Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2016)
Polk County Sports Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 8, 2016 11A 2016 ITEMIZER-OBSERVER ALL-REGION BASEBALL TEAM PITCHER Tucker Weaver Dallas The senior took advantage of his role as Dallas’ ace, finish- ing with 82 strikeouts and a 1.16 ERA. Weaver walked only eight batters during the sea- son, giving up just 11 earned runs in 67 innings of work. Weaver But Weaver also improved significantly at the plate over the past two years. In 2016, he had a .303 batting average with 16 RBIs. “Tucker is a great leader and makes others around him better,” coach Scot McDonald said. Weaver earned first team all-Mid-Willamette Conference honors and was named the league’s co-Pitcher of the Year. He also received second team all-state recognition. INFIELD Tanner Earhart Dallas Few, if any, players had a bigger impact on Dallas’ of- fense than Tanner Earhart. The junior led the team in hits with 37. But his impact extended far beyond that. His .389 batting average, 22 Earhart runs scored and 16 RBIs ranked among the best on the team and was responsible for sparking the lineup when needed. “Tanner is a great athlete,” McDonald said. “He is dynamic and strong. He can drive the ball in the gap, and as he goes, our offense goes. He is a catalyst for us offensively.” Earhart earned first team all-MWC recognition and all- state honorable mention. Peter Mendazona Central Mendazona, a sophomore shortstop, came up big for the Panthers during the spring. At the plate, he had 26 hits and 21 RBIs while batting .325. He also pitched in 10 games, throw- Mendazona ing 35 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings of work. At shortstop, he had a field- ing percentage of .905. Mendazona’s versatili- ty made him a key part in all facets of Cen- tral’s team. “Pete made a lot of plays that kept us in games as well as threw in some big games and got some great league wins for us,” coach Zach Miller said. “His bat was steady in the two or three spot all year and he was on base for our four and five hitters to drive him in.” Mendazona earned first team all-MWC honors. Brant Barnes Perrydale A four-year starter for the Pirates, Barnes earned sec- ond team all-Special District 2 honors during the 2016 campaign. His .405 batting average and 22 hits were team highs. He also had Barnes seven doubles and two triples, while driving in nine runs. Barnes was just as dangerous on base, with 11 stolen bases. His batting average took a huge step forward from his junior year, when he hit .250. Barnes was also a versatile weapon, playing all four infield positions. “He’s a team leader and a total team player,” coach Steve Mabry said. “He’s not worried about his stats. He just wants to win. He’s a very hard worker.” Luis Amador Central lot of confidence at the plate by hitting to all fields,” Miller said. Holstad was named first team all-MWC and earned second team all- state honors. Everett Minahan Dallas Minahan, a senior, was a triple threat for the Dragons. Minahan provided a steady hand in the outfield and was also one of the team’s top starting pitchers with 43 strikeouts and a 3.22 ERA in Minahan 41 innings of work. But Mi- nahan was also dangerous at the plate with a .406 batting average and 22 RBIs. Minahan has long been one of the Dragon’s best all-around athletes and he proved he could help Dallas in a variety of ways in 2016. Minahan received second team all-MWC honors. “He is a work- horse,” McDonald said. “He is dedicated to get- ting better. He is very consistent and a great leader. He wants everyone to succeed.” Keenen Bailey Perrydale The junior infielder was one player opposing coaches hated facing. “Luis was one of the biggest threats in the league according to area coaches due to his physical nature and how good of a Amador hitter he has worked to be- come,” Miller said. Amador was tied for the team lead in hits with 30 and hit .375 at the plate. He led the team with 27 RBIs and struck out just four times all season long, resulting in first team all-league honors and a major role in the Panthers run to the play-in round. The Pirates may have strug- gled to find wins, but the senior outfielder/pitcher was a bright spot. Bailey earned all-league honorable men- tions for outfield and pitch- ing. On the mound he threw Bailey 64 strikeouts and had a 2.56 ERA as the team’s top starter. At the plate, Bai- ley hit .306 with six doubles and three triples, driving in 12 runs. He also had nine stolen bases. “He pitched far better than his record in- dicated,” Mabry said. He left most games he pitched either tied or leading. He just wants the ball and had no fear ever when on the mound. He’s a great kid.” OUTFIELD UTILITY