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PAGE LABEL
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
WEDNESDAY
March 20, 2019
Grant Union
softball girls
shut out
Burns in
doubleheader
sweep
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Madi McKrola slides in at home as Burns Hilander pitcher Hallie Skunkcap wait for the ball. At left Prospector Macy Strong
heads to the dugout after making it home on the play.
Prospector softball team ready to roll
Team hosts Grant
Union Spring Break
Invite March 25-27
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Madi McKrola
This is Zach Williams’ sec-
ond year as the Grant Union/Prai-
rie City Prospector softball head
coach, but he’s led most of the var-
sity team members for nine years,
coaching Little League, ASA and
high school ball.
The Prospectors are hopeful to
improve on last year’s season that
ended in a state quarterfi nals match
in John Day with a 22-3 overall
record.
Grant Union is dropping from
the 3A class to 2A/1A in Special
District 6. They’ll still face tough
competition, however. They faced
all the opponents, except one team,
last year.
The Prospectors are fi elding
12 players, including fi ve seniors.
There are fi ve returning starters,
including four seniors and one
junior. There are several junior
varsity swingers with 13 total on
the JV squad.
Williams said he’s happy with
the progress he’s seen from his
fi ve pitchers.
Senior Macy Strong is the
team’s anchor and locates her
fastball and dropball well with a
good change up as well that she is
working on locating in any count,
the coach said.
Shaine Madden, a junior, was
expected to be another strong
pitcher but is down with an injury,
so junior Taylor Allen has been
working to get back in shape for
the circle after taking about two
years off from pitching, Williams
said.
He said both Allen and soph-
omore Jesaka Culley locate their
fastball and change up well and
are working on a dropball. Fresh-
men Harli Grove and Grace Tay-
lor are also in the mix.
Kori Jo Girvin
Macy Strong
Marissa Smith
Hailie Wright
GRANT UNION SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
March 22: @ Lost River at the Rocket
Invite in Pilot Rock, 5 p.m.
March 25: vs. Clatskanie at the Grant
Union Spring Break Invite, 1 p.m.
March 26: vs. Nestucca at the Grant
Union Spring Break Invite, 1 p.m.
March 26: @ Rainier at the Grant
Union Spring Break Invite, 3 p.m.
March 27: vs. Sutherlin at the Grant
Union Spring Break Invite, 1 p.m.
April 6: @ Union/Cove, 11 a.m.,
12:30 p.m.
na, 11 a.m., 1 p.m.
April 20: @ Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii,
11 a.m., 1 p.m.
April 26: vs. Echo/Stanfi eld, 1 p.m.,
3 p.m.
April 27: vs. Adrian, 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m.
May 4: vs. Heppner/Ione, 1 p.m.,
2:30 p.m.
May 20: State playoff s, fi rst round
May 22: State playoff s, second round
May 24: State playoff s, quarterfi nals
April 11: @ Irrigon, 4 p.m.
May 28: State playoff s, semifi nals
April 13: @ Weston-McEwen in Athe-
May 31: State playoff s, fi nals
He said they all “work hard at
‘owning’ their pitches and being
able to throw any pitch in any
count.”
Williams said his offensive
lineup should be strong, top to
bottom.
“We have speed with pretty
good power at the top third of the
lineup, good power and hitting for
average in the middle third, and
power and speed again at the bot-
tom third,” he said.
He said they tend to strug-
gle with slower pitching and
are working on making timing
adjustments.
Grant Union graduated fi ve
strong players last year, includ-
ing pitchers Cody Jo Madden
and Mariah Moulton. Moulton
was also a strong hitter for the
Prospectors along with Brianna
Zweygardt.
While they lost a lot, Williams
said they had a strong junior var-
sity fi lling in the holes.
The Prospectors are preparing
for a tough 2A/1A league.
In District 6, Grant Union will
face Adrian (1A), Echo/Stanfi eld
(1A), Heppner/Ione (2A), Pilot
Rock/Nixyaawii (2A), Union/
Cove (2A) and Weston-McEwen
(2A).
“Pilot Rock, Union, Heppner
and Echo/Stanfi eld are always
good,” Williams said. “Just like
any other season, I try not to
worry much about what the other
teams are doing. We just have to
take care of what we do.”
Grant Union’s defense will
be a strong point this season, the
coach said, adding the bottom line
is always the fundamentals and
doing the little things right.
Equally important is “know-
ing the situation on every pitch
and never giving up on a play,” he
said.
He has help from assistant
coaches Lance Zweygardt, Amy
Hittle, Brandon Culley and Mike
Strong.
Williams said their expecta-
tions as coaches are always high.
“We have been talking to them
for years, and continue this pre-
season, about doing the soft-
ball part well but also being great
teammates on and off the fi eld,”
he said. “In my experience, cham-
pionships aren’t always won by
the most talented group. You have
to be mentally tough and genu-
inely care about your team to have
the kind of chemistry that wins in
the postseason.”
Seniors this year are Macy
Strong, Hailie Wright, Madi
McKrola, Marissa Smith and Kori
Jo Girvin.
Wright, the catcher and cen-
ter fi elder, said they’ve been play-
ing together their entire softball
careers. She said she’s expect-
ing this year’s competition to be a
challenge.
“I think it’s going to be a good
year to fi nish with a second fam-
ily,” she said. “I think we’re really
strong at communication, and
that’s really important at this point
in the season.”
McKrola at short stop said she
believes they have the potential to
go far.
“I’ve been playing with these
girls for 10 years,” she said. “I’m
excited that Zach’s our coach. He’s
been with us since Little League.”
Girvin, who plays outfi eld and
catcher, said the team works well
together.
