By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
THE DALLES - The No. 6-ranked Dalles High Riverhawks (1-0) got off to a great start in OSAA Class 4A softball by winning their nonleague season opening contest, 9-5, over the Cascade High Cougars on March 17 in Turner.
An experienced Riverhawk squad (five seniors, five juniors), guided by second-year Coach Duane Witter, has another solid team this year as they’re seeking to reach the state playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
“We have a really good team that I believe is capable of going to the state playoffs again,” said Witter. “We played a really good game versus Cascade to open the season.”
After competing in a spring break tournament March 23-24 in Madras, the Riverhawks return home to play three nonleague games in the Steve Garett Memorial Tournament March 26-27 at 16th Street Ballpark in The Dalles.
“The tournament in honor of Steve (former The Dalles coach) is going to be great, and it will be a good test for us to face some strong teams,” said Witter. “It’s going to be great weather this week, and we’ll have lots of fun and everyone has a really positive attitude. I really believe that with this group of young ladies, I don’t have to worry about getting offensive production on the field. They’re going to be very competitive against every team on our schedule. The main thing we’ll concentrate on is just eliminating the mental errors during the game.”
The Riverhawks will face the La Grande High Tigers (1-3), a 2025 state quarterfinal squad, in a 10 a.m. contest March 26, followed by a 3 p.m. contest later that day against the Tillamook High Cheesemakers (1-1). Defending 4A state champion and No. 1-ranked Astoria High (2-0) will play at The Dalles at 11 a.m. game on March 27.
“We always have a positive outlook, and we’ll try to play our best all year,” said Witter. “We have a good group of girls. They’ve all been playing together for a long time, and I know we’ll be one of the top contenders in our league. I enjoy coaching them and I’ll try to put them in the best position to get as many wins as we can this year.”
The Riverhawks took second place in the Tri-Valley Conference last year behind Gladstone. The Riverhawks begin their 12-game TVC schedule April 23 at Madras (0-1).
The Riverhawks will be led this year by the returning TVC all league duo of senior Ava Graves (first team) and junior Morgan Donivan (honorable mention). The seniors who will provide leadership qualities include pitcher Siyra Faulkner, infielder Makenzie Barrett, catcher Hailey Johnston and shortstop Maddy Sagapolutele.
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