Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 1, 2015 11A Polk County Sports CLASS 5A PREP SOFTBALL Kerr, Panthers take aim at league Sophomore learns from difficult freshman year to emerge as leader By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — Jori Kerr wasn’t ready for what hit her during the 2014 soft- ball season. As a freshman, Kerr saw extensive playing time at the varsity level. “I didn’t know how to hit a curve ball, or a rise or any- thing,” Kerr said. “I kept grounding out and popping out.” This year, she’s no longer the player struggling to find her place. T h e Ce n t ra l s o f t b a l l team went 4-0 in non- league action, outscoring opponents 40-5. Kerr has played a major role in that, hitting her first high school home run against McKay on March 18, followed by her second against Philo- math. “The first one was iffy,” Kerr said. “When I saw it go out, it was the greatest feel- ing. I never hit one in a game before. … Just all the little things with my form have improved everything.” Kerr, who said she trained nearly year-round, also saw an evolution on defense. After years of playing the infield, Kerr was moved to right field as a fresh- man. It was then she Huffman learned perhaps her most important softball lesson. “The biggest thing I’ve learned from last year is you don’t always get what you want position-wise, but you’re contributing to the team,” Kerr said. “You’re being put wherever the team needs you. That humbled me in a way and kept me unselfish.” This season, Kerr is capa- ble of playing where ever the Panthers need her. “Now, I’m a good utility player for the team,” Kerr said. “I’ve learned how to play everywhere, so it’s turned out for the better.” Kerr is far from the lone Central player to step up so far this season. Senior Ryanne Huffman and junior catcher Kylie Nash are pro- viding the Panthers with consistent bats on offense and steady hands on defense. Central, which be- gan league p l a y against South Al- Nash bany Tues- day after press time, looks to continue its success in league. “We’ve really come to- gether,” Kerr said. “Everyone has their sport and is work- ing to improve. Our league is going to be a step up going into 5A. We need to make sure our game is tight and we play well every game.” Central coach Kendra George said she’s seen her team make some big strides from last year. “I’m excited for our league season,” George said. “This is a great group of girls and I’m excited for us to compete.” Whatever problems the Panthers do face during the season, Kerr said the team has matured enough to han- dle them. “Last year there was a gap between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen, I think,” CLASS 5A PREP SOFTBALL Up Next • Central finished non- league play with a 4-0 record. • The Panthers out- scored opponents 40-5 during that stretch. • Central opened Mid- Willamette Conference play against South Albany Tuesday after press time. Kerr said. “This year, every- one is close and we solve things together and keep them between us.” That closeness could be t h e t e a m’s g r e a t e s t strength. And as Kerr, and others, have emerged, the Panthers are bringing a sense of urgency to their play this year. “As long as we stay fo- cused, work hard at prac- tices and do our best, we’ll be OK, because as soon as we dog it, that’s going to show on the field,” Kerr said. “This is a good year for us to go to state. We’re losing a lot of seniors this year. We need to do whatever we can to pull this together and get there this year.” LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Central sophomore Jori Kerr recorded her first two ho- me runs of her high school career this season. WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP Dallas picks up Wolves earn consolation title first win of year Softball goes 2-5 at Tournament of Champions El-Hato hits two home runs Itemizer-Observer staff report MEDFORD — The Dallas softball team earned its first victory of the season at the Medford Spring Break Clas- sic. The Dragons (1-4 overall) defeated Liberty 8- 6 after falling to La Salle 13-12 on March 24. Kassidy To t t e n recorded El-Hato seven hits over the two games. Yasmine El-Hato hit a pair of home runs during the two contests, including a grand slam against the Falcons. Makena Linn added five hits and three RBIs. El-Hato also earned the victory in the pitcher’s cir- cle against Liberty after two innings of work. Keisha Sickles got the start. Dallas w a s scheduled to open Mid-Will- amette Confer- ence play against Wo o d - Totten burn Tue- sday after press time. The Dragons play at Cen- tral Wednesday (today) at 4:30 p.m. and South Albany on Friday. Dallas returns home to host Corvallis Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Itemizer-Observer staff report TURLOCK, Calif. — West- ern Oregon’s softball team recovered from a rough start to win the Consolation No. 1 champi- onship at the 14th annual To u r n a - ment of Champi- ons. T h e W olves Gardner (13-20 ov- erall) defeated Academy of Art 3-1 and the University of California-San Diego 4-3 Sunday to clinch the title. WOU opened tourna- ment play with five straight losses. Sophomore Kelsie Gard- ner recorded nine hits dur- ing the tournament, in- cluding three each against UC San Diego and Acade- my of Art. Freshman pinch-hitter Amy Anderson hit a two-out, RBI double in the top of the seventh to propel the Wolves to the victory over the Urban Knights. Seniors Amanda Evola and Jourdan Williams had two hits each against Academy of Art, while