Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2021)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021 | 3B Viks ship, Dalton Stinger and Clay Kramer. All three se- niors pitch in addition to playing other positions on the field. “Elijah has caught in the past,” said Shinn. “He's played middle infield for me in the past. He has played some outfield; he’s a kid who can do every- thing.” Stinger pitches and plays corner infield, more often than not third base. Kram- er is a pitcher and outfield- from 1B I was a rookie coach — at least here at Siuslaw. We struggled back then. I think we won three or four games that first year because we were really young and didn't have a whole lot of talent. Our freshmen were kind of thrust into things. But they've been able to see it through.” Returning as seniors this year are Elijah Blanken- er. All three were freshmen varsity players when Shinn took over the program. While the return of these seniors will help drive the program forward this sea- son, the timing logistics of the season that have been affected by the pandemic will make it a rough start. “Here’s the difficult thing,” explained Shinn, “I have 23 Kids signed up, of which I've seen a maximum of 12 in practice because we still have a lot of the kids A weekly roundup of shopping, savings and doings around town. BARGAINS OF THE MONTH NED HICKSON/SIUSLAW NEWS TRUE VALUE HARDWARE Siuslaw coach Tom Shinn, now in his fourth year with the Vikings baseball team, throws practice pitches last week in preparation for this week’s league games. 1750 HIGHWAY 126 DUNES VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER FLORENCE, OR PHONE (541) 997-8024 SALE DATE: APRIL 1 - APRIL 30, 2021 YOUR CHOICE 7.99 Duracell® 8 pk. AA or AAA Alkaline Batteries E 137 898/899 B8 #E 137 898 Elite Dealer Certified Gold Service Chainsaws Outdoor Power Tools We Sell & Service Stihl Products Monday-Friday 8—5 1550 6th St. & Hwy 101 541-997-2653 1550 6th St. & Hwy 101 541-997-9424 Monday—Saturday 10-5 BARGAINS OF THE MONTH SALE PRICE 8.99 - 2.00 MAIL-IN REBATE* = FINAL PRICE 6.99 SALE PRICE 27.99 - 3.00 MAIL-IN REBATE* = FINAL PRICE 24.99 SALE PRICE 25.99 - $4.00 MAIL-IN REBATE* = FINAL PRICE $21.99 FINAL PRICE FINAL PRICE FINAL PRICE Miracle-Gro® 1 cu. ft. Potting Mix Scotts® 4,000 sq. ft. Turf Builder® Triple Action Fertilizer Roundup® Gal. Ready-To- Use Extended Control Weed & Grass Killer 6.99 #L 462 572 B65 24.99 #L 232 545 1 Little 21.99 19.99 #L 161 996 B4 Preen® 4.93 lb. Extended Control Weed Preventer #L 231 291 B4 SAVE OVER $ 18 YOUR CHOICE 14.99 48.99 Four Seasons Courtyard® 2 pk. Solar Spot Lights or 6 pk. Solar LED Path Lights SAVE OVER $18, BARGAINS OF THE MONTH® T 241 590/353 #T 241 590 Blue Buffalo® 30 lb. Life Protection Formula® Adult Dog Food #H 232 922 1 6.49 Morton® 40 lb. Clean and Protect Water Softening Pellets #F 748 947 B63 playing football. So, a good portion of what would be considered my varsity kids, I haven't even seen in prac- tice. I'll get one practice day with the kids that are doing football prior to our first game on the 13th.” One day of practice to- gether as a team follow- ing two years between competitions — and a full year since the last practic- es were held — is surely a challenge. However, Shinn is aware that this same dis- advantage is being suffered by all of the teams in the league. “I keep getting reassured by others that everybody's going through that,” said Shinn, “but it doesn't make it any easier to try and fig- ure out exactly who your varsity players are and where they're going to play. Everything that we would like to get installed and get going, we just really hav- en't had the opportunity to do.” In addition to missing half of the team to playing football, the overlap has been difficult for Shinn as a coach, because he is one of the football team’s assis- tant coaches as well. “It's been a bit of a strug- gle there,” admitted Shinn. “I haven't been able to be [at football practice] for the last two weeks. During spring break, I was run- ning pitchers’ and catch- ers’ practices before going YOUR CHOICE 7.99 Duracell® 8 pk. AA or AAA Alkaline Batteries E 137 898/899 B8 #E 137 898 STOCK UP & SAVE MORE AT TRUEVALUE.COM BARGAINS OF THE MONTH TRUE VALUE HARDWARE 1750 HIGHWAY 126 • DUNES VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER, FLORENCE, OR PHONE (541) 997-8024 SALE DATE: APRIL 1 - APRIL 30, , 2021 from 1B in oxygen and an increase of carbon dioxide inside their masks. Th ese tests make the re- sults of the Siuslaw High Schools’ boys and girls cross country Sky-Em League Championships even more