Rick McCorkle for BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

NWAC Sports / Red Devils Roundup

An extended winning streak for one team ended, while another squad had to scramble to earn a split with a divisional rival. It all happened during the past week in Lower Columbia College Athletics.

The softball team had its 38-game winning streak snapped during a trip to Gresham to face Mount Hood, while the baseball team split a pair of doubleheaders against Tacoma at David Story Field and in Tacoma.

Despite having its winning streak come to an end in softball, top-ranked LCC (44-5 overall, 29-3 in the NWAC South Region) still heads into the NWAC Championships as the South Region champion.

The Red Devils dropped both ends of the twinbill at Mount Hood 10-4 and 7-3, and split with Centralia, losing the opener 4-2, and taking the nightcap 10-2 in six innings. The last time LCC lost three games in a row was during April 29 to May 2, 2023, when it was swept by Mount Hood, and lost the opening game of a doubleheader to Centralia.

Talk about history repeating itself.

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Luke Roth (Mid-Major Media) special to BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

OSAA Softball / Roundup

Tigers race by Gaston to repeat as league champs

The Clatskanie softball team left no doubt last week.

The Tigers swept Gaston in resounding fashion, winning all three games by run rule to secure back-2-back 2A / 1A Special District 1 championships, continuing to build momentum ahead of the state playoffs.

Clatskanie opened the series Tuesday with a 14-0 win in five innings, then followed it with two more dominant performances Friday, beating the Greyhounds 21-1 in four innings and 15-0 in three innings.

Across the three-game sweep, the Tigers outscored Gaston 50-1, and the series started with one of Clatskanie’s most complete performances of the season.

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Luke Roth (Mid-Major Media) special to BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

OSAA Prep Baseball / Roundup

Tigers gear up for pivotal series with PDX Christian

The Clatskanie baseball team took care of business when it mattered most last week, sweeping Gaston in a three-game series to lock up a spot in the state playoffs and move to the brink of a Special District 1 title.

The Tigers opened the series Tuesday at home with a dominant 13-0 win in five innings, then traveled to Gaston on Friday and finished the sweep with a 13-3 win in game one and a 7-6 victory in game two.

With the sweep, Clatskanie now needs just one win in its upcoming three-game series against Portland Christian to clinch the league championship.

“Gaston has a good pitching staff and lineup,” Clatskanie head coach Ryan Tompkins said. “We were able to generate some runs throughout the series by being patient at the plate and aggressive on the bases.”

That approach showed immediately in Tuesday’s opener.

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3A Prep Softball / Report

LASSIE BEACH – The Kelso softball team had plenty to play for in their final home game of the season and made sure to make the most of the opportunity. With first place in the 3A Greater St. Helens League on the line the Lassies posted a 9-0 shutout over Heritage on Senior Night to cap the regular season.

The victory, plus a win for Prairie over Evergreen, left the Lassies and Falcons all knotted up at the top of the 3A GSHL standings and set up a tiebreaker prior to the start of the district tournament. But that’s all to be sorted out on another day. On Monday, Kelso was focused entirely on giving the home fans at Lassie Beach as many opportunities to cheer as possible.

“We scored all of our runs in the first two innings,” Kelso head coach Dean Sorensen said. “They threw three different pitchers at us and the girls just kept hitting… It was a nice win for our three seniors!”

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High School Softball

• Kelso 9, Heritage 0

• Toutle Lake 14, Ilwaco 3

• Toledo 26, North Beach 3

High School Baseball

• Rochester 8, Castle Rock 4

• Warrenton 11, Rainier 2

This Day In History

• May 12, 2005: Wahkiakum clinches the Central 2B League baseball title with an 8-4 win over Adna, with Jeff McNally, Keith Anderson, and Matt Mogush leading the offensive charge with two hits apiece. Juan Most did the work on the hill for the Mules, scattering seven hits and a walk across a complete game.

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Games of The Day

High School Softball

Black Hills at R.A. Long (District opener)

• The Lumberill Yard, 4:30 p.m.

