Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 6, 2016 13A
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Softball opens MWC play with dominating wins
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas pitcher Yasmine El-Hato earned a complete game
shutout against Central on Thursday afternoon.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
DALLAS — The Dallas
High School softball team
began league play with a
pair of convincing victories.
The Dragons defeated rival
Central 6-0 on Thursday be-
fore downing South Albany
11-1 on Friday. Dallas, which
also defeated Woodburn 27-
0 on March 29, outscored
opponents 44-1 last week.
“The girls are working re-
ally hard in practice, and it is
paying off,” Dragons coach
Brandi Jackson said. “We’ve
been conditioning a lot
more than they’re used to,
and I think that’s keeping
them in the game from the
first through the seventh in-
ning rather than having a
lull.”
That conditioning has
been both a boon — and a
challenge — for players.
“It kills me, but it pays
off,” senior Yasmine El-Hato
said.
Dallas has scored 11 or
more runs in four of its last
five games, something Jack-
son said is a result of their
willingness to be aggressive
at the plate.
“Ever since Medford,
we’ve just been hitting really
well, honestly,” Jackson said.
“We talked about, as a
whole, being aggressive
early and better things will
happen instead of getting
behind in the count.”
Six starters (Olivia Nelson,
Yasmine El-Hato, Ashlee
Litchenberger, Emily May,
Kaelynn Simmons and Mak-
ena Linn) have five or more
hits and are batting .400 or
higher.
Dallas (7-1 overall, 2-0
MWC) played at Corvallis
Tuesday after press time.
The Dragons host Crescent
Valley Wednesday (today) at
4:30 p.m. before playing at
Lebanon on Friday and at
Silverton on Tuesday.
BASEBALL SWEEPS WAR-
RIORS: Dallas’ baseball team
opened Mid-Willamette Con-
ference play with a three-game
sweep of Lebanon.
The Dragons defeated the
Warriors 5-1
on March
29, 4-3 on
March 30
and 7-6 on
Friday.
Pi tc h i n g
ruled the
day during
the first two
Minahan
games. Sen-
ior Tucker Weaver earned a
complete game win on March
29, throwing 14 strikeouts
without allowing an earned
run.
Senior Everett Minahan fol-
lowed that up with a complete
game victory of his own on
March 30. Minahan threw
seven strikeouts, as the Drag-
ons scored two runs in the top
of the seventh inning to rally.
The Dragons came back
from five runs down to com-
plete the sweep on Friday.
Dallas (5-3 overall, 3-0 MWC)
played at Woodburn Tuesday
after press time. The Dragons
host the Bulldogs Wednesday
(today) at 4:30 p.m. before clos-
ing out the series Friday at
Woodburn. Dallas opens a
three-game set against Cres-
cent Valley Tuesday.
QUARTET OF ATHLETES
PLACE FIRST AT TITAN TRACK
CLASSIC: Dallas’ boys and girls
track and field teams placed
fifth at the Titan Track Classic at
West Salem High School on
Saturday.
The girls saw a pair of first-
place finishes. Senior Naomi
Howe won the 300-meter hur-
dles with a
time of
48.23 sec-
onds. Junior
Kayley Sayer
took first in
the long
jump with a
mark of 16
feet, 8½
inches.
White
Senior
Kyleen Benz took second in the
discus (109-8) and fifth in the
shot put (33-9). Jennifer Webb
finished second in the 100 hur-
dles (16.77).
Juniors Jacob Deming and
Aaron White led the boys team.
Deming won the 300 hurdles in
42.18 seconds, while White
placed first in the triple jump
with a leap of 41-1¾.
Junior Harrison Broadus fin-
ished second in the javelin
(157-9), and Cody Webb took
third in the 110 hurdles
(16.47).
Dallas will compete at Cen-
tral Wednesday (today) at 4
p.m. before hosting Woodburn,
Silverton and Crescent Valley
on April 13 at 3 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS WINS TWO:
Dallas’ girls tennis defeated
Woodburn 5-3 on March 29
and Central 5-3 on Friday.
E m i l y
Cuno won a
three-set
thriller 6-3,
4-6, 9-7
against the
Bulldogs to
earn a sin-
gles point.
The doubles
Gumpinger pairs of Lynn
Gumpinger
and Addie Gillette, Megan
Ronco and Allison Hirshi,
Mikayli Laizure and Kloe Totten,
and Amanda Schafer and Kinzi
Boer earned doubles points.
Against the Panthers, Molly
Peffley and Emma Cromwell
earned singles victories. The
doubles pairs of Gumpinger
and Gillette, Totten and Laizure,
and Schafer and Boer picked
up doubles points.
Monday’s results were not
available before press time.
CENTRAL ROUNDUP
Panthers’ bats spark big win over Raiders
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s softball team bounced
back from a 6-0 loss to Dal-
las on Thursday to defeat
Crescent Valley 16-6 on Fri-
day.
