Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 30, 2016 11A
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Weather wreaks havoc on WOU’s home schedule
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
HILLSBORO — Thanks to
a two-game sweep of Saint
Martin’s, Western Oregon
softball coach Lonny Sar-
gent surpassed 300 career
victories on Saturday.
Junior infielder Lexi Jen-
nings had walkoff hits in
both of the matchups, help-
ing the Wolves defeat the
Saints 4-2 and 4-3.
In game one, a two-run
home run by Destiny Kuehl
tied the game in the sixth in-
ning and Jennings hit a two-
run home run in the seventh
to clinch the victory.
In game two, Jennings hit
to center field in the eighth
inning — driving in the win-
ning run once again.
“I think we have a lot of
fight,” Kuehl said. “Even at
the end of a game, we don’t
give up. Even the freshmen
are stepping up. Everyone
brings something to the
team.”
The Wolves split a double-
header with Central Wash-
ington on Friday, winning 3-
2 before dropping the sec-
ond game 2-1.
The only thing that would
have made the moment
sweeter was if the games
had taken place at home —
a luxury that WOU hasn’t yet
experienced in 2016.
Weather conditions have
forced home matchups to
be delayed, moved or can-
celed.
“It really took a turn when
we played Central Washing-
ton (on March 6),” Sargent
said. “We were expecting to
be at home, and that made a
huge difference in our sea-
son, I think. Players were
bummed. Family members
were bummed. We’re really
good at home. The bad
thing is, we don’t get to play
at home for a while. Other
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Baseball drops two
of three to MSUB
Itemizer-Observer staff report
BILLINGS, Mont. — West-
ern Oregon’s baseball team
got off to a strong start be-
fore dropping two of three
g a m e s
against
Montana
S t a t e
Billings on
Saturday
and Sun-
d a y. T h e
Wolves
won the
Snyder
opening
matchup 10-0 on Saturday
and lost the other two.
Junior Nick Snyder hit a
three-run home run in the
first inning to get the offense
going, while Marcus Mad-
den hit a three RBI triple to
round out the scoring in the
seventh inning. Pitcher
Brady Miller threw six strike-
outs in 5 2/3 innings to earn
the victory on the mound.
The Wolves dropped the
second game of the double-
header 8-7.
In the final game of the se-
ries, WOU fell 6-1.
Western Oregon (10-13
overall, 5-8 Great Northwest
Athletic Conference) plays at
Central Washington for a
pair of doubleheaders on
Saturday and Sunday.
TRACK AND FIELD EXCELS
AT WILLAMETTE: Western Ore-
gon’s track and ield team had a
strong showing at the
Willamette Invitational in
Salem on Saturday. Suzanne
Van De Grift won the women’s
800-meter run in 2 minutes,
13.04 seconds. Emily Wetherell
won the hammer with a throw
of 162 feet, 11 inches, and
Megan Rose placed second in
the 400 (58.0 seconds). Cody
Warner took irst in the men’s
200 (21.55) and second in the
100 (10.78). Aaron Whitaker
won the 400 (49.08). WOU will
send athletes to the Stanford
Invitational and the San Fran-
cisco State Distance Carnival on
Friday and Saturday.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WOU SOFTBALL/ Itemizer-Observer
The rainy weather has made Western Oregon’s softball
field unplayable. WOU has yet to have a home game.
people are able to play at
their fields. That’s a bum-
mer for us to walk away
from here.”
The Wolves dropped that
doubleheader.
The source of WOU’s
home field woes is the rain
and an outfield that can’t
drain quickly enough.
“Our infield is in great
shape,” Sargent said. “We
have a great tarp and can get
that ready. If our outfield had
a better drainage system, we
could have been playing on it
(last weekend).”
Instead, Western Oregon
Let’s get fired up
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Western Oregon University President Rex Fuller ad-
dressed the crowd at the WOU watch party at Inde-
pendence Cinema on March 23.
has seen home games be-
come road games or neu-
tral-site games. Players hope
the team’s success over the
weekend is a sign that the
Wolves won’t be bothered by
playing on the road any-
more.
“I think it was stressful at
the beginning because
everyone wants to play at
home,” Kuehl said. “Coach
told us that everyone has
games pushed back. We
have to find a way to fight
through it.”
Kuehl has been a bright
spot for the Wolves.
The junior leads the team
in home runs with seven,
runs scored (21) and RBIs
(24) and is second on the
squad in hits (32) and bat-
ting average (.432).
