Polk County Sports
16A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 14, 2017
2017 ITEMIZER-OBSERVER ALL-REGION BASEBALL TEAM
PITCHER
Jaret Stewart
Dallas
The junior was Dallas’ best
pitcher throughout the
spring. Stewart went 6-1 in 11
starts and threw 71 2/3 in-
Stewart
nings. He threw 63 strikeouts.
“He’s our best pitcher,” Scot
McDonald said. “He had big wins for us, makes
great pitches and gives us a chance every time
on the mound. He wants the ball and delivers.”
Stewart was named second team all-league.
Humberto Alarcon
Central
The senior pitcher was the
Panthers’ go-to starter during
the 2017 campaign. He led
the team in innings pitched
(44 1/3) and strikeouts (45).
His ERA of 1.4 ranked second
among Central pitchers with
Alarcon
at least 10 innings of work
and was also second in saves (two). Alarcon also
more than held his own at the plate, recording
17 hits and 11 RBIs. Alarcon received first team
all-league and all-state honorable mention for
his performance during the spring.
INFIELD
Eric Kessler
Dallas
Kessler, a sophomore, made
some strong plays at short-
stop. “He has great feet and
speed and makes plays oth-
ers don’t,” McDonald said.
Kessler was also a force with
his bat. He had 33 hits and
Kessler
15 RBIs with a .359 batting
average. “He has an awesome leadoff and
jump starts the offense,” McDonald said. “He’s a
great player.” Kessler received second team all-
league honors for his performance, and he fig-
ures to remain a key cog for the Dragons going
forward.
Luis Amador
Central
Amador, a senior, was once again one of the
Panthers’ top threats at the plate. Amador
ranked second on the team
in batting average (.405),
hits (34) and RBIs (22).
Amador also was a steady
hand at first base that
helped make him essential
to Central’s success during
the 2017 season. Amador
did a little of everything, in-
cluding pitch for 9 2/3 in-
Amador
nings, where he had a 2.1
ERA. Amador earned first team all-league and
all state honorable mention. District 2 recog-
nition.
Clay Coxen
Dallas
The senior first baseman was
one of Dallas’ most clutch
performers. Coxen hit .347
with 24 RBIs and he also
drew 21 walks. Coxen pro-
vided the Dragons with
power at the plate with a
Coxen
pair of home runs. “He’s a
powerful, lefty bat,” McDonald said. “He comes
through in the clutch and can get hits whenev-
er we need them.” Coxen earned an all-league
honorable mention for his efforts in 2017.
Peter Mendazona
Central
The junior played dual roles
on defense for the Panthers,
serving as starting shortstop
and a relief pitcher/closer.
Mendazona excelled in both
roles. Mendazona was first
Mendazona on the team in saves, going
a perfect four-for-four in
save opportunities. He was second on the
team in strikeouts (43) and had an ERA of 2.1.
Mendazona was also a dangerous weapon at
the plate. He ranked third on the team in hits
(28) and was second in runs scored (19) and
was named first team all-league.
OUTFIELD
Jackson Holstad
Central
The senior was the Panthers’ most dangerous
bat at the plate and one of the most consistent
players on defense. Holstad hit .442 at the
plate, recording 38 hits and 23 RBIs. Holstad
Holstad
was also Central’s most pow-
erful hitter. He led the team
in home runs (six) and triples
(three). Holstad was named
first team all-Mid-Willamette
Conference and first team
all-state and became part of
the foundation for Central’s
success during the 2017 sea-
son.
Haylen Janesofsky
Perrydale
As Perrydale continued to
build its program, Janesof-
sky stood out at the plate
and in the outfield.
The first team, all-league se-
lection hit .429 during his
Janesofsky
senior season and had 18
stolen bases and 17 RBIs. “He
had a great second half of the season,” coach
Steve Mabry said. “He was a presence at the
plate and has speed and power.” In the out-
field, he had a .982 fielding percentage and
could quickly cover long distances in the out-
field and had the arm to make the necessary
throws to get a runner out or stop him from
advancing. “He was able to run down balls that
others don’t get to,” Mabry said. “He has a great
jump on the ball.”
