It’s still relatively early in a spring sports season that has been repeatedly interrupted by weather issues – snow, rain, you name it.
Lebanon Athletic Director Kraig Hoene says the Warriors are looking competitive on the baseball and softball fields, are down a little in numbers on the track, and haven’t had a lot of opportunity to compete consistently in tennis, while the golfers have struggled a bit.
“It’s particularly hard in the spring, when everything’s so scattered,” he said.
Baseball
After a spring break trip to Dodgertown – Vero Beach, Fla., where the Warriors lost four tournament games against some powerful teams from the Midwest, Lebanon came back to split two games with Dallas and is tied with three other teams for third – at 1-1 – in the Mid-Willamette Conference, going into the April 12 contests, which looked like they could actually happen at press time for Lebanon Local.
“It’s too early to tell,” Hoene said. “The good news is we did get a lot of rain but the new turf fields held up well.
“We got a game in.”
Softball
Lebanon was 7-4 overall and 1-1 in MWC going into an April 12 home game at Crescent Valley. The Warriors played four games over the break at the North Medford Spring Break Invite, winning three, against Eagle Point, Churchill and North Valley (in an 18-11 barnburner).
Track
The Warriors are a little down in numbers this year, but some individuals have shown promise, particularly on the girls side.
At the 17-team Jim Robinson Invitational at Roseburg April 6, Morgan Hopkins was Lebanon’s sole winner with a first-place in the shot (37-6½), while Isabella Ayala was sixth in the competitive 3000, in 11:03.59.
Rising Star
Keith Brown is no longer a secret, with 247Sports has given Lebanon’s 6-1, 220-pound junior linebacker a four-star ranking and projected him as the No. 5 inside linebacker prospect in the nation and the top prospect in Oregon.
Hoene said Brown, who has been recruited by both Oregon and Oregon State, is suddenly getting lots of attention from all over the nation.
Brown tweeted on April 10, “I wonder what recruiting was like before Twitter and phones existed.”
SPORTS SHORTS
Athletic fields grand opening
The Lebanon Booster Club will hold a grand opening of the high school’s new baseball and softball turf infields at 4 p.m. Friday, April 19, starting at the baseball field.
The Booster Club’s new bus will provide food and drinks.
B&G Club T-ball, machine pitch
Members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Santiam must register for T-ball and machine pitch by April 26 to participate in the summer sport.
T-ball for ages 5 to 6, and machine pitch for ages 7 to 8 runs June to July. Registration costs $77.
For more information, call (541) 258-7105.
Cheadle Challenge obstacle run May 4
The 10th annual Cheadle Lake 5/10K Fun Run/Walk and Kids’ Obstacle Dash is Saturday, May 4, at Cheadle Lake Park, 37919 Weirich Drive.
Race check-in starts at 7:30 a.m., with racing at 9:30 a.m. The course is a mix of paving, gravel and hard packed dirt. Cost to run/walk is $35.
The a half-mile Kids’ Obstacle Dash is at 9 a.m. The half-mile grassy course for kids 10 and under includes obstacles to climb, crawl through, jump and run around. The first 150 to register are free (use coupon code DASH at runsignup.com/Race/OR/Lebanon/BLTCheadleLakeFunRunWalk), or $10 per kid after that.
Register online at CheadleLakeRun.com/register. T-shirts cost $15. For more information, visit BuildLebanonTrails.com/contact-us.