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Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 11, 2016 13A Central: Meet Central hands Lebanon league loss begins today CENTRAL ROUNDUP Itemizer-Observer staff report LEBANON — Facing the top team in the Mid- Willamette Conference, Central’s softball team hand- ed Lebanon its first loss in league play, earning a 10-3 victory on Friday. Pitcher Erin Cole threw a complete game for the Pan- thers, which scored eight runs in the fourth inning to break open the game. Jori Kerr went four for five with one RBI. Mariah Hyre drove in two runs on four hits, including a pair of dou- bles. Central also defeated Crescent Valley 19-1 on May 4. Kerr had three hits, in- cluding a grand slam. Kylie Nash and Kyra Noon also hit home runs. Kerr and Nash each had five RBIs. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Central’s Erin Cole throws against Dallas on May 3. Cole helped the Panthers defeat Lebanon 10-3 on Friday. The Panthers opened the week with a 10-5 loss to Dal- las on May 3. Central played Silverton Tuesday after press time. The Panthers finish the reg- ular season at Corvallis Wednesday (today) at 4:30 p.m. and at Newport on May 18 at 5 p.m. Central (11-9 overall, 9-7 MWC) entered the week in fourth place in the league standings. BASEBALL SWEPT BY DAL- LAS: Central’s baseball team dropped three games to Dallas. The Panthers fell 15-5 on May 3, 6-1 on May 4 and 8-4 on Fri- day. The Panthers opened a three-game series with Corval- lis Tuesday after press time. Central plays at Corvallis Wednesday (today) at 3:30 p.m. and Friday at 4:30 p.m. before closing out the regular season at West Albany Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Panthers entered the week in fifth place in the MWC, one game behind Silverton for fourth and two games ahead of South Albany. DALLAS ROUNDUP Dallas baseball sweeps Panthers Itemizer-Observer staff report LEBANON — Dallas’ baseball team clinched at least a home play-in game after sweeping rival Central last week. The Dragons defeated the Panthers 15- 5 on May 3, 6-1 on May 4 and 8-4 on Friday. Tanner Earhart and Everett Minahan hit the Dragons’ first home runs since 2014 in the opening game of the series. Earhart had three hits, including a dou- ble and a home run. Minahan also hit a double and a home run during the vic- tory. Pitcher Tucker Weaver earned the win in the second game of the series, throwing nine strikeouts. He also had three hits and two RBIs at the plate. “We’ve been talking about playing your best baseball at the end of the sea- son,” Dallas coach Scot McDonald said. “Early in the season we had some losses where we weren’t hitting or play- ing defense like we expect. We’re put- ting it together now and stringing those wins together and good things are hap- pening now.” The Dragons entered the week win- ners of five straight and six of their last seven. Dallas opened its final series of the regular season against South Al- bany Tuesday after press time. The Dragons play at South Albany on Wednesday (today) and hosts the Rebels Friday at 4:30 p.m. Dallas (14-9 overall, 12-6 Mid- Willamette Conference) entered the se- Continued from Page 11A “They will need to come up big,” Cirino said. “The competition for second is very close in all three throws.” Ju n i o r Pe t e r Ma s o n broke the 20-foot barrier for the first time in his ca- reer in the triple j u m p , recording Mason a person- al best mark of 21-4 ½ on April 30 and is ranked sec- ond, as is Isaac Burgett in the 400-meter run; the 4 x 100 relay team of Casey Brown, Isaiah Abraham, Jaxon Hutchinson, and Nick Burgett, and the 4 x 400 relay team of Nick Burgett, Joshua Peterson, Isaac Burgett and Juan Rivera. Sophomore Bethanie Altamirano is seeded sec- ond in girls 200 and 400, while the girls 4 x 100 relay team of Elizabeth Chavez, Alex Alvarez, Al- tamirano and Reba Hoff- man is a l s o ranked second. Central had four athletes qualify for state in Chavez 2015 — a number the Panthers hope to exceed in 2016. Cirino has stressed that while seedings give each athlete an idea of the competition he or she will face, once the competition begins, anything