A9
WEDNESDAY
July 24, 2019
Softball juniors hang tough in consolation
Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Wallowa Valley
Cubs softball team initially
met some stiff opposition at
the 2019 West Region Junior
Girls Softball Tournament in
Tucson, Ariz. About 40 fans
made the trek to Arizona to
cheer on the team.
The Cubs started the
series with a 19-0 loss to the
Four Peaks, Ariz. squad on
Thursday, July 18. The game
ended after four innings
because of the score.
Whether due to nervous-
ness or excellent pitch-
ing, the Cubs had a prob-
lem getting their bats going,
managing two hits over the
duration. As Coach Shane
Kirkland recollected, every-
thing the ladies hit seemed
to go right to one of the
defensive players. Catcher
Cooper Nave got the team’s
fi rst hit in the fourth inning,
when the Cubs nearly scored
a run. Cubs errors also con-
tributed to the loss.
Talking with the team
after the game, Kirkland
said that multiple girls men-
tioned “we really thought
we would come here and
beat everybody.” While this
didn’t pan out, Kirkland
called it a great statement for
such a young group.
“No matter how hard
you try it’s hard to coach or
teach confi dence and we had
no lack of that going into the
game,” he said.
The coach also spared
no praise for the opponents,
noting that they came to play
ball.: “Twin Peaks, Arizona,
has a great program most of
End of the line for Cubs
Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Monday, July 22, saw the Cubs fall to opponent
Martinez Little League in an 11-1 rout that lasted fi ve
innings. The loss put an end to the Cubs’ consolation
hopes in the Western Region softball tournament.
The Cubs didn’t play dead, despite what the score
indicates. Stats show that the team had 10 hits, the
same as their opponents. The Cubs ended the tourna-
ment with a 1-3 record, capping the fi rst year a Wal-
lowa Valley softball team won a state championship.
Courtesy Photo/Annette Moeller
Wallowa Valley Cubs softball catchers Sophie Moeller, (Foreground) and Cooper Nave warm up
pitchers for one of the Wester Region Tournament games in Tucson, Ariz.
them playing year around
they made plays when they
needed to and hit the crap
out of the ball,” he said.
The Cubs had a .285
batting average and a .285
on-base percentage.
The next day saw the
Cubs facing Nunaka Val-
ley Little League of Alaska.
This game proved much
more Cubs-friendly with the
squad barely losing, 10-7.
“This was a great game
that went back and forth for
most of the game up to the
6th and 7th inning where
they put up eight runs,”
Kirkland said. “That’s when
they scored the majority of
their runs. The three-run
home run shot hurt us.”
The Cubs did put runners
on base and even scored in
the fi nal two but were unable
to match what Alaska put on
the scoreboard. Like many
Cubs games this year, going
down into the bottom of the
seventh frame, the ladies ral-
lied to score three runs with
two outs. With two runners
on that were ready to score,
an unfortunate strike out
ended both the rally and the
game.
“We were making a run
at it, giving ourselves some
good momentum with run-
ners in scoring position,”
Kirkland said. “We had the
opportunity; we were right
there.”
Kirkland said that the
ladies played a good game
with moments of brilliance.
He noted that Cubs’ bats
were much livelier then the
previous night. However,
the squad’s over all average
was lacking. However, the
Cubs had several noticeable
plate performances. Liddy
Fisher batted an amazing
1.000 while hustling Cooper
Nave kept her bat hot with a
notable .750 in the box.
The Cubs had a .393
batting average and a .393
on-base percentage.
Saturday, July 20, saw
the squad in the consola-
tion bracket, as the tourna-
ment is double elimination.
The Cubs fared much better
than their previous two out-
ings, defeating host team,
Thornydale Little League
8-6. The game saw a vir-
tual see-saw battle with the
teams frequently changing
leads until the Cubs broke
the game open in the third
inning, scoring four runs.,
They entered the seventh
inning with a comfortable
8-4 lead.
Thornydale wasn’t fi n-
ished yet however, immedi-
ately putting players on base
and scoring two runs. With
two outs and the tying run-
ner on base, the Cubs buck-
led down and got the last out.
Aimee Meyers secured
the win for the Cubs, strik-
ing out three while throw-
ing an amazing 26 fi rst-pitch
strikes. Abby straight had a
hot night with her bat, pok-
ing in two RBIs. The Cubs
had 15 hits overall.
Kirkland said that he was
amazed, but not surprised by
the 15-hit Cubs explosion.
He had told the ladies earlier
that day to relax and have
some fun by the pool, and
that they responded in kind.
Kirkland said the Arizona
weather wasn’t having much
effect on the Cubs’ play. He
noted the weather wasn’t
much different from Med-
ford, where the team won
the state championship.
The coach noted the
whole experience is one of
excitement for the squad.
He said that he thought the
team was prepared well and
ready as possible, especially
considering the youth of the
team.
“The girls have as good
a spirits as you could,” he
said. “It’s great softball, it’s
fun softball and super com-
petitive. the girls are getting
to see a lot of great stuff.”