“I don’t think up there,”
Kuehl said. “I see the ball
and hit the ball. My mindset
is I just can’t give up. I can’t
let my team down.”
Western Oregon will com-
pete at the Tournament of
Champions in California this
weekend before hosting four
straight days of conference
home games April 9-12.
If the weather doesn’t co-
operate then, the Wolves
(15-15 overall, 10-10 Great
Northwest Athletic Confer-
ence) are facing potentially a
full season on the road, but
Sargent isn’t about to let that
do the Wolves in.
“We’re facing the fact that
we might not play at home
at all this year,” Sargent said.
“… We’re coming together as
a group, which is fun to
watch. Our leadership this
year has been really good.
We are just making a big
switch mentally and know-
ing that we’ve lost a few
games we could have won.
We know we have to com-
pete well in order to chal-
lenge and possibly beat
these teams.”
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Baseball splits games
Itemizer-Observer staff report
BOISE — Dallas’ baseball
team went 2-2 at the Bucks
Bag Tournament Thursday
through Saturday.
The Dragons defeated
Bishop Kel-
ley 6-4 on
Thursday
b e f o r e
falling to
Emmett 3-1
on Friday
morning.
Dallas
bounced
Weaver
back with
an 18-4 vic-
t o r y ov e r
Idaho Falls
on Friday
afternoon
a
n
d
dropped
their final
game of the
Earhart
tourna-
ment to Madison 12-4.
Pitcher Tucker Weaver
threw a one-hitter against
Bishop Kelley. Weaver had
nine strikeouts during the
victory.
Tanner Earhart led the
Dragons against Idaho Falls,
going four for five at the
plate.
Dallas finished nonleague
play with a 2-3 record over-
all.
T h e Dra g o n s h o s t e d
Lebanon Tuesday after press
time to open Mid-
Willamette Conference play.
Dallas travels to Lebanon
Wednesday (today) before
hosting the Warriors Friday
at 4:30 p.m.
The Dragons face Wood-
burn on Tuesday.
BOYS TENNIS FALLS TO
McMINNVILLE: Dallas’ boys
tennis squad played at McMin-
nville on Monday afternoon.
No details were provided by
press time. The Dragons played
Woodburn Tuesday after press
time. Dallas hosts Central
Thursday at 4 p.m. and South
Albany Tuesday at 4 p.m.
BOYS GOLF: Dallas’ boys
golf team was scheduled to
compete in Corvallis on Mon-
day. No details were provided.
The Dragons will compete at
Cross Creek Golf Course in Dal-
las on Monday at 11 a.m.
Pack: Players fed off of community’s support
Continued from Page 10A
“It’s been a great ride,
honestly,” senior guard
Devon Alexander said. “I’m
very, very happy and pleased
with how everything turned
out. ... It’s been an experi-
ence of a lifetime.”
Among the accomplish-
ments included the school’s
first No. 1 ranking, first Great
Northwest Athletic Confer-
ence tournament title, first
win in the NCAA Division II
tournament, most wins in a
single season (31) and the
first Final Four berth in pro-
gram history.
Throughout the season,
players had the same
mantra: Keep looking for-
ward. Now, they realize the
full scope of what they ac-
complished.
“It happened too fast,”
redshirt sophomore Tanner
Omlid said. “You never really
understand what you were
doing in the moment until
you take a step back.”
WOU brought together a
unique mix of players. Julian
Nichols transferred prior to
the 2014-15 season after
spending a season at a jun-
ior college and wasn’t even
on a roster the year before.
Alexander came the sum-
mer before his freshman
year when former coach
Brady Bergeson offered him
a spot when a late opening
presented itself.
Omlid transferred from
Army after suffering a knee
injury.
“It’s a blessing how every-
thing blossomed,” Alexan-
der said. “... Everything
seemed to turned out the
way it was supposed to. All
the hard work. All the losses.
It gave you that experience
that you needed to get to the
next level.”
The community took no-
tice. In previous years, the
team drew hundreds of fans.
This season, that grew to
more than 1,000 fans on a
consistent basis and cracked
the 2,000 mark.
For the Wolves’ Elite Eight
game against Saginaw Valley
State, WOU held watch par-
ties on campus and at Inde-
pendence Cinema.
“We have community
members, alumni, Wolves
club supporters, students
and businesses coming to-
gether left and right,” WOU
Alumni Relations Coordina-
tor Emily Lafon said. “This is
the biggest conglomeration
of everything we have had in
a while.”
Players couldn’t help but
feel the energy.
