B
S PORTS
Section B
South Lane County Sports and Recreation
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Contact Sports, 942-3325 or e-mail sports@cgsentinel.com
Improved batting helps Lions progress
toward Sky-Em league title
With a season-high
batting performance
on Friday, there's
nothing to suggest
Cottage Grove can't
roll its way to a
Sky-Em title
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The Lions’ baseball team is
sitting pretty at the top of the
Sky-Em league despite Elmira
standing fi ve spots ahead of
Cottage Grove in the state-
wide rankings. The Falcons
boast a 12-4 record and sit at
fourth in the state for class 4A,
while the Lions sit at 12-5 and
are ranked ninth. However, it’s
widely known with any sport at
any level that rankings do not
always accurately defi ne where
teams stand.
Cottage Grove is 7-1 in league
play and has already beaten
Elmira 7-5, a team that stands
at 6-2 against Sky-Em oppo-
nents. While the Lions escaped
with a victory in extra innings
against Elmira, Cottage Grove
has a signifi cant numerical ad-
vantage over the Falcons for the
Sky-Em. For starters, the score
of the aforementioned game
somewhat misrepresents the
tone on the fi eld. Elmira slowly
crept back to tie the game, sure,
but the Lions’ aggressive offen-
sive strategy overshadowed the
resilience of the Falcons. It took
fi ve innings for the Falcons to
accomplish what the Lions did
in two. And now with a vengeful
win against Sisters and a run-
away victory at Sutherlin, it’s
arguable that there is no conten-
MLB youth
competition
to be held in
Cottage Grove
Pitch, Hit and Run
comes to Cottage
Grove on May 7
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Major League Baseball is
coming to Cottage Grove to
give local youth a chance to
display their skills on a profes-
sional fi eld. The Pitch Hit and
Run competition is a nation-
wide skills event for children
between the ages of seven and
14, and local contests begin on
May 7.
The Cottage Grove Lions’
Club will host the competition
where contestants will have to
display their ability in pitching,
batting and baserunning. For the
pitching contest, participants
will be tested on their ability
to throw a ball at a designated
target simulating a strike zone.
The competition is fl exible, as
any method of pitching is per-
mitted.
In order to ensure a level of
consistency, the hitting con-
test will have a stationary tee
throughout all age groups, and
the competition will be mea-
sured by distance and accuracy
of a hit.
For the running contest, par-
ticipants will start from second
base and will be timed as they
round third and eventually reach
home plate.
All of the events are indi-
vidually scored and converted
to a total point score through
Please see MLB YOUTH, Page 3B
Photo by Sam Wright
After hitting his second home run of the season, Payton Presley jogs to his teammates that await him at home plate.
tion against Cottage Grove be-
ing the dominant team in the
league.
With a 6-0 loss against Sisters
less than two weeks after Cot-
tage Grove handed the Outlaws
their fi rst loss, it looked like
another threat loomed over the
Lions’ claim over the league.
Just four days after their shutout
loss, April 19’s matchup against
Sisters was a true test of the grit
of Dan Geiszler’s varsity squad.
With the Outlaws racking up
three runs in the top of the third,
Cottage Grove directly respond-
ed with two runs after senior
Bryce Allen earned a triple off
of a hit into deep left-center fi eld
and stole home plate. Cottage
Grove’s defense prevented the
Outlaw’s from scoring any runs
despite a few sloppy errors.
The highlight of the game
came during the bottom of the
fi fth inning, the Lions’ still
trailing 3-2. With two outs and
no one on base, senior Payton
Presley stood up to the plate
and hit a deep ball to right fi eld
that sailed over the fence with
ease, his second home run of the
season. The left-hander is often
in good position to hit the ball
over Kelly Field’s closer right
fi eld fence. The solo home run
put the score even at three, and
Hunter Harris closed the two
extra innings from the mound
before Presley hit a base hit past
the fi rst and second basemen
with the bases loaded, racking
in one more run in the ninth.
