Cottage Grove Sentinel
Sports & Recreation
SOUTH LANE COUNTY SPORTS AND RECREATION
Warriors get
two wins
against UVC
•
WEDNESDAY | MAY 15, 2019
•
B1
CONTACT SPORTS EDITOR ZACH SILVA AT
942-3325 OR ZSILVA@CGSENTINEL.COM
Cottage Grove sends four to state meet
Behind strong
pitching, North
Douglas baseball
scores two wins
against second-
ranked team
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
Hoping for one win,
the North Douglas base-
ball team got two.
In a three-game se-
ries with second-ranked
Umpqua Valley Chris-
tian (13-2 SD4, 20-3) last
week, it was the North
Douglas (11-4, 17-6)
pitchers guiding the team
to a pair of wins that have
moved the Warriors into
the top-10 in the rank-
ings.
“When the week start-
ed, I know we were really
excited about having a
chance to beat UVC at
home. Th ought that was
our best chance and then
we found a way to put
things together in game
one,” said North Douglas
head coach Jeff Davis.
Aft er coming up emp-
ty with the bases loaded
and no outs in the fi rst
inning, the Warriors
found their way onto the
scoreboard in the third
inning with three runs.
Senior Koldan Frieze’s
grounder through the in-
fi eld scored a pair of runs.
Th e hit was followed up
by a double from junior
Tanner Parks that scored
Frieze.
“It was good for our
confi dence that they did
not score in the fi rst. And
then we came right back
and answered. Some-
times in your mind you
have to say, ‘We can play
with these guys,’” said
Davis.
Picking up another
run in the fourth, North
Douglas’ off ense was
then helped by the team’s
pitching. UVC, one of the
highest-scoring teams in
the 2A/1A classifi cation,
struggled to get hits off
North Douglas’ one-two
punch of Brian Erickson
or Colter Anderson.
“Most the year they’ve
been really good. Bri-
an has, sometimes re-
luctantly, become that
number one. And we
talked yesterday at prac-
tice about which guy we
would like to start today
and Brian said, ‘Eh, may-
be I feel more comfort-
able closing,’” said Davis.
“But if you look at our
scores, and albeit, some
of our opponents were
weak, but even against
the better teams, we’ve
not allowed a lot of runs.”
In the sixth inning,
the Monarchs came up
with two of their fi ve hits
on the game as they put
together three runs. But
the team, and specifi cal-
ly the pitchers, just kept
plugging away.
“I was just knowing
that I don’t need to be
nervous up there. Just
got to focus and not let
it get to me knowing that
they’re a good hitting
team,” said Anderson.
“We never got down our-
selves if they did get a
big hit. And we just kept
going with it, just fought
the whole battle.”
While North Douglas
was able to close out the
game, the bigger win for
the team came from the
amount of pitchers their
WARRIORS
see B4
Cottage Grove junior Jimmy Talley leaves the competition behind on his way to a fi rst place fi nish in the 3000 last Friday at the Sky-Em Districts.
Talley is one of four Cottage Grove athletes who will be competing next weekend at Mt. Hood Community College. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL
Lions have standout
performances at
Sky-Em track and
fi eld districts
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
It was two days full of
sunburns, close calls and,
for the Cottage Grove track
and fi eld team, four athletes
making their way to the
state meet.
“Th at’s amazing. I’m just
so proud of them. It made
my year,” said fi rst-year
head coach Gyna Walton.
While the Cottage Grove
team was unable to contin-
ue its recent run of team
success – the boys placed
fourth as a team and girls
fi ft h aft er winning the last
three coed titles – there
was a group of individuals
that stood out at the Sky-
Em District track and fi eld
meet last week.
Competing at Marist
High School on Friday and
Saturday, Cottage Grove
junior Mitchell Krokus
(triple jump, long jump),
junior Jimmy Talley (3000
and 1500), sophomore
Matty Ladd (high jump)
and freshman Gracie Ar-
nold (high jump and jav-
elin) all earned their spots
at this week’s state meet
which begins on Friday
at Mt. Hood Community
College in Gresham.
