by Wayne Lee – Sports Editor
Mother Nature pushed the Eagle Point High School baseball and softball teams back a day in their respective three-game sets against Thurston, but they were able to get in all three games after an initial rainout on April 21.
The softball team is now on a seven-game winning streak after sweeping the Colts but face a three-game series next week against second-ranked archrival Crater. In the meantime, the Lady Eagles continued their winning ways with a 13-3 win over Thurston April 22.
The Colts scored first when they opened the game by loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk. A sacrifice fly to center allowed the run to score. However, the Lady Eagles answered back in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs that would put them ahead for good. The rally began when Elaina Almarez hit a lead-off single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Riley Jacoby then blasted a home run over the left field fence for a 2-1 lead.
The nail in the coffin came in the bottom of the third as Eagle Point sent 13 batters to the plate and scored nine runs for a commanding 11-1 lead. The onslaught began when Kolbie Ledbetter reached on an error and advanced on singles by Lilli Holcomb and Brylee Leonardo to load the bases. Reese Zirkle was hit by a pitch to drive in a run and Mady Dean followed with a single to left to make it a 4-1 game. With the bases still loaded, Brylee Leonardo walked on four straight pitches to drive in a run and Elaina Almaraz singled up the middle and a Thurston error allowed three more runs to score.
The Lady Eagles were now up 8-1 when Jacoby singled to left to drive in a run and Kady Ledbetter, who led off the inning with a fly out, blasted the first pitch she saw into deep center for a home run to put Eagle Point up 11-1 with just one out. Kolbie Ledbetter followed with a single to left, but a strike out and ground out ended the inning.
The Colts came back in the fifth with a lead-off double, and the runner reached third on a botched ground ball. The next batter drew a walk to load the bases but following a strikeout, a double up the middle added a run. However, the Lady Eagles answered back in their half of the inning thanks to a two-run homer by Leonardo over the left field fence that ended the game after five innings.
Leonardo got the win going five innings and giving up just three runs (two earned) while striking out nine but walking seven. She also went 2×4 with a home run, two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Jacoby was 2×4 with a home run and two RBI, Almaraz went 2×4 with an RBI and two runs scored and Kady Ledbetter was 1×2 with a two-run homer and a pair of walks.
The team then traveled to Thurston for a pair of games, sweeping both to extend their winning streak to seven straight games. The Lady Eagles opened the first game with Mady Dean drawing a lead-off walk, was bunted over to second and moved to third on a single by Jacoby to put runners at the corners with two out when Martin blasted a pitch over the left field fence to put Eagle Point up 3-0. The Colts came back in the bottom half of the inning with a walk, a passed ball and a single which led to a Thurston run. However, Eagle Point answered back in the top of the second.
The rally began with a walk and two singles to load the bases with nobody out. Jacoby walked on a 3-2 pitch to drive in a run and a misplayed fly ball by Thurston allowed another run to score, and the Lady Eagles made it a 6-1 game on a fly out to right by Martin to drive in Dean.
Thurston pulled to within 6-3 thanks to a two-run home run in the bottom of the third, but that was as close as the Colts would get as each team scored once in the sixth to make it a 7-4 decision.
Allison Martin went 1 x4, but it left the yard for a home run and four RBI. Leonardo went the distance giving up just four runs on six hits with 11 strikeouts. She also went 2×3 at the plate with a double and a run scored. The Ledbetter sisters went 2×4 each Kolbie batting in a run, and Jacoby had a single and two walks to score a run and drive in a run.
The final game of the series was wild as the two teams combined to score 29 runs thanks to 12 errors, but Eagle Point managed to pull away for a 17-12 victory. It was a tale of two halves. The Colts dominated the first three innings, but the Lady Eagles came storming back in the next three innings to seal the win.
After each team scored a run in the first, Thurston added four in the bottom of the second for a 5-1 lead. The third inning was when everything exploded. Eagle Point took advantage of a pair of errors and a wild pitch to put runners at second and third with one out. Dean lashed an RBI single up the middle and to drive in a run and then a triple to clear the bases tied the score at 5-5. The Lady Eagles added two more on a single by Jacoby to put Eagle Point up 7-5, but it didn’t last long.
Three errors and three walks in the bottom half of the inning propelled a Colts rally that scored seven runs on just two hits for a 12-7 lead. However, the Lady Eagles were able to right the ship and held the Colts scoreless for the remainder of the game. In the meantime, Eagle Point went to work scoring four in the fourth, four in the fifth and two more in the sixth to win walking away.
Jacoby led the offense going 2×5 with a home run, four RBI and a run scored and Zirkle went 2×4 with a double, triple, three RBI and three runs scored. Dean pitched the first three innings, giving up 12 runs, only one of which was earned due to five Eagle Point errors. Leonardo tossed the final four innings as she struck out eight of the 12 batters she faced.
Jacoby went 2×5 with a home run and four RBI while Zirkle was 2×4 with a double, triple, three RBI and three runs scored.
Baseball
The baseball team also had to wait an extra day due to the rain but won their home game against the Colts by a 3-1 score. Thurston scored a run during their first at bat after loading the bases with two out before the next batter was hit by a pitch to drive in the run. That would be the Colts’ only run of the game.
The Eagles answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth after Mason DeVry walked and after John Beals-Garcia doubled down the left field line, DeVry then scored on an error. The next inning saw Skylar Tribur and Ryan McFall both single and then bunted forward by Cooper White. Sean McFall then lashed a two-out triple to deep center to drive in both runners for the 3-1 lead.
Sean McFall led the offense going 1×3 with the two-RBI triple the proved to be the winning runs. Braden Nugent went the distance on the mound, throwing seven innings while giving up just three hits and no earned runs while striking out eight.
The Eagles then traveled to Thurston April 25 where they dropped both ends of a double header losing the opener 8-3 before dropping the second game 16-7. The opener saw the Colts pull out to a 4-0 lead after five innings before Eagle Point got their bats going in the top of the sixth. With runners on first and second, Sean McFall doubled to center to score both runners and Nugent followed with a double to drive in McFall but that was the sum total of the offense for the game. The Colts added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the final 8-3.
The second game was all offense as the two teams combined to score 23 runs on 16 hits in less than seven full innings. Each team scored twice in the first inning and the Eagles took the lead in the top of the second thanks to a bases loaded double by Cooper White that put Eagle Point up 5-2. The Colts scored twice in their half of the inning to trail by a run and after each team scored in the fourth, Eagle Point found themselves tied 7-7 after five innings.
That’s when the wheels came off for the Eagles as Thurston batted through the order sending 14 men to the plate. Walks, errors and hit batters resulted in a nine-run inning that put the game out of reach.
White led the offense going 2×2 with a walk, a double and three RBI. Stockton was 2×4 with an RBI double and Tribur was 1×2 with a double and an RBI. Stockton pitched the first three innings, giving up four runs on three hits with five strikeouts. Ryan McFall took the loss tossing 2.1 innings and giving up 120 runs (nine earned) giving up four hits while striking out two.
Flag Football
The Eagle Point flag football team traveled to Grants Pass April 20 where they lost 72-0 and two days later were defeated by South Medford 64-0. This is the second season of the three-year trial of the fledgling sport, the first year for the Lady Eagles. After next season, if enough schools show interest, the OSAA will then form formal leagues and playoffs.
