B
Section B
S PORTS
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Cottage Grove’s rally comes up short at Junction City
Lions scored eight runs in fi nal
three innings
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
C
ottage Grove scored eight runs in the fi -
nal three innings of Thursday’s Sky-Em
League game against Junction City, but it was not
enough to overcome the Tigers, who prevailed 10-
9.
Brett Ollivant hit an RBI double, T.J. Bellamy
scored one on a triple and Ryan East belted a
three-run home run for the Lions, who have lost
seven of their previous nine games.
For Junction City (8-14, 5-8 Sky-Em), Bryon
Brown went 3-for-4 and scored three runs, and
Trent Keeler went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
With just two games left in the regular season,
phto by Greg East
Ryan East's three-run homer in the fi fth
helped Cottage Grove cut into a major
defi cit, but Junction City prevailed 10-9.
Cottage Grove (14-9, 6-7 Sky-Em) is likely to
fi nish fourth in the league. And while the Lions
could still be a candidate for one of three at-large
bids to the postseason, the team was devastated by
Thursday’s loss.
“I think it’s still mathematically a possibility to
reach the playoffs but so remote that I don’t think
its even worth talking about,” said Cottage Grove
coach Dan Geiszler. “We've just got to play the
last two games against a good team, and hopefully
play well.”
The Lions got off to an inauspicious start
against the Tigers. They went 4-and-out in each
of their fi rst three trips to the plate and allowed
Junction City to build a 7-0 lead through three in-
nings. During this stretch, the Lions committed
many of the same miscues that have plagued them
throughout their mid-season slide.
“The consistency of being inconsistent has been
our problem,” Geiszler said. “You never know
what you’re going to get from each individual,
each game; it could be great, ok or terrible, and
Please see BASEBALL, Page 3B
Changes
for youth
football
Plan calls for K-1 fl ag
league in new 'South
Lane Youth Football
Association'
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Y
outh football in Cottage
Grove will have a bit of a
different feel when it picks up this
summer and fall, according to Pop
Warner offi cials. The organization
has renamed itself as the South
Lane Youth Football Association,
and for the fi rst time ever, it will
offer a fl ag football program to kin-
dergarten and fi rst-graders.
In addition to Cottage Grove,
South Lane Youth Football Asso-
ciation will encompass neighbor-
ing communities Crewell, Drain,
Lowell, Oakridge, Pleasant Hill
and Yoncalla.
“The youth football coaches in
this area have always been col-
laborative and supportive of each
other, and we need to acknowledge
that this organization is more than
just Cottage Grove,” said board
member Gary Roberts. “We hope
that by recognizing the breadth of
our organization in a more formal
way we will be able to better tailor
our programs to meet the needs of
each individual community.”
Roberts, who is also the Head
Football Coach at Cottage Grove
High School, said that fl ag football
has become a frequent topic in con-
versations among area coaches.
“Kids are able to play tackle foot-
ball through our program starting
in kindergarten, but many families
choose to wait until their child is in
fourth grade or older. We want to
provide an alternative activity that
will allow them to start learning the
game and building skills at a young
photos by Matt Hollander
Athlete of the Week
Courtney Hammel
Above: Celeste Pelham won her heat of the 100 hurdles and placed
fourth overall. Left: Courtney Hammel took second in the discus.
Ciochetti Time!
Lions shine at 11th
annual home invite
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Cottage Grove’s Courtney Hammel
has made a habit of breaking barriers
in the discus this season. Since open-
ing the year with a personal best, she
has progressed through various other
benchmarks — 95’, 100’, etc. — with
the type of consistency that makes a
coach proud.
After the prelims of Friday’s com-
petition at the 11th annual Wally Cio-
chetti Invitational, Hammel ranked
third with a mark of 102-02. But she
Please see YOUTH FOOTBALL, Page 2B
found a familiar zone heading into the
fi nals.
“I wasn’t feeling fully there in my
fi rst set, but when I came around [for
fi nals] I found my Zen,” she said. “I
took a deep breath, closed my eyes,
placed myself in the right position and
told myself that I was going to PR.”
On her fi nal attempt of the evening,
Hammel launched a throw of 112-
02. It was an improvement of over
four feet from her previous best, and
moved her into second place — where
she fi nished.
“It’s exciting and It feels good to
be in a good place now. I hope to be
in that same place for the next couple
Please see TRACK AND FIELD, Page 2B
Cottage Grove's playoff dreams dashed by Junction City
Tigers score six runs in
sixth inning to rally past
Lions
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
With a trip to the postseason likely
in the balance, Junction City scored six
runs in the bottom of the sixth inning
to cap a 9-4, come-from-behind vic-
tory over visiting Cottage Grove last
Wednesday.
Taylor Sayles and Liz Wiltse each had
two hits, and Kassidy Whisler, Maria
Pardee and Lexie Flaherty each scored
a run for the Lions (8-13, 5-8 Sky-Em).
Becca Bumcrot hit a double and a triple
to lead the Tigers (7-14, 7-6 Sky-Em).
Angel Pitchford and Nicole Snyder also
had two hits for Junction City.
Coming into the week, the teams
were tied for third place in the league.
But as Junction City had won the fi rst
meeting on April 20, Wednesday’s
game was a must-win for the Lions and
their playoff hopes.
“Those are hard games because
you’re both fi ghting for the same
thing,” said Junction City coach Mike
Campbell. “I feel for them because
we’ve both shared the same struggles
this year. We’ve seen games slip away
and it was nice to be on the other end
for a change.”
The Lions came out fi ring on all cyl-
inders against the Tigers, as they built
a 4-1 lead through 3 1/2 innings. But a
15-minute rain delay before the bottom
of the third inning gave Junction City
a chance to regroup. The Lions would
manage just three more hits after the
break.
While Cottage Grove’s offense
cooled off, its defense remained stout.
Twice the Lions got out of innings with
the bases loaded, and they didn’t allow
Please see Softball, Page 3B
photo by Matt Hollander
Cottage Grove's Taylor Sayles
beats the tag to steal second
base in the fourth inning of
Wednesday's 9-4 loss to Junc-
tion City.
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