Tanner Earhart
Dallas
The senior had a strong sea-
son this spring. Earhart hit
.404 at the plate with 36
hits and 31 RBIs. Earhart
also had two triples and a
home run. “He’s powerful
and dynamic and competes
Earhart
ever y at-bat,” McDonald
said. “Opponents have to pitch around and
has great speed.” Earhart, who earned first
team all-MWC and second team all-state
recognition, established himself as one of
Dallas’ leaders throughout the team’s run to
the state quarterfinals.
CATCHER
Treve Earhart
Dallas
Earhart was one of the Dragons’ hardest work-
ers during the 2017 season — and his results
showed how that hard work
paid off in a big way.
Earhart hit .484 at the plate
with 46 hits, including a
home run, and 28 RBIs. He
also had 18 stolen bases.
But he may have had an
even bigger impact behind
the plate, where Earhart
played catcher. “He shuts
Earhart
down run games, makes
pitchers look better and squares the ball up at
every at-bat,” McDonald said. “He’s a tough
out, competes and shows up each day.”
Earhart was named first team all-MWC and
second team all-state.
Daniel Domes
Perrydale
The senior catcher also
served as the leadoff batter
for the Pirates. That could be
a tough combination for
some, but it was a role
Domes thrived in. “Dan was
the on-field leader,” Mabry
Domes
said. “He has surprising
power out of the leadoff spot and was a tough
out that made pitchers work hard.” Once
Domes, who hit .396 with 12 RBIs, got on base,
he was always someone opponents had a hard
time keeping at first — Domes had 14 stolen
bases. Domes was named second team all-
league. “He was invaluable to the team in lead-
ership,” Mabry said.
COACH
Scot McDonald
Dallas
As Dallas’ head coach, Mc-
Donald helped lead the
Dragons to another success-
ful season. Dallas finished
McDonald
the season 17-12 overall and
12-9 in Mid-Willamette Con-
ference play, good for fourth place in the league
standings. The Dragons defeated Ashland 5-4 in
its state play-in game and advanced to the quar-
terfinals thanks to a 5-2 win over Hood River Val-
ley in the first round.
—
The 2017 all-region high school baseball team
was selected by Itemizer-Observer Sports Editor
Lukas Eggen, along with heavy input from area
coaches.
Holstad: Plans to play baseball at Chemeketa
Continued from Page 15A
Throughout his high
school career, Holstad has
treasured each moment he
shared with his teammates.
This spring was a little dif-
ferent, though.
“Being a senior, you real-
ize the importance of the
games and how I’d never get
the feeling of playing for the
school and your hometown
again,” Holstad said.
Representing himself,
Central and the community
wasn’t a responsibility he
took lightly.
From those early days
watching Volcanoes games,
Holstad began learning
what it took for players to
play professionally.
The amount of hard work
and dedication required to
even have a chance may
have scared some away, but
the grind appealed to Hol-
stad.
“That always inspired me,”
he said. “I think baseball
players are some of the hard-
est-working guys out there. I
love baseball so much that
the grind is awesome
whereever I’m playing and
whomever I’m playing with.”
That hard work was evi-
dent in Holstad’s evolution
as a player in high school.
Holstad got stronger as he
got older, and this past off-
season, spent countless
hours in batting cages.
The result was an increase
in batting average, home
runs and RBIs from his jun-
ior season.
“I’m always looking to im-
prove,” Holstad said. “I’m far
from the perfect player.”
Holstad will get a chance
to continue his evolution in
college. He will play at
Chemeketa, along with
teammates Luis Amador
and Humberto Alarcon.
“It’s huge (to know people
in the program,” Holstad
said. “I talked to a few guys
who are on the team already
who are pretty good friends
of mine, and to play with
Luis and Berto is great.”
