Dufur-Weston to go head-to-head on Saturday

Dufur’s win sets up a league showdown for first place when the Rangers meet the No. 6-ranked Weston-McEwen High TigerScots (11-1 SD7, 13-2) Saturday in an 11 a.m. doubleheader at Weston-McEwen High School in Athena.

On May 3, the Rangers (12-0 league, 18-1 overall) won at home 16-5 over the Lyle/Wishram/Klickitat/Trout Lake High Cougars (0-9 SD7, 0-10). The Rangers jumped in front 7-0 through three innings before the Cougars, guided by Coach Dave Devoe, fought back with a five-run fourth - trimming the margin to 7-5.

“We’re a young, inexperienced team, but we’re catching on and we’re getting better all the time,” said Devoe. “We have a great bunch of kids who are all working hard and I’m proud of them. They put in their time, they’re always here, they’re always playing hard and they’re learning more and more about the game all the time. The wins and losses don’t mean as much to me as the attitude of the kids and the way they play.”

Cougar sophomore second baseman Tiffany McPherson drew a walk from Ranger pitcher Ian Ongers in the fourth inning and scored a run. McPherson, who had two walks in the contest, is probably one of just a handful of girls who play Class 2A/1A baseball. McPherson had her first hit this year, a single in an April 30 home game versus Stanfield.

“The season is going pretty good and I’m having fun playing my first year of baseball,” said McPherson, whose brother, Chris, also plays on the Cougar baseball team. “I played softball for four years, but we don’t have softball at Lyle High School. The ball is smaller, and the bats are a little different and the field is much bigger, but other than that, it’s pretty similar to softball.”

The Rangers, guided by Coach CS Little, answered by scoring nine runs in the bottom half of the inning to build a 16-5 lead. The Rangers, led by relief pitcher Joey Holloway, held the Cougars scoreless in the top of the fifth and the game concluded after four and a half innings via the 10-run mercy rule.

“We did pretty good even though we had a couple of little mishaps there, but they (Cougars) kept it interesting,” said Little. “They (Cougars) played better against us than they did in the first game we played with them (a 21-0 Dufur win Mar. 29). I’ve seen some growth in their team. We have a big showdown game with Weston-McEwen Saturday, so that will determine who gets first place in our league. We’re playing pretty good baseball. We have a good group of kids and Isaac is one of the best pitchers in the state. We saw another good pitcher, too (junior Ethan Kleinschmit) when we played Kennedy (a 1-0 loss April 19). That was the game of the year with No. 1 (Kennedy) vs. No. 2 (Dufur/South Wasco).”

The Ranger trio of pitchers Brock LaFaver, Ongers and Holloway threw a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts and five walks. Seniors Carson Smith (2-for-4, two RBI), Isaac Anthony (2-for-4, three RBI) and LaFaver (2-for-4, three RBI) helped lead the Rangers’ offense, which totaled 13 hits.

“It’s been a lot of fun this season and we’ve been winning a lot, which just adds to the fun and we’re playing pretty good,” said Smith. “We’ve pretty much secured a playoff spot and we’ll have a big game on Saturday versus Weston-McEwen.”

The Rangers conclude the regular season May 16 with a 4 p.m. home game against the Union/Cove High Bobcats (3-6 SD7). The Rangers have nearly clinched a spot in the OSAA Class 2A/1A state playoffs that begin May 23.

“We’re doing what we can control and we’re winning games,” said Little. “We just need to figure out a way to beat Kennedy (18-2) if we meet them in the playoffs. There’s other quality teams, too, like Knappa (16-3), Umpqua Valley Christian (18-4), Monroe (16-5) and Regis (16-6), but we’re up there near the top of the rankings and we just try to do the best we can.”

“It’s been a fun season, we’re progressing pretty well and we’re actually forming together as a team,” said Anthony, who tossed a one-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Heppner/Ione High Mustangs (10-4 SD7, 11-8) April 29. “We have six seniors who have all been starters since our freshman year, so we expected to have success this year. We’ve played together since we were young, and we’ve progressed together as we’ve grown older.”

The Cougars faced the Sherman on Tuesday in Moro (result was after the printed edition deadline). The Cougars’ next game is Saturday in an 11 a.m. doubleheader versus Heppner, followed by a May 17 season finale on the road against the Grant Union/Prairie City High Prospectors (4-5 SD7, 9-9) in John Day.

Sherman (4-5 SD7, 6-6) swept a May 3 doubleheader, 4-1 and 15-4, over the Tigers at Stanfield High School. The Huskies play their next game in an 11 a.m. doubleheader at home Saturday versus Grant Union.