THE MAIN EVENT: TRACK & FIELD
OSAA STATE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
■ Meet facts: Class 3A championships, Thursday-Friday, May 16-17 … Classes 4A and 5A championships, Friday-Saturday, May 17-18.
■ What to know: University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. … Tickets: Adults $18, Students $9.
■ What2Know: The Cottage Grove boys and Thurston girls both finished third in their respective classes last season. Cottage Grove’s Carter Bengtson is one of the favorites in the boys 1500 and 3000 for Class 3A, and Bailey Tovey tries to win a state title for the Thurston girls after winning league in the shot put and javelin.
WEEKLY PREVIEWS
BASEBALL
#2 PLEASANT HILL (18-4)
■ Leading off: Pleasant Hill has an important doubleheader Wednesday against No. 7 La Pine, with the Mountain Valley Conference title on the line. The Billies must win one of the two games to tie Sisters in the standings, and Pleasant Hill owns the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to a series win in early April.
#32 SPRINGFIELD (1-23)
■ Leading off: The Millers end their season with a series this week against No. 1 Thurston. It’s been a tough season for Springfield, though there have been bright spots such as junior Dylan Leas and freshman Jalen Smith.
#1 THURSTON (21-3)
■ Leading off: Thurston already wrapped up the Midwestern League title last week, but looks to extend its league win streak past 50 games with a series against Springfield this week. Senior Adam Elliott and the Colts, likely the top seed in the postseason, then find out who their title defense begins against when the Class 5A bracket releases on Saturday.
SOFTBALL
#18 COTTAGE GROVE (8-14)
■ Leading off: Cottage Grove officially made the Class 4A play-in, and will travel to face No. 12 Estacada. As of press deadline, the date for the play-in game has not yet been announced. Regardless, if the Lions want to pull off the upset and make the postseason for the first time in program history, they’ll need a top-notch game from star pitcher Emily Pacheco.
#12 CRESWELL (16-9)
■ Leading off: Creswell’s regular season is done, but the Bulldogs now wait to see their playoff fate. Round one of the postseason is Monday, with round two on May 22. Creswell holds the last first-round bye, so if the Bulldogs drop in the rankings they’ll host a first-round game Monday, otherwise they’ll be on the road for round two.
#11 PLEASANT HILL (15-7)
■ Leading off: Pleasant Hill hosts a DH vs. La Pine on Wednesday. If the Billies sweep they’ll clinch the MVC title. The Billies will be competing in the playoffs next week, with a first-round bye likely.
#26 SPRINGFIELD (7-16)
■ Leading off: The Millers close out their historic season with a series against No. 11 Thurston. Freshman pitcher Lillian Wobbe has already helped lead Springfield to its most wins since 2011.
#11 THURSTON (14-9)
■ Leading off: As long as Thurston wins two of the three games against Springfield this week, the Colts will finish second in the Midwestern League – their best finish since 2021. The Colts then wait for the Class 5A postseason bracket, as standout Bailey Tovey and the Colts will likely travel for a first-round game Tuesday.
WEEKLY RECAPS
BASEBALL
■ Cottage Grove’s season ended last week with a doubleheader loss at No. 9 North Bend. In an 11-1 Game Two loss, Isaiah Cushman threw 5 Ks. After a promising 7-0 start to the season, the Lions lost their last 18 games, and will miss the postseason for the seventh straight season.
■ Creswell ended its season on a high note, taking a tight series against Elmira. The Bulldogs won Game One 3-1 behind 13 Ks from Evan Jenkins. After a 5-3 Game Two defeat, Creswell won Game Three 5-4 as Cameron Leonard recorded 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. New head coach Kevin Feist finished his first season with seven wins – tying the program’s most wins in a season since 2016.
■ Pleasant Hill swept Siuslaw last week, winning all three games by 10 or more runs. Game One was a 13-1 victory that saw DJ Holman finish with 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. Hunter Allen led the way in a 15-1 Game Two win, totaling 3 hits, 3 runs, and 4 RBI. The Billies took Game Three 12-1 on the back of Jon Fitzpatrick’s 3 hits, 3 runs, and 2 RBI, as well as Kaden Fisher’s 9 Ks.
■ Springfield lost 21-0 in Game One of a series against Eagle Point, but had two much more competitive losses in the doubleheader on Saturday. The Millers lost Game Two of the series 2-0 as freshman Jalen Smith pitched the whole game and allowed only 4 hits. Springfield fell 7-1 in Game Three, with Dylan Leas leading the way with 1 hit, 1 RBI, and 3 Ks.
SOFTBALL
■ Cottage Grove lost a doubleheader at No. 14 North Bend before falling 11-0 to Marist in a league playoff game. In Game Two of the doubleheader at North Bend, the Lions fell 7-6 despite 11 Ks from Emily Pacheco.
■ Creswell ended its regular season with a series win over Elmira, wrapping up third in the MVC and locking in a postseason berth. Creswell took Game One 14-6 thanks to Dakota Carson’s 4 hits, 3 runs, and 2 RBI. The Bulldogs lost Game Two, then won Game Three 7-4 behind sophomore Elise Thackara’s 8 Ks.
■ Pleasant Hill kept pace with No. 8 Harrisburg in the conference title race last week by sweeping Siuslaw. The Billies took Game One 16-2 as Bella Black contributed 3 hits, 2 runs, and 5 RBI. In Game Two, Raegan Luiz hit an RBI-single to drive in Karley Bloxham to secure the 5-4 walk-off win for the Billies.