White Tail Legends 4-H member attends shooting nationals
SteveTool
Wallowa County Chieftain
Cole Gomes, member
of Whitetail Legends 4-H
shooting team just added
another award to his exten-
sive collection. Gomes was
a member of the Oregon
state 4-H shooting team that
took third at the 4-H Shoot-
ing Sports National Cham-
pionships in Grand Island,
Neb. from June 23 — June
28.
Club co-leader, Julie
Gomes, said more of her
30-plus members had the
opportunity to attend the
Nebraska event, but quali-
fying for nationals requires
competing at the state level.
Cole Gomes was the only
one of the club who made
the journey to Albany to
qualify last year. More than
300 other Oregon shooters
did the same.
Ms.Gomes said that
they drove the 4-H van to
Nebraska.
“We got a lot of compli-
ments along the way,” she
said.
In Nebraska, Gomes
found himself compet-
ing against archers from
32 states. He competed
in
compound
archery
against 104 other contes-
tants. In the FITA ( Fédéra-
tion Internationale de Tir à
l’Arc, the governing body
of archery) round, which
included shooting at the
standard “bullseye” targets
and shooting at distances of
Steve Tool/Chieftain
PATRIOTIC ARCHER — Cole Gomes, member of the Whitetail
Legends 4-H archery club, showing the form he used to help
the Oregon state 4-H shooting team to a third place fi nish in
national competition.
40, 50 and 60 yards, Gomes
placed 29th while the team
overall placed sixth, a single
point from fi nishing in the
top fi ve.
In fi eld shooting, which
features targets of more
variable distances, Gomes
placed in the 33 slot while
the team placed 10th over-
all. The 3-D category, which
features foam animal tar-
gets, proved most lucrative
for Gomes and the Orego-
nians. He placed 15th over-
all while the team placed
second, ending with Oregon
in the third slot for the entire
competition.
Ms Gomes noted that the
Oregon team was on its best
behavior and that other adults
and teams made note of it.
Coach, Dr. David White,
a youth development spe-
cialist at Oregon State Uni-
versity, said he had numer-
ous compliment’s about the
team’s behavior. The team
ate together, cheered for
one another and even held
umbrellas for other compet-
itors to help defl ect the wind
during competition.
“It’s just what you do,”
Cole Gomes said. It’s a part
of shooting etiquette.”
The hosts also showed
some class, comping a meal
for the team after it had eaten
at a pizza restaurant.
As a show of solidar-
ity and patriotism the squad
wore shorts emblazoned
with the American fl ag.
When the team stood in the
right order, it looked like
one continuous fl ag. They
accidentally posed for their
team photo with the shorts in
the correct order for the con-
tinuous fl ag.
Weather in Nebraska was
very different according to
Ms. Gomes.
“With the wind, you
might as well try to shoot
with a fan blowing on you,”
she said. “An industrial
fan,” her son added. “You’re
lucky to hit the target, let
alone the center.” Projected
winds were at 45-50 miles
per hour.
The variety of peo-
ple attending the nationals
was one of many notewor-
thy activities at Nebraska.
“Cole must have met a mil-
lion kids,” Ms. Gomes said.
“If you’re not in 4-H, you’re
not going to get that.”
Her son said that meet-
ing the people was the high-
light of the trip for him. He
added he still keeps in con-
tact with fellow shooters
from as far away as Pennsyl-
vania, Lousiana, Texas and
New Mexico.
Ms. Gomes said she
hoped more club members
would consider trying out
for the state team. “It’s the
experience of a lifetime.”
“In 4-H, you can keep going
back, meeting new people,”
Cole Gomes said. “It most
defi nitely takes you places.”
“It’s not just shooting,”
Ms. Gomes said. “There’s a
lot to do.”
She noted that individ-
ual states brought baskets
of state-centered products,
which went into a silent
auction. Gomes contrib-
uted some jerky from Stan-
gel Buffalo Ranch. Mem-
bers also exchanged state
pins, hats, etc. She also said
that a water park opened
its doors exclusively to the
participants.
Dr. White also manages
the state’s shooting sports
program and coached the
team through its tremendous
performance. He highly rec-
ommended the shooting
sports program.
“I think the event is a
youth development event,”
he said. “Even so, we rec-
ognize in the world of com-
petition that these kids
are developing. The kids
in this program feel like
they belong to something
special.”
He also noted the role
of coaches and other vol-
unteers and the caring they
show toward their members.
He spoke of how this dedi-
cation results in many kids
staying in the program for
10 years and puts members
into what he called a thriv-
ing trajectory.
“We know they’ll be able
to set and manage goals and
be open to new challenges,”
he said. “We look for every
4-H youth to come out of the
program as an adult who is
civilly engaged and happy,”
he said. “They’re econom-
ically stable and become
engaged and part of the
community they live in.”
He said the fi nish is the
highest since Oregon has
participated in national
competition, and some have
members who have even
placed fi rst in the nation in
their categories.
White said that nine Ore-
gonians participated this
year and 53 have competed
since 2013.
“We could send 36, and I
hope one day we’ll get there,
but right now we’re good at
sending teams in archery
and shotgun,” he said.
As for Cole Gomes, he’s
got one more year left in the
program with this year being
the best year yet.
“It was defi nitely a trip
to remember,” Gomes said.
“It’s been a pretty good run
so far.”
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