Pleasant Hill’s Maddy Woodward placed first in the girls’ 800 and 1500 meters at the Pleasant Hill Icebreaker track and field meet March 13. Tom Page/For The Creswell Chronicle
Pitcher Destiney Black gave up two earned runs on five hits, struck out nine and walked one, and Aubrie Hatch smacked two doubles in going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs as the Lady Dawgs opened their nonleague softball season with a 22-2 five-inning blowout of host Jefferson on March 11.
The Lady Dawgs were up 14-1 after the second inning and added four more in the fourth and the fifth. With the lead never in doubt, Creswell substituted freely.
”It was good to get all the players that traveled with us into the game,” said head coach Brett Giles.
Izzy Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs; Black went 1-for-4 with three RBIs and a run; Morgan Janshen went 1-for-2 with three runs; Hallie Drago had an RBI and scored five runs; Gabby Halgren had two RBIs and two runs; Carter Kruger had two RBIs and scored; Abbe Grubbs had an RBI and scored; and Jenessa Mallory and Karinna Leonard each scored twice.
”Jefferson lost a number of girls to graduation and are developing their young pitchers; we were walked 11 times and hit by their pitchers another nine times,” Giles noted, adding that the Lions, ”like us, did not get much preseason prep work due to the snow.”
On March 15, Creswell lost 1-2 and 4-5 in a doubleheader at Oakland.
Game 1 ”was a very good pitchers’ duel; both were fairly dominant in their performance,” Giles said, noting that Black gave up no earned runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking two.
The Lions led 1-0 until the seventh, when Creswell scored to tie the game, forcing extra innings – but Jefferson scored in the eighth for the win.
On defense, ”We had some terrific fielding, but also some errors that led to the two runs given up,” Giles said.
Hatch again paced Creswell’s offense, smacking a triple in the top of the seventh with the Lady Dawgs down 0-1 with two outs. ”The opposing player fell while retrieving the ball, allowing Aubrie to turn on the jets and score easily,” Giles said. ”That was the exciting moment for us.”
Hatch went 2-for-4 with the triple and scored. Black went 2-for-4, Drago and Gracelyn Ehrich each went 1-for-3 and Grubbs was 1-for-4.
Game 2 also became an extra-innings pitchers’ duel. ”Each pitcher was once again dominant, even after pitching eight innings in Game 1,” Giles said.
Oakland scored in the first on an unearned run; Creswell answered with three in the third, but Oakland added unearned runs in the fourth and fifth to tie.
In the top of the eighth, Drago’s double to center field ”was mishandled by their fielder; the ball went to the fence and Hallie blazed around the bases for the lead,” Giles said.
Unfortunately, that lead didn’t last as Oakland scored two in the bottom of the eighth on three base hits.
Black gave up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and struck out eight.
”The two runs Oakland scored in the bottom of the eighth were the only earned runs of the game given up by Destiney, which is impressive considering both games went to extra innings,” Giles said.
Drago went 2-for-4 with a double and scored twice. Black was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, Ramirez was 1-for-4 with an RBI, Janshen was 1-for-3 and scored, Hatch was 1-for-4 and scored, and Ehrich was 1-for-3.
