By Rick Martin

The Dunsmuir Tiger baseball team spent most of Tuesday’s NSCIF Division-VI title game playing catch-up to the Princeton Eagles. And in the end, they simply ran out of outs as the visitors left town with a 7-5 win and the championship plaque.

The two teams wasted no time getting on the board. Eagle Guillermo Rodriguez led off the game with a single to left, then came in to score after a wild pitch and a pair of groundouts.

The Tigers got their crack in the bottom of the opening frame, and Erin Kirch wasted no time drawing them even, blasting a 375-foot home run to the base of the scoreboard in left to knot the game up. (more…)

Etna

Taylor Pehle-Munson

Trevor Kendrick

Jordan Pehle-Munson

Mt. Shasta

Zack Morris

Trent Hough

Weed

Travis Andrews

Mt. Shasta

Kayla Spini MVP

Tori Weatherford

Kayla Emerson

Makenzie Hanna

Cynthia Laiacona

Etna

Paige Finley

Andrea Pearson

Tandy Thackeray

Katie Eiler

Coach of the Year: Greg Eastman, Mt. Shasta

Some athletes have a knack for coming up with the big plays. Etna senior Brittney Potter is one of those athletes.

Potter is the type of player that hits the 3-pointer at the buzzer (She has more than once). Or, hits one home run in her softball career, and it’s a walk off (She did as a freshman on the varsity team).

This softball season Potter patrolled center field for the Etna Lady Lions. Most of the time, the plays were routine. Then in the Division-V NSCIF championship game, it was show time.

The situation was that Etna was leading the top-seeded Colusa Redskins 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. There were runners on second and third with two outs. A Colusa batter singled up the middle, scoring the runner from third. The runner from second was heading home and seemed likely to score.

Potter fielded the ball, and fired a laser beam to Etna catcher Tandy Thackeray, who caught the ball and applied the tag for the final out of the inning, preserving the lead and ultimately the win for Etna.

Arguably, Potter’s throw was the biggest single play in Etna softball history. And, that makes Potter an Impact Player Award winner. (more…)

JV boys and girls win NAL

COTTONWOOD – The Northern Athletic League held its track and field championships at West Valley High School last Friday. The Yreka Miner girls varsity finished second and the boys placed third. Both the Yreka JV boys and girls took first place.

The varsity Lady Miners were led by Carrie Turner who won both the Long Jump (16-09.00) and the Triple Jump (33-10.00). Kelsey Robberson was Yreka’s only other first place finisher, going 10-00.00 to win the Pole Vault. West Valley won the varsity girls team competition. (more…)

Weed JV boys take first

WEED – The Shasta Cascade League held its track and field championships last Friday at the College of the Siskiyous. The Etna Lady Lion girls varsity and Mt. Shasta Bear boys varsity came out on top in the team competitions.

Etna was led by sophomore speedster Emily Loogman who won the 100m (13.70), 400m (1:03.06), 800m (2:37.06), and the 100m Hurdles (16.64). Jilinda Franklin won 3200m (12:39.76) for Etna. Teri Szczepanek was first in the 300m Hurdles (52.33), and Annaleisa Nadig won the shot put (31-01.50). The Lady Lions finished 1,2,3,4 in the high jump with Trina Appler winning the event at 4-08.00. Sarah Loogman was unopposed in the Pole Vault, winning with a height of 9-06.00. Loogman is tied with Kelsey Robberson of Yreka for the top height in the section this season at 10-00.00. (more…)

The Dunsmuir High School Track and Field teams enjoyed a successful outing on Friday at the Evergreen League Championships held in Tulelake. Both the boys and the girls varsity teams finished third, and both missed second place by just seven points. A total of 18 top-three finishes were recorded, which included a total of 18 new personal bests. Eleven Dunsmuir athletes had qualifying marks to move onto the Division-IV Championships to be held Friday, May 22 at West Valley High School in Cottonwood.

Dunsmuir’s team is young, with three sophomores, eight juniors and one senior.

