HSSZ: All-state basketball, weekly capsules

BASEBALL PREVIEWS

#25 COTTAGE GROVE (7-7)
■ Leading off: The Lions host No. 6 Junction City for a doubleheader this Friday. Cottage Grove has lost its past seven games, and has sorely missed the play of junior Micah Spear, who’s been out with an injury recently. 

#27 CRESWELL (4-6)
■ Leading off: Creswell looks to build off a series win last week when the Bulldogs travel to No. 11 Sisters on Thursday. Senior Evan Jenkins had a 5-strikeout showing last week, and will likely start one of the two games against Sisters.

#5 PLEASANT HILL (8-3)
■ Leading off: The Billies have two non-league games this week with a home matchup against Santiam Christian on Friday and an away game at Class 4A No. 9 North Bend on Saturday. Pleasant Hill’s pitching has been its strong suit all season, spearheaded by senior Caden Richardson, who has 28 Ks in his three starts on the mound. This past season, both the Pleasant Hill Billies and Thurston Colts volleyball teams made the state semifinals. In Class 3A, the Billies made it all the way to the state title game before falling to No. 1 Sisters. In Class 5A, the Colts lost to No. 1 Crescent Valley in the semifinals, but beat No. 3 Crater to grab 3rd place.

#30 SPRINGFIELD (1-10)
■ Leading off: Springfield has yet to find its footing on the season, and has lost its past eight games. The Millers try to get in the win column in the Midwestern League with a series against No. 12 Crater this week. Springfield has allowed the most runs in Class 5A so far this season, and will need better pitching against Crater to earn a win.

#3 THURSTON (8-3)
■ Leading off: Thurston finds itself 8-3 on the season despite getting only five pitches so far from star Connor Molony – the Class 5A pitcher of the year a season ago. While Molony hasn’t been pitching since his opening-game injury, he’s still contributed at the plate. The Colts ride their five-game win streak into a series against No. 10 North Eugene, which is on a four-game win streak.

SOFTBALL PREVIEWS

#11 COTTAGE GROVE (7-4)
■ Leading off: Cottage Grove has its hands full on Friday with a doubleheader against No. 18 Junction City – the highest-scoring team in Class 4A. Luckily for the Lions, their strongest aspect is pitcher Emily Pacheco, who is up to 119 Ks on the season.

#14 CRESWELL (5-5)
■ Leading off: After an 0-3 series against Harrisburg, Creswell has a bounce-back opportunity this week with a series against winless Sisters. Lauren Bailey had a solid showing offensively last week, and sophomore Elise Thackara has been a nice boost on the mound behind starter Hope Ukolov.

#13 PLEASANT HILL (6-2)
■ Leading off: The Billies host Class 4A No. 15 North Bend on Saturday before traveling to No. 6 Harrisburg on Monday for a makeup game from an early-season postponement. The return of star Bella Black, coupled with the stellar play of freshman Sari Strinz, has given the Billies a nice early-season lift.

#26 SPRINGFIELD: (4-7)
■ Leading off: Springfield already has its most wins since 2017, but the Millers have their toughest test of the season with a series against No. 13 Crater, the defending Midwestern League champions and a state quarterfinal team last season. Freshman pitcher Lillian Wobbe has been key for the Millers during their early-season success.

BASEBALL

■ Cottage Grove is on a seven-game skid after starting the season 7-7. The Lions started Sky-Em League play 0-2 last week after a doubleheader against No. 8 Marshfield. In an 18-8 loss, Christian Spear finished with 2 hits, 3 runs, and 1 RBI.

■ Creswell took a series against Harrisburg last week, going 2-1. Creswell won Game One 10-2 last Tuesday behind 1 hit, 2 runs, and 2 RBI from Deacon Edwards. In a 10-5 Game Two win, Landon Palmer had 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI, and Evan Jenkins had 5 Ks.

■ Pleasant Hill had its first big test of the Mountain Valley Conference season, taking the series 2-1 against Sisters, the defending conference champions. The Billies won Game One 7-5 thanks to 9 Ks from Caden Richardson and 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI from Caleb Van Ordstrand. Pleasant Hill took Game Two 5-4 as Jon Fitzpatrick finished with 2 hits, 1 run, and 1 RBI.

■ Springfield lost its opening Midwestern League series to Churchill in a sweep last week. Game One was the most competitive affair, an 8-2 loss in which Clay Rhoades and Matthew Merrifield each scored for the Millers.

■ Thurston extended its Midwestern League win streak to 36 games with a series sweep over Ashland – the second-place team in the league last season. The Colts had two shutouts in the series: a 5-0 Game One win behind Grady Saunders’ 15 Ks and a 6-0 Game Two win behind 10 Ks from Collin Hernandez. Thurston won Game Three 9-4 thanks to Connor Molony’s 3 hits and 3 runs.

