Sports Zone

HSSZ: Weekly Previews

The Main Event

Cottage Grove Lions Softball: 8-7, ranked #16
Leading off: The Lions host a doubleheader on Friday against No. 13 North Bend, the top team in the Sky-Em League. Sophomore Emily Pacheco continues to be an ace on the mound, while Josie and Addison Hitt have been stellar offensively. Cottage Grove needs a top-two league finish to guarantee a home play-in game, so a series win against North Bend would be big moving forward.

Softball

Creswell Bulldogs: 11-5, ranked #13
Leading off: The Bulldogs host La Pine in a Friday doubleheader. All of the Mountain Valley Conference’s top-four teams sit at two conference losses, so keeping focus and avoiding an upset against a 5-15 La Pine squad will be important for Creswell’s conference title hopes.

Pleasant Hill Billies: 12-4, ranked #9
Leading off: Pleasant Hill’s Friday doubleheader is at home against Elmira. Both teams sit in the top-four with two conference losses. A series win against Elmira would be big for Pleasant Hill to grab one of the automatic qualifier spots, but would also give them a boost in the conference title race. Look for junior pitchers Karley Bloxham and Bella Black to continue carrying the load on the mound.

Springfield Millers: 1-11, ranked #31
Leading off: Springfield hosts No. 18 Ashland twice on Saturday. The Millers look to win multiple games in a season for the first time since 2018. In order to do that they’ll need Emma Patrick-Busby and junior Holly Arendt to continue their excellent season’s.

Thurston Colts: 11-5, ranked #12
Leading off: Thurston and No. 7 Crater sit tied atop the Midwestern League standings, with a series coming up next week. If the Colts want to keep pace with Crater, they’ll need a series win this week against No. 14 Eagle Point, who sits in third behind Crater and Thurston. The Colts head to Eagle Point for a doubleheader on Saturday, and will look to Gabriella Montes and Syren Ferguson to continue leading off well atop the batting order.

Baseball

Cottage Grove Lions: 6-8, ranked #25
Leading off: Cottage Grove has a busy week with seven games scheduled, highlighted by a home doubleheader against No. 9 North Bend. The Lions sit just outside the play-in bubble in Class 4A, which consists of the 16 teams ranked 9-24. A big week for head coach Nathan Rheuban’s team could boost them inside that bubble.

Creswell Bulldogs: 3-11, ranked #34
Leading off: Creswell hosts No. 9 La Pine in a doubleheader on Friday. If the Bulldogs hope to pull off the upset they’ll need pitchers Evan Jenkins and Coby Contreras to play well. While a postseason berth seems unlikely, Jayden Kubishta is the team’s only senior, and head coach Chris Whitmore will likely want to see continued improvement from the members that will be returning next season.

Pleasant Hill Billies: 10-8, ranked #11
Leading off: Pleasant Hill hosts Elmira in a Mountain Valley Conference doubleheader on Friday. Elmira sits in second-to-last in the conference, so a series sweep should be the expectation for the Billies. Pleasant Hill sits outside the top-three in the MVC, meaning it doesn’t hold one of the automatic playoff qualifier spots. A sweep against a bottom team is important for the Billies to keep pace atop the standings.

Springfield Millers: 4-10, ranked #30
Leading off: The Millers host No. 13 Ashland in a doubleheader on Friday after a week off from competition. If Springfield wants to grab a top-15 win, it’ll need great pitching from the trio of Noah Roeman, Dylan Leas, and Gabriel Laird

Thurston Colts: 15-3, ranked #1
Leading off: The Colts ride a 14-game winstreak into this week’s competition at No. 19 Eagle Point, who sit tied for second in the Midwestern League. Brothers Maddox and Connor Molony, both University of Oregon commits, continue to shine on offense and defense for Thurston. The Colts are seeking their fifth-straight Midwestern League title, and a series sweep could all but clinch that.

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