THE MAIN EVENT: BASEBALL
#15 CENTRAL (16-10) AT #2 THURSTON (24-3)
■ Game facts: Tuesday, May 21 at 5 p.m. at Thurston High School. Tickets: Adults $10, Students $6.
■ Leading off: The Thurston Colts begin their title defense on Tuesday with a game against Central, and with a win would host the winner of (10) Ashland/(7) Mountain View on Friday in the quarterfinals. Sophomore Grady Saunders, who won the title for Thurston last year in walk-off fashion, will be key on the mound and at bat during this postseason run. Catch coverage of Tuesday’s game online only at chronicle1909.com.
WEEKLY PREVIEWS
BASEBALL
#4 PLEASANT HILL (19-6)
■ Leading off: The Billies begin their postseason run this week with a 2nd-round game against No. 3 Taft on Wednesday. Despite failing to win the Mountain Valley Conference, Pleasant Hill still enters the postseason as one of the favorites to win the state tournament. Should star senior Caden Richardson and the Billies win on Wednesday, they’d likely host MVC rival No. 5 Sisters on Friday in the quarterfinals.
SOFTBALL
#12 CRESWELL (16-9)
■ Leading off: Creswell’s reward for a 16-win season and third-place finish in the Mountain Valley Conference is the 12th-seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately for senior Hope Ukolov and the Bulldogs, the 5th seed is Burns – the back-to-back state champions. If Creswell wants to move on in the postseason, it will need to go through Burns star pitcher Ayla Davies, who set a state record for most strikeouts in a state championship game last season with 23.
#7 PLEASANT HILL (18-7)
■ Leading off: The Billies guaranteed themselves a home playoff game by winning the Mountain Valley Conference crown last week. After making the quarterfinals last season, Pleasant Hill attempts to make it there again with a win against No. 10 Enterprise on Wednesday. A win on Wednesday would send Bella Black and the Billies to No. 2 South Umpqua on Friday.
#12 THURSTON (17-9)
■ Leading off: The Colts look for an upset win in the opening round of the Class 5A bracket on Tuesday at No. 5 Caldera. Caldera beat Thurston 13-3 on March 26, but Thurston’s gone 15-3 since that loss. Thurston’s best pitcher Kasey Ogan will likely get the start on the mound, and star hitter Bailey Tovey will need a big game offensively for the Colts.
WEEKLY RECAPS
BASEBALL
■ Springfield’s season ended with a series loss against No. 2 Thurston. The closest game of the series was an 11-1 Game Three defeat in which Corban Hein scored the Millers’ sole run.
■ Thurston swept Springfield in a series to finish the regular season 24-3, and 18-0 in the Midwestern League for the second straight season. Thurston took Game One 13-2 behind Connor Molony’s 3 hits, 1 run, and 4 RBI. In Game Two, the Colts won 17-0 as Eli Crist totaled 3 hits, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. Game Three was an 11-1 win thanks to Kyle Miller’s 3 hits, 2 runs, and 3 RBI.
SOFTBALL
■ Cottage Grove lost in the Class 4A play-in game for the third consecutive season. The Lions fell at No. 11 Estacada 11-1 on Saturday. Junior Emily Pacheco finished with 2 hits – including a solo home run in the 2nd inning.
■ Springfield was swept by Thurston last week, ending the Millers season with a record of 7-19, the program’s most wins since 2011. Game Three of the series was the closest game, a 10-1 Springfield loss as Holly Arendt hit a solo homer for Springfield’s only run.
■ Thurston marched into the postseason with momentum after sweeping Springfield. In Game One the Colts won 12-0 behind 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI from both Bailey Tovey and Syren Ferguson. Katelyn Dow led the way in a 14-1 Game Two victory with 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI, and Thurston took Game Three 10-1 thanks to Tovey’s 3 hits, 2 runs, and 3 RBI.
CONFERENCE CALL
Weekly notes from around our area teams’ conferences:
Marist, Junction City baseball enter postseason in top 6
■ No. 4 Marist Catholic and No. 6 Junction City enter the Class 4A baseball bracket with high expectations after both teams won 15+ games this season. Marist, quarterfinalists a season ago, faces off with No. 13 Newport on Tuesday. A win would likely mean Marist hosts No. 5 Pendleton – the team that beat Marist in the quarters last season – on Friday. Meanwhile, the regular-season Sky-Em champion Tigers host No. 11 Hidden Valley on Tuesday. If Junction City wins Tuesday, the team would likely have to travel to No. 3 Scappoose – the defending state champs – Friday.
Crater’s Tostenson doubles in 1500, 3000
■ Crater junior JosiahTostenson raced at the Class 5A boys state competition last week and pulled off an impressive double, winning the 3000 race on Friday and the 1500 on Saturday. Tostenson took the 3000 in 8:12.94 – almost seven seconds faster than second place. On Saturday, Tostenson seized the lead with about two laps to go in the 1500 and won with a time of 3:50.92, four seconds ahead of second place.
RESULTS/SCHEDULES
RESULTS
BASEBALL
Tuesday, May 14
■ Thurston 13, Springfield 2
Wednesday, May 15
■ La Pine 4, Pleasant Hill 2
■ Pleasant Hill 7, La Pine 3
■ Thurston 17, Springfield 0
Thursday, May 16
■ Elmira 6, Pleasant Hill 5
Friday, May 17
■ Thurston 11, Springfield 1
SOFTBALL
Tuesday, May 14
■ Thurston 12, Springfield 0
Wednesday, May 15
■ Pleasant Hill 15, La Pine 6
■ Pleasant Hill 9, La Pine 4
Thursday, May 16
■ Pleasant Hill 6, South Eugene 5
Friday, May 17
■ Thurston 14, Springfield 1
■ Thurston 10, Springfield 1
Saturday, May 18
■ Estacada 11, Cottage Grove 1
SCHEDULES
BASEBALL
Tuesday, May 21
■ (15) Central at (2) Thurston, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, May 22
■ (13) Taft at (4) Pleasant Hill, 4 p.m.
Friday, May 24
■ Class 3A Quarterfinals
■ Class 5A Quarterfinals
Tuesday, May 28
■ Class 3A Semifinals
■ Class 5A Semifinals
SOFTBALL
Tuesday, May 21
■ (12) Thurston at (5) Caldera, 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 22
■ (12) Creswell at (5) Burns, 4 p.m.
■ (10) Enterprise at (7) Pleasant Hill, 4 p.m.
Friday, May 24
■ Class 3A Quarterfinals
■ Class 5A Quarterfinals
Tuesday, May 28
■ Class 3A Semifinals
■ Class 5A Semifinals
