B Section B S PORTS South Lane County Sports and Recreation Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com Wednesday, June 24, 2015 Lions keep their own scores this summer Cottage Grove takes out Elmira in extras, 6-5 BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel V photo by Matt Hollander Jaace Cross went 2-for-4 in the Lions' win over Elmira on June 16. ENETA — There’s a a particular- ly care-free air around the Cottage Grove baseball team this summer. The Lions opted for an independent sched- ule over the more typical small-school league, meaning that record means even less than usual. But they still keep score, and so far they’re doing very well. Cottage Grove’s D1 / Varsity team was undefeated through the fi rst two weeks of its summer slate, including a 6-5 (8 inns.) road win over Elmira on June 16. The teams were knotted at four runs apiece after seven innings. In the top of the eighth, Brett Ollivant scored Jaace Cross on an RBI single for the go-ahead run. And Ollivant later came in for the would-be game winner. The Falcons responded immediately in the bottom of the inning. Kobe Bechtel hit a triple and later scored on a passed ball. And Harley Clarke, the game-tying run, was on second for Elmira. But the next two Falcon batters fl ew out to left fi eld, and Clarke was picked off on his way to third base. “Early on in these games, it’s more about teaching,” said Cottage Grove coach Dan Geiszler. “But hopefully, when you get into those fi nal innings, the competitive nature will take over. Win- ning isn’t really the main part of the sum- mer, but it’s nice to see the way our kids perform in those situations.” For much of the game, it appeared that the Lions had the victory well in hand. They got on the board fi rst with two runs in the third inning. Ollivant, who fi nished with three hits, extended the lead with an RBI single in the fourth. And T.J. Bella- my, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles, Please see BASEBALL, Page 3B Athlete of theWeek: Kory Parent The Lions' varsity basketball team went 7-2 at a summer tournament last weekend at Junction City. Kory Parent averaged 14 points per game to lead Cottage Grove. See Page 2B for more coverage. All-Star New-look Lions wrap up summer league Sayles Cottage Grove loses to Creswell and Roseburg in fi nale doubleheader Taylor Sayles, a recent gradu- ate of Cottage Grove High School, was selected to play in the OSAA Senior All-Star basketball tourna- ment, held this past weekend at Corban University in Salem. The teams — North, South, East and West — were comprised of 4A, 3A and 2A players who had earned fi rst or second team all-league hon- ors this past winter. Sayles, who was named second-team All-Sky Em, was chosen to play on the South team. In the fi rst game, the South de- feated the North 64-48. Sayles had fi ve points, four rebounds and four assists. And in the championship game, the South prevailed again, 69-53, over the East. Sayles had eight points, three rebounds and fi ve assists. BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel E UGENE — The Cottage Gove varsity girls’ basketball team concluded its summer league schedule with a doubleheader last Wednesday at Lane Community College. The Lions dropped their opener to Creswell, 33-12, and were later defeated by Roseburg, 52-33. While several players were absent from Wednesday’s games, fi rst-year head coach Kevin Yoss said that the games still highlighted key areas for improvement. “We have a long ways to go, but I think that the girls are willing to do it, which I’m pleased to see,” he said. In the fi rst game, Creswell jumped out to a 14-0 lead while holding Cot- tage Grove without a fi eld goal for 16 minutes. (Summer league games are two 20-minute halves of run- ning clock.) Madison Eusted led the Bulldogs with 16 points, and Kaylee Lehman added 10 points. Melissa Thielman was the Lions’ high scorer with fi ve points. Cottage Grove nearly tripled its scoring against 6A Roseburg but struggled on the defensive end. The Indians led by 17 at halftime and were ahead by 25 late in the sec- ond half. Jessie Farrington scored 18 points for Roseburg. Bethany Fromdahl and Amia Go- wins added 12 and 10 points, re- spectively, for the Indians. Hannah Arnold score 12 points for the Cot- tage Grove, including eight straight photo by Matt Hollander Melissa Thielman scored nine points in Cottage Grove's summer league game against Roseburg. Taylor Sayles Please see GIRLS BASKETBALL, Page 2B Williamson wins Wild West Modifi ed Shootout at CGS Letsom picks up second Quality RV Repair Hornet win of 2015 BY BEN DEATHERAGE C ottage Grove Speedway hosted the fourth race of the 2015 Wild West Modifi ed Shoot- out on Tuesday, June 16. A total of 43 cars were on hand representing the states of Oregon, Washing- ton, California, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, Colorado and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Some spectacular action was on display at the historic 1/4-mile clay oval. Martinez, California’s Troy Foulger was the early race leader, but he lost the lead on lap fi ve to Jesse Williamson from Eugene. Williamson appeared to have the race won until going off the track on turns three and four of lap 16. Williamson was able to get back on the race track, but he forfeited the top spot to Chowchilla, California native Alex Stanford. Stanford did not have to worry much about lapped traffi c due to several cautions. But on lap 28, just before another caution, Williamson found a way around Stanford to reclaim the lead. Shortly after the restart, Redmond’s Mark Car- rell come from the bottom of the track to seize the lead on lap 30. Unfortunately, Carrell spun in the second turn and collided with a few cars, resulting in a premature end to his night. Williamson inherited the lead with just a few laps left to go, and he held off some very fast race cars to become the fi rst multi-feature victor in the 2015 Wild West Modifi ed Shootout. It was also his third win of the year at Cottage Grove Speedway. Travis Peery of Williston, North Dakota was the runner-up while Troy Heupel, also of Williston, managed to get third. The rest of the top fi ve con- sisted of Stanford and Albany’s Craig Hanson. Troy Heupel was awarded the Klecker Knives Hard- charger award. Also in action on Tuesday was the Quality RV Repair Hornets, which was the support division to the IMCA Modifi eds. There was a strong contin- gent of eighteen cars in attendance for the rare mid- week appearance. Marcola’s Brandon Letsom seized the race lead on the fi rst lap, and he managed to keep all chal- lengers at bay for a wire-to-wire victory. It was the second of 2015 for Letsom. Mike Swaim of Dexter was second, while behind in third was Springfi eld’s K.C. Scott. Marcel Forte from Junction City ended his evening fourth, and Dexter’s Taunton Swaim was fi fth. Photo Courtesy of Kayla Simmons Photography Jesse Williamson won an exciting leg of the Wild West Modfi ed Shootout, Tuesday at the Cottage Grove Speedway. Join us June 27th for NWWT Sprints, IMCA Modiϐieds, Street Stocks, Quality RV Repair Hornets