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