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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2016)
Polk County Sports SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, MAY 4 Baseball: Central at Dallas, 3 p.m. Boys tennis: Central at Woodburn, 4 p.m. Silver- ton at Dallas, 4 p.m. Girls golf: Central, Dal- las at MWC Regionals (at Quail Valley, Banks), 10 a.m. Girls tennis: Woodburn at Central, 4 p.m. Dallas at Silverton, 4 p.m. Softball: Crescent Val- ley at Central, 4:30 p.m. South Albany at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Perrydale at Kennedy, 3 p.m. Track and field: Central at Woodburn, 3:45 p.m. Dallas at Corvallis, 3:45 p.m. THURSDAY, MAY 5 Boys tennis: Dallas at Crescent Valley, 4 p.m. Girls tennis: Crescent Valley at Dallas, 4 p.m. Softball: Sheridan at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. FRIDAY, MAY 6 Baseball: Dallas at Cen- tral, 3:30 p.m. Western Mennonite at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. Central Washing- ton at Western Oregon (DH), 1 p.m. Softball: Central at Lebanon, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Corvallis, 4:30 p.m. Track and field: Falls City at Toledo Twilight, 3 p.m. Perrydale at Regis Twilight Invitational, 3 p.m. SATURDAY, MAY 7 Baseball: Central Wash- ington at Western Oregon (DH), noon. Track and field: West- ern Oregon at Oxy Invite, all day. Western Oregon at Oregon Twilight, all day. Western Oregon at Linfield Open, all day. Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 4, 2016 10A CENTRAL BOYS TENNIS Advantage Eltelbany, Spreadbury Panthers’ No. 1 doubles heat up the court By Lukas Eggen Boys tennis The Itemizer-Observer INDEPENDENCE — Cen- tral boys tennis players Has- san Eltelbany and Brice Spreadbury always consid- ered themselves singles players. That all changed this spring. “We both looked at play- ing singles and it looked like it’d be a tough bracket,” Spread- b u r y said. “We looked at dou- bles and felt we had a better chance to make it to state.” The duo joined forces, be- coming Central’s No. 1 dou- bles pair. The path hasn’t been easy. “The hardest part for me is letting the ball go and recognizing there’s another person,” Eltelbany said. “You have to be patient. That’s always tricky for me, waiting for someone else to do something on the court.” Relying on someone else was something new for both players — as was changing the way they ap- • Central’s boys tennis sq- uad fell to Silverton 5-3 on Friday in the team’s final home match of the season. • Kevin Cable, Chris Pol- anco and Adam Rangel earned wins in singles play for the Panthers. • Central defeated Leb- anon 5-3 on April 27. Cable, Anthony Martinez and Rangel earned wins in sin- gles play. The doubles pairs of Brice Spreadbury and Hassan Eltelbany, and Justin Landers and Bailey Yates also earned wins. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Brice Spreadbury and Hassan Eltelbany have become Central’s top doubles pair. proach each point. “It’s a totally different game than singles,” Spread- bury said. “It’s not as much about how hard you hit it, but more about angles and strategy.” The duo realized early on they had a long way to go to realize their potential. Eltelbany, a junior, and Spreadbury, a senior, found ways to gain experience, whether through watching clips of doubles matches on- line or playing together after practice whenever they could. “We understood that we’re going to have to trust each other,” Eltelbany said. “We’re going to have to let the other one do the work sometimes and not make it so hostile on the court.” Their first serve can be a major strength, while years of playing singles has al- lowed their forehands to be more accurate and powerful than some of their competi- tion, but their main advan- tage is something that can’t be taught — friendship. See CENTRAL, Page 12A DALLAS SOFTBALL MONDAY, MAY 9 Baseball: Santiam at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Santiam at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. El-Hato, Dragons explode against Raiders TUESDAY, MAY 10 Baseball: Corvallis at Central, 4:30 p.m. South Al- bany at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Softball: Central at Sil- verton, 4:30 p.m. Crescent Valley at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. By Lukas Eggen WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 Baseball: Central at Corvallis, 3:30 p.m. Dallas at South Albany, 4:30 p.m. Boys tennis: Central, Dallas at MWC District Tournament at Crescent Valley, 1 p.m. Girls tennis: Central, Dallas at MWC District Tournament at Crescent Valley, 8 a.m. Softball: Central at Cor- vallis, 4:30 p.m. Dallas at Lebanon, 4:30 p.m.Taft at Perrydale, 4:30 p.m. Track and field: Central, Dallas at Mid-Willamette Conference District cham- pionship at Central, 3 p.m. — Schedules Subject to Change QUICK HITS Local Pop Warner athletes honored DALLAS — Dallas Pop Warner football had 11 par- ticipants selected