The trio considered a
number of options. At least
for Holstad, one major thing
stood out about Chemeketa.
“There’s a blue-collar at-
mosphere,” Holstad said.
“They’re a hard-working
group. You have to earn
what you get. That was en-
ticing to me.”
Holstad will spend the
summer playing American
Legion baseball. Though his
high school career came to a
close, he’s excited to see what
the next chapter of his base-
ball life will bring.
“I know I’ll be playing a
little while longer,” Holstad
said. “I’m not holding any-
thing back.”
Turf: Club hopes to install Cycle: NPF sees Indy as
turf in summer of 2018 a long-term host site
Continued from Page 15A
“What we’re seeing is
more and more private citi-
zens, or booster clubs are
seeing if they can help the
school district raise money
privately and donate the as-
sets,” McNutt said.
For now, the goal is edu-
cating the Dallas Booster
Club, DHS athletic director
Tim Larson and a few oth-
ers on the benefits of a turf
field and how to share that
information with the pub-
lic.
“A grass field at Dallas
High School has about 120
to 130 usages during the
year,” McNutt said. “Artificial
surfaces can take up to 1,500
usages a year. We’re talking
more than football. PE class-
es, soccer, track, baseball
and softball, youth football
and soccer, there are just so
many usages with it.”
The booster club has set a
goal of raising $800,000 for
the project. Of that, $250,000
will be in-kind materials and
labor and $550,000 will be
money, McNutt said.
The goal is to start and
complete the project during
the summer of 2018.
To reach that mark, the
money will have to be raised
by the end of next April.
“If we felt we had enough
support for the project, we
would order the field by
around May 1,” McNutt said.
“As soon as school was done,
we’d spend about 30 days
prepping the field by remov-
ing dirt, putting rocks in for
drainage, putting a drainage
system in and doing some
paving in the end zone and
surfacing for track. After the
Fourth of July, we would
have a FieldTurf company
come in and install the sur-
face, which takes between
12 and 15 days. Barring any
interruptions, we’d try to
have the field ready by the
first week of August. That is
our ultimate goal.”
There have been other at-
tempts at raising money for
installing a turf field before.
But this time, there will be a
focused, unified message,
McNutt said.
“The booster club will act
as the face of this project,”
McNutt said.
Continued from Page 15A
This will be the first
Team NPF Cycle event in
the Willamette Valley. The
valley’s location and ac-
cess to scenic routes — as
well as an embracing of
cycling culture — made it
an attractive spot for the
NPF.
“We love the communi-
ty,” Willms said. “We’ve
found Polk County offers
some beautiful, scenic
and safe areas for people
of all levels to ride their
bikes. We know communi-
ties like Independence,
Monmouth and Dallas are
interested in promoting
cycling opportunities …
and we have found the
communities to be very
welcoming and helpful.”
For those who can’t ride
but wants to take part, the
event offers other ways to
get involved.
“We welcome virtual
riders for those who want
to participate but have
challenges being able to
bike,” Willms said. “It also
takes a lot of volunteers to
put on a good, supported
ride. We have various
needs and shifts for volun-
teers.”
Interested volunteers
can contact Erin Faul-
haber, 503-369-5717.
Willms said he believes
the Team NPF Cycle event
will grow and draw in peo-
ple from across the coun-
try in future years — and is
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excited to make Riverview
Park its home for the
forseeable future.
But the rides are just
part of the day’s events.
Willms said this is truly
an event everyone can
enjoy.
“We’ll have live music
from Homebrew, beer
from Rogue Ales, wine
from Airlie Winery and
lunch from Three Legged
Dog,” Willms said. “We’ll
also have a massage booth
for riders, a kids zone with
face painting and balloon
artist and other exhibitors.
We view this as a family
event that is built around
the wellness of cycling and
helping those with psori-
atic disease.”