Local baseball and softball teams faced intense competition last week, with Warrenton and Yamhill-Carlton in a playoff atmosphere. Seaside's boys baseball team struggled despite a strong start, while Astoria's Fishermen surged to second place in the Cowapa League.
Key points
Warrenton and Yamhill-Carlton faced off in softball playoffs
Astoria's baseball team is on a seven-game winning streak
Seaside's boys baseball team struggled after a promising start
Knappa's softball team lost to Nestucca in their series
Astoria's Fishermen are in control of their playoff destiny
WarrentonYamhill-CarltonAstoriaSeaside
Last week saw showdowns abound for local baseball and softball teams. Warrenton and Yamhill-Carlton softball teams faced off in a playoff-style atmosphere, Astoria and Seaside girls played a competitive final softball game and Knappaâs team came up short in their softball season series against Nestucca. In baseball, the Warrenton boys kept their league title hopes alive, Astoriaâs Fishermen suffered a huge setback at the hands of Seasideâs Seagulls and the Knappa boys have second place in sight after a weekend of baseball action.
Seaside boys take season series
A promising start to the season for the Seaside boys baseball team quickly turned sour: Under new coach Briley Reeves, the Seagulls started off soaring, but soon crash landed around the time of league play.
Meanwhile, Astoriaâs baseball team started the season slow and then got scorching hot. After dominating Seaside 11-1 last Wednesday, the Fishermen entered Friday on a seven-game winning streak and at second place in the Cowapa League. Due to beating Tillamook in back-to-back games, the Fishermen seemed to be in control of their own playoff destiny.
But as always, rivalry games can prove unpredictable.
In front of a packed cheering section at Tapiola Park, the two Cowapa league rivals faced off in the rubber match of their three-game series.
With fans of Astoria and Seaside watching the game from every corner, game three started off well for the home team.
Leadoff hitter Sam Schacher started things off with a single, then stole second and third. He was able to score on a wild pitch by Seaside pitcher Hayden Halsen, making things 1-0. Alas, Colt Kellyâs single following Schacherâs single scoring was the last hit the Fishermen would have.
Despite Kelly hitting a ball to the fence and smashing one into a glove in centerfield, the Fishermen had one of those games where they could not score. Astoria had a chance to break things open with guys in scoring position, but Halsen would always shut the door.
This allowed Seaside to chip away at Astoria pitcher Dallas Norris. Eventually the Seagulls took advantage of a couple of fielding errors to score two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Seaside would add another run in the sixth on a bloop single to make things 3-1. Ethan Underhill and Brayden Cooley did the damage for Seaside as they came up with the big hits. Underhill finished 2-3 with 2 RBIs and Cooley was 1-3 with one RBI. Designated hitter Needham Ward also had a 2-3 day from the eighth spot.
Sophomore Tanner Long blew away the Fishermen in order in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the Seagulls dugout into a frenzy. Though the Seagulls are only 6-15 on the year, two of those wins have come against their Clatsop rival.
Fridayâs victory might prove to be the knockout blow for Astoriaâs playoff chances as they are currently in a tight race with Tillamook. The Cheesemakers currently sit at 4-5, with two games left against Seaside and one against St. Helens. Meanwhile, Astoria has a two game set remaining against Scappoose and St. Helens. With only the top two teams getting automatic qualifying bids, the Fishermen have work to do.
Q&A
What happened in the recent baseball and softball games in Warrenton?
Warrenton and Yamhill-Carlton softball teams played in a playoff-like atmosphere, while Warrenton's boys baseball team kept their league title hopes alive.
How did Astoria's baseball team perform last week?
Astoria's baseball team dominated Seaside 11-1 and entered the weekend on a seven-game winning streak, securing second place in the Cowapa League.
What challenges did Seaside's boys baseball team face this season?
Seaside's boys baseball team started strong under new coach Briley Reeves but faced difficulties as league play began, resulting in a disappointing performance.
What was the outcome of the Knappa vs. Nestucca softball series?
Knappa's softball team came up short in their season series against Nestucca.
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One thing is still clear about the Astoria and Seaside rivalry; records donât mean anything. If Seasideâs Friday victory ends up being the death blow to Astoriaâs playoff chances that will mean just as much for the Seagulls as winning a lot of games in their own right.
Warrenton is set for league title fight
It all comes down to Friday afternoon for the Warrenton Warriors
After riding the arm of Aaron Neahring and the hot bat of Zephan Pierce against Horizon Christian, the Warrenton boys baseball team is set for the league title showdown with rival Banks on Friday.
The 1-0 victory last Wednesday over Horizon Christian served as payback for earlier in the season and put the Warriors one step closer to retaining the league title. An 11-0 Friday afternoon victory over Valley Catholic and Mondayâs road game against Rainier were the last tuneup games before Banks on Friday.
At 10-1, the Braves are setting the pace in 3A Coastal Range League with Warrenton right behind them at 10-2. Regardless of the Bravesâ result against Horizon Christian on Monday, Friday afternoon at Warrenton will still be for a league championship. If the Braves win against Horizon, then the Warriors can share the league title with a victory, but a loss for the Braves and win for Warrenton would give them the league title outright.
