THE MAIN EVENT: BASEBALL & SOFTBALL
#2 Thurston baseball (18-3) and #11 Thurston softball (14-6) vs. Crater High School
■ What2Know: Softball doubleheader vs. No. 7 Crater on Friday, May 10 at 3 and 5 p.m. … Baseball doubleheader vs. No. 11 Crater on Saturday, May 11 at 1 and 3 p.m.
■ Leading off: Both the Thurston baseball and softball teams have a chance to secure Midwestern League titles this week with a series against second-place Crater. On the baseball side, senior Eli Crist and the Colts try to lock up their sixth-straight Midwestern League title. Senior Bailey Tovey leads Thurston softball against the back-to-back league champs as the Colts vie for their first league crown since 2014.
WEEKLY PREVIEWS
BASEBALL
#26 COTTAGE GROVE (7-16)
■ Leading off: Cottage Grove wraps up its season Tuesday at No. 8 North Bend. The Lions are outside the bubble for a play-in game, though it’s possible to sneak in with a doubleheader win at North Bend.
#25 CRESWELL (5-15)
■ Leading off: New coach Kevin Feist and the Bulldogs finish their season with a series against Elmira. A win in the series would give Creswell more wins than last season, and would give the Bulldogs momentum heading into the offseason as they lose seven seniors – including starting pitcher Evan Jenkins.
#3 PLEASANT HILL (14-4)
■ Leading off: Seemingly the only thing stopping Pleasant Hill in recent weeks is weather as the Billies have played the fewest conference games of any team in the Mountain Valley Conference. The Billies face Siuslaw this week, with Jon Fitzpatrick continuing to hit well in the cleanup spot for coach Johnny Bowden.
#30 SPRINGFIELD (1-20)
■ Leading off: Springfield has its penultimate series in the Midwestern League this week against Eagle Point. Freshman Jalen Smith continues to show promise as the Millers’ season comes nearer to ending.
SOFTBALL
#18 COTTAGE GROVE (8-11)
■ Leading off: Cottage Grove continues to battle for a play-in spot as the Lions end their regular season this Tuesday at No. 11 North Bend. Junior Addison Hitt has been key on offense for Cottage Grove, and will be relied on more heavily as star Emily Pacheco missed the past two games.
#13 CRESWELL (14-8)
■ Leading off: The Bulldogs put themselves in prime playoff position after a series sweep over La Pine last week. Now, all senior shortstop Dakota Carson and the Bulldogs need to do to secure their third-straight postseason berth is win one game of this week’s series against Elmira.
#10 PLEASANT HILL (12-6)
■ Leading off: Pleasant Hill is locked in a conference title race with No. 6 Harrisburg, though the Billies do hold the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a 1-0 win in Game Three of the Harrisburg series earlier this season. Senior Bella Black, a third-team all-state player last year, continues to lead Pleasant Hill in the circle.
#25 SPRINGFIELD (7-13)
■ Leading off: Springfield continues its quest for its first 10-win season since 2010 with a series against No. 12 Eagle Point this week. Freshman Lillian Wobbe has been Springfield’s ace on the mound all season, and will need a solid start if the Millers want to upset Eagle Point in any of the three games.
WEEKLY RECAPS
BASEBALL
■ Cottage Grove went 0-3 on the week, including a doubleheader loss to No. 4 Marist. In an 11-1 defeat to Junction City early in the week, Anthony Eubanks scored the Lions’ sole run.
■ Creswell was swept in a series against No. 8 La Pine, though each of the three games was a close defeat. In a 5-3 Game One loss, Deacon Edwards had 1 hit, 1 run, and 1 RBI. In Game Two, an 8-4 loss, freshman Colton Hartman finished with 2 hits and 2 RBI, and fellow freshman Tanner Frieze had 5 Ks in a 2-1 Game Three loss.
■ Pleasant Hill had to work around a slew of cancellations/postponements last week, but did take Game One of a series against Elmira 11-4. Caden Richardson spearheaded the win with 9 Ks, 2 hits, and 3 RBI, and DJ Holman chipped in 1 hit, 1 run, and 4 RBI.
■ Springfield’s losing streak extended to 18 with three losses to No. 8 Ashland last week, though it was one of Springfield’s closer series in the Midwestern League. The Millers nearly took Game One, a 7-5 loss, behind 2 hits and 1 run from both Jalen Smith and Zack Sherman.
■ Thurston moved to 12-0 in the Midwestern League with a series sweep over Eagle Point. The Colts took Game One 3-1 thanks to 11 Ks from Grady Saunders. After trailing by 5 runs, Thurston came back and won Game Two 7-6 behind Connor Molony’s 2 hits, 2 runs, and 1 RBI. Game Three was “The Kyle Miller Show” as the junior had 8 Ks, 2 hits, 2 runs, and 1 RBI in a 9-0 victory.
SOFTBALL
■ Cottage Grove fell to 1-9 in the Sky-Em League with three losses last week. In a 13-3 loss to No. 12 Marist, Addison Hitt finished with 1 hit, 1 run, and 1 RBI.
