May 6th, 2016

By Kyle Botermans, Janiya Lapat, Courtney Baker, and Amber Taylor

Last weekend at home, our Lady Pirates split with the North Valley Knights (5-5 Skyline), a team who previously shut our girls out by 12-0. In game one, Courtney Baker was 5-for-5 with six stolen bases and four runs scored, including the game-winning walk-off run in the 7th inning against the Knights. Tiona Hurd went 2-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs, and Brooke Kentner was 3-for-4, contributing three RBIs for the Pirates in the opener. The team played the Knights for seven innings, and eventually came out on top after Ember Wolfe broke the tie with an RBI walk-off to win 11-10. In game 2, the Pirates battled against the 3rd ranked team in the Skyline in another seven-inning game, which was highlighted by Brooke Kentner’s second home run of the season, joining freshman Mckenna Page in going 2-for-4. The Lady Pirates put up a tough fight, but let North Valley’s offense get the best of them in a tough 16-7 loss to end the day.

On Tuesday, the girls traveled to Klamath Falls to take on the Klamath Union Pelicans. The spotlight stayed on sophomore Brooke Kentner, who ended the night 4-for-4 with a 2-run home run and two doubles and four RBIs. Tiona Hurd pitched a perfect game through four innings, allowing only two hits and two walks in the five-inning 13-2 win. Kindra Hall went 3-for-4, Ember Wolfe 2-for-4 with three runs, and Tiona Hurd 2-for-4 for the Pirates, now 4-6 in the Skyline Conference. The Lady Pirates still have a chance to earn a playoff spot, starting today with their double header in Hidden Valley. The first time the team played the Mustangs, they fell in a tough 8-7 loss. The team is ready to bounce back and sweep Hidden Valley to pass the Mustangs to earn the 3rd spot in the Skyline Conference.  

Although the Southern Oregon weather hasn’t particularly indicated the start of spring, the season of new beginnings has commenced, and brought along with it a fresh new Pirate baseball team thirsty for success. With a varied degree of experience at their repertoire, the Phoenix Pirates look to revitalize a program that has missed the playoffs by one single spot in the past two consecutive years. After completing their preseason with a record over .500, the team transitioned into the league contests and was quickly confronted with some struggles. Through their first six games, the boys were only able to pick up two victories (both against Klamath Union in a doubleheader). They managed to compete with two of the toughest teams in the state when battling against Hidden Valley and Henley, but ultimately dropped all three of the contests featuring those ball clubs. Despite a rocky start, the Pirates seemed poised to make a run for the playoffs coming off a competitive double header in Henley that certainly boosted their confidence for the ensuing games.

Searching for a path to regain stability, the Pirates headed to Mazama on Tuesday, April 26th for a single game. On paper, it seemed the Pirates had the advantage in nearly every facet of the game, but baseball is a fickle thing. Though the Vikings had played a doubleheader just the day before, their offense came swinging early and often amidst the swirling winds of Mazama. The Pirates initially managed to strike quick in the 1st inning by taking an early 6-0 lead, but soon watched this lead diminish as the game progressed. The offense for the Pirates was functioning at an undeniably effective pace, the only problem was that so, too, was the Viking’s. After pulling ahead, Drake Knowles jogged out to command his position on the mound, but immediately ran into trouble as the opposition found a couple hits combined with some walks to sneak back into the ball game. The defense was sound on the day, committing no errors; it just seemed that the pitchers couldn’t buy a break early on. By the second inning, Knowles was replaced by Colton Beer, who unfortunately faired no better. The two senior pitchers combined for 16 allowed runs in only three innings of play. Freshman Freedom Martinez stepped up in a big way and blanked the Vikings the rest of the way to give his team a chance to leave with a win. Unfortunately, the deficit was just too great despite being able to score 13 runs. What Drake Knowles wasn’t able to accomplish on the mound, he made up for at the plate going 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs to lead the Pirate’s scoring attack. Other notable contributors included Colton Beer and Thomas Skaff, who picked up two hits apiece. Typically, when a team scores 13 runs while on the road, they feel pretty confident that they’ll end up traveling home with a win in the standings; however, this wasn’t the case for the Pirates as they dropped their fourth straight league game, putting them in a daunting position.

