8
TI he CI ac I< amas P rínt
Wednesday, April 21, 1999
Co-Champion Cougars show a little grit
JOHNTHORBURN
Sports Editor
The Clackamas softball team re
turned to top form this past
week—winning 10 of 11 games.
After being swept by Mt. Hood
at home two weeks ago, the Cou
gars £8-2,14-7] went on a tear that
culminated in a co-championship
with Spokane at the league's cross
over tournament this past week
end.
The 10-game win streak began
after the Cougars avenged their
two league losses to Mt. Hood to
sweep the Saints in a double
header at Delta Park last Tuesday.
In the first game, Summer
Conroy, went four for five at the
plate, driving in two runs to lead
the Cougars to a 9-2 pounding of
the host Saints. Melanie Warthen
[8-4] took the victory.
In the second game, Clackamas
saw a 3-2 lead turn into a 3-5 defi
cit in the sixth inning before the
Cougars scored six runs on six hits
in the seventh inning to earn a 9-5
win. After relieving Cortney
DuPree in the sixth, Warthen got
the win on the mound.
Cecily Burton and Kirsten
Richards each went three for four
with their bats and recorded an
RBI. Burton's three hits were all
doubles.
"This team is very resilient,"
said Assistant Coach Denise
Nasuta. "Last year, I would get
worried when we were down a
few runs late in the game. This
year, we can score in any inning."
On Thursday, the Lakers of
Southwestern Oregon Commu
nity College [SWOCC] made a
five hour drive for a double
header with the Cougars. They
returned home with two losses.
In the first game, Jessica
Farnsworth stole home on a wild
throw to third base in the bottom
of the eighth inning to give
Clackamas a 7-6 victory. DuPree
[5-3] earned the win.
Katie Brewster went 3-4 with
two doubles and two RBI's.
In the second game, dusk
threatened as DuPree recorded
her second win of the day, after
three Cougars scored in the bot
tom Of the fifth inning to make
the score 8-4. The game was
called on a lack of daylight.
Marji Van Bramer went two for
three with a run scored.
On Saturday, Clackamas joined
13 other teams from around the
conference in the annual North
west Athletic Association of
Community
Colleges
[NWAACC] Crossover Tourna
ment—a two-day-long event
which sets as a precursor to the
NWAACC Championship Tour
nament held in May.
Clackamas opened with a 7-1
win over Walla Walla from North
eastern Division behind a two-for-
four hitting display by Burton. The
sophomore from Beaverton had
two doubles and four RBI's.
DuPree allowed four hits and
struck out four in the win.
The Cougars faced Northeast
ern Division powerhouse
Edmonds in a scoreless battle
through six innings. In the top
of the seventh, Conroy and Jes
sica Rowley scored to pull ahead.
In the second half of the final
frame, the Tritons scored one run
and threatened to tie the game
before Conroy made a diving
stop at second base for the third
out and a 2-1 win.
"Summer made an awesome
play that ended the game for us,"
noted Nasuta. "If she didn't get
to the ball, they would have
scored. The real story was the
pitching, though. Mel pitched
one of the best performances of
any pitcher this year."
Warthen
threw
seven
strikeouts, allowed four hits and
no walks.
In the third game of the day,
Clackamas went head to head
with a familiar foe in the Spokane
Sasquatch. The Sasquatch, the
defending NWAACC champi
ons, have traded first place tro
phies fróm the crossover tourna
ment with the Cougars for most
of the past decade. In 1996 and
1997, Clackamas defeated Spo
kane for the NWAACC champi
onship.
"Spokane and Clackamas have
pretty much been the top dogs in
the Northwest throughout the
1990's," said Nasuta.
On Saturday, Spokane wasn't up
to the task as the Cougars ignited
the Northeastern Division leaders
for seven runs in a 7-2 win.
Darby Needham saw her first
action of the spring—pitching
three innings and giving up three
hits and one earned run before
Warthen replaced her in the
fourth due to lack of endurance.
"Darby pitched very well for
her first time out," noted Nasuta,
"she just doesn't have the
strength yet."
On Sunday, |he Cougars faced
Mt. Hood for the fifth time this
season and pulled out a 5-4 win
in eight innings. With the score
knotted at 4-4, Farnsworth, a
usual slap ball hitter, hit a shot
to left field over a pulled-in out
fielder to drive in Conroy for the
winning run.
JOHN THORBURN / Clackamas Print
Freshman pitcher Melanie Warthen picked up four wins at the
NWAACC Crossover Tournament as the Cougars were declared
co-champions along with Spokane at the 14-team event.
Warthen got the win.
The victory sent the Cougars
into a rematch with Spokane later
that afternoon. A win against the
Sasquatch brought home the tro
phy to Clackamas. A loss meant
the two teams would face each
other again to declare a cham
pion, as both teams would only
have one tournament loss.
Head Coach Paul Fiskum threw
DuPree, Needham and Warthen
against a tired Spokane squad
but wound up on the losing end
of a 12-9 score after 11 innings.
As the game ended, it was 7:15
p.m. and the Sasquatch had to
catch a flight to return home for
morning classes on Monday. As
a result,-the championship game
was called off and co-champions
were declared.
"It was just an exhausting
weekend," added Nasuta. "We
played some great softball and
we showed the league that we're
still the team to beat around the
Northwest."
T^ e CI ac / íamas P rínt
The student newspaper of Clackamas Community College
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