THE MAIN EVENT: BASEBALL
#24 SPRINGFIELD MILLERS (1-4) AT SPRINGFIELD TOURNAMENT
■ Leading off: The Millers host the annual Springfield Tournament this week, with their final game scheduled against Class 6A Roseburg Indians on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. Springfield is in its first season under head coach Alan Embree, a former MLB pitcher who won the 2004 World Series with the Boston Red Sox. Embree was also the head coach at Summit High School when the Storm won the 2016 state title.
WEEKLY PREVIEWS
BASEBALL
COTTAGE GROVE: 7-1, RANKED #4
■ Leading off: The Lions head to the Stangs Stampede Spring Break Tournament at Hidden Valley High School this weekend. Junior Devon Accord has been a catalyst for Cottage Grove early, totaling 16 Ks in three appearances on the mound.
CRESWELL: 2-4, RANKED #9
■ Leading off: Creswell tries to record its first Mountain Valley Conference victory with a game at Harrisburg on Tuesday. The Bulldogs are a senior-heavy team, and will need big games from leaders like Landon Palmer and Evan Jenkins to build momentum in conference play.
PLEASANT HILL: 3-1, RANKED #13
■ Leading off: Pleasant Hill’s spring break tournament is in Medford as the Billies travel to the Challenger Classic. The Billies open the tournament against preseason No. 11 Douglas (5-0) with Kaden Fisher, Alejandro Ziolkowski, and Caden Richardson likely all getting starts on the mound throughout the tournament.
THURSTON: 2-2, RANKED #11
■ Leading off: The Colts close out the Coach Bob National Invitational in Arizona this week with games against Lake Park (Ill.) on Thursday and Arbor View (Nev.) on Friday. Coach Dennis Minium said he wants his team to “find our groove” in Arizona the way they did last season.
SOFTBALL
COTTAGE GROVE: 4-1, RANKED #10
■ Leading off: Cottage Grove has the Hidden Valley High School Tournament this Thursday-Saturday, with games against Crook County, Hidden Valley, and Douglas on the schedule. Crook County is the preseason No. 8 team in Class 4A and will be a big test for pitcher Emily Pacheco and the Lions.
CRESWELL: 4-2, RANKED #11
■ Leading off: The Bulldogs travel to Harrisburg on Tuesday to open a series against last season’s second-place finisher in the Mountain Valley Conference. Creswell was 1-2 against Harrisburg last season, and will need a big week from Hope Ukolov after a two-home run performance last week.
PLEASANT HILL: 3-0, RANKED #3
■ Leading off: The Billies travel north to Class 4A No. 13 Junction City on Saturday. Pleasant Hill started the season with three double-digit wins, followed up by three cancellations due to weather. Senior Bella Black will benefit from the extra time off, as the star pitcher is making her way back from some preseason health issues and only appeared in one game so far.
SPRINGFIELD: 2-4, RANKED #25
■ Leading off: Springfield hosts Mountain View in a Saturday doubleheader this week as the Millers look to build on a solid early season start. Senior Jacey Smith has been key early for the Millers, as has freshman pitcher Lillian Wobbe.
THURSTON: 2-4, RANKED #22
■ Leading off: Thurston opens league play next week as the Colts host Ashland, the fourth-place finishers in the Midwestern League last season. Junior Kasey Ogan has been the ace on the mound for the Colts so far, and senior Bailey Tovey has led the offense.
WEEKLY RECAPS
BASEBALL
■ Cottage Grove had a 4-1 week, including three wins at the Volcanos Spring Break Tournament in Salem. The Lions started the week with an 11-9 win over Glide behind Christian Spear’s 2 hits, 1 run, and 3 RBI, as well as Devon Accord’s 2 hits, 4 runs, and 7 Ks. In Cottage Grove’s 11-4 win over Dayton to begin the tournament, Spear had 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBI, and Elijah Cushman had 7 Ks in 3 innings.
■ Pleasant Hill had a doubleheader with Harrisburg postponed on Friday, but did handle Harrisburg 8-1 earlier in the week. Caden Richardson went 3-for-4 at bat with 2 runs and 3 RBI, and Alejandro Ziolkowski allowed only 3 hits and had 8 Ks on the mound.
■ Springfield fell to South Albany 12-1 in its sole game last week. Freshman Abe Rhoades scored the only run of the game for the Millers.
■ Thurston took down preseason No. 7 Crescent Valley 6-1 in its final game before the Coach Bob National Invitational in Arizona. The Colts were led by sophomore Grady Saunders, who finished with 11 Ks in 5 innings on the mound.
SOFTBALL
■ Cottage Grove beat Mazama 8-1 last Wednesday before having a game against Class 3A No. 2 Pleasant Hill canceled on Monday. Junior Emily Pacheco finished the Mazama win with 18 Ks, and Jayda Bruner led the offense with 1 hit, 1 run, and 2 RBI.
■ Creswell was 3-1 last week, sweeping a series against Siuslaw and losing 10-1 at Santiam Christian. Jessica Farrell led the way in a 19-4 win over Siuslaw, totaling 3 hits, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. Senior Hope Ukolov had a stats-filled Game Two in the series, hitting two home runs and driving in 6 batters as the Bulldogs won 12-6.
■ Springfield earned its first win of the season with a 19-3 victory over Class 6A North Salem. Jacey Smith finished the victory with 2 hits, 1 run, and 4 RBI, and Reagan Kumle added 2 hits, 3 runs, and 2 RBI.