as Aca- demic All-Americans for the Pop Warner Pacific North- west Region. Athletes honored were: Easton Barcroft, Alexandria Cavan, Luke Hess, Owen Hess, Karson Hevener, John Hofenbredl, Alex Lavier, Haydn M illard, K aden Moore, Cael Morrison and Kahl Murdock. In order to be selected, recipients must be in fifth grade or higher, maintain a 90 percent or higher GPA and have a complete report card from the prior year sub- mitted. The Pacific Northwest Re- gion includes Oregon, Alas- ka, California, Nevada, Wash- ington and Idaho. The Itemizer-Observer CORVALLIS — Dallas senior Yasmine El- Hato has had her fair share of highlights dur- ing her softball career. Few can rival what happened on Thurs- day. Dallas’ softball squad, fresh off an 8-5 win over Silverton on April 27, was looking to avoid a letdown against Crescent Valley on Thursday. The Dragons put any doubts to rest early, racking up 26 hits en route to a 29-4 win over the Raiders. Among a game full of standout perform- ances, El-Hato may have shone brightest, recording six hits, including three home runs and a double while driving in 11 runs. “Crescent Valley was a great game,” El- Hato said. “Things just seemed to click, not only for me, but for everyone on the team.” It’s true, games like Thursday are the out- liers, but El-Hato worked tirelessly through- out the year to take her game to new heights. — El-Hato had a strong junior campaign, one that saw her hit a team-high 12 home runs with a .420 batting average. In previous years, El-Hato played volley- ball in the fall and basketball in the winter. She knew she’d have to make a choice en- tering her senior year. “I’ve been playing softball since Kids, Inc. T-ball when I was 6,” El-Hato said. “I have loved it since then. I knew at some point I would have to narrow it down. There was Softball • Dallas’ softball team fell to Lebanon 10- 2 on April 26 before defeating Silverton 8-5 on April 27 and Crescent Valley 29-4 on Thursday. • The Dragons overcame a 4-0 deficit against Silverton. MaKena Linn, Madi Feld- man, Ashlee Lichtenberger and Yasmine El- Hato recorded two hits each to lead the Dragons. • Freshman pitcher Kaelynn Simmons earned the win giving up just two hits and one earned run. She threw six strikeouts dur- ing five innings of work. • Dallas saw 10 different players record hits against the Raiders, including three from Olivia Nelson and Simmons. never any question which sport I would choose. Softball was my game from early on.” She spent much of the year playing on a traveling team, giving her valuable experi- ence. “Coming into this season, I felt really good,” she said. “I was fortunate to play with the Oregon Titans 18U traveling team over the summer and that definitely prepared me for my school season. It helped me not only with my batting, but pitching and first base as well.” She’s become the Dragons’ No. 1 pitcher and one of the team’s most dangerous hitters — two things that can help feed each other to succeed. See DRAGONS, Page 11A COLLEGE BASEBALL Senior chooses baseball over gaming By Lukas Eggen The Itemizer-Observer Polk Pedalers to meet on Saturday DALLAS — The Polk Ped- alers Bicycle Club will host a free ride Saturday at 8 a.m. Riders will meet at Court- yard Coffee House, 156 SE Mill St., Dallas, and will begin a 25-mile easy ride to Independence. For more information: 503-623-6533. www.polkio.com LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer file Dallas senior Yasmine El-Hato delivers a pitch during a game against Central on April 15. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Western Oregon senior Trevor Podratz takes a pitch during a game against Montana State Billings on Saturday afternoon. MONMOUTH — Trevor Podratz “retired” in eighth grade — deciding to trade in an Xbox controller for a base- ball bat — a decision that has benefitted Western Oregon’s baseball team in a big way. It was his seventh-grade year that Podratz turned professional, playing Halo 2 in official tournaments for money. “A bunch of us guys liked video games and sports,” Po- dratz said. “I was kind of liv- ing the dream as a seventh- grader.” Podratz competed profes- sionally for about five months that year, but by the time eighth grade rolled around, Halo 2 faded into the background. “I was getting ready for www.facebook.com/pages/Polk-County-Itemizer-Observer/205062686252209 Furious finish • Western Oregon’s base- ball team hosts Central Washington for a pair of doubleheaders Friday at 1 p.m. and Saturday at noon. • The Wildcats enter the series in first place with a 22-14 record in Great Northwest Athletic Confer- ence play. • WOU is second with a 21-15 record. Montana State Billings and North- west Nazarene entered the week tied for fourth with a 19-15 mark in league play. • The top three teams ad- vance to the conference tournament, which begins May 12. high school, and baseball became my passion,” Po- dratz said. See GAME, Page 11A www.twitter.com/PolkIOSports
