The weather has not been kind to spring sports, but thanks to some all-weather infield surfaces, Lebanon’s baseball and softball seasons have continued with less interruptions than might otherwise have been the case.
The one sport that has really suffered is tennis, Athletic Director Kraig Hoene said. Although the Warriors’ boys participation numbers are a little low, the girls are in good shape – if they could get on the court to play.
“It’s just tough. We’re just trying to get tennis matches in,” Hoene said.
Baseball
Lebanon was tied with Corvallis following the first week of Mid-Willamette Conference action as Lebanon Local went to press.
The Warriors, who return all the starters who took them to the state championship game last year, lost 6-3 to Bend after opening their season with three straight wins, then followed that with a Spring Break trip to St. Petersburg, Fla., for the Baseball City Tournament, where they went 2-2 against teams from New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Senior Ryan Rivers had an “incredible” outing on the mound April 11 at home against Silverton, striking out 19 of 22 batters – one over the minimum – in a 6-0 no-hitter, throwing 95 pitches.
“It was an incredible performance,” Hoene said.
CJ Kennedy led the offense with a double and triple. Tyler Walker had a double and two RBIs.
That win followed a sweep of Central that got Lebanon off to a good start in conference play, he said.
Across town, East Linn Christian was winless in baseball at press time.
Softball
Lebanon went 3-1 on the road at the North Medford Spring Break Tournament and was ranked fifth in the 5A at Lebanon Local’s press time last week with an 8-2 record overall, its only league loss a 4-3 nail-biter in nine-inning nailbiter at home to MWC-leading Silverton.
The conference boasts four of the state’s top 10 teams, so the road to the playoffs isn’t a gimme.
Golf
The Warriors will host the Mallard Creek Invite Monday, April 24, on their home turf. Sophomore Ryland Carroll, a favorite in the 5A this year, was nursing a back injury last week, but is “doing well” as one of the division’s top performers, Hoene said.
Track and Field
Lebanon’s girls are clicking on the track and field with junior Alyse Fountain leading the MVC in the 100 (12.80) and just two-tenths of a second out of the lead in the 200 (26.94) at the mid-way mark of the season last week.
Senior Sadie Voight was also in the lead in the 300 hurdles by nearly a full second (50.00) and the 4×100 team of Tyalor Roles, Amber Barrett, Hayden Knutson and Fountain were ranked third, by a quarter of a second, behind Dallas.
Sophomore twins Teagen (34-2¼) and Taryn (33-6½) Cornell were second and third in the shot, by inches, and senior Aurora Torresi was ranked second in the javelin (116-7).
In the long jump, freshman Addilynne Pickles was third – by literally half an inch – with a leap of 15-9½.
On the boys side, senior Jackson Parrish leads the MVC in the triple jump by nearly three feet (42-9½) and was four inches short of the lead in the long jump (21-7) last week as the track season hit the mid-way mark.
The boys 4×100 team of Parrish, Blake Knutson, Cade Weber and John Makua were seven-hundredths of a second behind second-place West Albany at the end of last week.
East Linn senior Aidan Morgan last week led the 2A Division in the 100 (11.46) and and high hurdles (15.98) and was second in the 200 (24.16), while fellow senior Kaleo Wellman was second in the triple jump (41-11). Zane Morgan, Elliot Nofziger, Wellman and Aidan Morgan were also ranked third in the state in the 4×100 (46.25).
On the girls side, sophomore Daisy Lalonde, who won the 1A/2A state title in cross-country last fall, was the state’s leader by nearly a minute in the 3000 (10:29) and second in the 800 (2:32).