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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 11, 2015 3B B ASEBALL Continued from 1B fi le photo Cottage Grove junior Payton Presley was a second-team all-Sky- Em selection in 2014. Presley will team with Hunter Harris, TJ Bel- lamy and Brett Ollivant to form a talented group of infi elders for the Lions. “It was amazing to fi nd out we had the type of kids who can give up a fi ve- run lead at the end of the year and come back like it's nothing. That says a lot about your team,” Geiszler said. The driving force to Cottage Grove’s fi nish — as many on the team have said — was its seniors: Bodey Allen, Quen- tin Buckland, Brody Gipson and Kwan Thithong. While Gipson and Thithong were honorable mention all-state play- ers, Geiszler said that it’s more critical that the Lions replace their leadership than their on-fi eld production. Thomason said that this process has already started to happen as more play- ers than usual participated in off-season workouts. Cottage Grove brings back a wealth of proven talent from 2014. Juniors Payton Presley and Hunter Harris were all-league infi elders; Lucas Ward was an all-state player in the outfi eld, and Thomason was a fi rst-team all-league pitcher. Seniors Tristan Mihan and Elias Stock will bring additional expe- rience to the outfi eld. Other players have shown strong po- tential to move into starting roles. Soph- omores TJ Bellamy and Brett Ollivant and junior Bryce Allen had outstanding summer-ball seasons, and Hunter Gip- son has demonstrated thus far to be a strong utility player. Geiszler said that the team rarely talks about goals in terms of wins but focuses on individual improvement. One way they have tried to do that this year is by making things measureable, such as a players’ time from fi rst base to second, or the time it takes for a throw to get across the diamond. “It’s something we haven’t done, but it’s been huge because the players want to see those times improve, and those things result in wins,” he said. The Lions open at Cascade on March 16 and will play in two tournaments over Spring Break. “Biggest thing I’ll be looking for is leadership,” Geiszler said of the non- conference slate. “Physically, I think I know what everybody can do on the fi eld.” Cottage Grove begins league play against Elmira on April 6, before tak- ing on defending champion Sisters two days later. The Outlaws went undefeat- ed in the Sky-Em a year ago and played for the state championship. And despite losing all-state players Joey Morgan and Jardon Weems, once again they ap- pear to be a juggernaut. “I feel that Sisters is always in the back of our minds, but in the sense that we want to beat them,” said Geiszler. “They are the standard of the league and of the state, and they have been for a long time. In order to be the best you have to beat the best.” Baseball Season Outlook 2014: 17-11, 10-5 Sky-Em, 2nd Postseason: Defeated La Salle 6-2 in the play-in round; lost to eventual state champion Henley in the fi rst round, 10-0. Key stat: In three games against Sisters, Cottage Grove was outscored 24-4. Against all other opponents, the Lions held a scoring margin of 180- 128. Top Returners: Hunter Har- ris, JR, Third-team all-State – infi elder; Lucas Ward, JR, Honorable Mention all-State – outfi elder; Zach Thomason, SR, Second-team all-Sky-Em – pitcher; Payton Presley, JR, Second-team all-Sky-Em – infi elder. Key Losses: Kwan Thithing, Honorable metion all-State; Brody Gipson, Honorable mention all-State. Top Newcomers: TJ Bellamy, Brett Ollivant and Bryce Allen 2015 will be a successful season if: “Our seniors can lead us in the right direction,” coach Dan Geiszler. S OFTBALL fi le photo Liz Wiltse was a second- team all-league selection at infi elder last year. Continued from 1B Overall we were pleased,” said Frieze. “But we were a lit- tle disappointed as well because there were opportunities to pick up a few more wins down the stretch, but we let those games slip through our fi ngertips.” While the Lions’ fi nal stretch included four games against co- league champions Elmira and Sweet Home, Frieze said her team was not as mentally pre- pared as they could have been. Given where the program had been, however, it's understand- able why the Lions weren't able to execute down the stretch. "We all wanted to be in that situation but didn’t necessarily think that we could get there," said all-league infi elder Liz Wiltse. "We prepared for it, but I think we pretended to be ready for it." With seven varsity players expected to return, Frieze hopes those lessons will propel the program to greater heights. “It defi nitely helps to have that core of strong leadership back. I’m excited to see what they’ll be able to do this year, and how they can help bring the next group of players along,” Frieze said. Among the returning players are all-league performers Wiltse at fi rst base, pitcher Taylor Say- les, catcher Kassidy Whisler and outfi elder Kale’a Galbreath. It is the fi rst time that the cur- rent seniors have had the same coach for back-to-back seasons, and Wiltse believes this