BASEBALL TEAM ENDS SEASON ON
17-GAME LOSING STREAK
THE COUGARS BASEBALL TEAM COMES TO A STRUGGLING END WITH A 5-29 RECORD
BY EDGARD VALENCIA
Every spring has its own story to tell and
the Cougars Baseball team might be one
to forget.
Nothing came easy for the Cougars this
season. They split their first two series
o f the season before going on an eight-
game losing streak, which came to an end
. by splitting their second series against
C hem eketa, earning their first w in in
league play.
The momentum carried on into the next
couple games as they split another four
game series against Southwestern Oregon
Com m unity College earning their third
win in league play 3-5.
From there things took an unexpected
turn for the Cougars as they went on to
lose all o f the rem aining games o f the
season ending with a record of 3-21 in
league play and 5-29 overall.
Head coach Jim Hoppel knows that,
despite the 17 game losing streak to end
the season, the players still gave it their
all and is aware of how things could have
been different for the program.
“ It was a very tough year for sure,**
Hoppel said. “ We had some high hopes
for the team that we started out w ith,
but unfortunately we had some players
go down w ith injuries and some guys
that becam e in eligib le that we were
really counting on being a key part o f
our success.”
The Cougars encountered a few close
league play battles alon g the season
including two games with Clark 2-3 and
7*10, Linn Benton 3-4, and two games
against Lane 7*8 and 7-9.
Freshman catcher Jake Dobecki looks
back at his first season behind the plate.
“ I think the turning point was in our
second series against Clark when we got
swept and lost three of those whichwere
really close games,” Dobecki said. “ When
it got really tough I would just try to tell
myself that no matter what is happening
I’m always going do everything I can do to
try and win this game even if were down
by 10 runs.”
Sophom ore designated h itter Zach
W yscaver took on the leader role in a
team that had 23 freshman com ing in.
W yscaver played in 30 gam es w hich
translated to 24 hits, 9 runs and led the
team in RBIs with 11.
“ During practices you could tell that
we were working hard and trying to get
better each day whether it’ s ground balls
or h ittin g,” Wyscaver said. “ We were a
young team this year and had a lot o f
freshman starters that will be ready for
next season, but our goal was to try and
make it to the end. We just wanted to keep
playing baseball.”
Other memorable m entions include
freshman pitcher Drew Martin who did
a fantastic job on the mound for the
Cougars and kept them close in games
he played in as he pitched 48.2 innings
throughout the season, which included
one shutout, 21 strikeouts, and 43 hits
allowed. Sophomore third baseman Micah
Clardy was another key player as he played
31 games translating to 17 runs, 25 hits
and 8 RBIs.
Looking forward to next season, Hoppel
knows that it’s a new chance to start
fresh.
“We are starting with a new team and
not letting what happened this year affect
the way we approach what we want to
accomplish next year,’* Hoppel said. “ We
have some very good recruits coming in
next year and some guys coming back that
we feel can make a difference. We want
to thank those that came out to watch us
and continue to support our program.”
hoto by Travis David V Whittaker
Andrew Fine throws a pitch against Mt. Hood, in a game where the Cougars lost 14-0.
12 CTadcamas Print MAY 25.2016 thedadtarnaspiintcom