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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2015)
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 27, 2015 Polk County Sports Dallas: Dragons to face Hood River Valley Continued from Page 10A As Earhart kept them occupied, however, Zach Wallace bolted for home. “I always tell the kids don’t be standing there for 40 throws,” Mc- Donald said. “Get moving and give us a chance.” As Wallace sprinted toward home, his mind was focused on one thing. “Just run as fast as I can and get there before they throw the ball,” Wallace said. Springfield threw toward home, but Wallace was safe. “It was the greatest feeling in the world,” he said. Pitcher Everett Minahan helped preserve the win in the seventh and the Dragons advanced to the first round of the state playoffs after winning in a back-and-forth game that saw several lead changes or ties during the contest. “We just tried to hit the ball and get on base,” Wallace said. “We tried our best to just do what we could to do our job every single time. That’s one thing the coaches tell us. Worry about what we can control.” The ability to respond is some- thing the Dragons have worked to develop all season long. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Dallas pitcher Everett Minahan delivers a pitch against Springfield on Thursday afternoon. “If things do not go the way that you’re thinking, how quickly you can respond is key,” McDonald said. “We’ve been talking about that for a long time. Most of the time it’s worked out and I thought they responded well. “ Dallas enters the state tourna- ment as the 10th seed and will play PREP SOFTBALL ROUNDUP at seventh-seeded Hood River Val- ley Wednesday (today) at 5 p.m. The winner advances to play the winner of Putnam vs. Churchill on Friday. The Eagles finished 18-8 overall and 9-3 in Columbia River Confer- ence play, taking first in the four- team league. The teams played two common opponents. Dallas defeated Moun- tain View 7-5 and lost to Ridgeview 6-1 on March 27. Hood River Valley defeated Mountain View 10-0 on April 10 and Ridgeview 10-5 on April 3. “They have a very good pitcher,” McDonald said. “We have to pre- pare to go out there, and we’ll need to play well to beat them.” The Dragons, who lost in the first round of the 2014 state play- offs to Ashland, hope experience helps them earn a trip to the state quarterfinals on Friday. “I think any time you can get ex- perience gives you more knowl- edge on what’s going to happen in pressure situations,” McDonald said. But for the Dragons, the key to success may be keeping things simple. “We need to throw strikes and just do our thing,” Wallace said. CLASS 5A PREP GIRLS GOLF Dallas upset in play-in round Curtis takes 26th Dragons’ season comes to an end after 2-1 loss to North Eugene Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — For the sec- ond year in a row, Dallas’ softball team’s season has come to an end in the play- in round. The Dragons lost to North Eugene 2-1 on Friday, falling just short of the Class 5A state playoffs. The Highlanders took an early 1-0 lead, but a Katie Mitchell double in the fourth inning advanced Ashlee Lichtenberger to score to tie the game. North Eugene answered quickly, adding a run in the top of the fifth inning that proved to be the difference in the game. Pitcher Keisha Sickles threw a complete game for the Dragons. Dallas finished the 2015 season with a 16-10 record overall and 15-6 in Mid- Willamette Conference play. The Dragons finished JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Dallas players react after losing to North Eugene 2-1 on Friday afternoon. third in the league stand- ings. PERRYDALE DROPS FI- NALE: Perrydale’s softball team lost its final games of the season, losing to Kennedy 5-1 on May 19 and Central Linn 13-5 on May 20. The Pirates finished third in Special Dis- trict 2 with a 10-10 record overall and a 5-7 mark in league play. The league’s top two teams, Central Linn and Kennedy, advanced to the OSAA Class 2A state playoffs. Double the Trouble Itemizer-Observer staff report CORVALLIS — Dallas sophomore Kailee Cur- tis finished in a tie for 26th at the OSAA Class 5A state girls golf tourna- Curtis ment May 18 and 19. The state tourna- ment saw 47 players com- pete over the two-round championship. Curtis shot a 193 at Tryst- ing Tree Golf Club in Corval- lis — the same score she shot at the district tournament, also held at Trysting Tree Golf Club. Summit senior Madison Odiorne and Crater’s Daniele Giles tied for the individual title, recording a 140. Summit won the team championship with a com- bined score of 628 over the two-day tournament. Yeager: Senior happy with his performances Continued from Page 10A “He’s just a natural ath- lete,” Falls City coach Emily Kenagy said. “He’s good at everything he tries. From the beginning, we knew he was going to be good. As the season wore on, he just got better and better and better. There was no doubt that he was going to be here.” Natural talent, however, was only part of the key to Yeager’s success during the season. The ability to stay mental- ly strong was just as impor- tant to his performance, Ke- nagy said. “I think that mentally, he is very stable and has it all there,” Kenagy said. “He’s composed and doesn’t freak out or anything like that. I think that’s a big part of it, mentally being in the mo- ment.” Yeager came close to win- ning the state title in the dis- cus, losing by four inches in the final round of competi- tion. But Yeager’s season caps off a stellar senior campaign and provided him with the perfect send off to his high school athletic career at Falls City. “I never thought I’d make it to state, but I’m glad I did,” he said. Itemizer-Observer Athlete of the Week Rebeka Preston Santiam Christian LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Central’s Kevin Cable and Edoardo Sanna share a bite to eat during their first round match at the state tennis tournament Thursday in Portland. Cable and Sanna advanced to the Class 5A state quarterfinals, defeating La Salle’s Noah Landstrom and Paul Krueger 6-0, 6-3 in the first round. Cable and Sanna fell to Summit’s Hudson Mickel and Thomas Wimberly 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinal round. PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP Panthers fall in play-in round Itemizer-Observer staff report CRATER — The Central baseball team saw its sea- son come to an end after falling to Crater 1-0 on Fri- day in the Class 5A state play-in round. Pitchers Chris Rech and Wes Riddell held Crater to five hits during the contest, but a run in the bottom of the sixth gave Crater the win as Central struggled at the plate. The Pa- nthers were held to a single hit during the mat- chup, as Central ended the Rech year by losing six of its final seven outings. The loss marked the first time the Panthers were shut out all season. Central finished the 2015 season 13-12 overall and 11- 10 in Mid-Willamette Con- ference play. Crater advanced to the first round of the state play- offs. P E R RYDA L E F I N I S H E S SEASON: Perrydale’s baseball squad finished its season with a victory, defeating Kennedy 3-1 on May 19. Troy Trembly went three for three at the plate, while H u n t e r Johnson drove in two runs. The Pirates finished 11-10 over- all and 5-9 in Special Trembly Distric t 2 play to finish fourth. The top three teams from the league advanced to the state play- offs. Preston, a freshman, capped off a stel- lar track and field season at the OSAA Class 3A state track and field meet in Eu- gene. Preston won the state title in the girls 400-meter run, finishing with a time of 58.99 seconds. But she wasn’t finished at state just yet. Preston also placed fourth in the 200-meter run and ran the anchor leg on the school’s 4 x 400 relay team that took fifth place at Hayward Field. Ryanne Huffman Central High Huffman, a senior, showed up in a big way for Central’s softball team’s play-in game against Ashland on Friday. Huff- man started her afternoon off with a triple in the second inning. But her biggest contribution came in the bottom of the sixth, when she hit a grand slam, clinching the Panthers’ 14-2 victory. She helped Central advance to the first round of the OSAA Class 5A state softball playoffs. To submit nominations for the Itemizer-Observer Athlete of the Week, contact Sports Editor Lukas Eggen at 503-623-2373 or leggen@polkio.com by 9 a.m. on Monday.