The win marked the last game
of the regular season against the
CG sees 28 athletes at WU's
Meet of Champions in Salem
The Lions
participated in a total
of 39 events and 25
of those saw CG
athletes fi nish at or
above their initial
seed
Outlaws, and their 2-1 record
against them effectively elimi-
nates another contender for a
league title. Aside from Elmira,
Cottage Grove has handled ev-
ery other Sky-Em opponent
strongly, including a 12-2 rout
against Junction City.
The only concern for the team
is batting. Many of the Lions’
runs come from aggressive base-
running rather than RBIs. While
Cottage Grove ranks among
the top in stolen bases, many
of their wins have come with a
batting average of under .250,
and their overall batting average
on the season is .274. However,
Friday’s win over Sutherlin an-
swered many concerns. The Li-
ons marched into Sutherlin and
racked up 15 hits and an average
of .429, a season high in the 12-
6 victory. A total of 10 players
came away with a hit, and eight
of those players batted a .500
or higher. Presley and Ryan
East fi nished with .667 and had
Please see BASEBALL, Page 3B
Athlete of the Week
Hannah Albrecht returns with strong
performances on Saturday
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Despite a confl icting schedule
with prom, 28 Cottage Grove
athletes qualifi ed for the Meet
of Champions held on April 23
at Willamette University in Sa-
lem. The meet hosted a total of
39 teams, making it the largest
meet of the season (excluding
the indoor classics a few athletes
were invited to). With lingering
health concerns and sub-prime
weather conditions, the Lions
defi ed Mother Nature and still
managed to break personal re-
cords and place high among the
deep competition of the meet.
Head Coach Ricky Knutson
was pleasantly surprised when
his athletes had 16 personal and
season bests.
“There was a really bad head-
wind for the runners and the
triple jump and long jump par-
ticipants,” Knutson said. But
despite the less-than-ideal con-
ditions on the track, the Lions
still found areas of success.
Michael Tharpe ran the 100-
meter dash once again and fi n-
ished with a personal best of
11.46 seconds and placed third
overall. Hannah Albrecht also
Photo courtesy of Ricky Knutson
Brad Geisler placed ninth in the shot put and second in
the discus event.
impressed spectators as she re-
turned from an Achilles injury
and has sat out the last couple of
meets. Albrecht placed 10th in
the 200-meter race with a time
of 27.72 and then took a second-
place fi nish in the 400-meter run
with a time of 1:01.06, just 0.04
seconds behind Sweet Home’s
Bethany Gingerich. Although
Albrecht’s results were strong
coming off of an injury, Knut-
son remains cautious to save Al-
brecht for the more signifi cant
meets.
“I’m always weary to say
someone is 100 percent com-
ing off of an injury, but she said
she felt pretty good, so we’ll
just have to see,” Knutson said.
Regardless, the top fi ve fi nish-
ers of the 400-meter race had
times under 62 seconds, making
Albrecht’s second-place fi nish
all the more impressive.
Tharpe would later return to
the track for the high hurdles,
where he took home another
fi rst-place fi nish with a time of
15.43 seconds. Tharpe’s person-
al best was set earlier this season
with a time of 15 seconds fl at,
and coaches are waiting to see
if Tharpe can break 15 seconds.
This would make him a danger-
ous competitor for a state title
Please see TRACK & FIELD, Page 3B
The junior returned after sitting out the last few meets
due to an Achilles injury suffered early in the season.
With unfavorable weather conditions, Albrecht fi nished
the 400-meter race in 61.06 seconds, just 0.04 seconds
behind the fi rst-place winner.
Join us April 30th
COTTAGE GROVE CHAMBER NIGHT AT THE RACES
Clark Printing Extreme Sprints, IMCA Modiϐieds,
IMCA SportMods, Street Stocks, Quality RV Repair Hornets