pitch- er Sammi Cadwallader threw the final four innings to preserve the victory. Western Oregon hosts Western Washington for a doubleheader Thursday at 2 p.m. before traveling to play at Saint Martin’s on Satur- day. WOU’s game against the Vikings is a makeup for the contests postponed from March 15 due to weather conditions. BASEBALL DROPS THREE: Garret Harpole hit a grand slam in the series finale, but Western Oregon lost three of four to Nor thwest Nazarene. The Wolves and Crusaders split the opening double- header on Friday, with WOU falling 7-5 before earning a 2- Pratt 1 win. Senior Jesse Pratt earned the victory. Matt Taylor recorded seven hits over the series, while Harpole hit his grand slam to tie the fourth game at six in the sixth inning. The Crusaders respond- ed, however, in the bottom of the sixth with four runs of their own, as Northwest Nazarene took the final two games 3-1, 10-6. Western Oregon plays at Central Washington for a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday. TRACK AND FIELD: Junior Sam Moore performed strongly for the WOU track and field team, placing second in the heptathlon at the Mt. Hood Multi Meet on Thursday and Friday. Moore’s final tally of 3,982 points was 46 behind champion Kiki McDon- agh of Warn- Moore e r P a c i fi c . Four WOU athletes took home individual titles at the Willamette Invitational on Sat- urday. Freshman Cody Warner won the 100- and 200-meter runs in 10.76 and 21.40 sec- onds, respectively. Freshman Kaleb Dobson placed first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.22, while junior Badane Sultessa won the 800 in 1:52.64 to lead the men’s squad. Junior Rochelle Pappel took first in the 100 hurdles in 14.51, nar- rowly beating Rosie Smith of Alaska Anchorage by .03 sec- onds. The Wolves will compete at the Stanford Invitational Fri- day and Saturday. CLASS 5A PREP GOLF Dallas, Central open season at Trysting Tree Itemizer-Observer staff report CORVALLIS — The Dallas and Central boys golf teams kicked off the 2015 season at Trysting Tree Golf Course on Monday. Both teams struggled to keep up with the Mid- Willamette Conference’s top squads. The Dragons placed sixth out of eight teams, with a combined score of 416. Dylan Cackler led Dallas, scoring a 90 after 18 holes. Mosier Locke was second for the Dragons, recording a 104. Tyler Kunz (110_, Hunter Lindsay (112) and Nolan Miller (113) rounded out Dallas’ varsity finishers. The Panthers finished eighth as a team after scor- ing 456. Joey Wiitgrodt scored a 106 to lead Central, while Andrew Love recorded a 110. Ty Whittemore (118), Madison Delaney (122) and Dylan Lewis (127) also com- peted for the Panthers’ varsi- ty squad. Crescent Valley won the team title, scoring a 314. Corvallis finished second with a 319. The Raiders’ Kevin Geniza finished first overall with a 69. The Dragons will host the Mid-Willamette Confer- ence’s second league tour- nament on Monday at Cross Creek Golf Course. Dallas’ girls golf squad will compete in its first tournament of the season on Monday at Mallard C re e k G o l f C o u r s e i n Lebanon. The girls team will then compete at Spring Hill Golf Club in Albany on Tuesday. Silver: Senior has high expectations for team LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Senior David Silver will start at catcher for the Pirates. Continued from Page 10A “We didn’t have a bona fide catcher until David came,” Mabry said. “He came out and took advan- tage of the opportunity to be the guy behind the plate, and we didn’t give him a break for the past two years because we didn’t have the depth to be able to do that.” Silver built up relation- ships with pitchers Chad Price, Haylen Janesofsky and Troy Trembly. “I’ve learned to expect everything and anything,” Silver said. “I like each one of them like a brother.” These days, Mabry said when his pitchers need a break, he rarely has to step onto the diamond. It’s Silver who approaches the pitch- e r ’s m o - und. That level of trust is what sets Silver and the pitch- ers apart. Silver Price may be right about the Pirates’ sea- son. Perrydale, which played St. Paul Tuesday after press time, opened the season by outscoring opponents 42-8, including two shutouts in a row. “We’ve gotten to a point where the younger guys have developed in the pro- gram,” Mabry said. “The seniors are the first who have been here for four years in the program. They teach the younger guys what’s ex- pected of them. They own it.” B u t M a b r y wants them to become more dan- Trembly gerous and consistent at the plate. “We’ve scored pretty con- sistently, but we’ve had three or four opportunities with the bases loaded and zero or one outs and only scored once or not at all,” Mabry said. “We can’t do that in league play. We won’t be up six or seven runs. We’ll be up one or tied.” While success in non- league play is nice, Silver said it will mean little if the Pirates don’t advance to the Class 2A-1A state playoffs this year. After years of grow- ing in the program, Silver and his teammates are ready for a breakout season. “We have to leave it all in the past,” Silver said. “We’ve got to come out on the field ready to go physi- cally and mentally. The one game you aren’t ready will come back to bite you in the butt.” Perrydale plays at Crow on Friday before opening league play at Country Christian on Tuesday. It will, Mabry hopes, be the start of something special. “Our motto this year is ‘finish,’” Mabry said. “We’ve finished in the middle of the pack. The guys believe that this is our year to change that.”