The Clackamas print., April 25, 2018, Page 7, Image 7

Clackamas eyes top
16 finish in NWAC
BY JA C O B
TH OM PSON
SPORTS
EDITOR
A ft e r a 1-3 fin is h
n a r o u n d -r o b in
to u r n a m e n t
W - v ersu s Treasure V a lle y
C o m rau n i t y
C o lle g e a n d N o r th
Id aho C o lle g e ,
C lackam as C o m m u n ity C o lle g e ’ s s o ftb a ll team m oves
to 13-15 ov erall an d 7 -7 in th e So u th R egion .
Despite the rough w eekend, the Cougars are currently
ranked N o . 15 in th e ratin g percen tage in d ex, w hich
w ould q u alify th e m for th e N W A C p la y o ffs. ft
“ I th in k w e’ re co m in g alo n g b etter as a te a m ,” said
fre sh m a n p itch e r Baylee E ato n . “ A s our gam es go by
w e’ve becom e a b etter tea m and I th in k w e ’re goin g
to pu ll th ro u g h .”
The C ou gars have h ad a lo t o f success o ffe n s iv e ly ,
w ith a t e a m b a ttin g average o f .361, h ittin g 25 h om e
runs and 184 runs batted in , althou gh th ey have seen a
Sligh t decrease in offen sive productivity w hen playing
leagu e op p o n e n ts. S*even teenof th e C ou gars 25 HR s
have com e outside o f league play and th e team b attin g
average h as dropped fro m .394 to .330 w h e n playin g
con feren ce fo e s.
“ W e sta rte d o ff p re tty h o t an d w e w e n t to som e
places where the elevation was a lo t h ig h e r,” said Head
C o a ch JessicaJB u el. “ W e ’ve h it a couple b u m p s in the
road alo n g th e w ay, b u t h o p efu lly now We’ re ge ttin g
b a ck in th e sw ing o f th in g s .”
C la ck a m a s plays and it ’ s
a roll s h e ’ s com fortable
Freshm an catcher Natalie M unson is leading the way
for th e Cou gars at th e p late, w ith a b a ttin g average o f
.382,15 H R s and 35 R B Is .W it h 14 ga m es r e m a in in g ,
M u n s o n n eed s tw o m o re H R s to b re a k th e s ch o o l
record.
“ I ’ m n o t used to h it t in g th is m a n y h o m e r u n s ,” ./
M u n so n said . “ I ’d h ad a few b a ck in h ig h sch o o l. It
fe els really good and h o p efu lly I get good h its and get
w h a t it ta k e s .”
_ <
C la ck a m a s h as lean ed on E ato n to do m o st o f th e
p itc h in g so fa r th is s e a s o n , p itc h in g 76 o f th e 152
in n in g s th e C o u ga rs h av e p lay ed . A p p e a r in g in 20
o f th e C o u g a rs ’ 28 g a m e s , E ato n h as a 5 -8 record,
h a s record ed 58 s tr ik e o u ts , an d h a s a n ea rn e d run
average o f 7.09.
“ I ’v e ju s t tried to fo cu s o n th e b a tter and n o t w h at
th e situ atio n i s ,” said E ato n . “ I know m y tea m m a tes
h av e m y b a ck o u t th e r e .”
Fresh m an pitcher M iranda Jen so n h as b een another
key part o f C la ck a m a s’ p itch in g s ta ff, startin g in eight
gam es for the Cougars. Jensen is 4-1, with 10 strikeouts,
and an ERA o f 6.92, she has thrown 30.1 in nin gs. Jensen
u sually starts th e second gam e o f an y d ou bleheaders
“ I k n o w [ E a to n ] is
g o in g to get th e first g a m e
d o n e,” said Jen sen . “ If we don’t
p la y w ell in th e first gam e we m ig h t
be a little frazzled , b u t I know w e’re I
going to get it done one out at a tim e .”
The Cougars have been right around J
a w in n in g to tal p ercen tage o f .500 J
th e en tire season , b u t sophom ore jjg
o u tfie ld er A is h a E n sle y said sh e
fe e ls lik e C la c k a m a s is p r im e d J j j f
t o g e t in to th e .p o s t s e a s o n an d ™
tu r n s o m e h e a d s a t t h e N W A C
to u rn a m en t.
“ W e w an t to get to [the tou rnam en t]
and show everybody w ho we really a r e ,”
said E nsley. “ A n d n ot w hat th e y ’ve seen
so fa r. N ow ’ s th e tim e to do w hat w e’ve
been w ork in g for all sea so n ”
S ittin g .008 percen t ahead o f Sp okan e C o m m u n ity
C o lle g e in th e R P I, C la ck a m a s w ill fa ce C h e m e k e ta
C o m m u n ity C ollege (2 -1 8 ,1 -7 ) on Saturday.
photos .fcy&U on q th a ri V i 11 ao o m e z
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Top left: Natalie Muosort atbat.
Top right: Ton Harper W o w s to first base.
Bottom: Jritta n y Hays catches a pitch.
Clackamas Print
theclackam asp rin t.n et
April 25, 2018