High School Baseball

Aberdeen at Mark Morris (District opener)

• 7th Ave. Park, 4:30 p.m.

High School Boys Soccer

R.A. Long at Hockinson (District semifinals)

• Hockinson HS, 7 p.m.

Rural Baseball Inc / Summer Tryouts

Mark your calendars now because the second and final round of tryouts for Rural Baseball Inc are right around the corner.

Next week ballplayers between the ages of 15-19 can spike up and show what they’ve got at the open tryout for a spot on the roster for the 2026 season. Rural Baseball Inc is entering its 13th year of operation and is in search of the next crop of local talent to keep the merry going round all summer (or at least until the games are over).

Players selected will play 30-40 games in regional locations such as Port Angeles, Yakima, and Portland, while receiving instruction from a coaching staff with experience at the high school, travel and college levels.

The RBI tryout will be held Sunday, May 17, 5 p.m., on Graham Field at Castle Rock High School. Rain or shine.

For additional information please email: jnailon@hotmail.com

In Case You Missed It

Matt Baide for BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

WIAA Prep Softball / Roundup

The 3A Report

Kelso neck-and-neck with Prairie for league title

The Lassies enter the final week of their regular season locked in a tie for first place in the 3A Greater St. Helens League.

Kelso won 14-0 at Mountain View last Tuesday, May 5 in Vancouver, but lost 8-2 to a strong 1A Montesano ball club on Thursday at home on Lassie Beach.

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Matt Baide for BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

WIAA Prep Baseball / Roundup

The 3A Report

Scots blank Peninsula in postseason tuneup

The Kelso baseball team won 4-0 against Peninsula last Tuesday, May 5, at Rister Stadium to complete the regular season.

The Hilanders did not have a league game on the schedule last week and will open the postseason later this week at home.

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High School Baseball

Saturday

• Ilwaco 11, Toledo 1 (District quarterfinal)

• Toledo 10, Onalaska 7 (District opener)

• Toutle Lake 16, Morton-White Pass 6 (District opener)

• Toutle Lake 14, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 2 (District quarterfinal)

• Forks 10, Winlock 0 (District opener)

• Aberdeen 5, Woodland 1 (District pigtail)

Friday

• Naselle 8, Wahkiakum 7

• Clatskanie 13, Gaston 3

• Clatskanie 7, Gaston 6

• Westside Christian 8, Rainier 7

High School Softball

• R.A. Long 17, Hockinson 12 (2A GSHL tiebreaker)

• Woodland 19, La Center 1

• Rochester 10, Castle Rock 8

• Wishkah 18, Winlock 3

• Clatskanie 21, Gaston 1

• Clatskanie 15, Gaston 0

High School Boys Soccer

Saturday

• R.A. Long 3, Tumwater 2 (District opener)

Friday

• Ilwaco 3, Chief Leschi 2

College Baseball

Saturday

• Lower Columbia 5, Tacoma 3

• Tacoma 11, Lower Columbia 1

College Softball

Friday

• Lower Columbia 10, Centralia 2

• Centralia 4, Lower Columbia 2

This Day In History

• May 11, 2012: Toutle Lake’s district baseball title matchup with Adna takes just 62 total minutes thanks to the combined efforts of Anthony Nusbaum and Garrett Driver on the hill, but Nusbaum and the Ducks come away with a 1-0 win to claim the crown.
  “My God, that was fast,” said TL coach Jerry Johnson, who won his first District title in 15 years as a coach.
  Nusbaum needed just 67 pitches to toss a two-hit shutout, a number inflated because Zack Hayes — who later said he’d been too focused on how he was going to tackle Nusbaum in celebration — launched what should have been the final throw to first base into the stands, forcing his pitcher to get one more out.
  In his defense, Hayes provided Nusbaum with his only bit of run support — on the Ducks’ only hit of the day — when he singled Connor Vickaryous home in the sixth.

