12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 22, 2015
Polk County Sports
AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL
Dirtbags prepare for state tournament
Withnell Dodgers take two of three from Dirtbags to win league championship
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Tucker Weaver delivers a pitch against Withnell on Satur-
day. Weaver helped the Dirtbags earn a 5-4 win.
MONMOUTH — The De-
marini Dirtbags aren’t end-
ing the regular season with a
league title, but that hasn’t
changed the team’s expecta-
tions for the American Le-
gion baseball state tourna-
ment, which begins July 29.
The Dirtbags dropped two
of three games against the
Withnell Dodgers in the bat-
tle for first place. Pitcher
Tucker Weaver earned De-
marini’s lone victory on Sat-
urday at home, throwing a
complete game during the
5-4 win.
“The defense worked
their butts off the entire
time,” Weaver said. “They
were making plays I thought
would be hits for sure, but
they were knocking every
ball down and came
through. Our bats came
alive. I was just trying to
Batter Up
• The Demarini Dirtbags
will compete in the Ameri-
can Legion state tourna-
ment starting July 29. The
team’s opponent is yet to
be determined.
• For more information:
www.ballcharts.com/team/
?team=Post20Dirtbags&pg
=schedule.
slow down, take my time
and keep the ball down.”
Despite giving up four
runs in the sixth inning,
Weaver helped the Dirtbags
shut out the Dodgers the
rest of the way to preserve
the victory.
“Tucker has a rubber arm
and conditions a lot,” coach
Taylor Hetrich said. “We let
him have the ball if he want-
ed it. I think Tucker got in a
zone and competed all
game. That’s what it’s all
about — throwing strikes
and giving your defense a
chance to make plays.”
Weaver is just one of sever-
al Polk County players to
compete for the Dirtbags,
joining Central’s Luis Amador
and Pete Mendezona, Dallas’
Logan Hatley and Perrydale’s
Hunter Johnson.
“There’s a lot of energy
and great teamwork,” Weav-
er said. “It’s a lot of fun and
there’s a great atmosphere. I
think there’s more focus
without school because you
can just focus on baseball.”
Helping to lead the squad
is Hetrich in his first year as
head coach of the Dirtbags.
Hetrich, a former player at
Western Oregon University,
served as an assistant coach
last season.
Making the leap from as-
sistant to head coach hasn’t
been difficult, Hetrich said,
thanks in large part to his
players.
“They want to be out
here more than any team
I’ve ever been a part of,”
Hetrich said. “I couldn’t ask
for a better group of guys.
It’s a little different having
to manage the game and
filling out the lineup card.
Other than that, it’s a lot of
fun. There’s not a whole lot
of coaching we have to do.
These guys have been doing
this their whole lives.”
The Dirtbags closed out
the regular season against
Klamath Falls Tuesday after
press time. Demarini’s tour-
nament opponent will be
determined once all regular
season games are finished.
Until then, Hetrich said
the focus will be on refining
and perfecting.
“We have some things to
clean up offensively and de-
fensively,” Hetrich said. “But
we feel we are playing well
and that we can compete
with anyone.”
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Western installs new track surface
Track coach says it will benefit university students, community at-large
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
MONMOUTH — Western
Oregon’s track is receiving a
makeover.
WOU has installed new
track surface over the past
few weeks.
“We think this will be a
longer lasting, more attrac-
tive facility,” WOU track and
field coach Mike Johnson
said.
The surface comes with a
10-year warranty, Johnson
said.
The track was last resur-
faced in 2005.
“The surface underneath
is 11 years old,” Johnson
said. “This new surface,
we’ve been able to remedy
some issues and we have a
much more uniform sur-
face.”
Western Oregon’s track
and field program hosts
multiple meets during the
spring, including the Great
Northwest Athletic Confer-
ence championships.
The university has also
hosted multiple high school
meets, including the Mid-
Wi l l a m e t t e Co n f e re n c e
Championships this past
spring.
“It’s important for the
championships and invita-
tionals we host,” Johnson
said. “The quality of the
training is affected when
your track starts to break
down. For any facility, it’s
harder on your athletes
when it starts to break
down. The track serves not
just track and field, but we
have instruction on the
track, classes that are taught
out there and all of our
teams use the track in con-
junction with their train-
ing.”
