May 7, 2003 • The Clackamas Print • 11
SPORTS
Cougar softball looks to NWAACCs
Frank Jordan
7he Clackamas Print
Clackamas softball swept Grays
Harbor CC, split with Mt. Hood CC
and won a key game with Lower
Columbia College last week, with
their eyes on the Northwest Athletic
Association
of
Community
Colleges’ championships coming up
in two weeks.
Last Tuesday, the Cougars (22-5
league, 28-10 overall) roughed up
Grays Harbor (2-24, 2-26) 16-0 and
10-0 on the Clackamas diamond.
Miranda Gillaspie combined with
Brieanne Thurn on a one-hitter in
the first game. Angie Roberti sup
plied the most offense as she went
2-for-4 at the plate with a three-run
double, a two-run homer and a sac
rifice fly, accounting for six RBI in
the game.
Carleen Lessard dominated the
second game on the mound for
Clackamas, tossing a no-hitter with
12 strikeouts, including eight in a
row during one stretch.
Roberti
went 2-for-4 with three RBI and
Kim Kraxberger continued her hot
hitting of late, connecting in the
fourth inning with a three-run
inside-the-park home run.
“Carleen was overpowering on
the hill. She was simply awesome,”
said Head Coach Paul Fiskum.
“I can’t remember the last time i
we had a pitcher strike out as many’
as she did in a five-inning game.
Not just striking batters out, but
many of them on three pitches.”
Friday, Clackamas took on Mt.
Hood (18-8,18-13) in a key
Southern Division showdown. In a
classic pitcher’s duel, the Cougars
scored a run in the top of the eighth
inning to win 1-0.
“Miranda Gillaspie probably
threw her best game of the year,”
said Fiskum. “Neither team could
get much going, and Miranda was
totally in control of her game.”
Gillaspie allowed four hits,
walking one and striking out eight.
The Cougars had only one hit
through six innings and the game
was scoreless heading into extra
innings.
In the eighth, Melissa Gibson
led off with a single and then she
stole second. Morgan Huffstutter
sacrificed Gibson to third, then
Brooke Comstock hit a. sharp
ground ball to shortstop, which
scored Gibson with the game’s first
run.
Gillaspie mowed down the
Saints in the bottom of the eighth to
preserve the 1-0 victory.
Game two with Mt. Hood was
more of the same, with the pitchers
dominating
the
action.
Clackamas let themselves
down defensively, giving up
four runs in the third on two
hits, two walks, a bases-
loaded single that ended up
clearing the bases on an
outfield error and another
error on the pitcher that led
to the four runs.
“We
played
okay, but we got our
selves caught up in a
situation where one
bad hop turned
into a big inning,
and it cost us,”
said Fiskum.
Clackamas got a
run back in the
inning
when
Carla
Lillis scored off
of a wild pitch,
but it was too
little, too late
and Mt. Hood
went on to a 4-2
win.
“It was the first
time all year that
our
pitching
deserted
us,”
Fiskum said. “Mt.
Hood is a very good team
and it seems that they
have gotten more breaks
against us than with any
other team. But that is
NIC DELZELL Clackamas Print
Brooke Comstock (above left) waits patiently as impending rain forces Clackamas to
share the practice field with Chemeketa; Morgan Huffsutter (15) and Jessica Nagi
(right) look on. Kim Kraxberger (pictured at left) leads the Clackamas women in
homeruns, knocking out two last week, for a season total of four.
softball.”
Saturday, the Cougars traveled to
Longview, Wash, for a showdown
with
division-leading
Lower
Columbia (23-4, 31-4). Clackamas
got a great pitching effort from their
whole staff and scored runs in the
first, fourth and sixth innings to get
their third straight win over LCC, 4-
1.
Kraxberger supplied the big
blow in the top of the sixth, hitting a
monstrous two-run homer over the
right Centerfield fence to turn a
close game into the 4-1 victory.
“It was a great win on the road
for us and a great turnaround from
the disappointment of the day
before (the loss to Mt. Hood),”
Fiskum said.
Game two of the doubleheader
started fast for Lower Columbia as
they scored a run in the first and two
in the third to jump to an early 3-0
lead. Then the rain started to fall.
“It was just pouring out there,
but the umpire would not call the
game,” said Fiskum. “Our pitcher
(Thum) couldn’t even grip the ball.
Because the ump wouldn’t suspend
the game, Brieanne gave up two
more runs in the fourth. It really
“It was the first
time all year
that our
pitching
deserted us.”
Paul Fiskum
Head Softball Coach
hurt us.”
With CCC down 5-0, the rally
began in the downpour. Roberti
walked and Jessica Nagi sacrificed
her to second. Gillaspie walked,
then Kraxberger singled in Roberti
on a line drive that the LCC second
baseman had deflected off of her
glove.
“That second baseman dove to
her left and the ball glanced off of
her glove. She hit the infield and
slid about six feet in the mud. When
she got up, her whole front side was
covered with mud,” said Fiskum.
“When the field umpire saw that, he
conferred with the plate umpire and
it was decided to suspend the
game.”
The game will resume today in
Longview with Lower Columbia
holding, a 5-1 lead in the top of the
fifth. Clackamas has runners on at
first and second with one out and
Gibson at the plate.
Clackamas will finish up the
regular season this weekend with
home tloubleheaders against Pierce
College (0-24, 0-28) on Friday and
Centralia CC (14-14, 14-14) on
Saturday. Saturday is also Alumni
Day, with a celebration taking place
between games. All Cougar soft-
ball alums are invited to attend and
a pizza feed will take place at
Jimmy O’s Pizzeria in Oregon City
after the games. Friday’s games
begin at 3 p.m. and Saturday’s start
time has been moved from 2 p.m. to
noon to accommodate the Alumni
Day festivities.
Don't let rain stop MLB from coming to Portland
Cory Price
Co-Photo Editor
To the tune of “Take Me Out
to the Ball Game:”
“Make me a good baseball team,
one that can make me proud.
Find me an owner and good ball
club,
I don’t care if we never win
games.
Let me root, root, root for the
Expos,
if they don’t come it’s a shame.
For its one, two, three million
bucks
at the going price.
Play ball!”
With the recent devolopmental
idea of bringing a major league
baseball team to Portland, some
critics might cry out that Portland
is too rainy and doesn’t have a
good enough economy. I laugh at
this idea. Don’t we need jobs that
will stimulate the economy?
With the slumping economy,
Oregon employment is at an all
time low. The purchase of a base
ball team will create 200 full-time
jobs and 1400 part-time jobs. It
will
also
bring in an
estimated
$433 million
in state rev
enue over a
25-year peri
od from taxes
off
playe
salaries
alone.
The placement of the stadium
will be a crucial decision. The
neighborhood that houses the new
stadium will experience increased
property value and economic
devolpment. Portland is the largest
market in
US
without a
major
league
baseball
team. The
metro area
ontains
two mil
lion peo
ple: 22nd largest city population in
the country, according to US cen
sus.
What about the rain?
Actually, with 12.07 inches of
rainfall during the baseball season,
Portland has less rainfall than 13
cities with a major league team.
Miami, known for its sun, records
44.94 inches of rainfall. Miami is
one of the southernmost cities with
a club.
Now is the time for a major
league team. The economy is hurt
ing, and the rain is holding off
between April and October.
So take me out to the ball garhe
and bring us a major league team.
Any team will be better than the
Beavers.