The Panthers also defeat-
ed South Albany 18-4 on
March 29.
Kyra Noon went a perfect
4 for 4 against South Albany
to go along with four RBI.
Kylie Nash went three for
four and drove in four runs,
while Jori Kerr had three hits
and two RBI.
Central’s bats went cold
against the Dragons, but re-
covered on Friday as the
Panthers built a 12-0 lead
thanks in part to a 2-run
home run from Erin Cole in
the first inning.
“We have a better feel
how we will fall in the
league,” Nash said. “I think
we saw that it’s a matter of
how we play. I don’t think
anyone will flat out beat us.
When we hit and field like
we can, I don’t think anyone
can beat us.”
Central’s success during
its two wins can be traced
back to being willing to at-
tack early in counts.
“One of the biggest differ-
ences was our girls jumped
on that first pitch strike,”
coach Kendra George said.
“(Against Dallas) we
watched some of those go
by.”
The Panthers played
Lebanon Tuesday after press
time. Central plays at Silver-
ton Wednesday (today) be-
fore hosting Corvallis Friday
at 4:30 p.m. and Woodburn
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central first baseman Briana Broadus attempts to catch a ball during Central’s 16-6 win over Crescent Valley.
Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
BASEBALL TAKES TWO OF
THREE FROM WOODBURN:
After two tight games against
Woodburn, Central’s baseball
team’s bats exploded on Friday
in the series finale.
The Panthers recorded 14
hits as Central cruised to a 16-0
win over the Bulldogs on Fri-
day.
The teams split the first two
games as the Panthers won the
opener 4-2 on March 29 before
falling 4-3 on March 30.
“Losing a couple preseason
games due to weather sucks,”
Panthers coach Zach Miller
said. “I think we are still in that
preseason mode, but league
play has started. We’ve done a
lot of (batting) cage time and
that hurts and helps us. We get
out here and did too much
thinking. We watched a lot of
2-0 fastballs or 1-0 fastballs go
by in the first two games.”
That wasn’t the case on Fri-
day. Jackson Holstad hit a two-
run home run and Luke Mc-
Beth added a solo shot.
“Our approach changed
from the last game to (Friday)
drastically,” Holstad said. “We
were trying to attack early and
not get down deep into the
count.”
Central played at Lebanon
Tuesday after press time. The
Panthers host the Warriors
Wednesday (today) at 4:30 p.m.
before closing out the series at
Lebanon on Friday. Central
opens a three-game series
against Silverton at home Tues-
day at 4:30 p.m.
“We’ve got to get the bats
rolling early,” Holstad said. “Fri-
day was a good day for sure,
but their pitching staff wasn’t
the best. We’ll see a better staff
(this) week and we’ll have to hit
some good ones.”
TRACK FALLS TO SILVER-
TON: Central’s boys and girls
track and field squads fell to
Silverton on March 30 in a dual
meet. The boys lost 81-64,
while the girls fell 105-40.
Bethanie Altamirano led the
girls with first-place finishes in
the 200-meter run (27.57 sec-
onds), and 400 (1:03.33). She
also was part of the 4 X 100
relay squad that took first
along with Alex Alvarez, Eliza-
beth Chavez and Sophia
Henke.
Annie Taylor placed first in
the 300 hurdles (55.32) and
Henke won the high jump with
a mark of 4 feet, 10 inches.
Jaxon Hutchinson won the
100 in 11.88 seconds to help
lead the boys. Antonio Rincon
took first in the 400 (54.56).
Sam Cole placed first in the
shot put with a throw of 48-3
and Kyle Miller won the discus
with a mark of 132-5½.
The 4 x 100 relay team of
Isaiah Abraham, Casey Brown,
Nick Burgett and Hutchinson,
and the 4 x 400 relay squad of
Isaac Burgett, Aaron Padilla,
Rincon and Hutchinson, also
took first.
Central hosts Dallas
Wednesday (today) at 4 p.m.
before competing at the Sandy
Invitational on Saturday. The
Panthers will host South Al-
bany, Lebanon and Corvallis on
April 13 at 3:45 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS SPLITS: Cen-
tral’s boys tennis team defeat-
ed South Albany 7-1 on March
29 before falling to Dallas 6-2
on Thursday.
Kevin Cable, Anthony Mar-
tinez, Adam Rangel and Clark
Gallagher all won singles match-
es against South Albany. The
doubles pairs of Hassan Etel-
bany and Nathaniel Miller, Joel
Robinson and Bailey Yates, and
Grayson Mann and Cade Magill
won their matches as well.
Against the Dragons, Rangel
earned a singles point, while
the doubles pair of Bryce
Spreadbury and Etelbany won
the Panthers’ lone doubles
point.
