Riverhawks advance to second round of playoffs

The No. 8-ranked Riverhawks (17-11) had a great start in the 16-team playoffs with a, 7-1, first- round win over the No. 9 ranked Scappoose High Indians (18-8) May 25 at the 16th Street Ballpark in The Dalles. The Riverhawks advanced to the May 27 quarterfinals to play the No. 1-ranked Intermountain Conference Champion Pendleton High Buckaroos (26-2) and lost 10-0 in six innings.

The Riverhawks had momentum after winning nine of their past 10 Class 5A contests and the knowledge that they had played IMC foe Pendleton tough, losing close league games, 3-1 and 5-0.

The Dalles, guided by first-year Coach Danielle Sayres, had no answer for Buckaroo senior hurler Sauren Garton, who tossed a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts at Sunridge Middle School in Pendleton.

“The playoffs versus Scappoose was a fun and exciting home game,” said Sayres. “I’m really proud of everyone, especially since we’re such a young team. Nobody got to experience the playoffs before, so that’s always hard. It’s new and exciting and there’s so many emotions. I’m just proud of them for fighting and making it as far as they did, which is something to be excited about. It was a good season for our young team.”

Pendleton advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals to meet the No. 5-ranked Dallas Dragons (19-7) in Pendleton (result was after the printed edition deadline).

Sayres had nothing but praise for Garton. “She (Garton) is pretty good and she’s definitely one of the top pitchers in the state. They (Buckaroos) were a tough opponent for sure. We can play with them, but we just had a bad game.”

Pendleton jumped in front 1-0 in the first inning and extended its advantage to 2-0 in the second. Garton proved to be nearly unhittable for the Riverhawks; their lone hit was a third-inning single by sophomore Keliani Crichton-Tunai. Aided by a Riverhawk error, the Buckaroos added two more runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 4-0 lead after three.

Following a scoreless fourth, Pendleton again took advantage of a Riverhawk error and scored four runs to build an 8-0 lead. The Riverhawks then committed two errors in the sixth, that helped enable the Buckaroos to score two more runs and win the game early via the 10-run mercy rule. The Dalles junior pitcher Kennedy Abbas allowed nine hits, walking seven and striking out four. The contest was a near repeat of an April 21 IMC contest where Pendleton won 14-1 behind Garton’s one-hitter (11 strikeouts). Keilani Crichton-Tunai had the only Riverhawk hit — a home run.

In their win over Scappoose, the Riverhawks broke a fourth-inning scoreless tie when freshman Despina Seufalemua (2-for-4, three RBI) hit a solo home run, putting The Dalles up 1-0. Following a scoreless fifth, The Dalles took control of the contest with a big sixth inning rally.

The Dalles junior Ella Smith and sophomores Jeilane Stewart and Zoe LeBreton each had an RBI in a five-hit rally to propel the Riverhawks in front. Smith hit a two-RBI single, Stewart hit a fielder’s choice RBI single, and LeBreton hit a sacrifice fly RBI. Seufalemua hit her second homer of the game, knocking in two runs to extend the lead to 7-0. Scappoose avoided a shutout and by scoring a run the top of the seventh.

Abbas had an outstanding performance in the circle, scattering four hits and striking out 10. Abbas was strong at the plate, as well, going 2-or-4 with a single and a double.

The future looks bright for The Dalles, who have no seniors on this year’s roster and will drop to Class 4A next season. “Having the same team coming back next year should be pretty exciting for sure,” said Sayres. “They all have that playoff experience now and they’ll know what to expect and they’re capable of doing anything.”

In the recent OSAA reclassification, The Dalles moves into Class 4A in 2022-23 and will be in the Tri-Valley Conference with Crook County, Estacada, Gladstone, Madras and Molalla. Three of those teams had losing records this year. The No. 7-ranked Estacada Rangers (19-7) were the only team that reached the state playoffs, and they’ll lose four seniors from their squad.

Pendleton also moves into 4A, but the Buckaroos will be in the Greater Oregon League, and they lose six seniors from this year’s team. The Buckaroos’ top pitcher, Garton, has earned a softball scholarship to NCAA Division I Dixie State University in St. George, Utah.