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That Day In History

• May 10, 1993: The Mark Morris softball team earns a pair of tight Twin Cities wins, downing R.A. Long and Kelso in a pair of 1-0 decisions, though the complete extent of the Monarchs’ domination in the circle is a bit disputed. MM coach Dan Fowler reported both games as no-hitters, but RAL coach Dave Polk claimed a hit in the first and Fowler later rescinded the second, giving both the Lumberjills and Hilanders a knock.
  Dani Fowler did the work in the first game for the Monarchs, striking out eight. She also drove home MM’s only run in the sixth inning off RAL’s Kathi Dexter, who punched out six in a three-hitter. Teresa Branch K’d 10 in the second game vs. Kelso, with Danielle Boudreau driving in the lone run.

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Games of The Day

High School Softball

Heritage at Kelso

— Tam O’Shatner/Lassie Beach, 4 p.m.

Toutle Lake vs Ilwaco

— Fort Borst Park (Centralia), 7 p.m. (District opner)

High School Baseball

Castle Rock at Rochester

— Rochester HS, 4 p.m. (District opener)

Rural Baseball Inc / Summer Tryouts

Mark your calendars now because the second and final round of tryouts for Rural Baseball Inc are right around the corner.

Next week ballplayers between the ages of 15-19 can spike up and show what they’ve got at the open tryout for a spot on the roster for the 2026 season. Rural Baseball Inc is entering its 13th year of operation and is in search of the next crop of local talent to keep the merry going round all summer (or at least until the games are over).

Players selected will play 30-40 games in regional locations such as Port Angeles, Yakima, and Portland, while receiving instruction from a coaching staff with experience at the high school, travel and college levels.

The RBI tryout will be held Sunday, May 17, 5 p.m., on Graham Field at Castle Rock High School. Rain or shine.

For additional information please email: jnailon@hotmail.com

In Case You Missed It

Luke Roth (Mid-Major Media) special to BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

2B Prep Baseball / District Quarterfinals

LONG BEACH – Toledo had already emptied the tank once Saturday and came up empty in its attempt for a second cruise at the beach.

After beating Onalaska a morning thriller to advance in the 2B District IV baseball tournament, the fourth-seeded Riverhawks from the Central 2B League ran headlong into a rested, top-seeded Ilwaco team from the 2B Pacific League in the quarterfinals.

Behind a fast start at the plate and a steady effort on the mound, Ilwaco run-ruled Toledo 11-1 in six innings on Tinker Field at Culbertson Park in Long Beach.

“We really just played about as clean as we’ve played in a while,” Ilwaco head coach Bret Hopkins said. “It seems like they’ve been waiting for the postseason to kick into high gear and I think we’ve done it – I think we’ve found another gear.”

The final stanza of the mid-afternoon mercy rule affair was a far cry from Toledo’s rabid comeback for a 10-7 victory over Onalaska in the tournament opener earlier in the day in Long Beach. That do-or-die victory appeared to leave the Riverhawks’ running on fumes in enemy territory.

“It didn’t go our way. I wouldn’t liked to see us compete a little more in Game 2,” Toledo head coach Mack Gaul said. “Ilwaco’s a really good team and capitalized on the mistakes we made.”

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2A Prep Boys Soccer / Postseason Report

The R.A. Long boys soccer team earned a date with a familiar foe in the District semifinals by knocking off Tumwater 3-2 on the road to open the 2A District IV Tournament, Saturday, May 9, on the T-Birds home field.

The No. 4 seeded Lumberjacks never trailed against the 2A Evergreen Conference champions from Tumwater. The visitors in red and black enjoyed a quick start and a strong finish — with goals by Jayden Rowland to bookend their offense in the playoff victory.

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Skyler Smith for BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

2B Prep Baseball / Report

LONG BEACH — Toledo found itself trailing late in the game Saturday with its District playoff opener beginning to slip away. The Onalaska Loggers had been pesky all morning, and as high noon came and went it looked more and more likely that there might be an upset at the beach.

But the Riverhawks answered with seven runs in the sixth inning, rallying past Onalaska 10-7 in a 2B District IV loser-out playoff game on Tinker Field in Long Beach.

“We just had confidence the game wasn’t dead until we woke up,” Toledo’s Nico Acosta said.

