By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
THE DALLES — The No. 2-ranked Tri-Valley Conference champion The Dalles High (TDHS) Riverhawks extended their OSAA Class 5A softball win streak to 14 after winning two more league games last week.
The Riverhawks (9-0 TVC, 22-2 overall), guided by second-year Coach Duane Witter, started out last week by getting a 10-0 home win May 11 over the Molalla High Indians (2-7 TVC, 12-12 overall). The Riverhawks followed with a lopsided 18-0 road win over the Madras High White Buffaloes (0-10 TVC, 3-20 overall).
“The girls have worked hard all year, and it’s just been a fantastic season,” said Witter of The Dalles, which has clinched a state playoff berth for a fourth consecutive season. “We have one more week left in league play. We just hope to finish strong, and we want to just close those games and hopefully we’ll get the No. 2 seed and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which would be awesome.”
The May 11 contest versus Molalla concluded in the fifth inning via the OSAA 10-run Mercy Rule. The Dalles senior pitcher Siyra Faulkner helped lead the Riverhawks to the victory with her outstanding performance in the pitching circle in throwing a no-hitter, which was her third of the season.
In the match-up against the White Buffaloes, the Riverhawks displayed their highly proficient offense (12 runs per game average), which is ranked No. 1 out of all 28 Class 4A squads.
The Riverhawks built an 8-0 lead after three innings. They scored seven runs in the fourth to conclude the contest early, as specified by the Mercy Rule that deems games are over whenever there’s a 15-run or larger margin. Faulkner tossed a three-hitter, with five strikeouts and three walks. Catcher Hailey Johnston hit two home runs and junior second baseman Morgan Donivan hit a homer for the Riverhawks.
“We had a good effort by the girls in both games last week and they took care of business as expected,” said Witter. “Siyra just did a really nice job all the way around to help lead us to the win against Madras. We’ll continue practicing hard and get ready for our next game on Wednesday.”
The Riverhawks host Senior Night on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. versus the No. 8-ranked Estacada High Rangers (7-3 TVC, 16-7 overall). Seniors Ava Graves, Maddy Sagapolutele, Johnston, Makenzie Barrett and Faulkner will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
The Rangers are in second place in the five-team TVC standings. The Riverhawks will conclude the regular season with a 4:30 p.m. road game Thursday at Molalla.
The Riverhawks will host a first-round game in the 16-team OSAA state playoffs starting May 26. The Riverhawks won the 4A state title in 2023. Should the Riverhawks keep winning they likely will play home games in the May 29 quarterfinals and the June 2 semifinals.
The final will be held June 6 at the University of Oregon’s Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene.
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