With one out in the third inning, Newport senior Josie Bruns hit a ground ball up the middle that Philomath senior Laighla Hockema felt she could stop. Playing second base, Hockema made a dive to her right in an attempt to keep the ball in the infield.
Hockema wasn’t able to make the stop and the ball went into center field for a single. In what felt like an odd reaction in the moment, Philomath High’s dugout erupted in approval while Hockema dusted herself off.
Philomath girls tennis sweeps North Marion on the road
The Philomath High School girls tennis team swept all eight matches on the road over North Marion Tuesday in a Special District 2 matchup. Senior Lucy King (6-1, 6-0), junior Lucy Thomas (6-0, 6-2), sophomore Ella Hammonds (6-4, 7-6) and junior Isabelle Norman (7-5, 6-2) all took care of their opponents in straight sets. In…
Warriors head coach Kari Jaques explained.
“We have this feeling of timidness, like we’re worried to make a mistake,” Jaques said. “And so practice on Friday was really about taking that extra effort to try to make the play, to try to dive for the ball, and maybe I’m going to miss it, maybe I’m not going to get it, but it’s OK to try.”
There were plenty of other cheers during the game. Behind strong pitching from freshman Hailey Smith and 16 hits from the Philomath offense, including a Zoee Howard home run, the Warriors posted a 20-8 victory.
The win ended a two-game skid and Philomath remains in a tie for third place in the Oregon West Conference standings.
Hitting out of the No. 8 spot in the lineup, Howard’s home run occurred with one out in the third inning — a three-run shot to right field that put the Warriors up 16-3.
“Saff (Evans, first-base coach) was going ‘go, go, go, go, go,’” Howard, a senior, recalled. “I didn’t think I hit a home run but it feels pretty good.”
The team’s win occurred at a pivotal time after Philomath lost back-to-back games last week against Stayton and Cascade.
“It was very important for us to keep the energy up, keep encouraging our teammates,” Howard said. “After hard games like that, it’s only best to come back and show that you want it. We’re a new team, we have a new coach, and we should play like we want to win.
“Last week, I think we kind of went back to our old habits,” she added. “But I think with tonight’s game, we really showed that we want to change our season from last year.”
Philomath (8-5 overall, 2-2 Oregon West) gave up two runs in the top of the first but knocked the ball all over the field over the next three innings to leave no doubt about how this one was going to turn out. The Warriors scored five in the first, six in the second and seven in the third for an 18-3 lead.
With the 15-run mercy rule after three innings no longer in the books, the game continued until the fifth.
Smith threw four innings and allowed six hits, three earned runs and one walk with seven strikeouts. At the plate, she went 3 for 4. Other PHS players with multiple-hit performances were senior Kaylie Kohler (2 for 3), freshman Libby Kramer (2 for 3), sophomore Haley King (2 for 3), Howard (2 for 4) and freshman Rylee Martin (2 for 5). Howard collected five RBIs and King drove in three.
Senior Ivy Ruddiman, senior Josie Bruns and freshman Olivia Greenawald all went 2 for 3 for the Cubs (3-9, 1-3). Ruddiman hit a two-run home run in the first.
Following the game and after both teams met for postgame talks, players from both sides posed for a photo together with green ribbons in their hair. The ribbons were worn in memory of an Umpqua Community College softball coach and player who were killed Friday night in a head-on crash on Highway 42 near Myrtle Point. The team was heading back to Roseburg after playing Grays Harbor College (Washington) on Southwestern Oregon Community College’s field in Coos Bay.
Lost in the crash were coach Jami Strinz, who was driving the bus, and 19-year-old Kiley Jones, a freshman from Nampa, Idaho.
Jaques and assistant coach Saff Evans both know the coaching staff and some of the players.
“We just really wanted to make sure that they are in our hearts,” Jaques said. “It’s a close, close-knit community and we’re just letting them know that we’re thinking about them.”
Eight others in the team bus suffered moderate to serious injuries.
The crash occurred when Jonathan James Dowdy, 32, of Coos Bay, crossed the centerline and hit the bus head-on. On Monday, Oregon State Police arrested Dowdy on charges that include two counts of first-degree manslaughter, three counts of second-degree assault, five counts of third-degree assault and 14 counts of reckless endangering of a person. Several other charges were also filed against him and among those were driving under the influence of intoxicants and aggravated driving while license suspended or revoked.
Philomath is scheduled to play Wednesday at North Marion and Thursday at Sweet Home.