SOFTBALL

■ Creswell had a tough series against No. 6 Harrisburg as the Bulldogs lost all three games to the second-place Mountain Valley Conference team. Game Three of the series was the closest, a 13-8 game in which Lauren Bailey had 2 hits, 1 run, and 2 RBI.

■ Pleasant Hill swept Sisters in a three-game series before falling to No. 6 Harrisburg 3-1 on Monday. In the three games against Sisters, freshman Sari Strinz led the way with a total of 8 hits, 7 runs, and 10 RBI.

■ Springfield went 1-2 against Churchill to open league play. The Millers took Game One of the week 7-3 behind the arm of freshman Lillian Wobbe, who finished the win with 9 Ks. Reagan Kumle chipped in 1 hit, 2 runs, and 3 RBI to lead the offense.

■ Thurston put together its first winning streak of the season with a dominant series sweep over Ashland. The Colts won Game One 13-1 behind 2 hits, 3 runs, and 3 RBI from Daphnie Heckel. Game Two was a 20-4 win for the Colts as Emily Spain contributed 3 hits, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. Thurston took the final game 17-0 on the strength of Syren Ferguson’s 3 hits, 3 runs, and 4 RBI.

RESULTS

BASEBALL
Tuesday, April 2
■ Sweet Home 11, Cottage Grove 5
■ Creswell 10, Harrisburg 2
■ Pleasant Hill 7, Sisters 5
■ Churchill 8, Springfield 2
■ Thurston 5, Ashland 0
Friday, April 5
■ Marshfield 18, Cottage Grove 8
■ Marshfield 6, Cottage Grove 0
■ Pleasant Hill 5, Sisters 4
■ Sisters 9, Pleasant Hill 7
Saturday, April 6
■ Creswell 10, Harrisburg 5
■ Harrisburg 8, Creswell 7
■ Churchill 5, Springfield 0
■ Churchill 15, Springfield 0
■ Thurston 6, Ashland 0
■ Thurston 9, Ashland 4
Monday, April 8
■ Pleasant Hill 9, Harrisburg 2

SOFTBALL
Tuesday, April 2
■ Cottage Grove 9, Sweet Home 2
■ Harrisburg 13, Creswell 3
■ Pleasant Hill 15, Sisters 2
■ Springfield 7, Churchill 3
■ Thurston 13, Ashland 1
Friday, April 5
■ Marshfield 11, Cottage Grove 1
■ Marshfield 10, Cottage Grove 0
■ Pleasant Hill 18, Sisters 3
■ Pleasant Hill 14, Sisters 3
Saturday, April 6
■ Harrisburg 18, Creswell 7
■ Harrisburg 13, Creswell 8
■ Churchill 18, Springfield 2
■ Churchill 15, Springfield 4
■ Thurston 20, Ashland 4
■ Thurston 17, Ashland 0
Monday, April 8
■ Creswell 15, North Douglas 6
■ Harrisburg 3, Pleasant Hill 1

SCHEDULES

BASEBALL
Thursday, April 11
■ Creswell at Sisters, 2 and 4 p.m.
Friday, April 12
■ Junction City at Cottage Grove, 3 and 5 p.m.
■ Santiam Christian at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 13
■ Pleasant Hill at North Bend, noon
■ Crater at Springfield, 1 and 3 p.m.
■ THS at N. Eugene, 1 & 3:30 p.m.
Monday, April 15
■ PHHS at Harrisburg, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 16
■ Creswell at PHHS, 4:30 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Marist, 5 p.m.
■ Springfield at N. Eugene, 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 18
■ Siuslaw at CGHS, 4:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at West Salem, 5 p.m.

SOFTBALL
Thursday, April 11
■ Creswell at Sisters, 2 and 4 p.m.
Friday, April 12
■ Junction City at Cottage Grove, 3 and 5 p.m.
■ Thurston at N. Eugene, 3 and 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 13
■ Pleasant Hill at North Bend, noon
■ Crater at Springfield, 2 and 4 p.m.
Monday, April 15
■ PHHS at Harrisburg, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 16
■ Creswell at Pleasant Hill, 4:30 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Marist, 5 p.m.
■ Springfield at N. Eugene, 5 p.m.

TRACK & FIELD
Thu., April 11
■ MVC League Meet at PHHS, 3:30 p.m.
Sat., April 13
■ Creswell at La Pine Invitational, 10 a.m.
■ CGHS at Philomath Relays, 11 a.m.
■ Springfield at Sherwood, noon
Tue., April 16
■ Thurston at N. Eugene, TBD
Wed., April 17
■ Creswell, PHHS at League Meet (Elmira HS), 3:30 p.m.
■ Sheldon, Churchill at Springfield, 3:45 p.m.