The Riverhawks opened that definitive inning with a walk and back-to-back singles before consecutive RBI knocks suddenly cut the deficit to 7-5. With the action on the base paths Toledo’s dugout began to stir.

Moments later, Nico Acosta ripped a bases-clearing double down the left-field line and advanced to third on a throwing error to highlight a seven-run sixth inning where Toledo erases the deficit and reclaimed control of the game for good.

Toledo’s dugout erupted after the hit, while the crowd along the third-base line came to life as the Riverhawks surged back into the lead late.

“I knew if it started inside, the pitch was probably going to end up in the middle,” Nico Acosta said. “I just turned on it.”

Toledo head coach Mack Gaul said that never-say-die mentality has followed the Riverhawks throughout the season.

“We’re only down, but never out,” Gaul said.

The No. 4 seeded Riverhawks jumped out early, using walks and timely hitting to manufacture the game’s first run. Toledo would stacks runs later in the game, but the middle innings were full of trepidation for the Cheese Town nine.

As the No. 8 seed out of the Central 2B League, Onalaska was playing with house money in the tournament, and the Loggers refused to et things spiral out of control right away. That wouldn’t happen until much later in the ballgame.

After falling behind early, the Loggers answered with their biggest swing of the afternoon. That shot in the arm arrived when Rowdy Lyons delivered a triple that turned into a Little League style inside-the-park home run following an outfield error, helping swing momentum toward Onalaska and casting a shadow of doubt over the Toledo side of the field..

“The whole message was battle with these guys,” Onalaska head coach Weylin Womack said. “I felt like we did that pretty well today.”

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High School Baseball

• Naselle 8, Wahkiakum 7

• Clatskanie 13, Gaston 3

• Clatskanie 7, Gaston 6

• Westside Christian 8, Rainier 7

High School Softball

• R.A. Long 17, Hockinson 12

• Woodland 19, La Center 1

• Rochester 10, Castle Rock 8

• Wishkah 18, Winlock 3

• Clatskanie 21, Gaston 1

• Clatskanie 15, Gaston 0

High School Boys Soccer

• Ilwaco 3, Chief Leschi 2

This Day In History

• May 9, 2003: Castle Rock sweeps a Trico doubleheader with La Center, winning 8-2 and 11-10 to clinch second place in the league. Kyle Foster led the Rockets in Game 1 with a 16-strikeout performance on the hill. In the nightcap, CR fell behind 10-0 before dropping all 11 of its runs in the fourth inning. Nathan Roubicek went 6-for-7 with a pair of three-hit performances, while James Gehring went 3-for-3 and Josh Wenger went 3-for-4 in the second game.

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Games of The Day

High School Boys Soccer

R.A. Long at Tumwater

— Tumwater HS, High Noon (District Round I)

High School Baseball

Ilwaco vs Toledo or Onalaska

— Long Beach, 2 p.m. (District Quarterfinals)

Rural Baseball Inc Tryouts

Mark your calendars now because the second and final round of tryouts for Rural Baseball Inc are right around the corner.

Next week ballplayers between the ages of 15-19 can spike up and show what they’ve got at the open tryout for a spot on the roster for the 2026 season. Rural Baseball Inc is entering its 13th year of operation and is in search of the next crop of local talent to keep the merry going round all summer (or at least until the games are over).

Players selected will play 30-40 games in regional locations such as Port Angeles, Yakima, and Portland, while receiving instruction from a coaching staff with experience at the high school, travel and college levels.

The RBI tryout will be held Sunday, May 17, 5 p.m., on Graham Field at Castle Rock High School. Rain or shine.

For additional information please email: jnailon@hotmail.com

In Case You Missed It

Jordan Nailon for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

2A Prep Boys Soccer / Report

CENTRALIA — The Woodland Beavers didn’t have the postseason run they wanted, but they had the season they needed to know for sure that they want more. A few tough breaks in a penalty kick shootout left the Beavers on the wrong end of a 3-2 loss to Centralia at Tiger Stadium, Thursday, in a 2A District IV pigtail match, but that math only tells the final page of the story.