special. Coach Chris Johnson not only convinced enough runners to be a part of the team, he had to encourage them to run even with their masks fastened to their faces. All Siuslaw and Maple- ton athletes deserve extra support for the increased demands the masked placed on their perfor- mances. It might have been easier just to wait it out un- til masks would no longer be required. It might have been the reason the Sky-Em cross country meet had fewer complete teams than ever. It does not diminish the accomplishments of the Siuslaw teams’ success — in fact, I think it shows more competitiveness than any of the incomplete to football, so I could get some of those kids stron- ger. “We've had to be a little creative with trying to get kids involved so far.” Like all coaches this sea- son, Shinn wishes that he had more time to prepare. “This year, I'm going to have 11 kids that will have touched a bat for the first time, possibly in over a year, coming to our first team practice — with our first game the following day,” said Shinn. Last year, Siuslaw didn’t field a JV team. This year, Shinn plans on having two teams due to the number of players who have turnerd out. But it’s a two-edged sword with not having time to develop them. Still, Shinn is optimistic. “You’ve got to kind of ap- proach it as everybody's in the same boat. And when you throw your varsity kids out there, we're going to just go get them,” he said. “My personal goal is to win ballgames and be compet- itive in our league. I think our program is starting to grow and I really thought last year was going to push us towards that. Now it’s this year’s turn to go get that.” Earlier this week, follow- ing that first day of a full team practice on Monday, Shinn’s efforts were re- warded Tuesday (April 13) when Siuslaw went on to defeat the Cottage Grove Lions in their first game of the season, 11-9. “It was a little sloppy, we found some things we need to work on,” said Shinn. During the game, the Vikings tried out three pitching combinations, all to sophomore catcher Ian Sissel. “Pitching-wise, I liked what I saw for the most part,” said Shinn. “The plan was to limit the number of pitches guys threw so we have arms available for Fri- day (April 16). Both Elijah and Clay are able to return if we need them.” Kramer was followed on the mound by junior Ja- son Garcia, who came in to pitch in the second inning, with Blankenship taking the mound in the sixth in- ning to close out the game. Blankenship also had 2 runs and an RBI, as well as 2 stolen bases. In addition to Blanken- ship, junior Beau Erickson had 2 runs and 3 RBIs, as well as a triple. Junior Isaac Garza also had 1 run and 1 RBI for the Viks. According to Shinn, whose team is already off to a good start in a season that began with great un- certainty, “Our goal this week will be to limit the errors and strike outs and just keep improving from there.” teams. Th e OSAA established guidelines for athletic contests to take place this spring. Th ese guidelines must be consistent and applied by all Oregon high schools. I called my daugh- ter, Miranda, who is an as- sistant volleyball and head soft ball coach at St. Helens High School, to ask her about their mask-wearing teams. She said St. Helens and every team they played wore masks. In addition, she noted the need for her school to take two buses to each away contest to main- tain social distancing. My daughter, Alaura, told of an Oregon volley- ball team traveling to a tournament in Texas. Th e Oregon team played the tournament wearing their masks. Every team they played were not wearing masks because the state of Texas did not require masks. I decided to watch some ESPN this weekend. I watched some MLB, parts of the men’s and wom- en’s NCAA tournament, axe throwing and Oregon track. Th e inconsistency of mask enforcement was ev- ident and confusing. Most players were not wearing masks in each sport while offi cials and non-playing players were wearing masks. Some of the limited spectators were wearing masks but most were not. Th e require- ments of wearing masks are inconsistent or peo- ple are choosing to ignore them — the real penalty, of which, just might be the sickness or death of anoth- er person. Siuslaw and Mapleton High Schools are applying safety measures until it is once again safe to be with- out a mask. I respect their decision to protect their athletes, spectators and our community. If our athletes can put forth the extra eff ort need- ed to train while wearing a mask, it should be within our normal everyday ac- tivities to wear our masks as well. GO VIKINGS and SAILORS!