The game against Banks is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Knappa boys make a move
The Knappa boys baseball team made a move this weekend after taking two out of three against Nestucca.
The Loggers lost game one Friday afternoon 12-4, then took the rubber match 3-1. This series win moved Knappa into a third-place tie with Nestucca behind Clatskanie and Portland Christian.
With three games against Gaston remaining, the chance for Knappa to tie for second is a distinct possibility. Since Portland Christian suffered a surprising defeat to Vernonia, they now have three losses in Northwest League play to Knappaâs six. The Royals have a three-game set against Clatskanie to wrap up the regular season. If Clatskanie sweeps them and Knappa sweeps Gaston, then the two teams would be tied at 9-6 in league. As of now, the Loggers are the final team in the postseason, according to the OSAA Bracketology released on Sunday night. Knappa is the No. 21 seed and would be playing the No. 12 seed Illinois Valley for an official spot in the tourney. Of course the Loggers can move up more with a three-game sweep of Gaston.
Astoria softball completes sweep
Though the Seaside girls put up a valiant effort on Friday, the Astoria girls completed a three-game season sweep of their softball rivals.
After the Fishermen won 10-0 on Thursday, the girls returned to Seaside on Friday to finish up their regular season. This game was a tight contest through three innings.
Astoria took advantage of fielding errors by Seaside to put three runs on the board in the fourth inning. Seaside would fight back to score one in the third and then Astoria tacked on another in the sixth to win 4-1.
Despite the tough loss on Friday, the Seaside girls showed they have the ability to play with the top softball teams in the state as a 4-1 loss is a very quality result.
Allie Corder of Seaside and Taryen Wray of Astoria matched each other on the mound. Both pitchers went the full seven innings and allowed one earned run apiece. Corder was the hard luck loser with three unearned runs allowed. Corder struck out five and allowed just 7 base runners, while Wray struck out 10 and allowed eight base runners.
Mack Haag was the standout player on offense for Seaside with a 2-2 day. Jahzara Marshall, Carly Corder and Allie Corder were the other players to get hits for the Seagulls against Wray on Friday. For Astoria, the Svensen sisters each had two hits. Hailey had two from the leadoff spot, while Kilee had two hits and one run batted in from the six hole. Kysa Whitsett led the team with two RBIs on the day.
Next up for Seaside is a two game series with St. Helens, while Astoria is set for a Goliath showdown with Scappoose on Tuesday.
Pitchers dazzle on the softball mound in Warrenton
Thursdayâs softball game between No. 8 Warrenton and No. 3 Yamhill-Carlton was one of the more anticipated non-league softball games of the late season.
With both teams ranked in the top 10, this had the feel of a state playoff game. The Tigers entered Thursday with just three losses, so the Warrenton girls were going to have to be perfect to beat them.
For much of the game they were.
The Warriors turned to sophomore pitcher Scarlet Anderson to face off against Yamhill senior Taylor Bradfield. Both pitchers delivered on the mound to pitch one of the best combined games in 3A this season.
Anderson brought her best stuff to the mound as she held Yamhill scoreless for the first three innings. The sophomore mixed up her pitchers and was able to keep Yamhill off balance with fastballs and wicked changeups. Her counterpart was a different story. Bradfield reached back and just threw challenge fastballs to the Warriors for much of the game. This strategy worked as she struck out 18 hitters en route to pitching a two-hit shutout and leading Yamhill to a 2-0 victory.
Anderson only allowed two hits herself, with neither one even being hit that hard. One was a bloop into left field and the other was a softer hit pitch into the outfield. She was undone by a couple of fielding errors. One was a ball hit to left field that wasnât caught, which led to one of the Tigersâ two runs.
With the loss, the Warrenton team falls to 13-7 on the year and remains third in the Coastal Range League standings. The Warriors have a tough game against No. 5 Banks on Tuesday. That game will be at Warrenton and is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Based on the games remaining, Valley Catholic has the inside track to the second automatic qualifying spot, but Warrenton right now is the highest ranked third-place team which would get them into the playoffs as the 9th seed, according to the latest Oregon School Activities Association Bracketology.
Knappa girls softball falls behind
The Knappa girls softball team experienced a reverse result to the boys.
While the boys won two out of three against Nestucca, the girls dropped the last two to lose their season series. A 13-3 loss and 14-13 loss dropped the Loggersâ record to 11-9 overall and 5-4 in league play. Nestucca moved a game ahead of Knappa with a 6-3 league record to stay in solo second. Clatskanie leads the league with a 10-2 record in the Northwest League.
A solid three-game series against Gaston is all that is standing in the way of Knappaâs softball girls qualifying for the playoffs as theyâre currently ranked No.16 in 2A.
The Loggers made a road trip to take on Country Christian/North Clackamas on Monday before returning home to start their three game set against Gaston on Tuesday.
