B
Section B
S PORTS
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Lions leave no doubt at Pleasant Hill
Ward, defense key Cottage Grove's win over Billies
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
M
any Lions would credit a dra-
matic come-from-behind victo-
ry over Pleasant Hill as the launch point
of their run to the 2014 state playoffs.
Should Cottage Grove advance to the
postseason this year, though, last week’s
victory over the Billies will serve as lit-
tle more than a footnote.
After opening its season with an 8-
6 win over Cascade — a 2014 playoff
team — on March 16, Cottage Grove
defeated Pleasant Hill 8-1 on Wednes-
day.
Tristan Mihan went 2-for-4 and
scored two runs, and Bryce Allen went
2-for-2 with an RBI to lead the Lions
in their victory over the Billies. Lucas
Ward gave up just three hits in four and
one-third shutout innings for Cottage
Grove (2-0).
Mitchell Williamson was 3-for-3 and
Dakota Jubie went 2-for-3 with a double
for Pleasant Hill (0-2).
Through four innings, the Lions led 2-
0 but had left six runners on base. Over
the fi nal three innings that ratio would
improve to six runs to four stranded run-
ners.
“We played pretty well,” said Cot-
tage Grove coach Dan Geiszler. “There
are some spots we need to improve on.
Our base-running was a little suspect
at times, and it’s those little things that
could cost you in a big game.”
As the Lions stole nine bases, Geiszler
clarifi ed that his comments related to
tagging up.
“We talk about being aggressive on
the bases, and we don’t worry about
getting picked off. We defi nitely had
that mentality today,” he said.
While Cottage Grove struggled in the
early goings to convert on scoring op-
portunities, Ward and the defense kept
Pleasant Hill off of the scoreboard until
the fi fth inning.
“We’ve come a long way so far,”
Ward said. “Everybody is committed to
the same goal, and that showed on the
fi eld today in our communication and
knowing where to go with the ball to
make plays.”
In his four-plus innings, Ward was
able to keep a low pitch count, and
Geiszler said this was one of the keys
of the game.
“I still had a lot of energy going into
the fi fth, and that allowed me to have a
good outing,” Ward said.
Offensively, Geiszler said he was
thrilled with the team’s bunting, point-
ing to Cottage Grove scoring three runs
in the seventh inning that came off of
bunts.
“We’ve played two good teams so far,
no doubt about that, “ he said. “I like
the way our guys play; they play hard,
and with an attitude of ‘come and get us
because we’re coming to get you.’”
The Lions played in the Salem-Keiz-
er Tornado Tournament the following
weekend.
“I expect us to keep getting better,”
Geiszler said. “We play a couple teams
that are very beatable, and if we do what
we need to do we’ll be fi ne.”
That would turn out to be an under-
statement.
On Saturday, Cottage Grove defeated
Scio and Jefferson by scores of 19-3 and
31-0, respectively. The Lions capped the
tournament with a 9-2 win over Salem
Academy on Sunday.
Athlete of
the Week
Lucas Ward
Golf teams
fi nd opening
fairways
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The start to Cottage Grove’s boys’
golf season was a “mixed bag,” accord-
ing to coach Kent Russo.
The Lions opened at Bandon Dunes
Golf Resort, which is widely consid-
ered one of the premiere golf settings in
the U.S. They played a practice round
on March 15 on Bandon Trails, and
a match on March 16 on the Pacifi c
Dunes course. Cottage Grove placed
sixth out of eight teams, and its score of
407 was the highest ever for this year’s
seniors.
“The memories will last a lifetime,
but the golf was forgettable,” Russo
said. “Fortunately, it was a non-league
event. And in their defense, it was the
fi rst tournament of the season and the
course is extremely diffi cult.”
The Lions performed much better
in their fi rst league match, March 18
at Tokatee Golf Club. Cottage Grove
placed fourth out of 12 teams, and sec-
ond among fellow Special District 2
schools.
Led by seniors Johnny Conrad (82)
and Cameron Sandoval (84), the Lions
shot 371 — just 12 strokes back from
league-leader Stayton.
“The play of our seniors will be the
foundation of our season,” Russo said.
“When Derek Carlton (96) gets a few
items ironed out he’ll be shooting in the
80s as well.”
Russo said that Cottage Grove’s abil-
ity to contend for a third straight league
title will depend on the return of Nick
Russo from a preseason wrist injury. He
added that there is a three-way battle
for the team’s remaining varsity spots:
Junior Dylan Wooten was the team’s
fourth scorer at Tokatee; sophomores
Jessy Thomason and Jeremy Hall are in
the mix as well.
Cottage Grove returns to action on
Tuesday at Santiam.
The girls’ golf season began last
Wednesday with a 9-hole round at
Creekside Golf Club in Salem. Carly
Sand shot a 68 to lead the Lions. Cot-
tage Grove shot 300 collectively and
placed fourth out of fi ve teams.
photo by Matt Hollander
Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa: During a summer 2013 road trip through the midwest, Matt veered off course to visit the Field of Dreams.
Spring Awakening: The Sentinel editors work through
their mutual, yet differing, love of America's pastime
BY MATT HOLLANDER AND JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Matt Hollander: Jon, spring is my favorite time
of year to be a living, breathing human being. My
zest booms with the longer days, sights of cherry
blossoms and smell of freshly laid bark mulch.