WOU’s track also serves
more than just its athletic
programs and classes.
The track is also open to
public use.
“In non-active hours, we
have people who walk and
run,” Johnson said.
WOU’s track and field will
be ready for use for the 2015-
16 sports seasons.
The track will remain
closed to the public until
work is completed.
Workers will paint lanes
on the track on Thursday
and Friday.
Johnson said while the
track benefits Western Ore-
gon athletics, this resurfac-
ing is something everyone
can enjoy.
“We see (the track) as a
community facility that
serves the university and the
greater community at large,”
Johnson said. “We’re just re-
ally, really happy to get this
project done.”
SPORTS BRIEFS
Youth softball teams find success
POLK COUNTY — Three West Valley Little League all-star softball
teams competed in the District 7 Little League All-Star Tournament
on June 27-29.
The minors team (9-10) finished second, while the Majors squad
(11-12) and Juniors (12-14) won the district title.
The Majors team competed at the Little League State Tourna-
ment July 11-12, while the Juniors squad competed in the state
tournament, held July 11-15.
Minors: Emily Nicholson, Jenna Tompkins, Katie Raines, Kaitlyn
Brian, Sadie Wendring , Alexis Moniz, Emily Amador, Daphne
Fuller, Sophee Koos. Devon Hedges, Toa Pritchard-Moa, Maya
Shinkle and Kalia Baker. Coaches: Kathy Tompkins, Damon
Hedges, Casey Fuller
Majors: Abigail Sabuceto, Natalie Davis, Jocelyn McMillan, Hayley
Johnson, Sonya Keller, Ana Garus, Micky Garus (coach), Shanoah
Saunders, Samantha Baldwin, Madison Rodriguez, Kalie Schrock,
Hunter Partain, Miah Friederick, Amaryssa Mooney, Tamra Rober
(coach) and Shawna Johnson (coach).
Juniors: Rachael Ruman, Lilly Comer, Mackenzie Broussard, Jessi-
ca Nolan, Taryn Hunt
Minors: Paula Van Elverdinghe (coach), Kyra Church, Anna Van
Elverdinghe, Jenessa Parnell, Norma Hernandez, Delaney
Headley, Kora Logan, Adrian Lee, Nora Parnell (coach) and Bailey
Golden.
To view photos of the teams, visit www.polkio.com.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon University will paint lane lines on its new track surface on Thursday and Friday.
Swim: Diaz becoming a leader
Continued from Page 10A
Diaz may love having
fun, but once practice be-
gins, she’s all business.
She’s one to support her
teammates through thick
and thin.
“(Isabel) is a great work-
er,” Blue Dolphins coach
Mark Maxwell said. “She is
great with teammates and
is showing leadership as
she grows.”
Diaz is also motivated by
another factor — sibling ri-
valry.
“I’m trying to beat what
they already did,” Diaz
said with a smile. “It
makes things a little more
fun.”
The Blue Dolphins will
have a chance to show
how far they’ve come this
Thursday through Satur-
day when qualified swim-
mers will compete in the
13 and over champi-
Up Next
• The Blue Dolphins
Swim Team will compete
at the 13-and-over cham-
pionships in Gresham this
Thursday through Sunday.
onships in Gresham.
But Diaz isn’t worried
about the competition
she’ll face.
“Just focusing on what I
can do, and not what oth-
ers are doing is important,”
Diaz said.
Diaz is the youngest in
her family of swimmers,
but her maturity and po-
tential has Maxwell excit-
ed to see how much she
can improve in the com-
ing years.
“She is the kind of kid
that the Dallas community
should see and be proud
of,” Maxwell said.
Ready To Tee It Off
CYS to host youth
football signups
INDEPENDENCE — Central
Youth Sports (CYS) will hold foot-
ball registration Aug. 10-14 from
6 to 8 p.m. at Panther Stadium.
Signups will take place at the
concession stand.
There will also be an opportu-
nity for registration on Aug. 15
from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. CYS youth
football is open to students in
grades K-6. Cost is $125 per child.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Youth golfers wait for their tee time during the Oregon Golf Association youth tournament on Thursday. Cross
Creek Golf Course in Dallas hosted the event, which attracted 79 competitors from Oregon and Washington. Re-
sults were not available as of press time.