In a close battle for Intermountain Conference Class 5A softball playoff positioning, the Hood River Valley Eagles concluded the 10-game regular season by winning two out of three in a key three-game series vs. Gorge rival The Dalles Riverhawks last week.
The Eagles (5-5 IMC, 9-7 overall) won 7-2 over the Riverhawks (4-6 IMC, 6-9) May 11 at Westside Elementary School in Hood River on Senior Night. Eagle seniors Morgan Baker, Molly Routson and I’sis Solorzano were honored in a pregame ceremony along with their parents in the final regular season contest of their HRV softball careers.
“So far it’s been a pretty good season,” said Solorzano, a catcher who was rewarded for her outstanding performance this season with a scholarship to attend Chemeketa Community College in Salem where she’ll continue her softball career.
“We’ve recovered from a little adversity (players exposed to COVID) at times this year, but we’re ready to play now. I was glad to hit a single and drive in a run in the game last Tuesday that we won in our last regular season home game on Senior Night. I think if we just continue playing well and keep having a good effort then we’ll have some success in the district playoffs.
“Our confidence level is high, we’re super excited about the playoffs and I think we can achieve our goal and make it to the championship game. I’m just glad to be playing these last few games with these girls and I’m really excited about having the athletic scholarship to Chemeketa.”
Three days later, the two rivals split a doubleheader with The Dalles winning the opener, 9-5, followed by a 16-5 HRV win in the second game on Senior Night at 16th Street Ballpark in The Dalles. Riverhawk seniors Courtney Hert, Madison Troutt and Zara Voodre were honored along with their parents in a ceremony following Game 1 of the doubleheader.
“This is my first year playing softball and it’s definitely been a fun experience,” said Voodre. “I love all these girls and I’m so happy that everybody accepted me here and helped me learn and just let me play. It’s just been great experience playing with my teammates, who are all so very friendly and loving and we enjoyed a great season. I really love softball and I wish I would’ve played all four years.
“I guess I was more focused on playing soccer though, which I played every year. It’s been nice playing with some of the girls in softball that were also on the soccer team, so we’ve all just had a really great time together.”
The Lady Eagles, guided by second-year Coach Ryan Munn, finished the regular season as the No. 3 seed and they faced the Redmond Panthers (0-9 IMC, 0-13) in an IMC District quarterfinal matchup May 17 (results came after the printed edition deadline). The winner of that game advances to the semifinals Wednesday against the defending (2019) IMC champion and OSAA Class 5A state champion Ridgeview Ravens on the road in Redmond.
“It’s kind of like my first year since we couldn’t play any games last year,” said Munn. “It’s been a fun season, the girls are great, we’re doing well. It’s good to play after losing the season last year, which was really tough on our seniors that graduated a year ago. It’s been great just having an opportunity to play even though it’s a shorter season.
“We’re excited to have a home game in the district playoffs and we’re hoping to play three more games (quarterfinals, semifinals, finals). I’ve coached our three seniors since they were 8 years old, so I’ve known them a long time and I’m really going to miss them next year. It’s exciting to see them out here playing the last few games of their career and having fun.”
The Dalles, guided by third-year Coach Katherine Kramer, earned the No. 4 seed in a tiebreaker with the No. 5 seeded Crook County Cowgirls (4-6 IMC, 6-9) and the two met in a quarterfinal matchup in The Dalles May 17 (results came after the printed edition deadline).
“We’re in a very tough conference and we’re a very young team (five freshmen, five sophomores), so they had to learn a lot this year very quickly,” said Kramer, a 2013 The Dalles High graduate. “We feel lucky that we were able to play all the games on our schedule this year. I think there’s always room for improvement. After not being able to play last year, it’s the first year our sophomores have played so it’s kind of like having 10 freshmen on our team, which makes it a very young group.
“They’re learning quickly and they’re doing everything that I’ve asked them to do and even more. There’s actually a lot of leadership ability with these young girls.”
The winner of Monday’s first-round The Dalles-Crook County game advances to Wednesday’s semifinals against the top seeded Pendleton Buckaroos (9-0 IMC, 14-1) in Pendleton. Pendleton won all three games vs. The Dalles during the regular season. The semifinal winners will meet in a May 22 IMC championship game.
In last Tuesday’s contest in Hood River, the Eagles built a 3-1 first-inning advantage and were up 3-2 in the second. HRV’s solid defense shut out The Dalles in the final five frames as the Eagles led from start-to-finish to get the victory. HRV junior hurler Kyra Davis struck out six, walked three and scattered six hits to help lead the Eagles to the win.
HRV had 10 hits, with freshman Sienna Davis (3-for-4, single, double, triple, RBI) leading the offense at the plate. Routson (2-for-4, single, triple) and sophomore catcher Abby Kahler (2-for-3, two singles, RBI) recorded multiple hits.
Freshman Zoe LeBreton (2-for-4) and sophomore Ella Smith (2-for-3) led the Riverhawk offense. The Dalles sophomore pitcher Kennedy Abbas struck out six and allowed one earned run in six innings in the pitching circle. The Riverhawks were unable to overcome five errors, and they also were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities leaving nine baserunners stranded.
In Game 1 on Friday, HRV took the initial advantage with a 3-1 lead in the third inning, as Sienna Davis (3-for-4, three RBI) drove in two runs. The Riverhawks responded with a six-run fourth inning, highlighted by Trout’s two-run homer over the 209-foot right field fence.
“It’s really exciting to hit home runs and help my team win especially on Senior Night,” said Trout, who has nine homers this year. “It keeps our momentum going whenever we drive runs in. The season has been going pretty good. We had a little slump earlier in the season, but we’re starting to peak now and we’re playing a lot better.”
The Dalles batted around its lineup, sending 10 batters to the plate to face Eagle pitcher Kyra Davis (five strikeouts, two walks). LeBreton’s two RBI double and Naomi Heredia’s RBI single helped propel The Dalles in front with a 7-3 lead. After Hood River narrowed the margin to 7-5 in the top of the sixth, Trout (2-for-3, four RBI) then hammered another two-run homer over the left field fence, as the Riverhawks regained the four-run lead at 9-5 after six.
The Eagles came back and loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh but couldn’t score.
“I think this was one of the best games I’ve pitched this year, but I definitely feel like I still have some room for improvement,” said Abbas, who hurled a curveball and two-seam fastball to keep batters off balance. “It’s definitely important to be well focused in big games like this and that’s exactly what we did.”
Hood River outhit The Dalles 13-12, but the Eagles were unable to overcome having 11 runners left on base. Solorzano (3-for-3, three singles), Routson (2-for-3, single, double, RBI) and Kahler (1-for-3, single, RBI) helped lead the Eagle offense.
In Game 2, the Eagles took control of the contest by building a 9-0 lead in the top of the third. The Dalles responded by scoring four in the bottom of the frame, trimming the margin to 9-4. Hood River outscored The Dalles 7-1 over the next three innings.
HRV, which outhit The Dalles 17-6, was led at the plate by Routson (2-for-3, four RBI), Sienna Davis (2-for-4, double, triple, three RBI) and sophomore Kaylyn Stanphil (2-for-4, double, single, three RBI). Heredia (1-for-2, two RBI), freshman Jeilane Stewart (1-for-3, two RBI) and LeBreton (RBI) led the Riverhawk offense.
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