■ Creswell returned to MVC play last week after a brief non-league break, going 3-0 against La Pine to move into pole position for third place. In Game Two of the series, a 6-3 win, Dakota Carson led the way with 3 hits, 1 run, and 2 RBI. In the 13-1 Game Three win Regan Gwaltney had 4 hits, 2 runs, and 3 RBI, and Hope Ukolov chipped in 3 hits, 1 run, and 3 RBI – including a 2-run HR.
■ Pleasant Hill took the opening two games of a series against Elmira before falling in Game Three. In the 7-1 Game One win, Bella Black piloted the Billies to a win with 10 Ks, 3 hits, 1 run, and 3 RBI. Raegan Luiz was the driving force in the 13-3 Game Two victory, finishing with 3 hits, 3 runs, and 2 RBI.
■ Thurston swept a series against No. 12 Eagle Point – the first-place team in the Midwestern League going into last week. Game One was a 9-7 Colts win behind Kendall Miller’s 2 hits, 1 run and 3 RBI. Thurston took Game Two 11-8 as Bailey Tovey drove in four runs on two hits, and Game Three was a 10-8 win thanks to Tovey’s 4-for-4 performance with 2 runs and 2 RBI.
CONFERENCE CALL
Weekly notes from around our area teams’ conferences:
North Eugene’s Tomp going for golf three-peat
North Eugene’s Francesca Tomp, the back-to-back Class 5A girls golf state champion, qualified for this year’s state championship with an 8-over par 152 win at the Midwestern League district tournament last week. Tomp, a junior, won the state title as a freshman and sophomore with 7-over par finishes both seasons. If Tomp continues her current trajectory, she has a chance to join Summit’s Madison Odiorne (2012-15) as the only four-time state champions.
Junction City, Marist facing off for baseball crown
No. 5 Junction City (15-5, 9-1 in Sky-Em) and No. 4 Marist Catholic (14-8, 8-2) face off in a doubleheader on Tuesday of this week at Marist, with the Sky-Em League crown likely on the line. Junction City took Game One of the season series in early April, so the Tigers need to win only one of the games to stay ahead of Marist in the standings. For 2023 thirrd-team all-state outfielder Peyton Tyner and the Spartans, they likely need to win both games to pull ahead of Junction City and win the league title for the fourth-straight time.
RESULTS/SCHEDULES
RESULTS
BASEBALL
Tuesday, April 30
■ Junction City 11, Cottage Grove 1
■ La Pine 5, Creswell 3
■ Ashland 7, Springfield 5
■ Thurston 3, Eagle Point 1
Wednesday, May 1
■ Pleasant Hill 11, Elmira 4
Thursday, May 2
■ Marist 15, Cottage Grove 1
■ Marist 13, Cottage Grove 0
Friday, May 3
■ La Pine 8, Creswell 4
■ La Pine 2, Creswell 1
■ Ashland 9, Springfield 2
■ Ashland 10, Springfield 0
Saturday, May 4
■ Thurston 7, Eagle Point 6
■ Thurston 9, Eagle Point 0
SOFTBALL
Tuesday, April 30
■ Junction City 22, Cottage Grove 2
■ Creswell 14, La Pine 7
■ Springfield 10, Ashland 3
■ Thurston 9, Eagle Point 7
Wednesday, May 1
■ Pleasant Hill 7, Elmira 1
Thursday, May 2
■ Marist 13, Cottage Grove 3
■ Marist 20, Cottage Grove 4
■ Pleasant Hill 13, Elmira 3
■ Elmira 12, Pleasant Hill 8
Friday, May 3
■ Creswell 6, La Pine 3
■ Creswell 13, La Pine 1
Saturday, May 4
■ Thurston 11, Eagle Point 8
■ Thurston 10, Eagle Point 8
Monday, May 6
■ Ashland 12, Springfield 6
■ Ashland 12, Springfield 11
SCHEDULES
BASEBALL
Friday, May 10
■ Siuslaw at Pleasant Hill, 2 and 4:30 p.m.
■ Creswell at Elmira, 3 and 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 11
■ SHS at Eagle Point, noon and 2 p.m.
■ Crater at Thurston, 1 and 3 p.m.
Monday, May 13
■ Pleasant Hill at Elmira, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 14
■ Thurston at Springfield, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, May 15
■ La Pine at Pleasant Hill, 2 and 4:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Friday, May 10
■ Siuslaw at Pleasant Hill, 2 and 4:30 p.m.
■ Creswell at Elmira, 3 and 5 p.m.
Crater at Thurston, 3 and 5 p.m.
Monday, May 13
■ Springfield at Eagle Point, 3 and 5 p.m.
Tuesday, May 14
■ Thurston at Springfield, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, May 15
■ La Pine at Pleasant Hill, 2 and 4:30 p.m.
TRACK & FIELD
Thursday, May 9
■ Creswell, Pleasant Hill at Special District 4 Championships (Sisters HS), 1 p.m.
■ Springfield, Thurston at Midwestern League Championships (S. Oregon University), 2 p.m.
Friday, May 10
■ Cottage Grove at Sky-Em League Championships (North Bend HS), 11 a.m.
■ Creswell, Pleasant Hill at Special District 4 Championships (Sisters HS), 11 a.m.
Saturday, May 11
■ Springfield, Thurston at Midwestern League Championships (S. Oregon University), 9:30 a.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Sky-Em League Championships (North Bend HS), 11 a.m.
