Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 31, 2017
PREP BASEBALL
Dragons fall to Raiders in quarterfinals
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
BEN MITCHELL/for the Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ baseball team defeated Hood River Valley 5-2 on May 24.
DALLAS — Dallas’ base-
ball team just couldn’t solve
Crescent Valley.
The Dragons lost to the
Raiders 13-6 in the state
quarterfinals on Friday, end-
ing Dallas’ run in the state
playoffs.
The Dragons fell to Cres-
cent Valley for the fourth
time, though this time the
game was more tightly con-
tested than previous
matchups.
The game was tied 5-5
through four innings before
the Raiders scored four runs
in the bottom of the fifth
and sixth innings to pull
away.
“We fell behind early, but
kept the course and fought
back to a 5-5 tie,” coach Scot
McDonald said. “I’m proud
of the kids.”
Clay Coxen had two hits
and two RBIs to lead Dallas.
Carter Weisensee, Tanner
and Treve Earhart, Morgan
Taylor and James VanEverd-
Earhart
Coxen
inghe also
recorded
hits.
No. 11
D a l l a s
upset No. 6
Hood River
Valley 5-2
on May 24
to advance
to
the
quarterfi-
nals.
“ T h e
kids came
in with
confidence
and a plan
to com-
pete,” Mc-
Donald said.
Cody Kessler went 2-for-4
against Hood River, and
Zach Wallace had a hit and
drove in two runs.
“The biggest strides was
playing clean baseball,”
McDonald said. “We just
needed more experience as
the season went along.”
Dallas finished the season
with a 17-12 record overall.
The Dragons had a 12-9
mark in
M i d -
Willamette
Conference
play, finish-
ing
in
fourth.
“ T h e
players
Wallace
know they
can play at a high level,” Mc-
Donald said. “They know
what focus it takes to play
good teams and win.”
Turning that experience
into greater success will be
the focus, McDonald said.
Though the team will
lose some key players to
graduation, the Dragons
will have a strong core to
retool in the coming
years.
“We’re expecting to play
at a high level and not set-
tle for trying,” McDonald
said. “Everyone can try,
but we want to perform
and compete at a high
level, win or lose. I was
proud of all the kids and
what they brought to the
team.”
Dallas: Dragons faces Silverton in state semifinals
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Lauren Wallace gets ready to swing.
Continued from Page 11A
“You know, their coach
was in my way,” Jackson
said. “But I knew it was
going to be a bam-bam play
and a judgement call. From
where I was standing it
could have went either way.”
The umpire called the
runner out and the inning
was over.
“Getting that double play
was huge,” Jackson said.
The Dragons closed out
the game in the seventh to
advance.
“It was very intense,”
Locke said. ”It was fun to
play. I’m kind of speechlesss
about it, honestly.”
Dallas defeated Parkrose
7-0 in the first round of the
state playoffs on May 24.
The winner of Dallas vs.
Silverton advances to the
state championship game
against the winner of No. 3
Pendleton vs. No. 2 Marist
Catholic Saturday at the Ore-
gon State University Softball
Complex.
Dallas defeated Silverton
10-5 on May 5 in the teams’
most recent contest.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ softball team defeated Parkrose 7-0 on May 24 and Lebanon 3-2 on Friday to advance to the state semifinals
Tuesday after press time against Silverton. The winner moves on to the state title game on Saturday.
Ribich: Hopes his success inspires others to excel
Continued from Page 11A
—
Ribich has a chip on his
shoulder. His hometown,
Enterprise, is a city with a
population of 1,940, accord-
ing to the 2010 Census. He
didn’t come from a high
school that was rich with
athletic traditions.
Western Oregon was one
of the only universities to
show interest in Ribich
coming out of high school.
No Division I schools
made a scholarship offer
to him.
All that just added fuel to
Ribich’s fire. He was out to
prove that where you come
from doesn’t have to define
your success.
“I t h i n k ( s i n c e h i g h
school) I’ve always wanted
to do something with run-
ning that could serve as in-
spiration for kids coming out
of high schools, small
schools especially,” Ribich
said.
That gives him extra moti-
vation to go a little harder on
training runs during the
summer months or to do a
little more during the winter.
It’s why he serves as a
counselor at a running camp
at the Steens Mountains dur-
ing his only two weeks off
from training in July.
His victory Saturday was
validation of the message
he’s been trying to tell peo-
ple — that it doesn’t matter
how big or small of a town
you come from.
“I’m not running this to
win an individual title for
myself,” Ribich said. “I’m
trying to make a statement
that you don’t have to go to a
large university. You can go
to a small school and have
that same feeling and suc-
cess. I need to stay focused
and stay humbled. I’ll train
and try to defend, but also
remember I’m doing this for
a lot of people and a lot
more than just a trophy.”
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Williams to build after breakout year with Chargers
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
LOS ANGELES — The first
thing former Western Ore-
gon receiver Tyrell Williams
did after the 2016-17 NFL
season was head to Hawaii.
The trip was well-earned.
After injuries to some of
the Los Angeles Chargers’
top receivers in 2016,
Williams made the most of
his chance, emerging as the
team’s top threat, but it took
its toll physically.
“You have to take care of
your body,” Williams said.
“After the season, you’re pret-
ty worn down. That was
something I wasn’t ready for.
Your body is going to be beat
up.”
The season may be taxing,
but it has been well worth it.
It wasn’t so long ago that
Williams was working at a
far less glamourous job.
“I was washing dishes in
college,” he said. “I liked it. I
got free lunch.”
His current job requires a
bit more dedication, even
during the “offseason.”
“I go back after the season
and talk with coaches on
what to improve on going
into OTAs and workouts on
my own,” Williams said. “I
focus on things that will take
my game to the next level
next year and not make the
same mistakes as I did last
season.”
An increased focus on the
timing and speed will make
Williams a more complete
receiver.
“I worked on getting out
of breaks quicker and at-
tacking the ball in the air so
that any ball thrown up
there is mine,” Williams said.
The drive to improve can
be traced back to his days at
Western Oregon.
Coming into college,
Williams was physically gift-
ed, but lacked the work ethic.
“I used to be really lazy up
until WOU,” Williams said. “I
never worked out too much
and didn’t do anything
extra.”
Strength coach Cory Met-
zger changed all that.
“She didn’t allow anyone
to be lazy,” he said.
That work ethic proved to
be key in finding a home in
the NFL. Now it’ll help deter-
mine how big of a weapon he
is during this coming season.
Some of Williams’ targets
last year were because as in-
juries piled up, he remained
one of the constant
weapons at quarterback
Philip Rivers’ disposal.
With players like Keenan
Allen returning from injuries
and new additions, like
rookie receiver Mike
Williams, competition for
targets will be high.
But Williams views that as
a positive, not a drawback.
“Our offense should be
really strong,” Williams said.
“Everyone has been doing
well, and it’s nice to see all
the guys out there and see-
ing how many weapons we
do have.”
Williams will be ready to
make the most of whatever
chances he has.
“Getting opportunities to
catch the ball is all you can
ask for,” he said. “You have to
be ready to make the most of
those opportunities.”