is possi- ble. And ultimately it’s which athletes can dig deep and perform their best under pressure that will decide who moves on to state and whose season comes to an end. “All of our kids are well aware that anything can happen and nothing is guaranteed,” Cirino said. “Last year, we had a girl seeded eighth win a league championship in the long jump. It will take lifetime bests for any one of them to advance to state and they know that.” PERRYDALE ROUNDUP Softball drops two of three LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Dallas sophomore Treve Earhart, No. 4, attempts to slide into second base. ries with a chance to pass Corvallis (13- 8 MWC) for second place in the league standings. The top two teams in the MWC gain an automatic berth to the first round of the state playoffs. The third- and fourth-place teams will host a play-in game. SOFTBALL WINS THREE: Dallas’ softball team went 3-0 last week. The Dragons de- feated Central 10-5 on May 3, South Al- bany 10-0 on May 4 and Corvallis 10-6 on Friday. Kaelynn Simmons and Yasmine El-Hato each recorded two hits against the Pan- thers. Pitchers Emma Classen and Sim- mons combined to throw a two-hitter against South Albany as Olivia Nelson, Ashlee Lichtenberger, Ciara Greisen and El- Hato had two hits each. Dallas entered the week on a five-game win streak and has scored 10 or more runs in four straight. The Dragons (16-5 overall, 11-4 MWC) hosted Crescent Valley Tuesday after press time. Dallas closes out the regular season at Lebanon on Wednesday (today) and at Sil- verton on Friday. Both games are sched- uled to start at 4:30 p.m. The Dragons entered the week ahead of Silverton (10-6 MWC) for second place in the league standings. The top two teams in the MWC automatically qualify for the 16- team state playoff bracket. The third seed will host a play-in game. Itemizer-Observer staff report PERRYDALE — Perry- d a l e ’s s o f t b a l l t e a m dropped two of three games. The Pirates lost to Kennedy 7-0 on May 4 be- fore defeating Sheridan 17- 4 on Thursday. Perrydale fell to Santiam 10-4 on Monday. Jacki Juarez, Sierra Starr and Anna McGill recorded hits for the Pirates against Kennedy. Stats for Perry- dale’s other two games were not reported as of press time. The Pirates host Taft on Wednesday (today) and Central Linn on Thursday before ending the regular season at Taft on Tuesday. All games are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. BASEBALL LOSES THREE: Perrydale’s baseball squad lost a trio of games. The Pirates fell to Kennedy 14-0 on May 3, Western Mennonite 17-5 on Friday and Santiam 9-0 on Fri- day. Perrydale hosts Central Linn Friday at 3 p.m. before playing at East Linn Christian Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The Pi- rates (1-14 overall, 1-11 Spe- cial District 2) close out the season by hosting Country Christian on May 19 at 4:30 p.m. Benz: Senior has finished second at state twice Continued from Page 11A But that doesn’t mean Benz isn’t motivated to take home a district title. Benz has reached the 5A state championship meet in each of her first three years, culminating with second place finishes in the discus as a sophomore and junior. As she and her teammates prepare for the Mid- Willamette Conference championships this week, she wants to make sure her career ends with a few more memories. Benz enters districts seeded first in both the shot put and discus, but she’s far from the only Dragon looking to book a trip to Eugene. Dallas coach Bill Masei said hurdler Naomi Howe, seeded second in the 300- meter hurdles, and Kayley White S a y e r , ranked second in the long jump and third in the triple jump will also be s t r o n g state con- tenders. “Those are the three that I think have strong chances on the girls side,” Masei said. “We have some other girls who can do well and if they PR, they can make some noise. I think Jennifer Webb and Stefani Tallon in the hurdles can challenge for a spot to state.” Junior Aaron White, like Benz, is also looking to make a return to state. White placed fifth in the triple jump at state in 2015. White is ranked first in the boys triple jump and third in the long jump. “I