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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2006)
The INDEPENDENT, June 1, 2006 Page 11 Vernonia Sports Report by Ben Schorzman SOFTBALL The Lady Loggers run through the state tournament has come to an end. After fin- ishing the regular season with a win over Clatskanie for the number one seed from the Northwest League, the girls won their first game against Culver, but lost the next one to the Willamina Bulldogs. Due to rainy conditions in Vernonia, the Loggers’ State Playoff game against Culver was moved to The Dalles on May 24. Even without the home field advantage that the girls had rightfully earned, they eas- ily took care of Culver, winning 5-0 behind the outstanding pitching of Northwest League Player of The Year Joreigh Lan- ders. Through seven innings, Landers gave up only one hit, and struck out fifteen batters. Senior Kristin Cota and Junior Miranda Nutting each had two hits for the Loggers. Then Friday, May 26, the girls travelled to McMinnville to play Willamina. The Loggers and Bulldogs were two of the highest ranked teams in the state going into the game but, because seeding is done by league instead of by overall rank, they met in the second round instead of the champi- onship game. This game was thought by many to be the game of the year. Two top pitchers in Landers and Willamina’s Crislyn Chewning faced off, with Chewning getting the better of Landers. Chewning went all seven innings, giving up four hits and striking out eight. Lan- ders gave up six hits and struck out nine. Landers got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the first inning, and the tone was set for a hard fought game. The Bulldogs got on the board first, scoring two runs on a Randi Keyser single. They would add two more to their lead in the fifth inning, on another two run single, this time by Megan Stackhouse. The Loggers fi- nally got on the board in the top of the seventh, when Junior Christina Sohler scored on Ju- nior Christy Staggenborg’s RBI single. Nothing came of the late rally though, with Chewning getting two groundouts to end the game. This ended a very good year for the Lady Loggers. Even though it ended early, the team should be proud of their accom- plishments and be ready for a run at the state title next year. The Loggers will be highly ranked next year, with Landers, possibly the best pitcher in the state, coming back for her sen- ior year, along with eight other seniors. Their three losses will definitely be missed though, with First-Team All Northwest League Senior Kristin Cota, Second-Team All Northwest League Erin Gehrke, and Se- nior Jessica Shaw. Others who were picked for All-League teams include: First team, Joreigh Landers (POY), and Junior Miranda Nutting. Second team, Junior Brittney Lindauer, Junior Christina Sohler, and Junior Christy Staggenborg. TRACK When asked about her per- formance at the 2006 2A/1A State Track & Field Meet, Se- nior Laura Brookins tries to change the subject. Her Place performance in the Discus doesn’t sit well with her. “I real- ly clammed up,” were Brookins’ words. “They called my name, and I got really nervous.” Even though she didn’t do as well as she hoped, Laura still knows how great an achievement it is to make it to State. “It was my first time, and I feel a little bet- ter when I think I still had to be one of the best in the state just Now Serving Breakfast Sundays too! 6 a.m. till 11a.m L e o ne t t i’ s P i z z a & G r il l 721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia • 503-429-5018 *One breakfast per coupon offer ends 5-4-06. to make it this far.” Very true, as only a small fraction of high school athletes realize their dreams of making it to post- season competition. Junior Nicole Franz, on the other hand, is becoming accus- tomed to going to state. After making in the 3000 meter race last year as a sophomore, Franz went to state in Cross- Country, and again in Track this year. At the state meet she ran a time of 12:08.52, only three seconds off her personal best, placing 13th overall. Look for Franz to be back again next year in both sports. dreds, he tripled that to a .326 average. He led the team in runs scored at 29, and doubles, with 11. To top it all off, he hit three home runs, tying for sec- ond most on the team. EQUESTRIAN May 18-21 marked the Equestrian State Meet, held in Central Point. The only event Vernonia placed in was Drill Team. Junior Stephanie Carr, and Sophomores Mackenzie Carr, Bryan Benes and Rachel Seibert helped the Drill Team place 7th out of 23 teams. BASEBALL All-Northwest League selec- tions were made last week, and three Loggers were named to the teams. Senior Russell Lende earned a spot on the First-Team All League, winning six games, striking out 112 bat- ters in 70.33 innings pitched, all with a 4.48 Earned Run Aver- age. Offensively, Lende led the team in batting average with .432, hits with 34, RBIs with 31, and home runs with four. Making the Honorable Men- tion All-League were Senior Ben Schorzman, and Junior Brent Thompson. Schorzman posted a .369 batting average, scoring 26 runs on 32 hits, and three home runs. He also led the team in triples with two. Thompson is by far the most improved from last year. A year after batting in the low one hun- Vernonia’s th 50 Friendship Jamboree Aug. 4 th , 5 th & 6 th Above, top; 15 children (and some parents) from Kala Cota’s Preschool meet the new baby llama at New Moon Llama farm during a field trip on May 25. Below; the children got to feed grain to a llama. Nancy and Don Dailey, owners of New Moon Llamas, provided information on llamas, showed some cloth- ing products made from llama hair, and took one of the lla- mas through an obstacle course like the one used at llama competitions.