With a second-year head coach back at the helm for Woodland this season the goal was to get back on track for competitive runs through a tough league schedules and regular appearances in the postseasons — as deep as possible, of course. And to that end, the Beavers reached many, if not all, of their goals this spring.

“The mission last year when I took over as coach was to have a season where we won at least half our games – and we achieved it,” Woodland head coach Dave Tallbut said. “Knowing that we were going to have a young team this year my goal was to make it to Disticts, even if it’s just a pigtail match.”

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High School Boys Soccer

• Centralia 3, Woodland 2 (PKs)

High School Baseball

• Castle Rock 12, Stevenson 1

• King’s Way 7, Kalama 3

High School Softball

• Montesano 8, Kelso 2

• Kalama 13, King’s Way 3

• Castle Rock 10, Stevenson 9

• Toledo 17, Onalasksa 2

• Rainier (WA) 19, Winlock 4

• Ilwaco 11, North Beach 0

• Wahkiakum 15, Wishkah 2

• Astoria JV 12, Naselle 11

College Baseball

• Lower Columbia 3, Tacoma 2

• Tacoma 9, Lower Columbia 8 (10 inn.)

This Day In History

• May 8, 2006: The Battle of Cowlitz turns into a shootout with little defense or pitching to speak of, with the Toledo softball team walking off 17-16 winners on Rachel Deskins’ two-out, 3-RBI triple.

  
  “More like a slowpitch score,” Toledo coach Dave Hopf said.
  

  Tausha Martin went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a triple to lead Toledo, which finished with 19 hits, while Shelby Anderson went 3-for-4. Winlock took a 16-12 lead with a seven-run sixth inning, but Toledo rallied with five straight singles in the bottom of the seventh to plate two runs and load the bases for Deskins, who ended it.

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Games of The Day

High School Baseball

Naselle at Wahkiakum

• Cathlamet, 4 p.m. (Km Mountain Battle)

High School Softball

R.A. Long vs Hockinson

• Woodland HS, 5 p.m. (2A GSHL Tiebreaker)

College Softball

Centralia at Lower Columbia

• Tam O’Shanter Park, 3 p.m./5 p.m. (doubleheader)

In Case You Missed It

BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

High School Softball

• Toutle Lake 12, Castle Rock 2

• Kalama 17, King’s Way 7

• Mark Morris 3, Columbia River 0

• Ridgefield 14, R.A. Long 1

• Woodland 15, Washougal 5

High School Baseball

• R.A. Long 5, Hudson’s Bay 3

• Mark Moris 3, Ridgefield 1

• Washougal 7, Woodland 4

High School Boys Soccer

• White Salmon (Columbia) 4, Toledo-Winlock 0

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This Day In History

• May 7, 2004: Miles Johnson goes 7-for-7 at the plate across Clatskanie’s doubleheader route of Portland Christian — the Tigers won 12-2 and 21-2 — including hitting for the cycle with an extra home run to boot in the second game. Johnson’s ninth and 10th home runs of the spring gave him the Clatskanie single-season record. Kyle Sloderbeck also had seven hits on the afternoon, and Brian Witt, Brandon Hill, and Max Byrum both slugged homers.
  “It was just one of those days where everything they put up there, we pounded,” Clatskanie coach Kevin Moffat said.

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Games of The Day

High School Softball

Montesano at Kelso

— Tam O’Shanter/Lassie Beach, 4:30 p.m.

High School Baseball

Stevenson at Castle Rock

— Graham Field, 3:30 p.m

High School Boys Soccer

Woodland at Centralia (District pigtail)

— Tiger Stadium, 6 p.m.

College Baseball

Tacoma at Lower Columbia

— Story Field, 3 p.m./5 p.m.

In Case You Missed It

BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

Prep Boys Soccer / Roundup

Lumberjacks limp into postseason

The R.A. Long boys soccer team suffered a skid on the pitch at the worst time of the season, losing three of its final four games of the regular season to fall into fourth place in the final 2A Greater St. Helens League standings.

