YREKA – It wasn’t easy and it was cold, but it was also exciting to watch, as the Yreka Lady Miners out scored the Anderson Lady Cubs, 12-11, on Tuesday.

With one out in the bottom of the first, Alyssa Scala reached on an error, and went to third, on a Sara Jones single. Then, Ashie Smith launched a no-doubter for a three-run Yreka lead. Brie Phillips and Amber Sinnott followed with singles. Stephanie Leyva drove home Phillips with a double, to give Y-Town a 4-0 lead after one inning.

Anderson answered quickly in the top of the second inning with a double and a dinger, to make the score 4-2. Yreka went down in order in the bottom half.

After Anderson was retired 1-2-3, in the third inning, Yreka racked up some more runs in their half of the inning. Jones led off with a single, and then went to third on Smith’s double. Philips drove in Jones with an infield hit, but Smith stayed at second after distracting the Lady Cub shortstop. Two batters later, Leyva walked, loading the bases. Smith scored when Tiffiny Berginger reached on a fielder’s choice, Leyva was out at second, and Phillips moved to third. Loren Young singled to score Phillips and give Yreka a 7-2 lead, after three innings.

Anderson’s lead off hitter in the top of the fourth inning ripped a home run to deep center field, and the Lady Cubs added two more runs in the inning via two hits, two walks, a wild pitch and an error. Yreka did not score in their half of the inning. After four full innings, it was Yreka 7-Anderson 5.

The Lady Cubs added another run in the top of the fifth to make it 7-6, but Yreka responded in a big way in the bottom half. Sinnott led off with a double, and went to third on Leyva’s single. Burginger bunted for a single, and the bases were jammed. Young reached on an error, and Sinnott scored to make it 8-6. Weckerle reached on a fielder’s choice and Kesha Betts, running for Leyva, was forced at home. Scala hit a sacrifice fly to right-field, scoring Berginger. Jones singled to score Young. Weckerle, who had advanced to third on the hit, scored on a wild pitch, giving the Lady Miners an 11-6 lead at the end of five innings. (more…)

YREKA – It was senior night. The crowd was large. Other than the frigid temperature, it was the perfect setting for Yreka to clinch at least a share of the Northern Athletic League baseball title, with a win over the Anderson Cubs. Instead, Murphy’s Law got in the way. Just about everything that could have gone wrong did.

Ethan Garrett led off the bottom of the first inning for the Miners, and reached on an error. He stole second base. That was normal. Then, Garrett was caught stealing at third base. That doesn’t happen. Two batters later, Kurt Lorenzini picked up a bloop double, but the runner had already been erased and no Miner runs would score.

Rodney Grant led off the bottom of the second with a walk, and was then picked off first base. Clint Amaral singled and Devin Howard took a walk. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch, but Yreka failed to bring them home. The game remained scoreless after two innings.

Anderson broke the ice in the top of the third inning, taking advantage of two hits, two walks, and three errors to score two runs. With two outs in the bottom half, Lorenzini doubled again for Yreka, and advanced to third on a failed pick off attempt by the Anderson pitcher. But, the Miners were unable to bring him home. (more…)

WEAVERVILLE – The Mount Shasta Lady Bears started slow, but finished the Shasta Cascade League with a flourish, winning their last four games. Last Friday, Mt. Shasta swept the Trinity Wolves, to finish 7-5 in SCL. Where the team finishes in the standings depends on how Modoc (6-4) does against Etna (9-1), and Fall River (6-4) fares against Weed (1-7). Second place is still a possibility.

In game-one against Trinity, the Lady Bears scored all the runs they needed in the top of the first inning, with a pair. Mt. Shasta added another run in the fifth to make the final 3-0. Ace Lauren McCurrey pitched a three-hit, seven-inning complete game, with seven strikeouts, and no walks.

Sammy Reed went 2-3 with a double. Kismet Prosper was 1-2, with a run and a walk. Valerie Hougan had a triple and scored a run, while going 1-3. Amber Butts was 1-4 with a run.

Kayla Emerson picked up the win in game-two, pitching six innings, giving up two earned runs, and eight hits. Both Trinity runs were scored in the bottom of the second inning. The Lady Bears tied the game in the top of the third inning, at 2-2. Mt. Shasta scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, to win 4-2.

Butts went 1-3, with two runs, and a walk. Hougan was 2-4. Hannah MacKenzie was1-3 with a run. Bella Campbell smacked a double, and went 2-4.

In the D-IV NSCIF playoff hunt, the Lady Bears are tied for tenth spot with Gridley. The rankings, however, do not include Mt. Shasta’s last two wins against Trinity, which will improve both their overall record and division record. The Lady Bears finish up with a double-header against Tulelake on Friday, May 2, at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

WEED – The Weed Lady Cougars softball squad gave the Modoc Lady Braves (6-4, 13-10) all they could handle in double-header action, last Friday. Modoc prevailed 1-0 in game-one, and 4-1 in game-two.

Game-one was a well-pitched and well played game by both sides, with both squads going three-up and three-down in the first two innings. Modoc led off with a base hit in the top of the third inning, and had the runner advance as far as second base, but that was the extent of the threat.

