Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1997)
Wednesday, May 21, 1997 Cougars miss playoffs despite late run JOHN THORBURN Assistant Sports Editor A lot of our pitchers were young, so we'U return some key guys next year. Robin Robinson Baseball Coach The Clackamas baseball team’s season came to an end last week — missing the playoffs by one game. The Cougars finished the spring with a 15-10 record behind the sec ond-place Mt. Hood Saints [16-9] and first-place Lane [20-5], de spite winning eight of their last nine games. Clackamas closed out their sea son with a tripleheader in Coos Bay against SWOCC last Wednes day. In the opening game, right- handed Bryan Hostetler went the distance -striking out nine Laker batters while only allowing four hits and five walks in nine innings. “Hostetler pitched great in that game,” said Head Coach Robin Robinson. “Anytime that you have a pitcher that strikes out nine guys and only allows four hits in a nine- inning game is tremendous.” The Cougars pounded out 12 hits on their way to a 12-2 win with Andy Ortmayer leading the team with three runs batted in and a double and a triple. Ryan Suyama hit three for four while Corey Rooper scored twice, going two for three at the plate. Clackamas pitchers continued their dominance in the second game of the afternoon with Jeff Williamson striking out six and allowing three hits. Williamson finished with a 6-1 record. Both Suyama and Adam Edwards went three for five in a 15-hit Clackamas performance in the Cougars’s 7-5 win over the Lakers. In the final game of the year, sophomores Corey Rooper and Jer emy Mann were on fire in their last game in Cougar uniforms. Rooper hit three for four, driving in three runs and scoring three times, while Mann went three for four at the plate. Clackamas rocked SWOCC pitch ers for 16 hits in the 13-4 victory. Suyama went three for five with four RBI’s. Edwards was two for three with three runs driven in, and Sean Fuller was two for three. The Cougars’ season was virtu ally decided last Tuesday when they traveled to Gresham to face the Mt. Hood Saints. Both teams went into the game tied for second place. Brad Taylor unleashed on the Saints, going three for four with three runs scored, three RBI’s and two home runs. Clackamas re corded 17 hits against Mt. Hood as Suyama went three for five. Edwards had two hits in four plate appearances. Both players drove in two runs each. Right-hander Dylan Givens was given the start in this crucial game and pitched tremendously. “Givens pitched five great in nings for us against Mt. Hood,” said Robinson. “The score was 9- 1 when he was relieved, but our other pitchers came in and gave up two grand slams.” Clackamas ended up losing the game by a score of 10-9. With the crushing defeat, the Cougars could only hope for a Mt. Hood loss provided that they won their remaining three games. The Saints, however, never faltered in claiming the final playoff berth from the Southwest Division. "We finished the season strong," said Robinson. "But, obviously, it's a let down to miss the playoffs." JOHN THORBURN / Clackamas Print Clackamas closed out their season last week, sweeping the SWOCC Lakers in a three-game series. The Cougars missed the post-season by one game despite winning eight of their last nine games. The team finished the year with a 15-10 record. Coach Robinson praised his players' performances during the season. "We had great hitting and great defense, and our pitching was av erage," said Robinson. He also noted that problems ear lier in the season set the team back. _ "We had a lot of little inconsis tencies," said Robinson. "We had some ineligible players and some guys out from injury and sickness. It was these little details that lead to inconsistent play." Clackamas loses a number of standout players due to gradua tion but returns a strong hitting squad and experienced pitchers. "We had a great finish to the 1997 season," said Robinson. "A lot of our pitchers were young, so we'll return some key guys next year. We have a lot of young tal ents coming back and we're go ing to go out and recruit the top high school seniors. We'll be bet ter in 1998." CHAMPIONS 1997 NWAACC Tournament All-Stars PHOTOS BY JOHN THORBURN / Clackamas Print Jitters/CCC Cafeteria Wednesday, May 21, 1997 #11 Robin Lisak #7 Robin Viol Volume XXX, Issue 26
