Ul
ic
d.
Softballers' fire fueled after coach ejected
Frank Jordan
The Clackamas Print
Clackamas softball wrapped up 5-
rt
11 1 week with a doubleheader split with
n Chemeketa CC at home on Saturday,
highlighted by the ejection of Head
is Coach Paul Fiskum in'game two after
a disputed call in the outfield.
The incident occurred in the sec
s.
e ond inning. With a runner on second
is base, Kim Kraxberger lifted a long fly
s ball into Centerfield. The centerfield
s er appeared to make the catch, but
s dropped the ball after it was in her
0 glove. Still, the runner went back to
y second and Kraxberger proceeded to
e head back to the bench. Fiskum told
r her. to go back to first, then heard that
the umpire had called her out. That is
when the argument ensued.
“It is the first time since 1987 that
t
I got tossed from a game, and the
) whole ordeal could have been avoided
t if the umpire had used a little common
r sense,” said Fiskum. “I really didn’t
do anything different in my handling
of what happened, but the bottom line
is that I lost my cool, and so did the
umpire in this case...The Chemeketa
coach later told me that she was just as
shocked about it as I was.”
Carleen Lessard threw another
solid game on the mound, allowing
one run on six hits, walking two and
striking out six. Kraxberger hit a two-
run homer in the fifth inning, while
Randi Middagh and Nicole Obrist
each drove in two runs during the 8-1
victory.
Clackamas lost game one of the
doubleheader by a score of 1-0. The
Cougars only got two hits in the game
and struck out eight times.
“It is the first
time since
1987 that I got
tossed from a
game..
seventh.
Lessard threw a two-hitter in game
two and Melissa Gibson went 3-for-4
with three runs scored and two RBI to
lead the Cougar attack. Carla Lillis
went 3-for-3 with a double and two
runs scored. Kraxberger contributed a
triple as she went 2-for-2.
Last Friday, Clackamas traveled
to Olympia, Wash, to take on South
Puget Sound CC and swept another
twinbill by scores of 7-2 and 13-0.
Gillaspie got the win in game one,
allowing four hits and striking out
five. Jessica Nagi led the Cougar
attack with two hits, including an RBI
double in the third.
Clackamas
pounded out 13 hits in the game but
left 11 runners on base.
In game two, Clackamas led from
the get-go in the 13-0 win. Lessard
pitched a three-hitter and Nagi again
provided the big blow at the plate, this
time with a bases-clearing double in
the fourth inning, driving in three
runs. Morgan Huffstutter continued
her hot hitting of late, going 2-for-3 at
the plate. Middagh went 2-for-3,
Brooke Comstock went 2-for-4 with
two RBI and Kraxberger went 3-for-3
with two RBI.
“It was probably our best game top
to bottom that we have had all sea
son,” Fiskum said. “Carleen contin
ued her phenomenal pitching and we
played great defense. It was a very
encouraging effort by our girls.”
Clackamas (24-9 season, 18-4
league) took on Grays Harbor CC (2-
16, 2-14) yesterday at home. Results
were not available at press time.
Clackamas plays at Mt. Hood (16-9,
16-4) on Friday and at first-place
Lower Columbia (26-2, 18-2) on
Saturday.
Paul Fiskum
Head Softball Coach
“We had had pretty much our way
with them this season, and as a result,
they came out angry and determined.
We just weren't as ready for it as we
should have been,” said Fiskum. “As
usual, we got great pitching, but our
defense was poor and it cost us.”
Last Tuesday, Clackamas swept a
doubleheader from Southwestern
Oregon CC by scores of 8-0 and 13-1.
Miranda Gillaspie tossed a four-hitter
in the first game for the shutout. The
Cougars hit three consecutive doubles
in the fifth to score four runs and
Kraxberger hit a two-run homer in the
NIC DELZELL Clackamas Print
Freshman utility player Jessica Nagi warms up for the doubleheader against
Chemeketa on April 26. The Cougars split the series and improved to 24-9 overall.
Baseball continues downward
Track team divides
spiral; losing streak reaches seven and faces pressure
Nic Delzell
The Clackamas Print
Swept twice last week by Mt.