Lori Garcia led off the bottom half with a walk for Weed. Garcia then stole second base, and went to third on a wild pitch, with no outs. The next Lady Cougar batter, Megan Deegan, put the ball in play to the left side. Garcia attempted to score on the ground ball, but was tagged out at home plate. Deegan reached on a fielder’s choice. With one out, Kaylin Brunson singled and Deegan moved to second. Deegan moved to third and Brunson to second base on a passed ball, but Weed was unable to bring either runner home. (more…)

WEED - The College of the Siskiyous Lady Eagles amassed an impressive 47-3 overall record this season, and won the Golden Valley Conference with a 20-0 record. They are ranked number-one in the state in a tie with Cypress (47-2). However, after being disrespected last year with a two-seed in the North Region, while ranked first in the state, nothing was for sure. At least, not until the playoff brackets were released, yesterday.

This time, the Lady Eagles were rewarded with the top seed in the North, and a match up with 16-seed San Mateo (20-23). Sacramento (43-4), which jumped over COS last year, is the 2-seed and will face number-15 Hartnell (20-16). Nearby rival and GVC runner up Shasta (36-12) is the 4-seed, and will face number-13 Napa Valley (31-18). San Jose (38-7) is seeded third, and will take on number-14 Reedley (25-20).

The Lady Eagles will start the best-of-three series against San Mateo on Saturday, May 3 at 2:00 pm. Game-two will be at noon on Sunday, May 4. If necessary, game-three will follow at 2:00 pm.

Baseball

Yreka 6 – West Valley 5 (10 innings)

Mt. Shasta 0 – Trinity 10, G-1

Mt. Shasta 3 – Trinity 13, G-2

Weed 3 – Modoc 5, G-1

Weed 6 – Modoc 10, G-2

Softball

Yreka 0 – West Valley 10

Mt. Shasta 3 – Trinity 0, G-1

Mt. Shasta 4 – Trinity 2, G-2

Weed 0 – Modoc 1, G-1

Weed 1 – Modoc 4, G-2

YREKA – The Yreka Lady Miners picked up a win against the Corning Lady Cardinals (2-2, 16-12) on Thursday, 6-1, but fell to the league-leading West Valley Lady Eagles (6-0, 20-8-1) on Friday, 10-0.

Yreka took the lead over Corning, 3-1, when Stephanie Leyva belted a two-run dinger in the bottom of the second inning. Yreka added three more runs in the fifth inning, when Leyva tripled, making the final 6-1.

Lady Miner Leyva had a monster day at the plate, going 2-2, with a long-ball, a triple, a run, five RBI, and a walk. Ashlie Smith went 2-3, with a run, and an RBI. Sara Jones was 2-4, with two runs. Kaitlin Weckerle went 2-4, with two steals. Brie Phillips scored two runs, going 1-3. Kayla Graves registered the complete game win (7IP, ER, 5H, BB, 6K).

Yreka spent one day back over .500 in the Northern Athletic League before dropping to even at 3-3 (11-13), with the loss to West Valley. The Lady Eagles had a 1-0 lead after the first inning, and added two more runs in the second to up the margin to 3-0. Mean while, four of the first seven Lady Miners headed for the pine via strikeouts. (more…)

YREKA – The last time the Yreka Miners and the Corning Cardinals hooked up, it was a one-run extra-innings win for Corning. So, it came as no surprise that the second meeting between the squads, on Thursday, also turned out to be low scoring. This time, however, it was the Miners who came out on top, 2-0.

The win puts Yreka on top of the Northern Athletic League at 5-2 (11-13), ahead of Central Valley (4-3, 15-11-1) and Corning (4-3, 9-10). It was also the Miners’ fifth straight win in NAL competition.

The Cardinals went down in order in the top of the first inning, thanks in large part to a sliding catch by Miner center-fielder Robert Moeai. Lead-off batter Ethan Garrett took a four-pitch walk to open up the bottom half of the inning. Garrett stole second, but the Miners were unable to bring him home. (more…)

YREKA - The Powder Keg Awards are given each month to Yreka High School student athletes. The Powder Kegs are chosen based on three main criteria: on-field performance, attitude, and the desire to succeed.

The female Powder Keg award winner for April is Sara Jones. Jones is the third baseman on the Lady Miners softball team. She is in the top three on the team in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage, RBI, and on-base percentage. Jones is also an excellent defensive player, who rarely commits a mental error. In addition, Jones is a team leader, who is constantly encouraging and picking up her teammates. (more…)

By Amber Fiock

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in another country, away from what you know and are used to? That’s exactly what Miss Linda Geddes of Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland has been doing for the past eight months.

Geddes switched lives with Yreka High School teacher Lynda Barnett for the 2007-08 school year, through the Fulbright Exchange Program. The two teachers exchanged houses and jobs. Both are English and drama teachers. For the past several months, Geddes has been teaching drama and sophomore English at Yreka High School.

Geddes was born September 8, 1975, and graduated from Queen’s University of Belfast with a BA in English language and literature. Her favorite parts of being a teacher are reading and talking.

“I get paid to talk about books! Perfect,” Geddes exclaimed.

She has also worked as a counselor, in retail, and in a children’s home.

Geddes chose to come to America based on the friendly atmosphere she experienced from the five times she’s visited in the past. She also feels there’s a lot to see and do. The students and YHS librarian Sandee Sanders have become Geddes’ favorite part of Yreka. (more…)