All four state-bound
athletes entered the meet
ranked in the top two of
their respective events
(except Talley in the 1500
who did not have an offi cial
time recorded this season).
But at districts, it was any-
thing but easy as the group
punched their tickets to the
state meet.
“(Jimmy) was focused,
he knew what his job was
today and he came out and
he executed it to what he
needed. And he did amaz-
ing... Mitchell is amazing in
jumps and his attitude. He’s
just one of the best kids out
on this team, I believe,” said
Walton, going through each
of the team’s state-qualifi -
ers. “Gracie’s amazing. She
can throw anything, jump
anything. And as a fresh-
man? Th at’s wild... And
Matty, again, she’s so athlet-
ic. She could bowl a perfect
game or whatever. What do
you say about that group
of kids? And it’s so excit-
ing that they’re going to be
back next year.”
Jimmy Talley
Competing in both dis-
tance events, Talley took
part in two completely
diff erent races. Where the
3000 was a patient aff air
in which no one wanted to
lead, the 1500 was the polar
opposite as it was a pack of
three Marist runners look-
ing to make sure no one
else led. But, to Talley, it
didn’t matter if it was a me-
thodical jaunt or a sprint
from the start as he claimed
fi rst place in the 3000 and
squeezed his way into sec-
ond in the 1500.
Entering the 3000, Talley
was ready to wait out the
competition. Aft er claim-
ing the league title last
season as a sophomore, he
fi nished second at the state
meet. Th is year, Talley, aft er
a slow start to the season,
holds the second fastest
time in the state.
“Earlier in the season, I
wasn’t running too fast for
3K so I was a little scared,”
said Talley who came alive
at the end of the season
Wally Ciochetti Invitation-
al where he ran a 9:08 and
took second to the 4A’s top
3000 runner Leo Johns of
Newport. “I had a little bit
TRACK
see B2
Freshman Gracie Arnold is all smiles after dramatically advancing to state in high
jump. Arnold took second while teammate Matty Ladd claimed fi rst. PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG
Losses leave Lions in limbo
Aft er dropping three
games in the week,
Cottage Grove
left scoreboard-
watching to see if
they will make the
playoff s
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
A pair of Junction City baseball players celebrate an
eighth inning victory over Cottage Grove last Friday.
PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/CG SENTINEL
Athletes of
the Week
While the regular sea-
son has come to an end for
the Cottage Grove baseball
team, it is (as of this print-
ing) unclear if the Lions
will be playing in the post-
season.
Th ree losses in the fi nal
week of the season – to
Marist on Tuesday and
twice to Junction City on
Th is week’s athletes of the
week are the members
of the Sweetie Pies
volleyball team. Th e
team took fi rst place
in the Cottage Grove
women’s volleyball
association league.
Friday – kept the Lions
out of an automatic spot
reserved for the top-two
teams in league. Now, the
team, currently ranked
20th by the OSAA, is left
scoreboard watching as
they are right on the bubble
to be one of eight teams in
the play-in games.
“We don’t really know
if we’re in the playoff s or
not which is a hard situa-
tion when it could be your
last game and talking to
the seniors. OK, we might,
we will practice Monday
just in case we’re in,” said
Cottage Grove head coach
Dan Geiszler aft er Friday’s
games.
Facing fi ft h-ranked Junc-
tion City (13-2 Sky-Em,
19-4) on Friday, a team that
had already locked up fi rst
in league, the Lions were
looking for a win to im-
prove their playoff chances.
And in game one – a 5-4
eight inning loss – they al-
most had it.
In the early innings,
the Tigers were making
good contact and the team
scored a run in each of the
fi rst four innings. It looked
like the Lions had changed
their fortunes in the fi ft h
inning when it appeared
junior Gavin Sowa blasted
a ball over the left fi eld wall
for a two-run home run but
instead the hit was called
BASEBALL
see B4
From left:
Alexis Gaethle,
Courtney
McGowen,
Brooke Rich,
Shannon
Davey and Lia
Davey of the
Sweetie Pies.
Not pictured:
Shawna Bur-
dett.
PHOTO C/O KRISTEL
VOIGT