Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2019)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Sports & Recreation SOUTH LANE COUNTY SPORTS AND RECREATION Rain delays Speedway start (again) • WEDNESDAY | APRIL 24, 2019 • B1 CONTACT SPORTS EDITOR ZACH SILVA AT 942-3325 OR ZSILVA@CGSENTINEL.COM Lions use extras to best Spartans For the fi ft h consecutive weekend, Speedway kept off the track because of weather By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com It was a sunny week that featured clear skies and multiple days the temperature exceeded 70 degrees. But on Friday night the rain rolled in, stuck around until Satur- day morning, and caused the Cottage Grove Speed- way to cancel races for the fi ft h weekend in a row. “We were so excited because we’d already had four rainouts and we were ready to go. We’ve been working so hard down here and everything was all set, we thought for sure it was going to happen,” said Speedway general manager Heather Boyce. “But it just rained so hard and with all of the hor- rible weather we’ve had all winter, the ground is already so saturated that little bit of rain couldn’t soak in and go away. It just puddled up and made a mess.” In addition to a wet track, the pit area that holds the various haul- ers remained too wet to be open which led to the dreaded cancellation on Saturday morning. “It was defi nitely a som- ber morning around here. We did not want to have to cancel and the fans were so excited, the driv- ers were so excited,” said Boyce. “We were so sure we were going to get that one in.” For Boyce, who is in her seventh year in vari- ous capacities at the track, it is setting up for the lat- est opening to a season since she has been on the scene. She remains opti- mistic that this upcom- ing weekend – aft er what appears to be a sun-fi lled week – will fi nally see the track come to life for the fi rst time this year. “I think it’s going to be probably one of the best openers we’ve had in a few years. We did have a phe- nomenal opener I think the fi rst year I had leased the track. I had over 100 cars and the grandstand was packed and I kind of expect it to be the same way,” said Boyce. “And this weekend is looking good and it’s already a bigger special event show. So I think when you com- bine the fact that it’s go- ing to open with that big show, we’re likely to have some pretty big turnouts.” If all things go to plan, this weekend features races on Friday and Sat- urday night including 360 Springs, IMCA Modi- fi eds, IMCA SportsMods and on Saturday night, Hornets. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming to town driving -wise and there are still a lot of tracks that aren’t open yet and that will attract a lot of drivers from out of the area that we maybe don’t see on a weekly basis,” said Boyce. “And we love our local drivers but it’s always fun to see those guys you only get to see once or twice a year. We’re pumped.” Cottage Grove’s Ezra Senters puts down a sacrifi ce bunt in the ninth inning to score teammate Gavin Sowa. The Lions went on to defeat Marist in 10 innings last Thursday on the road. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL Cottage Grove rallies to defeat Marist in second game of double-header By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com Th e Cottage Grove base- ball team was on the brink of losing to Marist at every turn of last week’s contest. But when the pressure increased and the game was one the line, it was the Lions refusing to fold as they fought their way to a dramatic extra in- ning victory. In a road double-header at Marist last Th ursday, it was Cottage Grove (6-8, 3-2 Sky- Em) losing the fi rst game to Marist (8-6, 4-2) 13-3 before they were able to put togeth- er a 5-4 10-inning team vic- tory to close out the week. “Just the perseverance – everyone played a pretty big role in that. Just the mentality to come back from 13-3 – it’s 80 degrees outside, it’s very easy to go, ‘Oh crap, here we go again.’ Fold it up. But they didn’t,” said Cottage Grove baseball coach Dan Geiszler. “I’m proud of them for doing that for sure.” Trailing by two runs early, the rest of the game was a sequence of Cottage Grove scoring, Marist threatening to score a host of runs but the Lions fi nding a way – in- cluding with two key dou- ble-plays in late innings – to get out of the inning. Marist runs in the fi rst and second inning gave the Spartans a lead that could have easily been greater. Th e team left four runners on base in the fi rst two innings and appeared to score in the third inning but instead of another run on the board, a base-running error aft er the Marist runner didn’t touch third base, resulted in an out for the Lions. Th e score was then evened up at two runs apiece in the fourth inning thanks to a shot to left fi eld from junior Iverson Bascue that scored teammates se- nior Wyatt Sayles and junior Gavin Sowa. On an unusually warm 79-degree April day, the ac- tion continued to heat up in the sixth inning when the Lions took the lead off of a dribbler hit to fi rst base from Sowa which scored junior Hunter Sharkey. As the Lions looked to close the game out in the seventh, the Spartans had other ideas as they tied the game on a bunt and had then had the bases load- ed with one out. Searching for the winning run, Marist runners raced forward as a bunt was popped up in the air, caught by Cottage Grove catcher Walker Humphrey who threw the ball to third to complete a double play to send the game to extra in- nings. “Th at play that Walker made – what is he, on his 12th inning of catching at that point? And he comes out, makes a great play and throws him out at third,” said Geiszler. “It seems like we just stick with it and did what we needed to do to keep our- selves in the game.” For Marist head coach Noah Breslaw, it was a cal- culated play that just didn’t work out. “If you run a squeeze, that’s the gamble you go with. If that ball is down, that game is over and sev- en and you’re talking about how we squeezed in the win- ning-run. Instead it goes up. I made a calculated decision and honestly, the worst case scenario is he bunts the ball up,” he said. “Even if he miss- es it, we’ve got second and third. Bases aren’t loaded but we can live with that. Th e only thing that can’t happen is a ball up in the air.” In a scoreless eighth inning LIONS see B3 Cottage Grove junior Walker Humphrey races out from be- hind home plate to catch a popped up squeeze bunt and record a double play in the bottom of the seventh inning against Marist. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL Derrick’s no-hitter guides Warriors to win Th e junior ace throws 20 strikeouts on the way to 1-0 North Douglas win By Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com North Douglas pitcher Nicki Derrick was in control against Oakland on Monday night as she gave up no hits and struck out 20 batters. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL Athlete of the Week On Monday night, Nicki Derrick was unhittable. In a playoff -esque road game against 15th ranked Oakland (9-2, 5-1 Special District 3), Derrick led the third-ranked Warriors (15- 1, 8-0 Special District 3) to a 1-0 victory as she struck out 20 batters on her way to a no-hitter. “I was really excited for this game. It was the fi rst game Th is week’s athlete of the week is Cottage Grove’s Gavin Sowa. In a win against Marist on Th ursday, Sowa recorded four hits, scored two runs and tracked down a fl y ball in centerfi eld to record the fi nal out of the game. that I really, really got up to. Honestly, it was like a playoff mentality going into it and I think that was the same for the whole team,” said the ju- nior Derrick who is back in the pitching circle aft er being sidelined by an ACL injury last season. As a freshman, Derrick helped lead the War- riors to a state title and was named 1A/2A state soft ball player of the year. “When you have that mentality go- ing into the game, it’s a lot easier to get up and kind of clear your head.” Only slowed down by a few illegal pitches that led to a pair of walks, Derrick was in control the entire game. Th e fi rst time the Oakers put the ball in play was a ground- er to fi rst base in the bottom of the seventh inning. “Nicki did good. Th e best part about it was she strug- gled with staying in the lane there in the very beginning and didn’t let it get in her head and stayed focused,” said North Douglas head coach Jesse Rice. “And man, she was throwing the ball hard.” Oakland head coach Jo- hanna Held was also im- pressed with Derrick’s stand- out performance. “Give her all the credit in the world. She’s been work- WARRIORS see B4 Head coach Dan Geiszler and Sowa talk strategy on the base paths while the Marist team met on the mound. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/ CG SENTINEL