■ Thurston played four games on the week, going 2-2 in non-league action. The Colts got their first win of the season with a 12-5 victory over South Albany behind Bailey Tovey’s 2 hits, 3 runs, and 2 RBI. On Monday afternoon, Thurston took down Yreka (CA) 4-2 at the North Medford Spring Break Tournament. Tovey had 2 hits and 1 run, and pitcher Kasey Ogan had 6 Ks.
TRACK & FIELD RECAPS
■ Cottage Grove hosted three teams for the Cottage Grove Icebreaker last week, with the Lions winning the boys side and finishing second in the girls competition. The CG boys won 10 events, led by CJ Dugas winning the 100m and 200m races, and Eli Williams winning shot put and discus. Sophomore Ella Cardwell earned second in the 1500m for the girls.
■ Pleasant Hill, Springfield, and Thurston all competed at a Springfield meet last Wednesday. Thurston won the boys competition thanks to Nathan Glazier winning the 400m and 3000m races. Springfield took first for the girls as Carrie Babcock took first in the 1500m and 3000m races. For the Billies, Zachary Seratte won the boys high jump, and Ryan Thomas won the girls 100m.
CONFERENCE CALL
Marist’s Landgraf heads to Central Catholic
■ For the second straight season the Marist Catholic football team is searching for a new head coach after first-year coach Charlie Landgraf was named the Central Catholic coach last week. Landgraf replaced long-time coach Frank Geske, now at Springfield, at the helm of the Marist program for the 2023 season and led the Spartans to an 11-2 record and second-place finish in Class 4A. Landgraf was an assistant for Class 6A Central Catholic for two seasons in 2021 and ’22 before heading to Marist. Central Catholic, the 2023 6A champs, had the head coach job open after 21-year coach Steve Pyne stepped down to take over at Union High School in Vancouver, Wash.
RESULTS/SCHEDULES
RESULTS
BASEBALL
Tuesday, March 19
■ Cottage Grove 11, Glide 9
■ Siuslaw 14, Creswell 4
■ Pleasant Hill 8, Harrisburg 1
Wednesday, March 20
■ South Albany 12, Springfield 1
■ Thurston 6, Crescent Valley 1
Thursday, March 21
■ Cottage Grove 11, Dayton 4
■ Siuslaw 19, Creswell 4
■ Siuslaw 4, Creswell 3
Friday, March 22
■ Cottage Grove 15, Catlin Gabel 7
Saturday, March 23
■ Cottage Grove 15, Oakridge 3
Sunday, March 24
■ Reedsport 8, Cottage Grove 6
Monday, March 25
■ Elmira 6, Springfield 2
■ Crismon (AZ) 3, Thurston 0
SOFTBALL
Tuesday, March 19
■ Creswell 19, Siuslaw 4
■ Pleasant Hill 10, Harrisburg 0
■ Thurston 12, South Albany 5
Wednesday, March 20
■ Santiam Christian 10, Creswell 1
Thursday, March 21
■ Cottage Grove 8, Mazama 1
■ Creswell 12, Siuslaw 6
■ Creswell 11, Siuslaw 0
■ Wilsonville 12, Thurston 1
Saturday, March 23
■ Cleveland 14, Springfield 5
Sunday, March 24
■ Springfield 19, North Salem 3
Monday, March 25
■ Springfield 10, Elmira 4
■ Central 9, Thurston 8
■ Thurston 4, Yreka (CA) 2
SCHEDULES
BASEBALL
Thursday, March 28
■ Springfield vs. TBD (Springfield Tournament), TBD
■ Cottage Grove at Hidden Valley, noon
■ Pleasant Hill vs. Douglas (Challenger Classic – Harry & David Field), 12:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Lake Park (Ill.) (Coach Bob National Invitational – West Point High School Ariz.), 1 p.m.
Friday, March 29
■ Pleasant Hill vs. TBD (Challenger Classic), TBD
■ Cottage Grove at North Valley (Hidden Valley Tournament), 2:30 p.m.
■ Thurston at Arbor View (Nev.) (Coach Bob National Invitational), 3 p.m.
Saturday, March 30
■ Phoenix at Cottage Grove (Hidden Valley Tournament), 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 2
■ Cottage Grove at Sweet Home, 4:30 p.m.
■ Creswell at Harrisburg, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at Sisters, 4:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at Churchill, 5 p.m.
■ Ashland at Thurston, 5 p.m.
SOFTBALL
Thursday, March 28
■ Cottage Grove vs. TBD (Hidden Valley Tournament), TBD
Friday, March 29
■ Cottage Grove at Hidden Valley (Hidden Valley Tournament), 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 30
■ Pleasant Hill at Junction City, 1 p.m.
■ Mountain View at Springfield, 1 and 3 p.m.
■ Cottage Grove at Douglas (Hidden Valley Tournament), 3 p.m.
Tuesday, April 2
■ Sweet Home at Cottage Grove, 4:30 p.m.
■ Creswell at Harrisburg, 4:30 p.m.
■ Pleasant Hill at Sisters, 4:30 p.m.
■ Springfield at Churchill, 5 p.m.
■ Ashland at Thurston, 5 p.m.
TRACK & FIELD
Wednesday, April 3
■ North Eugene at Springfield, 3:30 p.m.
■ Churchill, Crater at Thurston, 3:30 p.m.