“You could tell the com-
munity just bought in and
realized this team is doing
something really big here,”
Alexander said. “You started
seeing the stands get more
and more filled. There were
spots you’d never see filled
my freshman year that were
this year. The community
stood behind us all the
way.”
Whether it was a fan writ-
ing coach Jim Shaw an email
thanking them for the thrills
or a kid coming up to play-
ers after a game, the com-
munity’s support did won-
ders for the Wolves.
“It feels so good because
you almost feel like a little
bit of a professional athlete,”
Alexander said. “In a sense,
you’re acting professionally
through the school. You’re
representing something
more than yourself. You can
put a smile on a kid’s face
like Kobe, Michael or Lebron
does for us. It gives you a
sense of pride and integrity.
It makes you work that
much harder.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Devon Alexander returns to Western Oregon on Friday
after the Wolves’ trip to the Elite Eight in Frisco, Texas.
WOU’s historic season is
officially over, though 11
players are set to return next
season. But for everyone in-
volved, the memory of what
they accomplished won’t be
fading anytime soon.
“We want to thank every-
one, the players, the coach-
es, the community, for a
great ride,” Alexander said.
“And I want to thank God.
Something like this doesn’t
come around too often.”
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
CENTRAL SOFTBALL
Panthers tweak lineup at the start of league Baseball splits games
Central sees two nonleague games canceled due to weather conditions
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
SANDY — Central’s soft-
ball team didn’t get all of the
preparation it hoped before
the start of league play, but
Panthers coach Kendra
George is excited to see her
team take shape.
Central, which saw two of
its four nonleague contests
canceled due to weather,
fell to Sandy 9-7 on Satur-
day. But the Panthers, which
opened the season with an
11-0 win over Taft, weren’t
discouraged.
George said she’s seeing
the makings of a strong
team that will feature a lot
of depth.
“We’re going to play
around with the lineup,”
George said. “We have a lot
of talent and a lot of girls
who can play different posi-
tions. We’re definitely going
to be moving around a little
bit.”
That depth extends to the
plate as well.
Sarah Helyer and Kyra
Noon each hit one home
run against Taft; Gabby Cis-
neros and Mollee Carter hit
triples, while Aunika Farley
went 2 for 3.
“It’s exciting,” George
said. “I’ll think, I only have
nine spots and I have a lot
of girls who can hit really
well. It’s a good problem to
have.”
Central opened Mid-
Willamette Conference play
against South Albany Tues-
day after press time.
The Panthers play at Dal-
las Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
before hosting Crescent Val-
ley Friday at 4:30 p.m. Cen-
tral plays at Lebanon on
Tuesday.
In spite of missing half of
their nonleague games,
George is confident about
where Central stands enter-
ing league play. She’s not
done tinkering with the
lineup, and is sure that no
matter who is out there, the
Panthers are ready to com-
pete with the league’s best.
“You’ve got to roll with
the punches,” George said.
“We’re a talented team this
year. The girls came out and
were aggressive at the plate,
which I like. It was nice to fi-
nally get out there and play,
but there’s always stuff for
us to work on. That’s the
way things go in softball —
there’s always room for im-
provement.”
Itemizer-Observer staff report
AURORA — Central’s
baseball team split its games
at the North Marion Spring
Break Series on March 23.
The Panthers defeated
Gladstone 7-4 before falling
to Tualatin 7-1.
Against Gladstone, the
Panthers overcame a 3-1
deficit thanks in large part to
a four-run fifth inning.
Pitcher Humberto Alarcon
earned the victory on the
mound. Peter Mendazona
(two), Luis Amador and
David Avila all hit doubles.
The Panthers opened
Mid-Willamette Conference
play against Woodburn
Tuesday after press time.
Central plays at Woodburn
Wednesday (today) and
hosts the Bulldogs Friday at
4:30 p.m. The Panthers play
at Lebanon Tuesday and
host the Warriors on April 6.
TRACK DUO COMPETES AT
SUMMIT: Central sophomores
Jaxon Hutchinson and Josh
Dickson competed at the Sum-
mit Decathlon/Heptathlon on
Friday. Hutchinson’s day was
highlighted by a second-place
inish in the 400-meter run
(53.90 seconds) and a ifth-
place inish in the 100 (11.82).
Dickson’s day featured a fourth-
place inish in the 110 hurdles
(17.51) and a ifth-place inish
in the long jump (5.56 meters).
Central hosts Silverton
Wednesday (today) at 4 p.m.
The Panthers will host Dallas on
April 6 at 4:30 p.m.