Jackson Holstad Central The junior center fielder be- came one of the Panthers’ most dangerous bats. Hol- stad led Central in batting average (.414), on base per- centage (.481) and slugging percentage (.729) and Holstad ranked second in hits (29). Holstad also hit five home runs. “He gained a Eric Kessler Dallas Kessler may only have been a freshman, but he proved to be an invaluable asset for the Dragons. At different times during the season, he’s played in the outfield, sec- ond base, third base, catcher Kessler and pitcher. His versatility al- lowed him to play wherever he was needed and gave Dallas a dangerous weapon who could hurt opponents from anywhere on the field. At the plate, he hit .319 with 22 hits, 13 RBIs and 13 runs scored and earned second team all-MWC recognition. Kessler made quite the impact as a freshman and he figures to be one of the cornerstones for Dallas’ baseball team for years to come. “Eric was a freshman who could play anywhere on the field,” Mc- Donald said. “He loves baseball and gets better each day.” CATCHER Treve Earhart Dallas The sophomore proved to be a key part of the Drag- ons’ success in 2016. He had just five passed balls in 193 innings and developed key chemistry with his pitchers, allowing Dallas to find suc- Earhart cess on defense. Earhart also had the arm and sight to keep runners on base at bay. He threw out half of all stolen base attempts. Earhart earned second team all- MWC honors for his efforts during the season. “Treve is a brick wall,” McDonald said. “He blocks everything, receives the ball well and has a great arm. He played through injury this year and at the plate, really got it going once healthy. He is a big reason we are good at pitching.” COACH Scot McDonald Dallas The 17th-year coach helped the Dragons achieve great success in 2016. Under his guidance, Dallas finished second in the Mid- Willamette Conference and earned a trip to the first McDonald round of the state playoffs. On April 26, Dallas’ league record stood at 7-6. McDonald helped the Dragons win their final eight league games of the season to move into second. Dallas also saw seven players earn all- league honors under his guidance, including Weaver who was named co-Pitcher of the Year. — The 2016 all-region high school baseball team was selected by Itemizer-Observer Sports Editor Lukas Eggen, along with heavy input from area coaches. Pride: Weaver has big league aspirations Continued from Page 10A “I’ve been looking at the highest level since I was a little kid,” Weav- er said. “Ever since we started, I’ve had a couple of players I was just infatuated with and wanted to be just like them.” Pitchers like Tim Lincecum and Marcus Stroman showed Weaver that undersized players could find their way into the spotlight. “(Marcus) has this trademark that height doesn’t measure heart,” Weaver said. “I jumped onto that and I have it stitched into my glove. It’s something I really buy into.” By the time he reached high school, Weaver knew he wasn’t going to be the most physically im- posing player. “It was a reason why I had to outwork everybody,” Weaver said. “It pushed me to separate myself from my competition. I’m not the biggest guy. I’m not the strongest and I don’t throw the hardest. But I work hard and compete with everyone. I’m trying to knock them off their throne.” Finding the balance between improvement and being overly critical proved difficult. “I had trouble with getting past my mistakes,” Weaver said. “I was striving to be perfect. That’s not re- alistic. … Baseball, above every- thing else, is not a perfectionist’s game. You get out seven times out of 10 and you can make the Hall of Fame. You can’t throw a shutout every time or have a perfect season in the outfield.” Once he realized that, he had more fun and was one of the Drag- ons’ top starters as a junior in 2015. But there was one thing that irked him. “I thought I had a strong cam- paign (to be first team all-league) and I had a couple of games that just sank me,” Weaver said. “That really, really upset me. I set that bar really high.” He would not be denied as a senior. “I came in knowing I could be one of the top pitchers in the state,” Weaver said. He lived up to that billing, earn- ing first team all-league and sec- ond team all-state honors, thanks in part to the changeup — a pitch that had proven elusive in previous years became a weapon. “If you have a changeup that’s really deceptive, that’s probably the best pitch you can have in this game,” Weaver said. As a senior, he also felt the re- sponsibility to become a leader. “I think that was something that was missing the last few years,” Weaver said. “I just wanted to pass along as much knowledge as I could.” Weaver isn’t done with