Hoping to bounce back from a painful road loss, the Pirates prepared for a double header against North Valley at home. Fresh off a complete game start against Henley the previous Saturday, Kyle Botermans took the mound for the Pirates in the first game on the 30th of April. Despite struggles plaguing his play early in the year, Botermans was clearly back to form in his outing against the Knights as he again threw a complete 4 hitter game in which he allowed only 2 runs. He compiled 12 strikeouts and managed to only allow three free passes via two walks and a HBP. This outing should be the start to a run at the Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Year award that Kyle has locked in as his personal goal on the year. To back up the solid performance of their pitcher, the Pirate offense provided him with 9 runs of run support. Botermans led the way, going 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs, while James Turnbull provided an additional two base knocks to help the Pirates earn their third league victory. The entire lineup was truly on an absolute tear at the plate with each hitter feeding off the success of the teammate before him. It seemed every dynamic of the Pirate’s game was working well as their ace dominated on the mound and their entire lineup contributed in this true team victory.

After a quick turnaround, the two teams were set to begin their second game of the double header with North Valley turning to their own ace in Hobgood while the Pirates sent out Junior James Turnbull. The first two innings were a prime example of gridlock as neither team could cook up anything offensively, but then came the third. After retiring the first two hitters he faced, Turnbull watched as he and Knowles combined to allow the Knights to tally 7 runs with two outs. It really seemed as if every swing the Knights took, they were finding solid contact to the gaps during this ferocious rally. Shocked by such a drastic change of events, the Pirates failed to record a run until the 5th and 6th innings, but were only able to muster 3 runs total. After being replaced in the third inning to play shortstop, Turnbull actually had another solid game at the plate reeling in 3 hits in an attempt to make up for the dreaded third inning. After Turnbull and Knowles, Freedom Martinez and Dylan Knudson pitched in an effort to keep the game within striking distance. Unfortunately, the offensive fire provided by Turnbull along with Botermans and Dorian Mobley (who each recorded two hits) wasn’t enough to overcome the devastating third inning. In the end, the score was 9-3, but it doesn’t properly reflect the competitiveness of this game save one misleading inning. On the opposing side, Hobgood threw terrifically against a team he beat earlier on in the year, reinforcing his senior prowess on the mound. On the bright side, the team finally broke their losing streak, but did end up losing the series to a team they were fully capable of beating all three games. Looking forward, the team knew they couldn’t afford any more lapses, though soon found another the following Tuesday.

On Tuesday May 3rd the Pirates traveled to KU seeking a bounce-back win against a team they beat twice just two weeks before. The coaching staff, hoping he could recover from a tough outing against North Valley, sent out James Turnbull again to the mound. After a two run first inning, the rain started pouring and a few thunder claps forced the game into a 45 minute delay. When the game resumed play, all momentum the Pirates had gathered from the solid first inning dissipated and the Vikings snuck their way back into the ball game. Turnbull threw pretty well on the mound and the defense was superb behind him, but a few timely hits quickly resulted in a 4-2 lead for the Pelicans heading into the top of the 7th for Phoenix. Brennen Watts was able to reach base on a single, but the Pirates weren’t able to force any runs across. This should serve as a wakeup call for a team that must win the majority of their games the rest of the way to acquire a playoff spot. After combining for 11 hits the weekend before, Turnbull and Botermans combined to go 0-for-7 at the plate against Klamath Union. Each player hit the ball well, though right at the opposition for outs; however, Thomas Skaff had a solid day collecting 2 hits and almost beating out a third infield single. The most grueling aspect of this loss is that the boys will enter a tough stretch against Hidden Valley and Henley in their next three games. This Friday, May 6th the Pirates travel to Hidden Valley for a double header that is essentially a must-win scenario for the ball club. Though they have dug themselves a hole, the team still has a legitimate shot at securing a playoff position.