The girls squad fell to Dallas
5-3 on Thursday. Patience
Teague and Aya Kan earned
singles victories, while Julia
Hamar and Andrea Garibay
won in doubles play.
Central’s boys team hosted
Crescent Valley Tuesday after
press time. The Panthers play at
Lebanon on Thursday and at
Silverton on Tuesday.
The girls played at Crescent
Valley Tuesday after press time
and host Lebanon on Thursday
at 4 p.m. and Silverton Tuesday
at 4 p.m.
PERRYDALE ROUNDUP
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Baseball sweeps Central Washington Softball wins two
Itemizer-Observer staff report
ELLENSBURG, Wash. —
Western Oregon’s baseball
team won all four games
against Central Washington
on Saturday and Sunday.
The Wolves won the
opening games 9-8 and 4-1
on Saturday.
WOU built a 5-0 lead in
the opening game of the se-
ries thanks in part to home
runs from Cody Sullivan and
Nathan Etheridge. The Wild-
cats tied the game at five be-
fore Brandon Oliver hit a
solo home run and
Etheridge hit a two-run
home run to give the Wolves
an 8-5 cushion. WOU added
one run in the ninth and
held off a CWU rally for the
victory. In the second game,
pitcher Garrett Alvarez shut
down the Wildcats en route
to a 4-1
win.
T h e
Wolves’
bats kept
connecting
on Sunday
as WOU
closed out
Sullivan
the series
with a pair of victories (9-5
and 8-0). Snyder and Sulli-
van hit home runs in the
first game, while pitcher
Gary Steindorf closed out
the series with a complete
game in the series finale.
Steindorf threw five strike-
outs during the victory.
WOU (14-13 overall, 9-8
Great Northwest Athletic
Conference) is scheduled to
host Concordia for a pair of
doubleheaders. First pitch
will be at 1 p.m. Saturday
and noon on Sunday.
SOFTBALL GOES 3-3 AT
TOURNAMENT: Western Ore-
gon’s softball team went 3-3 at
the Tournament of Champions.
WOU opened with a 6-2 win
over San Francisco State and a
9-6 win over Dominican Uni-
versity of California on Friday.
Alex Frazier hit a home run in
both games, none bigger than
the walk off grand slam she hit
in the bottom of the eighth
against San Francisco State.
WOU dropped its next three
games, falling to Humboldt
State (6-2) and Azusa Pacific (2-
0) on Saturday and California
State, San Bernardino (6-0) on
Sunday. Wester n Oregon
closed out the tournament
with a 12-3 win over Chami-
nade on Sunday. Frazier hit her
third home run of the tourna-
ment, while Ashlee Lynch also
went long. The Wolves are
scheduled to host a quartet of
doubleheaders. WOU will play
Western Washington Saturday
at noon, Simon Fraser Sunday
at noon and Montana State
Billings on Monday and Tues-
day at 2 p.m.
COLLIER HAS BIG THROW
AT STANFORD: Western Ore-
gon’s track and field team sent
athletes to compete at the
Stanford Invitational, the San
Francisco State Distance Carni-
val and the Jen Boyman Me-
morial Invitational on Friday
and Saturday. Emmi Collier
threw an NCAA provisional
standard in the shot put at
Stanford with a throw of 46
feet, 2½ inches. David Ribich
ran the second-best time in
WOU history in the men’s
1,500-meter race with a time of
3 minutes, 48.82 seconds at the
Distance Carnival. The Wolves
will host the John Knight Twi-
light meet on Friday. The first
event begins at 1 p.m.
Itemizer-Observer staff report
SHERIDAN — Perrydale’s
softball team picked up a
pair of nonleague wins last
week, defeating Sheridan
14-10 on March 30 and a
19-1 victory over Scio’s JV
squad on Thursday.
The Pi-
rates over-
came nine
e r r o r s
against
Sher idan
to earn
the win.
Pitcher
Hannah
Amador
Amador
threw a complete game
without walking a single
batter. Anna McGill went 2
for 4 with an RBI and three
runs scored. Sierra Starr
had a double and drove in
three runs and Hannah
Hallock scored three runs.
The Pirates (2-1 overall)
played at Regis Tuesday
after press time. Perrydale
hosts St. Paul Wednesday
(today), Scio (JV) on Fri-
day, Kennedy on Monday
and Siletz Valley on April
13. First pitch for all
games is scheduled for
4:30 p.m.
B A S E B A L L FA L L S T O
SHERIDAN: Perrydale’s base-
ball team closed out its non-
league season with a 10-0 loss
to Sheridan on March 30.
The Pirates (0-3 overall)
played Regis Tuesday after
press time to open league
play. Perrydale hosts St. Paul
Wednesday (today) at 4:30
p.m. and Kennedy on Monday
at 4:30 p.m. before playing at
Western Mennonite on April
13.