Hood CC and Lane CC, Clackamas
baseball is struggling.
“Not much productivity,” said
Head Coach Robin Robinson about
the current seven-game losing streak.
At Mt. Hood last Tuesday the
Cougars lost game one by a score of 9-
2. Pitcher Brad Neffendorf hurled the
loss.
In game two, the Cougars were
shutout 3-0 as they only managed two
hits.
The Cougars were also shutout in
game one of last Saturday’s double
header at Lane 2-0. Neffendorf
pitched the loss; in six innings he gave
up six hits, two runs and one walk,
while striking out two Lane batters.
Catcher Barry Humphrey came
through at the plate once again with
another hit. Humphrey’s batting aver
age is .433, which is currently in the
top five in conference batting, accord
ing to Robinson.
In game two against Lane, the
Cougar bats were on but base running
was the problem.
“[There were] a couple of misreads
on the base paths,” said Robinson.
Game two was lost 5-2. Jason
Chan went 3-for-4 with one run.
Humphrey went l-for-3 with an RBI.
“We played okay, but we made a
Now with more real Cougar!
couple of base running mistakes,” said
Robinson. “We needed a couple of
timely hits.”
Robinson wants his team to play
with pride.
“The best talent wins, but I want
freshman to think about next year, and
sophomores to think about moving on
- that should be their motivation to
win. By this time of the year it should
be coming together - pitching and hit
ting.”
Last Thursday’s games at Mt.
Hood were rained out and rescheduled
for tomorrow.
The Cougars (11-16 overall, 6-12
league) have dropped to fifth place in
the Southern Region.
Only the
league’s top two teams will advance to
the conference championships.
Chris
Runyon (8)
confers
with Head
Coach
Robbie
Robinson
(left) and
Assistant
Coach
Mick El let
(right)
while wait
ing on
deck.
Clackamas
dropped
from third
to fifth in
the
Southern
Region this
week.
NIC DELZELL Clackamas Print
Saturday, May 3
Lane
@ 1 p.m.
HOME
at weekend meets
Elena Boryska
Sports Editor
Clackamas track had a busy week
end of splitting the team up and head
ing in two different directions. Eleven
athletes made their way to the Oregon
Invite, while the rest of the group
took off for Western Oregon.
The athletes at the Oregon Invite
hosted by the University of Oregon
were those who were able to meet the
qualifying standards set for the event.
According to Cross Country Coach
Keoni McHone, the Oregon meet is a
good chance for athletes to get used to
large crowds and tough competition.
3 “Basically you. get a. chance to
deal with pressure [and] competi
tion,” said McHone. “There’s a large
crowd there at that meet and they get
to compete... in front of a lot of peo
ple.”.
T. Harris had a nice performance,
running a time of22.87 in the 200 and
securing sixth place. His time and
placing were especially significant
because he was- racing in the twilight
session, which consisted of all the
athletes who did well during the day
session. Josh Carlson was also among
those that competed at twilight; he set
Friday, May 2
at Mt. Hood
@ 1 p.m.
a new season PR in the javelin as he
launched to 206-08.
Sean Jones tied his season PR dur
ing the. pole vault competition portion
of the day session. His vault of 15-01
was a mere two inches shy of his life
time best and was good for a second
place finish.
For the women, Kari Rissmiller
ran for 32nd place in the 1500, finish
ing with a time of 5:03; Rebekah
Yancoskie had a time of 2:23 in the
800 for 18th place. Both women ran
during the day events.
At the Western Oregon meet,
Kerby Boschee had a season PR in
the discus throw as she improved to
123-02. She also threw "the hammer
116-0. Reanna Rice saw a seven-foot
PR in the hammer.as she threw 107-
0.
In the men’s 5K, Mike Schwoebel
had a 12 second lifetime PR over his
last time, which he set just two weeks
ago. His time of 15:25 is especially
significant because of the fact that he
has been doing a lot of training on his
own in order to take a class that he
needs to earn his degree. Pat Searing
also had a good time in the 5K with a
15:35 finish.
Next up for the Cougars is the
Linfield Open on May 3.
Saturday, May 3
Linfield Open
at McMinnville
/