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Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 20, 2015 11A Polk County Sports State: Pair ready for big challenge CLASS 5A PREP SOFTBALL Dallas ready to shine Dragons hope Friday starts off a long playoff journey By Lukas Eggen Postseason The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — It wasn’t the regular season finale the Dallas softball team had hoped for, but the Dragons didn’t hang their heads. If the last third of the Mid- Willamette Conference sea- son had proven anything, it was this: Dallas is ready to take the next step. “There’s a lot of pride,” senior Kassidy Totten said. “Everything we’ve worked for since October is here and we are ready.” Totten is no stranger to speed. She set a school record in track and field, running a 40-yard dash in under five seconds. She couldn’t compete in both track and field and in soft- ball, though she tried. “I was exhausted by the first month,” Totten said. “I did not want to get out of bed on the weekends.” While she left track to focus on softball, that speed makes her one of the Drag- ons’ most dangerous players on the base. “I know when the short- stop is not paying atten- tion,” Totten said. “I know being aggressive can help my team. The more aggres- sive you are, the better it is for everyone.” Totten, who has 16 stolen bases, has yet to be thrown out. Getting on base has be- en little trouble for Totten, who is batting .545. But she’s far from Dallas’ lone offensive threat. Six batters with at least 40 at- bats are hitting higher than .300. Yasmine El-Hato and Makena Linn have com- bined for 16 home runs while the Dragons have stolen 43 bases as a team. Who: North Eugene at Dallas. When: Friday, 4:30 p.m. Where: Dallas High. Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4. What’s at stake:: The winner advances to the OSAA Class 5A state play- offs. The loser is eiliminat- ed. LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Dallas senior Kassidy Totten plays defense against Silver- ton on Friday afternoon. The Dragons lost 6-1. In the pitcher’s circle, Erin Taylor has a 2.9 ERA in 77 in- nings of work. “I’m proud of all the progress all of the girls have made throughout the sea- son,” Dallas coach Al Perkins said. Much of that progress may find its source from the team’s six seniors: Totten, Taylor, Sarah Mitchell, Teri Bunnell, Keisha Sickles and Katie Mitchell. “In years past as under- classmen, we had people telling me what to do and pick me up,” Totten said. “Now, we’re the ones picking other people up. It’s a totally different role and it’s been a lot of adjusting. We’ve fig- ured it out though.” The Dragons finished the regular season with a 13-3 win over Lebanon on May 13 and a 14-3 triumph over Crescent Valley on Thursday before falling to Silverton on Friday to finish third in the MWC. Up next is a home game against North Eugene Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the play-in round. The Highlanders fin- ished 4-14 in Midwestern League play to take sixth in the league standings. Dallas and North Eugene shared two common opponents: Liberty and Hood River Val- ley. The Dragons lost to Hood River Valley 10-6 on March 23 and defeated Lib- erty 8-6 on March 24. North Eugene defeated Hood River Valley 7-4 and lost to Liberty 20-2. Dallas (16-9 overall, 15-6 MWC) may seem like a fa- vorite on paper, but many players know the dangers of overlooking an opponent. The Dragons lost a home play-in game in 2014. “I think we were ranked way higher last year and we sort of expected that we had it in the bag,” Totten said. “Now we know and expect a challenge from everyone.” The positive is for the first time since the season began, Dallas will have four prac- tices in a row, Perkins said. “We will review funda- mentals, work hard and relax a little,” Perkins said. “Having consistent practices like this I think will help us immensely.” A win, and the Dragons advance to the OSAA state playoffs. A loss and the sea- son is over. But no matter what happens, Totten said Dallas is ready to come out and give its all and not take anything for granted. “You never know when you’re going to take your last swing,” Totten said. Central to host Ashland By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer WO O D BU R N — T h e Ce n t r a l s o f t b a l l t e a m ended its league season with a bang, defeating Woodburn 28-1 on Friday after falling to Silverton 11-9 on May 12 and Cor- vallis 8-7 on May 13. The Panthers, which host G r e s h a m We d n e s d a y (today) in a nonleague matchup, finished fourth in the Mid-Willamette Confer- ence with a 13-8 league record. Central hosts Ashland, the Midwestern League’s fifth-place finisher, Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the OSAA play-in round. The Panthers scored 10 Play-in Game Who: Ashland at Cen- tral. Where: Central High. When: Friday, 4:30 p.m. Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4. will need to play smart and be at our best to win Friday.” The Panthers host Gre- sham in a nonleague game, scheduled to help prepare the Panthers for the play-in game, George said. The winner advances to the OSAA Class 5A state softball playoffs. The first round of the state playoffs begins Wednesday (May 27). CLASS 5A PREP BASEBALL Dragons ready for play-in Dallas looks to make deep state playoff run By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — The Dallas High baseball squad closed out its regular sea- son with a sweep of South A l b a n y, d e f e a t i n g t h e Rebels 10-1 and 7-2 on May 13 and 7-6 on Friday as the Dragons clinched the Mid-Willamette Con- ference’s third seed. Pitchers L o g a n Hatley and Tuck- er Weaver combined for 24 strikeouts on May 13. Hatley “They’re a team that has had some tough luck this year a little bit,” Dallas coach Scot McDonald said. Playoff Push Who: Springfield at Dallas. Where: Dallas High. When: Friday, 4:30 p.m. Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4. “You want to take care of business, win and be play- ing solidly going into the playoffs.” The Dragons (18-8 over- all, 16-5 MWC) host Spring- field, which finished sixth in the Midwestern League, Fri- day at 4:30 p.m. The Millers finished 9-17 overall and 4-14 in league play. The teams did not share any common oppo- nents. Dallas scored 190 runs during the regular season, tied for the second most in at state. The great thing is that the ability is there. I hope that the boys can feed that drive with ample practice.” Central girls Central’s girls team saw the dou- bles pairs of Renee Bruning a n d Danielle Chance and An- d r e a Bruning Garibay and Julia Hamar advance to the second round, before losing, while the doubles Chance pair of Karlee Hernandez and Pa- tience Teague advanced to the consolation semifinals. SPORTS BRIEFS Free fishing weekend coming POLK COUNTY — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will host a free fishing weekend June 6 and 7. During this time, Oregon residents and visitors may fish, crab and clam without a license. All fishing regulations still apply. For more information: www.dfw.state.or.us/education/an- gling/free_fishing.asp. WOU athletes head to nationals MONMOUTH — Three members of Western Oregon’s track and field team are headed to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Mich. Thursday through Saturday. Javelin throwers Justin Larson, Sheila Limas De La Cruz and Amanda Short will compete on the final day on Saturday. Larson ranks 18th overall in Division II with a personal record of 207 feet, 1 inch. Limas De La Cruz ranks 16th among female javelin throwers with a top mark of 144-6, while Short ranks 15th overall with a top throw of 144-9. The women’s event will begin at 8 a.m., with the men’s event starting at 11:15 a.m. Go to www.wouwolves.com for more infor- mation. CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS GOLF CLASS 5A PREP SOFTBALL o r m o re runs 12 times du- r ing the regular season, en route to scoring 233 total Kerr runs, sec- ond most in the MWC. Central also al- lowed 87 runs on defense, the fewest in the league and was the lone team from the MWC to allow fewer than 100 runs. Ashland is ranked No. 17 in the OSAA’s power rank- ings, while the Panthers are No. 19. “ We expect a tough g a m e ,” C e n t r a l c o a c h Kendra George said. “We Continued from Page 10A “We’ve worked hard to go over our weaknesses and improve them,” Sanna said. “We are going to do our best at (state) and we’re going to do everything we can to win.” Cable and Sanna were the lone placers for Cen- tral’s boys team. “It’s an honor because it’s been two years since some- one from Central has made state,” Cable said. “We want to play hard and see what happens. Hassan Eltelbany ad- vanced to the second round to lead the singles players. “It was as good as, and more emotional than, the pro tennis I have seen in Portland,” Central coach Patti Youngren said. “I have a few boys who didn’t make it far in match play at district who are inspired to play all summer and be more ready to capture a place the MWC, while giving up 102, the second fewest in the league. Springfield scored 128 runs, the third fewest in the Midwestern League, while allowing a league-high 179 runs on de- fense. “They’ve got some good athletes and have some kids who have been play- ing there for a few years now,” McDonald said. “It’s just a matter of taking care of what we want to do.” Hatley and Weaver pro- vide the Dragons with depth at the pitcher’s position. The duo combined for 164 strikeouts during the regular season. “I have no qualms about throwing any one of our pitchers out there,” McDon- ald said. The winner advances to the OSAA Class 5A state baseball playoffs. Curtis in 24th place at state CORVALLIS — Dallas sophomore Kailee Curtis iwas in 24th place at the OSAA Class 5A girls golf state championships after Mon- day’s first round. Golfers played their sec- ond and final round Tuesday after press time. Curtis qualified for state after finishing 11th at the Mid-Willamette Conference c h a m p i o n s h i p s. G o t o www.polkio.com for full re- sults. CLASS 5A PREP BASEBALL Central preps for Crater Panthers go on the road for play-in round By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — The Central baseball team knows it can compete with the Mid- Willamette Conference’s best. The Panthers defeated Dallas 4-2, played close games with the league’s sec- ond-place team Crescent Valley and has defeated the league’s fourth-place team, Lebanon. Yet, after a trio of losses to Corvallis to end the regular season, Central finds itself facing a road game at Crater in the Class 5A play-in round on Friday. But the Panthers aren’t shying away from the chal- lenge. “We’re a good team in terms of we’re talented,” Central coach Zach Miller said. “We get a letdown every now and then. We have to coach past that. Sometimes, we get knocked down. We tell the guys they have to control what they can control. How you handle adversity will define our suc- cess.” The Panthers finished the regular season at 13-11 over- all and 11-10 in league play after falling to the Spartans 11-3 on May 13, 16-12 on Thursday and 16-1 on Fri- day. “We’ve shown in spurts this year that we’ve been able to play with anybody,” Miller said. Senior Kyler Fleming is AARON YOST/for the Itemizer-Observer Pitcher Humberto Alarcon throws a pitch against Corval- lis on Friday afternoon. The Panthers lost 16-1. coming off a productive se- ries against Corvallis, hitting a home run and a double, while pitchers Wes Riddell, Chris Rech and Humberto Alarcon give Central a deep pitching rotation to draw from. Crater finished fourth in the Midwestern League with a 10-16 record overall and 10-8 mark in league play. The teams did not share any common opponents. “I will chat with other coaches to try and get an idea about them,” Miller said. “But we have to drive four and a half, almost five hours, get off the bus and play a game. Ultimately, our ability to go out and play clean baseball is going to be the biggest factor.” Play-in Game Who: Central at Crater. When: Friday, 4:30 p.m. Where: Crater High. Admission: Adults, $6; students, $4. All season long, the Pan- thers have shown flashes of potential. Now, with a trip to the state playoffs on the line, Central gets a chance to show just how good it can be when its potential is realized. “The kids have bought into that we can compete with anyone,” Miller said. “Our focus has to be at an all-time high. Our kids have to be ready for what will be thrown at them.”