would say he’s a favorite to get back to s t a t e,” Masei said. Junior Howe Jacob Dem- ing is seeded second in the pole vault, third in the 300 hurdles and 400 and sixth in the 110 hurdles. “Jacob is going to have multiple chances in a bunch of different events,” Masei said. As Dallas’ state hopefuls vie for their ticket to Eugene, Benz wants to end her high school career by achieving a few more goals. “A great memory would be to get first in at least one of my events at state,” Benz said. “At districts, I want to get a school record.” Tennis: Cable Boys, girls ready to invade districts seeded third DALLAS TENNIS By Lukas Eggen Continued from Page 11A “I’m hopeful we will go on to state,” boys coach Patty Youngren said. Antho- n y M a r- tinez, Joel Robison and Chris Polanco are un- seeded in the sin- g l e s Teague bracket as are the doubles pairs of Brian Larson and Nathaniel Miller, Bailey Yates and Justin Landers and Luis Vera and Clark Gallagher. Cable advanced to state in 2015 in doubles but faces a new challenge in singles play against tough compe- tition. The top four players and doubles pairs advance to the state tournament. The girls squad sees Pa- tience Teague enter as the eighth seed with Kylie Smith, Tamoka Naru and Ana Martinez entering un- seeded. The doubles pairs of Renee Bruning and Danielle Chance, Olivia Teague and Diana Huerte, Julia Hamar and Andrea Garibay, and Annika Riddle and Alex Trevino enter the tournament unseeded, though girls coach Dave Eble said the Panthers can surprise. “Anybody can have a good tournament,” Eble said. “We could have peo- ple win in several rounds in the main draw and there are some chances for play- ers to do well in the conso- lation. It pretty much de- pends on how they play.” For results, follow the Itemizer-Observer Twitter @PolkIOSports and like us on Facebook. The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Dallas’ boys and girls tennis teams could be ready to make a big im- pact at the Mid-Willamette Conference district champi- onships this Wednesday through Friday. Senior Thomas Gniadecki earned the top seed in the boys singles bracket, while the doubles pair of Joe Gillette and Josh Dudley earned the seventh seed. Caedmon Blair, Cole Oace and Luis Zavala and the doubles pairs of Evan Koons and Honorio Colipano, Travis Wilson and Michael Friesen, and Ryan Bibler and Randy Mullins are unseed- ed, but coach Caleb Gillette said that doesn’t mean any- thing once they step onto the court. “They know they have to Road To State Who: Dallas and Central boys and girls tennis. What: Mid-Willamette Conference championships. When: Wednesday, 8 a.m. (girls), 1 p.m. (boys); Thursday, 8 a.m. (boys), 1 p.m. (girls) and Friday, 1 p.m. Where: Timberhill Tennis Club, Corvallis. What’s at stake: The top four finishers in singles and dou- bles play advance to the state championship later this month. play their best, but once you’re out there, what mat- ters is how you per- f o r m ,” Gillette said. Gillette The girls squad also hopes to make a mark at the district tourna- ment. The doubles pair of Addie Gillette and Lynn Gumpinger is seeded fourth in the girls bracket, w h i l e M e g a n Ronco and Amanda Schafer will enter seed- ed eighth. Dudley The girls team’s singles players, Emily Cuno, Molly Peffley, Morgan Bateman and Kinzi Boer, enter the tournament un- seeded, but coach Jordan Sollman has high expecta- tions. “I think we have a lot of girls who could potentially do something at districts,” girls Sollman said. “We’ve worked on some things that we struggled with, es- pecially that last week of the regular season, and are putting ourselves in a good position to do well.” The top four in the singles and doubles brackets ad- vance to state. For the Dragons, this week represents the culmi- nation of a season full of growth and learning and coaches are excited to see how it all comes together, “Districts is always fun to see the girls get really com- petitive,” Sollman said. “For a lot of them, this is what they play for, to get to this position where they’re at now and compete with the very best in our league.” Visit us online at www.polkio.com for local news and sports.