The Lumberjacks closed the regular season with a 2-0 loss at home to Columbia River on Tuesday. That defeat came on the heels of a 3-0 loss at Ridgefield last Friday. R.A. Long finished two games behind the Spudders in the league standings, while the Rapids brought home another league title.

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By Rick McCorkle for Blast Zone Media / blastzonenews@gmail.com

NWAC Sports / Red Devils Roundup

A winning streak reached 38 games, another winning run comes to an end, and a third no-hitter is thrown by a sophomore pitcher. Those were the highlights from last week's play from the Lower Columbia College softball and baseball teams.

In softball, top-ranked LCC (43-2 overall, 28-0 in Northwest Athletic Conference South Region play) stretched its winning streak to 38 games after sweeping region doubleheaders against third-ranked Southwestern Oregon and Grays Harbor.

In baseball, the top-ranked Red Devils (48-8, 20-0) split a nonleague doubleheader with the Pacific University junior varsity, bringing their 23-game winning streak to an end.

Also in softball, pitcher Ava Eib twirled her third no-hitter of the season in a 14-0 pounding of Grays Harbor in five innings. But the good news ended abruptly early this week when the LCC softball team saw a towering win streak tumble for the second time this season.

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Prep Girls Golf / Roundup

MINT VALLEY — The Kelso girls golf team strung together a pair of impressive days on the other side of the Cowlitz River this week in order to place second at the 3A District IV Tournament. That runner-up finish at Longview’s finest municipal golf course earned the Lassies a group trip to the 3A State Tournament later this month.

Karsyn Hall turned in the top performance of the contest for Kelso, finishing in third place with a combined score of 205. But it was a combined effort over two days and 36 holes that earned all of the Lassies a trip east for the the season’s grand finale.

“They all played really well. Basically everybody PRd for 18 holes either yesterday or today,” Kelso head coach Pat Connors said. “We don’t play a ton of 18 hole golf.”

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Luke Roth (Mid-Major Media) special to BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

OSAA Prep Softball / Roundup

Tigers take bragging rights in County Line Clash

The No. 6 Clatskanie softball team took another major step forward last week in its quest for back-to-back Special District 1 titles, winning its three-game series against Knappa.

The Tigers opened the week with a 6-4 home win Tuesday, then claimed the series Friday with a 15-8 victory in game one of a doubleheader.

No. 14 Knappa (10-7) avoided the sweep in the finale, edging Clatskanie 10-9, in walk-off fashion.

With the series win Clatskanie (14-6, 8-2 league), ranked No. 7 by Mid-Major Media and No. 10 in the OSAA state rankings, has a chance to clinch the league title this week. All it would take for the Tigers to keep their crown is to turn in a sweep of No. 28 ranked Gaston (5-15).

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Luke Roth (Mid-Major Media) special to BlastZoneMedia.com / blastzonenews@gmail.com

OSAA Prep Baseball / Roundup

Tigers slide by Knappa in next-door series

The Clatskanie baseball team made a major statement in Special District 1 play last week, sweeping Knappa in dominant fashion to stay in control of the league race.

The Tigers opened the series Tuesday with a 13-0 home win in five innings, then traveled to Knappa on Friday and completed the sweep with a 14-5 win in Game 1 of the doubleheader and an 11-0 victory in five innings in Game 2.

With the sweep, and a 13-0 win over Gaston at home on Tuesday, Clatskanie (13-5) now sits at 9-1 in Special District 1 play, one game ahead of Portland Christian (12-8, 8-2) for first place.

“Knappa had always been tough, and this past week we were able to take advantage of them struggling with command and got a lot of free bases,” Clatskanie head coach Ryan Tompkins said.

“Our pitchers were very efficient and our defense had settled in and played very complimentary.”

That formula showed up throughout the series. Clatskanie drew 33 walks across the three games and consistently put pressure on Knappa’s pitching staff and defense.

Clatskanie sits at No. 6 in the latest Mid-Major Media rankings and No. 10 in the OSAA State Rankings. The Tigers face Gaston again on the road later this week, before closing the regular season next week with a key series against Portland Christian that will likely decide the league title.

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