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A8 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2019 SEASIDE GULLS SPRING 2019 | BASEBALL • SOFTBALL Seaside ready to battle with Astoria, Banks By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian C ould we have a Banks vs. Seaside champi- onship trifecta? The Braves and the Gulls met for the state champion- ship in both football and basketball. It may be a lon- ger shot, but don’t be so quick to discount a Banks vs. Seaside championship meeting in baseball. Banks is a proven power, fi nishing last season as Cowapa League co-champi- ons with Astoria. The Gulls, meanwhile, have shown that on a good day, they can compete with anybody. Seaside got a good start last summer, when the Gulls fi nished third in the Oregon Junior Baseball state tour- nament, behind Churchill and West Salem. It all comes down to that senior group, which has plenty of big-game experi- ence, in every sport. “They’re so athletic,” said Seaside’s fi rst-year coach, Dan McFadden. “That’s one thing about our seniors. To play in the state title game in football and basketball, I’d be crazy if I didn’t think we had an opportunity to do that in baseball also.” Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Isaias Jantes has a strong arm in the outfi eld for the Seaside baseball team. SEASIDE BASEBALL Coach: Dan McFadden, 1st year 2018: 10-13 (6-9 Cowapa) Playoff s: none THE COWAPA The Cowapa League is just as tough in baseball as it is in most sports. It’s no coincidence that other sports are fi nishing with an all-Cowapa League cham- pionship game, and that the Cowapa’s “league cham- pionship” is also becom- ing known as the “state championship.” Over the last 11 years, Cowapa League teams have made six appearances in the baseball state championship game. Of course, a couple of those appearances belong to Scappoose, no longer in the Cowapa. Still, there’s plenty of top-notch competition left. The race for the 2019 league title could be a three-team sprint between Astoria, Banks and Seaside. Astoria and Banks are old hands at com- peting for league titles All-league losses: Astor Landwehr All-league returners: Brayden Johnson, Jr., Alex Teubner, Sr., Payton Westerholm, Sr. Seaside is strong in the middle infi eld with shortstop Payton Westerholm, left, and second baseman Gage McFadden. — the Gulls are the newcomers. “The Cowapa League is wide open this year,” McFadden said. “It’s any- body’s game.” THE GULLS Seaside’s annual deep run into the basketball playoffs always results in a late start for baseball. But, knowing the Gulls’ seniors, they’re always ready for whatever sport is in season. “We rolled right into baseball games without practice,” McFadden said. “It’s kind of a crazy thing, getting guys back that late. We had our jambo- ree on Monday, and that was two days after the championship basketball game. “I got texts from all of (the basketball players), asking for an extra day off,” he said. “And God bless ‘em, they came out and we had a great two days of prac- tice after that.” A glance at the Seaside roster shows very few weak- nesses in the fi eld. It will start with a deep pitching staff. “The one thing that I like about our pitching is that we have lots of it,” McFadden said. “We have options every day. We may not have that dominant guy who can throw 85, 90 miles an hour, but we have guys who throw strikes, and our defense is fantastic. As long as they throw strikes, we’re going to be in any baseball game. “We’ve been doing some different things to make our outfi eld more athletic, and we’re moving Duncan Thompson (Sr.) around a little. We’re excited about this.” True, fi ve of the league’s six starting catchers made all-league last season, but the Gulls own arguably the best one, in senior Alex Teubner. Seaside is solid up the middle, with senior all- league shortstop Payton Westerholm and second baseman Gage McFadden. A third all-league returner is junior Brayden John- son, who has seen action on the mound, along with senior Travis Fenton and Thompson. Senior left fi elder Isa- ias Jantes is also solid with the bat, and senior Dylan Meyer will be the starter at fi rst base. The Gulls recently picked up another poten- tial all-leaguer in senior Chase Januik. Instead of long jumping for the track team — which he has been doing for the last few years — Januik has decided to play baseball. He recently had three hits in a win over Astoria. Paxson VanNortwick rounds out the senior class. Junior Gavin Rich has seen time on the mound in the preseason, and the two sophomores on the roster include Riley Kuhl and Jus- tin Morris. Seaside was 5-4 through nine games, without a single rainout in March. “We want to get our pre-season games in, get better, and be ready for that fi rst league game,” McFadden said. “We have a lot of senior leaders on our team this year, guys who have played baseball their whole career. We’re really excited about this season.” Garrigues takes over as Seaside softball coach down to Astoria and Banks, with Seaside and Tillamook looking to steal a few wins along the way. In just a four-team league, each team will play four games against the other three. The Daily Astorian A program that has not had a lot of stability over the years is hop- ing for just that, as the Seaside softball team enters another year with another coach. Jessica Garrigues — who was at least on staff last season as an assistant coach — is the sixth head coach in six years for Sea- side softball. Garrigues takes over for Dar- ren Ideue, who took over for Korie Blacker, who replaced co-coaches Jon Hotchkiss and Bill Wester- holm, who took over for Jen Glas- son following the 2015 season. THE COWAPA The 2019 season will be the perfect opportunity for Garrigues to build a strong program. Seaside will have to replace Jetta Ideue in the pitcher’s cir- cle, but the Gulls have all sorts of returning talent, from sopho- mores Kandice Flaigg and Gracie Rhodes, to junior catcher Sidney Owsley, to senior Alyssa Goin, one SEASIDE SOFTBALL Coach: Jessica Garrigues, 1st year 2018: 8-13 (3-12 Cowapa) Playoff s: None THE GULLS Key loss: Jetta Ideue Key returners: Kandice Flaigg, So., Alyssa Goin, Sr., Gracie Rhodes, So. REVISED SCHEDULE April 9 ...... at Banks .................................... 5 p.m. April 11 ....at Blanchet Catholic........4:30 p.m. April 16 ....Banks ........................................... 5 p.m. April 18 ....at Astoria.................................... 5 p.m. April 22 ...Tillamook ................................... 5 p.m. April 24 ...Banks ........................................... 5 p.m. April 26 ...Tillamook ................................... 5 p.m. May 1 .......Astoria ......................................... 5 p.m. May 3 .......at Tillamook .............................. 5 p.m. May 6 .......at Banks ...................................... 5 p.m. May 7 .......at Astoria ................................... 5 p.m. of just two seniors on the roster. Meanwhile, the Cowapa League is down to just four teams. Defend- ing league champion Scappoose is gone, as is Valley Catholic. The league title could come Seaside had just three seniors last year, and there’s only two seniors on the 2019 roster, Goin and Brianna Hill. Goin will be a starter in the outfi eld, while Hill will hold down a spot in the left side of the infi eld. The junior class includes Emma Brown at fi rst base, outfi elder Can- dice Kerr, pitcher/outfi elder Emma Meyer and catcher Sidney Owsley. In addition to Flaigg and Rhodes, the talented sophomore class has Zoey Alexander and Brianna Boyd, who can play the infi eld or outfi eld. The Gulls have two freshmen on the varsity roster — Tara Lair and catcher/pitcher Erin Owsley. Former Seaside baseball coach Joel Diericks will serve as Garri- gues’ assistant coach. • 2 LOCATIONS • Easy & Convenient CELEBRATING OVER 50 YEARS OF MAKING SWEET MEMORIES! Downtown Cannon Beach 256 N. Hemlock & Seaside Outlet Mall Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Gracie Rhodes, right, will have a big hand in the rebuilding of the Seaside softball program. GO SEAGULLS!! 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