6 CLACKAMAS PRINT • MAY 20,2015
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NWAC Tourney Recap:
Friday vs Everett: W 7-0
Saturday vs Douglas: W 6-0
Sunday vs Mt. Hood: L 4-5
Friday vs Bellevue: W 8-6
Sunday vs Spokane: L 1-4
Above: Infielder Kylie Beilis slides into home as catcher Ashley Culp watches during Sunday's semi-final game vs N t Hood.
Story and photos by Blake Thomason and Jack Spencer
For th e second year in a ro w th e com bined seven runs in the th ird and played , played center, but I mean every comeback as Spokane w on 4-1.
However, the tournam ent was dou
Clackamas Cougars softball team was fourth inning. Bellevue rallied late scor one’s here, it’s like a whole different ball
ble-elim
ination so the Cougars still had
elim in a te d by th e Mt. Hood Saints In ing four runs in the seventh, but it wasn’t game. They come and nobody w ants
a
chance
to make th e cham pionship.
to
lose
so
everybody’s
giving
it
all
they
enough to overcome the deficit as Clack
the NWAC Championship tournam ent.
They
w
ould
just have to find a way to
got.
I
have
to
[say]
hands
dow
n
to
my
amas
held
on
8-6.
The Cougars ended the season on a
get back to th e ir style of play.
Day tw o started out similar to day one, defense, couldn’t do it w ith o u t them .”
h o t streak, w inning 10 o f th e ir last 11
“ [W e have to ] ju s t be co n fid e n t a t
Unfortunately, the roll the team was
games, en route to capturing the South w ith Clackamas controlling th e ir game
the
plate, get up early in the game and
on
ended
on
the
th
ird
day
o
f
the
tour
against
Douglas.
The
Cougar
defense,
Region title. The strong finish and region
score
some, g e t back in our groove,”
nament.
led
by
pitcher
Cassidy
Edwards,
d
o
m
crown earned the team the No. 2 seed
In th e sem i-finals, Clackamas faced said Marchbanks.
in the tournament, where they had high inated the game allowing just five hits
W ith elim ination staring them in the
and zero runs. The Cougar offense had o ff against the No. 1 seed Spokane Sas
expectations.
face,
Clackamas would have to go head
quatch.
Fielding
errors,
pitching
strug
“We have th a t desire every year, so another one-inning eruption w ith four
to
head
w ith th e ir archrival, Mt. Hood.
gles
and
poor
hitting
did
the
Cougars
runs
in
th
e
th
ird
,
w
hich
proved
to
be
it’s a tra d itio n at Clackamas," said head
in. Edwards was subbed out early in the The game w ould be a rematch of last
coach Jessica Buel. “We have won the insurm ountable in the 6 -0 win.
“ I mean o ur p itch in g s ta ff is killing game fo r pitcher Emily Marchbanks, but year’s championship.
most championships in the history of the
continued on pg. 7
NWAC, so th a t’s our every year, th a t’s it, eve ryb o d y on th e fie ld is h itting, th e change wasn’t enough to spark a
th
e
re
’s
hardly
any
errors,”
w h a t w e’re planning on."
In th e te a m ’s first tw o games, they said Gonzales. “Everybody’s
certainly seemed ready to live up to th a t d o in g th e ir jo b to g e th e r
and th a t’s w h a t makes us
tradition.
On th e firs t day o f th e to u rn a m e n t unstoppable."
Edwards s h u to u t each
Clackamas squared off against the No. 15
seed Everett Trojans. Both teams start o p p o n e n t in her firs t tw o
ed o ff slow, until the Cougars erupted starts o f th e tournam ent,
fo r five runs in th e fo u rth -in n in g lead as w ell as earning a save in
by a bases-clearing trip le fro m Cassie the game against Bellevue.
Cruz. Cougar pitching kept the Trojans Most pitchers have to take
days off, b u t Edwards was
in check on th e ir way to a 7-0 victory.
“The first gam e w e had a lo t o f jit ready to go fo r each game
ters but after th a t we were just kind of at w hatever position.
“ I c o u ld h ’t have d o n e
on a mission," said th ird baseman Kylie
it w ith o u t m y team ," said
Gonzales.
The mission continued later th a t day Edwards. “ O bviously w e
as they were paired up against th e No. played tw o p re tty g o o d
10 seed Bellevue Bulldogs. Clackamas team s th a t I pitched, and
ju m p e d o u t to a big lead thanks to a th e o th e r te a m th a t w e Pitcher Cassidy Edwards and catcher Kandace Furlong celebrate after shutting out Douglas In the quarterfinals.