“Our goal is to continue to improve throughout the season and 12 of the 13 team members posted new personal records today. That shows great heart and dedication,” said Dunsmuir Head Coach Steve Van Ert. (more…)

COLUSA – The second seeded Etna Lady Lions traveled to Colusa to take on the top seeded Redskins in the North Section CIF Division-V championship softball game, on Saturday. In a battle that was fitting for the top two teams in the division, Etna prevailed 2-1.

Etna struck first in the top of the second inning, when they manufactured a run. Tandy Thackeray took a lead off walk, and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Melissa Gentry. With two out, Kassie Federico singled up the middle to plate Thackeray, giving the Lady Lions a 1-0 lead.

Colusa mounted a serious threat in the bottom half of the inning. Etna’s pitcher, Paige Finely, fanned the first batter, but walked the second. Finley struck out the next batter. However, she walked the fourth batter of the inning, giving Colusa runners on first and second base. A passed ball allowed the runners to advance to second and third, with two outs. Finley struck out the next batter looking to end the threat.

Colusa was back knocking on the door in the bottom of the fifth inning, with help from Etna’s only two errors of the game. The first Colusa batter of the inning was hit by a pitch. The next batter flew out to center field. An attempt to double off the runner at first base resulted in an overthrow, and the runner moved up to second. Another Etna error made it runners on first and third for Colusa. The runner on first moved to second on a steal. (more…)

DUNSMUIR – The Dunsmuir Tigers baseball team won its NSCIF D-VI semi-final game against the Greenville Indians 8-5 on Friday afternoon. The Tigers led from start to finish and sealed the win with tag out at home plate, when the Indians attempted a double steal in the top of the seventh inning.

Dunsmuir opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. LT Hisey led off with a single. Jake Mekeel singled, and Hisey scored all the way from first base, having already taken off for second base on the pitch. Mekeel went to second on the throw home. Erin Kirch singled and Mekeel moved to third base. Kirch went to second on the throw to third. (more…)

Scores

Sunday, May 17

Softball

COS 0 – Sierra 2

COS finishes third at State Championship tournament

Saturday, May 16

Softball

NSCIF D-IV Championship

Mt. Shasta 1 – Sutter 11

Mt. Shasta is D-IV section runner up

NSCIF D-V Championship

Etna 2 – Colusa 1

Etna wins D-V section championship. See story above for stats.

COS 3 – Mt. Sac 4

(more…)

WEED – The California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment supports student success and opportunity by creating a permanent fund for scholarships, offering long-term relief to the rising costs that keep many students from completing their education.

Launched on May 6, 2008, by a generous $50 million commitment from The Bernard Osher Foundation, the largest gift ever made to a community college system, and spearheaded by the California Community Colleges and the Foundation for California Community Colleges, this effort includes an historic three-year matching fundraising campaign to create a $100 million endowment that will touch the lives of thousands of Community College students each year, safeguarding the promise of an education for future generations.  California Community Colleges has hit the ground running over the past several months to raise funds that will go toward the goal of raising $50 million as a system by June 2011 and be eligible for match dollars from The Osher Foundation.  To date, more than $2.5 million has been raised by individual colleges and the Foundation for California Community Colleges. (more…)

By Rick Martin

MOUNT SHASTA – You couldn’t ask for more out of a softball playoff game than the Mt. Shasta Bears and Yreka Miners provided Tuesday afternoon at Mt. Shasta’s Skye McKenzie Field.

Freshman Kayla Spini crushed a game-winning home run leading off the last of the 8th inning, sending the Bears to an improbable 6-5, come-from-behind win, and a spot in the CIF Northern Section semi-finals. They’ll travel to number-two Wheatland on Thursday afternoon.

“I can’t say enough about the way these girls battled – both teams,” said Bear coach Greg Eastman. “They jumped on us and we got down early, played really tight, but didn’t give up. It was a great game.” (more…)

The Siskiyou Heat ASA Club is opening up sign ups for the U-18 girls summer/fall softball team.  The fee is $75.00 and new league players will need to provide a copy of their birth certificate.  This team is for girls who were age 18 or younger as of December 31, 2008.  For more information contact Donna Cruz at 530-227-4616.