■ Springfield was swept by No. 10 Eagle Point in a series last week. The closest loss of the series was a 9-0 Game Two defeat in which Holly Arendt, Reagan Kumle, and Morgan Cline each had 2 hits.
TRACK & FIELD RECAPS
■ Cottage Grove won its third straight Sky-Em League title on the boys side last week, edging out Marshfield by 41.5 points. Carter Bengtson (1500 and 3000) and Hayes Valley (110m hurdles and 300m hurdles) each won two events for the Lions. The CG girls finished 4th behind Makya Alsup’s win in the javelin.
■ Creswell and Pleasant Hill raced at the Special District 4 championships, with the Billies boys earning the best finish of any group. Pleasant Hill finished 3rd thanks to Braedon Hazel’s javelin win. The girls finished 7th as Ryan Thomas won the 100. For Creswell, the girls team led the way, finishing 4th behind Kylie Leonard winning the 300m hurdles. Darien Dewey finished 3rd in both hurdles events as the Creswell boys finished 7th.
■ Springfield and Thurston competed at the Midwestern League championships, with Thurston finishing 2nd to Crater on the boys and girls side. Bailey Tovey won the shot put and javelin for the girls, and Tyler Raven recorded wins in the 300m hurdles and triple jump for the boys. For Springfield, the girls finished 3rd as Liz Hirschbach won the long jump and 300m hurdles. The Millers boys finished 6th, with Connor Dye finishing 3rd in the 100.
CONFERENCE CALL
Weekly notes from around our area teams’ conferences:
Crater softball set to secure third straight league title
The 4th-ranked Crater Comets softball team set themselves up to win their third-straight Midwestern League title with a series sweep over No. 11 Thurston last week. As long as Crater wins two of the three games against Ashland (3-16) this week, the Comets will win the league once again.
In a 16-2 Game Two win over Thurston, sophomore Amanda Hammer led the way with 3 hits, 3 runs, and 4 RBI – including two home runs.
Siuslaw, Sisters grab district track titles
The Special District 4 Track & Field Championships were held at Sisters High School last week, with Siuslaw taking the boys title and Sisters winning the girls. Wesley Nicholls led the way for Siuslaw, winning the 200 and 400, while also running on the 4×100 and 4×400 teams that won. For the Sisters girls team, senior GracieVohs won the 400 and high jump, and anchored the winning 4×400 relay team.
RESULTS/SCHEDULES
RESULTS
BASEBALL
Tuesday, May 7
■ North Bend 12, Cottage Grove 2
■ North Bend 11, Cottage Grove 1
■ Creswell 3, Elmira 1
■ Pleasant Hill 13, Siuslaw 1
■ Eagle Point 21, Springfield 0
■ Thurston 8, Crater 0
Friday, May 10
■ Pleasant Hill 15, Siuslaw 1
■ Pleasant Hill 12, Siuslaw 2
■ Elmira 5, Creswell 3
■ Creswell 5, Elmira 4
Saturday, May 11
■ Eagle Point 2, Springfield 0
■ Eagle Point 7, Springfield 1
■ Thurston 10, Crater 3
■ Thurston 10, Crater 0
Monday, May 13
■ PHHS, 6, Elmira, 2
SOFTBALL
Tuesday, May 7
■ North Bend 18, Cottage Grove 2
■ North Bend 7, Cottage Grove 6
■ Creswell 14, Elmira 6
■ Pleasant Hill 16, Siuslaw 2
■ Eagle Point 13, Springfield 1
■ Crater 6, Thurston 3
Wednesday, May 8
■ Marist 6, Pleasant Hill 1
Thursday, May 9
■ Marist 11, Cottage Grove 0
Friday, May 10
■ Elmira 10, Creswell 6
■ Creswell 7, Elmira 4
■ Pleasant Hill 5, Siuslaw 4
■ Pleasant Hill 15, Siuslaw 5
■ Crater 16, Thurston 2
■ Crater 9, Thurston 5
Monday, May 13
■ Eagle Point 9, Springfield 0
■ Eagle Point 15, Springfield 0
SCHEDULES
BASEBALL
Thursday, May 16
■ Pleasant Hill at Elmira, 4:30 p.m.
Friday, May 17
■ SHS at Thurston, 2:30 and 5 p.m.
Monday, May 20
■ Class 3A Playoffs Round 1
Tuesday, May 21
■ Class 5A Playoffs Round 1
Wednesday, May 22
■ Class 3A Playoffs Round 2
SOFTBALL
Friday, May 17
■ SHS at Thurston, 3 and 5 p.m
Monday, May 20
■ Class 3A Playoffs Round 1
Tuesday, May 21
■ Class 5A Playoffs Round 1
Wednesday, May 22
■ Class 3A Playoffs Round 2
TRACK & FIELD – At Hayward Field
Thursday, May 16
■ Creswell, Pleasant Hill at Class 3A State Championships, 10 a.m.
Friday, May 17
■ Cottage Grove at Class 4A State Championships, 9 a.m.
■ Springfield, Thurston at Class 5A State Championships, 9 a.m
■ Creswell, Pleasant Hill at Class 3A State Championships, 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
■ Cottage Grove at Class 4A State Championships, 9:30 a.m.
■ Springfield, Thurston at Class 5A State Championships, 9:30 a.m.
Note: Updated schedules for all sports available at:
osaa.org