These vernal cues also announce a turning of the
sports-calendar page. You might assume that —
given my background — I’m about to expound on
the virtues of running, jumping and throwing. How-
ever, for reasons I can’t reconcile, I fi nd baseball
equally synonymous with everything I love about
this season.
I’ve never played and couldn’t tell you the last
game I watched on TV, but the only team caps I
wear are the Cubs and Red Sox, and any list of my
favorite sports movies includes For the Love of
the Game, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and The
Sandlot.
I’m clearly ignorant of traditional AL/NL alle-
giances, and I probably have a man-crush on Kevin
Costner, but is there an explanation for my incon-
sistency?
Jon Stinnett: Forgive me for not recognizing
the inconsistency, as I’d wager that you and I are
among the millions who consider the start of base-
ball season a quintessential sign of spring, even
among those with track and fi eld coursing through
their veins.
Each year, the arrival of pitchers and catchers at
Spring Training tells me that the long, dull days of
winter have offi cially passed, that the pendulum of
life’s great annual motion is again on the upswing.
I’m curious to know, though, how you came to love
a game you’ve never played in a place that doesn’t
have a major-league team nearby?
With regard to your MLB allegiances: Absent
a geographical affi nity for either the Cubs or Red
Sox, I’d have to wager that either a) you’ve admired
the big leagues from afar (and, like many current
Cubs fans, saw them more frequently on cable than
other teams) or b) you’re the type of sports fan who
relishes the opportunity to root for a (at least un-
til recently, in Boston’s case) perennial underdog.
I should already know the answer, but how’s my
guess?
Please see Spring Awakening, Page 2B
Athletes sizzle at Cottage Grove Icebreaker Softball sweeps
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
L
ast Wednesday’s Icebreaker meet
wasn’t supposed to be much more
than a tune-up for the hundreds of athletes
representing Cottage Grove, Crescent
Valley, Marist and Thurston. But perfect
weather conditions paved the way for 83
personal bests by the Lions, and three
state-leading marks.
On the boys' side, Tucker Porter and
Michael Tharpe paced the Lions with
wins in the triple jump (39’) and 110 hur-
dles (16.61), respectively.
Brad Geisler, who placed second in
the discus (126’ 11”), and Jayden Tucker,
who placed second in the long jump (18’
10.75”), also had strong season-debuts
for Cottage Grove, which fi nished fourth
with 34 points.
Defending state champion Marist won
the meet with 94 points.
Spartans Dustin Jones and Crescent
Valley’s Justice Lamer turned in 5A state-
leading times in the 400 (50.62) and 3000
(9:07.18), respectively.
Celeste Pelham took fi rst in the 100
hurdles (18:34) for Cottage Grove’s only
win in the girls’ competition. However,
several Lions fi nished second in their re-
spective events, including Chelsey Bot-
torff (400 — 1:04.71), Melissa Powers
(javelin — 89’ 7”), Melissa Thielman
(high jump — 4’ 8”) and Courtney Ham-
mel, who threw 94’ 9” in the discus — just
three inches off of fi rst place.
Cottage Grove fi nished fourth with
39 points. Marist won the meet with 86
points.
With her time of 10:38.78, the Spar-
tans’ Olivia Powell established the state’s
best mark in the 3000.
Cottage Grove coach Ricky Knutson
said the fi rst meet of the year always feels
like Christmas; he never knows what he’s
going to get. While this year’s opener did
not bring many surprises, he was excited
to see that many athletes were ahead of
where he expected them to be.
“There were defi nitely some nerves out
there, but as coaches we really tried to
play down the fi rst meet,” Knutson said.
“The kids can be pretty hard on them-
selves but we want them to understand
it’s not always a seamless transition from
where they left off the previous season.”
The Lions will return to competition
with a league meet at Junction City on
April 2.
Knutson said that the team will work
on building fi tness and overall athleticism
during the interim spring-break week.
opening week
photo by Matt Hollander
Tucker Porter runs the 4x400 relay for Cottage Grove.
The Cottage Grove softball team opened
its season with a 12-8 win over Stayton last
Wednesday. The Lions scored six runs in the fi rst
inning and fi ve more in the sixth while applying
constant defensive pressure on the Eagles. Tay-
lor Sayles pitched three strikeouts and allowed
seven hits. Offensively, Amanda Anderson hit
2-for-3 and Katie Lyons went 2-for-4.
The Lions maintained their hot start with a
10-0 victory over Siuslaw on Saturday. Cottage
Grove scored seven runs in the third inning and
three more in the fourth before closing out the
game in fi ve innings.
Sayles threw two strikeouts and allowed just
four hits in the shutout. She also went 2-for-4
at the plate, and Anderson was 2-of-3. Kalea
Galbreath made several key defensive plays at
second base.
The Lions were originally scheduled to com-
pete in a tournament at North Marion this past
Monday and Tuesday, however it was cancelled.
Coach Cheryl Frieze said she was looking for-
ward to competing against some quality oppo-
nents and was disappointed that the tournament
was called off.
Cottage Grove hosts Reedsport at 2 p.m. to-
day and travels to the coast on Saturday for a
double header against Marshfi eld and North
Bend.