COTTAGE GROVE — The Cottage Grove softball team achieved a historic milestone last Friday when the Lions won 6-2 against Phoenix in a play-in round game on the road, advancing to the playoffs for the first time ever.
It has been a groundbreaking season for the team with other milestones as well, with new head coach Sarah Keefauver instilling optimism about the future of the program. The Cottage Grove softball program has fallen on hard times in the past two decades, going almost 20 years without a winning record (2003-21). In addition, the Oregon School Activities Association record books show the Lions have won 10+ games only twice – 10 in 2014, and 13 in ’22.
This year, the Lions have secured third in the Sky-Em League – marking only the second time in 12 years they have placed third or better – and earned their fourth consecutive play-in. They also achieved their biggest goal of the season, Keefauver said: A winning record. The Lions hadn’t achieved a winning record since 2022.
The team’s seniors, who have stuck with it, played key roles. One of those seniors is the driving pulse emanating from “the circle” – the pitcher’s mound in softball. With her windmill wind-ups, lightning-fast throws, and striking concentration, you can’t miss Emily Pacheco
“It’s been a journey,” Pacheco said about ending her final season. “It’s definitely been a chapter in life that I am so glad to have experienced, with this coaching staff, this team, this experience, and being in the circle while leading my team. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
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Years and years ago, before she became an icon for Cottage Grove, she played T-ball as a child. That’s when her father, Larry Pacheco, took notice of her nascent softball spark.
“Even when she was really little on T-ball, at only five or six years old, she was already better than all the boys in the area,” Larry said.
He then took the initiative and coached her from ages eight to 12 in Little League. She advanced to the more competitive level of a club team, joining the Willamette Valley Outlaws. She played for the Outlaws from ages 12 to 18, where Larry was also the head coach and continued to help her develop her talent.
“We’ve traveled all over,” he said about her pre-high school career. “Ranging from California to Washington, and it was pretty high-level. She excelled in that, too.”
Varsity career
It was no surprise when Pacheco became a varsity starter as a freshman. And she contributed beyond the circle, contributing at the plate as well.
Despite the successes, her full-time varsity position carried pressure at times, she said. Her first two years were difficult she said as she developed the proper mentality.
The tide shifted at the start of her junior year in 2023. She said she started to feel more grounded, that she “had done a lot of not getting in her head.”
This led to Pacheco’s performance rising to a level that took the Lions to their best start in program history last season.
She led her team to a 3-1 opening week record with performances in the circle and at the plate. Pacheco finished against Creswell with 18 strikeouts, 10 against Cascade, and 14 more against Springfield. On offense, Pacheco totaled 8 hits, 6 runs, and 5 RBIs across the four games.
When Cottage Grove hosted Sweet Home in its final non-league game of the season, winning 9-2 and moving to 7-2, it had achieved the best program start in its history. Pacheco finished the Sweet Home win with 17 strikeouts – totaling 119 at that point of the season.
In softball, where pitching is everything, her performance often meant that when she was successful, the team was. Larry attributed her success to her grit and diligence – and a driven work ethic.
“Obviously she’s very talented,” he said. “But she has a lot of drive. She puts in so many hours of extra work, hitting off the tee, taking 200- 300 cuts a week, and then pitching. I don’t know how many hours I’ve sat on a bucket where she’s throwing to me.
CRAIG STROBECK / THE CHRONICLE PHOTO
“Everything that she has accomplished is because of her. It takes talent, but you have to work hard to get that talent out of yourself. The second thing is that she’s super humble, too; she’s a good teammate and roots for everybody else,” he said.
Leader, role model
Along with sustaining an all-state level performance, Pacheco was voted a junior captain for the Lions last season. She carried that title into her senior year.
“Emily has been a leader of stats on our team over the course of the last four years,” said Keefauver, who had been assistant coaching the last three years before taking over the helm. “However, her leadership on the field has grown tremendously over the years. I am especially proud of her mental toughness and her growth over this season. She has worked hard to control the controllables, focus on her job, and allow her team to have her back defensively.”
“Now that I am the oldest, I feel like I have to set the example,” Pacheco said, embracing the role and responsibilities. “I need to be a role model for others. I need to inspire others to have the same passion and love for the sport that I do – to drive and push themselves hard every single day. Also, I try to set a positive mindset, too, in regard to having fun. At the end of the day, it is just a sport. And in the past, it hasn’t necessarily been fun for me, so I want to influence that with the others.”
In early May, it was calculated that Pacheco had collected 798 strikeouts as pitcher and, as a hitter, hit 9 home runs and had a batting average over .400 all four years. In the last week alone, she recorded 36 strikeouts. Against the Phoenix Pirates, she surrendered 3 hits, 2 runs and walked 8, while striking out 15. She also went 3-for-4 with a run and 3 RBIs.
CRAIG STROBECK / THE CHRONICLE PHOTO
Pacheco will attend Bushnell University and plans to earn her degree in Nursing. Larry shared the decision-making process for choosing her college, including the importance of proximity and the nursing program at Bushnell.
“She had probably 40-50 schools who had emailed her,” he said. “And we were supposed to go on some trips to a couple of schools back east. But right before I was going to book the flights, she told me that she wanted to stay close. For Bushnell, she went to a camp up there, and excelled – they offered her on the spot. It was a good decision all around. Good for me and her mom and her grandparents. We can all watch her play still.”
“It’s a step up from this level of play,” Pacheco said. “But I’m really excited to continue my softball career. I didn’t want it to end here, and I’m very proud that I am playing at the next level. I also feel great representing this town and this school. We haven’t had the best athletics in years, and so making a name for myself and pushing myself to go to the next level – that I don’t have to stop here – is everything. You never know what’s possible in life. I’m happy to carry a legacy as a Lion to Bushnell.”