baseball yet. He will play for Feather River College in California. After that, he hopes to get a chance to work his way up through a professional team’s farm system. He knows at 5- foot-8, he doesn’t have the physical build of a typical professional base- ball player. But he is ready for his chance. “I want to be playing this game as long as I can,” Weaver said. “If that means being stuck in double A ball not making a whole lot of money, I don’t care. It’s not about the money for me. It’s about being able to be a kid, or that much longer to be able to play a game that was made for kids. Playing that as long as you can is the most ideal life I could possibly imagine. Why not put all your eggs in one basket and put all your chips on the table. You only get one shot at this.” Burn: Heat makes triathlon field games difficult Continued from Page 10A Corn hole was up first. My teammate (and coworker) Jolene Guzman went first. Then it was up to me. I grabbed the sand bags, took aim and threw it toward the board. Well … the more ac- curate statement was I threw it in the general direc- tion of the board. Good news is no one was injured during my turn. Bad news was landing on the board or in the hole was … not hap- pening. My next round, I made some adjustments, took aim and attempted to channel my inner ninja. I launched my bags high and arching — and proceed- ed to miss the board again. It soon became clear that my goal changed from achieving victory to score a single point. We lost a tight battle — 21-4. Jolene scored three of the four points. But we did score. Mission accomplished (sort of). It was time to redeem my- self in bocce ball. For the uninitiated, one player throws a white ball out, then teams take turns rolling balls as close as pos- sible to it. To our credit, we had to measure almost every one of our shots because they were so close. The bad news is that required us walking back and forth to measure. If the spirit of Chuck Nor- ris was there … he wasn’t helping. Instead the sun con- Track: Dallas runners try to avoid training on track Continued from Page 10A At the core of the issue is the track’s age. “We tell people 10 to 12 years is the time frame for resurfacing,” Gary Logsdon said. Logsdon serves as vice-president of sales for Beynon Sports Surfaces — the company that installed the track surface in 2004. “We have to start talking about putting in a brand new surface if they wait too long.” Logsdon checked out the track in the spring of 2014, stating in an email sent to the high school that resur- facing was suggested in a year or two. A campaign to raise funds for resurfacing the track and installing field turf on the football field began in the spring of 2014, but fell short of its goal. It’s clear the track’s con- dition continues to deterio- rate and the school must start planning its fix, Lar- son said. “We need to start think- ing about what is our plan for replacement,” Larson said. “Whatever the amount of money is, we don’t have it sitting in a lit- tle bank. We should be say- ing here’s a need, let’s start putting funds toward the track.” When, and if, those funds come together re- mains a mystery. Until then, Masei said he’ll con- tinue to look for ways to keep the Dragons as healthy as possible. “I’ve been a teacher and a coach for over 20 years,” Masei said. “I know every- thing is powered by the almighty dollar. If you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money. We do the best with what we have.” tinued to beat down on us. We lost 15-6. Though losing meant we got to wait in the shade and drink water while others continued to play so who really “lost” that one? The final event was disc golf. The 18-hole course at Dallas City Park seemed a lit- tle bit daunting. But, how hard could throwing a disc be? On our first hole, I stepped forward and launched the disc into the air watching it sail toward the hole — then immediate- ly swerve to the left, wind up in the road and go about as fourth as long as everyone else’s throw. On the bright side, I fig- ured, it can only get better from here. Boy was I wrong. I had throws wind up in the water, the bushes, hitting trees and going in all sorts of directions. It made my golf game look like a champion and let me tell you, it’s not. Add in the heat, and mid- way through the round, I wasn’t focused on winning. I was focused on finishing the round without passing out (which I did thank you very much). We The News may have failed in our attempt to grab glory in corn hole, bocce ball and disc golf. But I did learn one important thing — I probably shouldn’t be the person who throws knives at people on stage because … frankly my aim isn’t that good. Solution on Page 2A Recycle for a better future
