some of the
most difficult competition in
the state. This was highlighted
when the Lions defeated the
number one team in the state at
the time, Westview, 9-2.
"So far we are 6-4, playing
mostly Metro league schools,"
Mike Lord, head coach, said.
"I feel really good about where
we are at heading into league
play next week."
After a disappointing
loss to another top-tier team,
Southridge, 15-3, many players
felt that the team had grown
a lot from this humbling
experience.
"We grew a lot closer and
learned that we have to play
hard every game," Andrew
Yokubaitis, junior, said. "We got
a little cocky after the Westview
game and thought we could
skate through games easily, but
that is not the case."
Following the first two
non-league games, the team
travelled to Arizona for their
Spring Break tournament. The
Lions finished with a 1-3 record
at the tournament, with many
Upon returning from
Arizona, the team went on
a four-game winning streak
WM
record currently stands at 6-0.
After the team's early
success against top Metro-
League and TRL teams, many
have substantial expectations
for the State playoffs.
"It is the best talent of any
team I've played on, and we
come together," Yokubaitis said.
"I also feel that everyone has
the desire and belief that we
can win a championship."
Softball Team longs for more
improved weather and hitting
J ennifer S ittgn
Photo by Laurei Massaro
Riley Wilkerson, senior pitcher, hurls the ball toward home plate in
a league game against Oregon City on April 14. In a marathon-esque
game that went 11 innings, the Lions came out victorious, defeating
the Pioneers 15-14.
feeling it provided more insight
as to the structure of the team.
"I think that the trip was
a really good bonding time
for our team. It really helped
solidify some positions for
people," Warner Edwards,
senior pitcher, said.
A lison F ieldhouse
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Carli Wilson, sophomore, bypasses an Oregon City defender during
the girls' lacrosse game on April 11 in which they faced their first loss
of the season, 13-6. According to Megan Elston, head coach, the team's
toughest competition will be Lakeridge, Clackamas and Oregon City
as Oregon City was State Champion in both 2009 and 2010.
be to develop as a team and to
beat Clackamas once again in
order to make it to playoffs,"
Cotter said.
Their toughest competition
will be Lakeridge and
Clackamas, according to Elston.
Lake Oswego and Oregon City
will also be tough as Oregon
City was State Champion in
both 2009 and 2010.
"We beat Clackamas last
year to go to playoffs, and by
one goal in our first matchup
against them this year. They're
becoming a new rivalry," Elston
said. "Of the three top teams
in the Three Rivers League,
Lakeridge is the one that is
closest in skill to us, so they're
the ones we want to beat."
After taking third in Three
Rivers League last year and
losing its first round playoff
game to South Salem, the
Softball Team is back for
revenge this year. Battling
but no one really knows what
to expect from Canby, a team
that is new to the TRL this year.
"We're excited to play
Canby for the first time,"
Figone said. "We hear they're
pretty good."
against difficult opponents
Beaverton, Sandy, North Salem
and Sunset. The success was
highlighted by a thriller against
Sunset, with the Lions coming
out on top, 7-6.
"I feel like we have the
potential to do some really
Girls'
aims to conquer
Clackamas to advance to playoffs
At the start of the new
season, the Girls' Lacrosse
Team has come out strong,
winning its first five league
games. In its sixth league game,
the team suffered its first loss
to Oregon City 13-6. On April 8
against Lakeridge, they won 11-
10. The win against Lakeridge
was huge because the team
hasn't beaten Lakeridge in
several years, according to
Megan Elston, head coach.
"We know we can do great
things this year, but we are
still an up-and-coming team
and can't take that win against
Lakeridge for granted," Elston
said. "We will continue to
work hard at practice so we're
prepared for them (and all the
other teams) again."
The girls nabbed their fourth
win by defeating Canby with
a score of 14-7. On April 1
they shut out Putnam 14-0
and on March 29 the team beat
Clackamas 7-6.
"The Clackamas score
was close because they really
wanted to beat us," Hannah
Cotter, senior, said. "We took
away their opportunity to go to
playoffs last year."
In their seventh game, the
girls won again 18-1 against
Riverdale, but lost in their
eighth after facing Lake
Oswego, 16-9. In the next game
they won against Clackamas,
13-9.
After losing in the first
round of playoffs last season,
the team is ready to win its way
back and go beyond to earn
the title of State Champions.
However, they want to first
focus on making it to playoffs.
"Our focus this season will
great things this year," Edwards
said. "We have great pitching
and hitting, I really feel like
that we have an opportunity to
win a state championship."
The bulk of the team's
league schedule began with
a three-game series against
Oregon City, where the Lions
swept the Pioneers. Following
Oregon City, the Lions swept
Lakeridge. The team's league
In order to topple Lakeridge
and Clackamas again, the
players will implement what
they learn in practice, such as
stick skills and strengthening
endurance, into games.
"I think the most important
part of practice is learning the
strengths and weaknesses of
the team and how to mesh
during games," Cotter said.
This year, the team is made
up of younger players. There
are only three seniors on the
team, Cotter, Claire Offer and
Connie Swanson. However,
this doesn't take away from the
skill of the team, according to
Elston.
"There is talent everywhere
on the field," Elston said.
iiiiÄ i
Photo by Laurel Massaro
Nicole Goins, junior, takes a swing in the team's April 13 game
against Oregon City. The Lions defeated the Pioneers 2-1, bringing
their league record to 2-0 after a convincing 2-0 win over Clackamas.
inclement weather, the Lions
started off the season with few
growing pains, as they return
many players from last year's
team.
"We have pretty much the
same team as last year so we
know how each other plays,"
Sommer Figone, senior, said.
"We work well together."
According to head coach
Jamie LeVeque, the experience
of the five seniors on the
team as well as key pitchers
Caroline MacAusland and
Aubrey Pesicka, juniors, should
help propel the team into the
playoffs.
"We have a little experience.
I also think we're pretty solid
on defense. We have average
team speed," LeVeque said.
"I'm hoping our experience
and pitching combined with
timely hitting will be enough to
win league."
But to accomplish the goal of
taking first in the TRL, the team
will have to take down tough
opponents in Lake Oswego,
Clackamas and Oregon
City. According to LeVeque,
Lakeridge has a young team
and is facing a rebuilding year,
The team started off the
season by beating Aloha 3-2,
The Dalles-Wahtonka, 5-3,
and losing to Forest Grove,
2-4, South Salem 0-2 and The
Dalles-Wahtonka, 0-7. The team
went on to beat Tigard 7-3,
before falling to Sunset 0-2.
The team started off
league play with wins against
Clackamas, 2-0, Oregon City,
2-1, and Lakeridge, 4-0.
According to LeVeque, the
team would love to win a game
in the playoffs this year, and
with the new playoff format,
which features an RPI ranking
system, it could have a better
chance at doing that. The new
RPI system takes into account
all wins, losses, home and away
games and the difficulty of
opponents for each individual
team. All of these are factored
into the team's overall
ranking, which will be used to
determine its playoff berth.
"If we finish high enough
we should get a good draw in
playoffs," LeVeque said. But for
now, the team is taking things
one game at a time and simply
hoping for better playing
conditions.
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