“I think this will be no different
than past years. We’re all in it to
win it,” she said. “I truly believe
we’re playing for the team, and
not a single person is going to play
for themselves.”
Williams said this year’s
seniors are a great bunch of girls.
“We’ve watched them grow
up into aggressive, responsible
young ladies that love the game
and their teammates and want to
leave Grant Union with a state
championship,” he said. “They
have and will continue to lead
this team throughout this sea-
son, and it will be hard to see
them go.”
The Grant Union/Prairie
City Prospector softball team
was unstoppable in their home
opener against their nonleague
Burns/Crane Hilanders oppo-
nents, taking 15-0 and 26-0
wins in Friday’s doubleheader.
Burns was at a disadvan-
tage with only nine athletes,
and their visit to John Day was
their fi rst time taking a fi eld for
a game or practice as theirs has
been unplayable from winter
weather.
Friday’s game drew a size-
able crowd of fans for the
teams, enjoying 60-degree
weather.
Prospector starting pitcher
Macy Strong was in the circle
for all fi ve innings of game one,
drawing several strikeouts.
Grant Union’s onslaught of
scoring got underway in the
bottom of the fi rst inning.
The bases were loaded with
Jordyn Young, Hailie Wright
and Taylor Allen at the ready
when Madi McKrola hit to
deep right fi eld, Young scoring.
Marissa Smith doubled to the
center fi eld fence with 3 RBI.
The process started over with
Strong, Tiler Voigt and Kori Jo
Girvin loading the bases.
The Prospectors scored 11
of their 15 points before Burns
came back to bat.
Allen started the pitching for
game two, with Jesaka Culley
relieving her in the fourth.
The Hilanders were unable
to reach fi rst base in the fi rst
inning, and Burns pitcher Hal-
lie Skunkcap, only gave up one
Grant Union run in the bottom
of the fi rst.
Grant Union started their
scoring roll in the second.
Strong, Voigt and Girvin
had base hits then Prospector
Baylee Combs singled with 2
RBIs, Young reached second
scoring 2 and Wright doubled,
bringing Young home as well
as herself after a Burns’ throw-
ing error.
The Prospectors led 15-0
and added 6 more runs in the
third and 5 in the fourth.
Next up, Grant Union will
hit the road, facing Lost River
at the Rocket Invite in Pilot
Rock at 5 p.m. Friday, March
22.
The Prospectors will host
the Grant Union Spring Break
Invite in John Day Monday
through Wednesday, March
25-27, facing Clatskanie at
1 p.m. Monday, Nestucca at
1 p.m. Tuesday, Rainier at
3 p.m. Tuesday and Sutherlin at
1 p.m. Wednesday.
SPORTS ROUNDUP
Grant Union Gold
dance team performs
at state
Ten dancers with the
2A Grant Union Gold per-
formed Saturday, March 16,
at the OSAA Dance and Drill
State Championship at the
Portland Veterans Memorial
Coliseum.
With a theme of “Break-
ing Free” the team danced
to “Whatever It Takes” by
Imagine Dragons.
Grant Union head coach
Kattie Piazza said they faced
1A through 4A competition
and had the toughest judging
of the season.
The Gold dancers fi nished
10th out of 11 teams with a
score of 57.15.
“The girls worked really
hard this year,” she said.
Prospector baseball
faces tough road
competition
The Grant Union/Prairie
City Prospectors fell 15-7 to
5A Churchill Lancers junior
varsity on Friday in Eugene
and 15-8 to 5A Crescent Val-
ley Raiders junior varsity in
Corvallis on Saturday.
Contributed photo
The Grant Union Gold dance team poses during competition at the OSAA Dance and Drill
State Championships at the Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Grant Union head coach
Doug Sharp said it was a
good opportunity for his
team to go up against some
strong competition.
The Prospectors had to
cancel a home tournament
last weekend due to snow
and puddles making the fi eld
unplayable.
Prairie City, Long Creek
track athletes compete at
fi rst meet of the season in
Harper
The Prairie City Panthers
and Long Creek Mountain-
eers track and fi eld teams
competed Friday at the Diana
Thurmond Invitational in
Harper.
Mountaineers
coach
Linda Studtmann, assisted
by Peter Case, said the meet
provided their fi rst opportu-
nity on a fi eld because theirs
had been snow-covered.
Several team members
were unable to attend the
meet, but their newer and
seasoned athletes performed
well, Studtmann said.
For the girls, sophomore
Dorotha Johnson set a per-
sonal record and placed third
in the long jump, and sopho-
more Lucchese Douglas took
third in shot put and the 400-
meter run.
Panther head coach Nate
Barber said he was pleased
with their outcome in Harper.
He said they have some
new faces on the team, and
other athletes are trying new
events this season.
Hailee Wall, a junior,
changed her events to throw-
ing due to a nagging foot
injury, Barber said, and Wall
discovered a talent for jav-
elin. She placed fi rst in the
event out of 12 competitors
with a throw of 102-04. Wall
also placed seventh in shot
put.
Senior Haley Pfefferkorn
placed second in javelin, and
second in shot put.
For the boys, senior Levi
Burke placed fi rst in high
jump with a mark of 6-0, fi rst
in the 200-meter sprint with a
time of 24.96 and second in
javelin.
Sophomore
Tristan
McMahan beat all the com-
petition in both the triple
jump (37-07) and long jump
(18-04), setting personal
records in both events.
Jake McHatton placed
seventh in shot put, and Bar-
ber said he expects McHat-
ton will improve over the
season, especially now that
the snow has melted from the
team’s throwing pit.
The Panthers will host the
Prairie City Invitational on
Friday, April 5.
All Grant County teams
are scheduled to attend,
including Prairie City, Day-
ville, Long Creek, Monu-
ment and Grant Union.