consis- tency will be a big advantage over past years. "It's defi nitely nice because you know her coaching style more and know what she ex- pects out of returning play- ers. With a new coach, the fi rst couple weeks you’re walking on eggshells; you’re learning their style, and they’re learning about you. This year we were able to get right down to softball," she said. Adding to Cottage Grove’s ability to prepare for this season was that very few returnees par- ticipated in winter sports. Frieze said the team used this opportu- nity to build a stronger base of fundamentals, which she hopes will allow them to develop more diverse skill sets over the course of the season. The Lions are scheduled to play 10 nonconference games — including their opener against Springfi eld on March 16, and a spring break tournament at North Marion. “I’m looking forward to see- ing where we’ll be after the pre- season,” said Frieze. “The pur- pose of those games it to let the girls get back into the game, but we’ll also want answers some question marks at key positions and in our batting order.” Frieze said that Katie Lyons and Kamryn Orloff, who were utility players on last year’s team, could fi ll vacancies at shortstop and second base. Cottage Grove hosts the Fal- cons in its fi rst league game on April 4. While both Elmira and Sweet Home suffered signifi - cant losses to graduation, Frieze knows that these programs typi- cally reload with talent, rather than rebuild. Sayles said the team has goals to beat each Sky-Em opponent at least once and advance to the postseason. However, she also acknowledged that it feels a bit like playing with house money. “With our record being what it’s been, every year our attitude has been ‘what do we have to lose’, it’s not like we’ve blown a state title. We’re playing to have fun and win some games," she said. Softball Season Outlook: Find Local Businesses. ,QWURGXFLQJ WKH QHZHVW ZD\ WR ´QG WKH businesses that mean the most to you. www.shoppelocal.biz Shoppe™ is a trademark of News Media Corp. 2014: 10-11, 7-8 Sky-Em, 4th Key Stat: In 2014, the Lions equaled their win total of the previous fi ve seasons. Top Returners: Liz Wiltse, SR, First-team all-Sky-Em – Infi elder; Taylor Sayles, SR, Second-team all-Sky-Em – Infi elder; Kassidy Whisler, JR, Second-team all-Sky- Em– Catcher; Kale’a Galbreath, JR, Second-team all-Sky-Em, Outfi elder. Key losses: Courtney Shipley, Second-team All-Sky-Em – Infi elder. Top Newcomer: Samantha Heine First Game: March 16 — Stayton at Cottage Grove. Games of the year: April 21 — Elmira at Cottage Grove; May 15 — Cottage Grove at Sweet Home 2015 will be a successful: “If we leave out the drama and just come to play ball,” coach Cheryl Frieze. South Lane County Fire and Rescue Calls Feburary 22 - March 5, 2015 Date 02/22/2015 02/22/2015 02/22/2015 02/22/2015 02/22/2015 02/22/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/23/2015 02/24/2015 02/24/2015 02/24/2015 02/24/2015 02/25/2015 02/25/2015 02/25/2015 02/26/2015 Time 13:37 16:19 17:35 19:33 20:31 23:07 0:21 0:52 4:06 9:01 11:19 13:10 13:14 13:54 14:05 15:58 20:25 20:27 21:58 23:32 1:24 12:07 13:47 19:15 11:46 20:35 23:49 4:54 Call Location LONDON RD DAUGHERTY AVE HWY 99 VILLAGE DR W SAGINAW RD VILLAGE DR DAYBREAK DR W MAIN ST E VAN BUREN AVE E TAYLOR AVE E MAIN ST RIVER DR W MAIN ST LONDON RD VILLAGE DR GRANT AVE E MADISON AVE N 16TH ST D ST S 6TH ST MAGNOLIA DR VILLAGE DR VILLAGE DR E HARRISON AVE BRYSONSEARS RD SHOREVIEW DR VILLAGE DR VILLAGE DR Chief Complaint EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS Date 02/26/2015 02/26/2015 02/26/2015 02/26/2015 02/27/2015 02/27/2015 02/27/2015 02/27/2015 02/27/2015 02/27/2015 02/27/2015 02/28/2015 02/28/2015 02/28/2015 02/28/2015 03/01/2015 03/01/2015 03/01/2015 03/01/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 03/02/2015 Time 5:10 11:41 14:54 16:54 4:24 5:32 9:58 10:55 12:01 14:57 16:04 11:43 12:59 13:41 21:34 4:56 13:03 17:47 21:23 0:52 4:41 7:35 7:46 11:27 11:54 14:03 18:38 19:36 Call Location Chief Complaint SNAUER LN DAUGHERTY AVE QUAGLIA RD E CLOVERDALE RD DAUGHERTY AVE VILLAGE DR VILLAGE DR CURRY AVE VILLAGE DR ELK DR S 10TH ST HWY 99 E WHITEAKER AVE VEATCH RD ROW RIVER RD W SAGINAW RD, HWY 99 ROW RIVER RD S 6TH ST VILLAGE DR VILLAGE DR PATRICK LP HWY 99 BOOTH KELLY CAMP RD RILEY LN E MAIN ST DAUGHERTY AVE VILLAGE DR VILLAGE DR EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS Date Time 03/02/2015 03/03/2015 03/03/2015 03/03/2015 03/03/2015 03/03/2015 03/03/2015 03/04/2015 03/04/2015 03/04/2015 03/04/2015 03/04/2015 03/04/2015 03/04/2015 20:28 1:54 11:57 18:56 19:34 20:34 21:01 1:18 4:02 5:23 10:32 15:32 17:36 20:02 03/04/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 03/05/2015 23:30 0:05 14:41 16:31 17:09 19:20 19:25 19:39 21:33 23:06 23:12 Call Location SWEET LN, HWY 99 N DOUGLAS VILLAGE DR LONDON RD S 5TH ST LONDON RD ANTHONY AVE S 5TH ST HWY 99 VILLAGE DR S 8TH ST VILLAGE DR GETTINGS CREEK REST AREA VILLAGE DR N H ST HWY 99 GRANT AVE ROW RIVER RD ANDREW DR PITCHER LN VILLAGE DR VILLAGE DR W MAIN ST S 12TH ST Chief Complaint EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS EMS