Season Wrap Up - NE Champs, All Stars & Next Year

What a great way to end the baseball season. Sitting in SUNSHINE and watching a MWL team win the state championship. I talked to Coach Nicholsen a few days before the championship game and he said "You never know how good the league's pitching is compared to other leagues until you get to the playoffs. It looks like we're competitive." I would say in response, "That's a fact!"

There were great stories this year about our three seeds... Springfield not having won an outright MWL title since the 70's.... Thurston losing ten all leaguers to graduation and taking the second seed... and North Eugene losing two of their four returning all leaguers, losing another penciled in started via transfer, and a mid season injury to one of their aces. All three head coaches had quite a challenge. All three made the state quarterfinals. But it was Coach Nicholsen who climbed the mountain by getting his players to play incredible D early in the season and then adding in the bats during the playoffs.

North Eugene gave up just four runs total in five playoff games. In games that counted this year - league and playoff games - the Highlanders allowed just 1.6 runs per game. Out of 20 league and playoff games, North held opponents to 0 or 1 run 13 times! Kyle DeHaven and Andrew Moore both return next year. They had a combined league record of 9-4 with 98 combined K's and 24 combined walks.

North's late season offensive explosion was good to see, although not really needed during the playoffs because of the great D. Coach Nicholsen and I have different theories about how North got their bats going. Nicholsen says everything changed when they had a late season night hitting practice. He changed up their hitting routine a little and the kids started smacking the ball during the night practice and it transferred over to the games. My theory is that the kids saw North Medford lay 19 blistering hits on North Eugene at Swede and the Highlanders started thinking, "So, that's how it's done."

My memory of the state championship game will be that the Highlanders never quit, even though they were given plenty of reasons to fold. They were facing a pitcher who reaches the 90's and had signed with Oregon State and was picked in the 5th round of the MLB draft, so they needed to make the most of every scoring opportunity. But North leaves two on in the third, leaves the bases loaded in the fourth, leaves the bases loaded again in the fifth, all the while keeping Volcano Stadium spectators from overheating by fanning 13 times. But North just kept putting pressure on until the Grizzlies couldn't catch all of the salmon on base and scratched out three runs in the sixth. Then all the Highlanders had to do was shut down the top of the order for two innings. No pressure. It was a great day.

All league thoughts. I saw a lot of ball this year, and I think the all league selections were very good this year. Coach of the Year almost always goes to the winning coach, but I could have argued for a three way split with Lansdon, Dube, and Nicholsen. Hats off to all three for managing the players heads in a year that a lot of teenagers would have fallen apart. The Millers had to overcome the image of Springfield not being a good program, much less a championship program. The Colts had to find a pitcher (Found 3 - Dawson Phinney, Tyler Johnson and Kyle Watson) and overcome the loss of all of those all leaguers from a state championship team. I've already pointed out North's possible pitfalls. MVP. Normally, the MWL has several players who were excelling on the mound, in the field and at the plate. But this year, Kameron Bates was about the only one to play that triple role. Certainly Andrew Moore looks like an MVP after his pitching performance in the state playoffs, but the league vote was taken before the playoffs. Peanut Havens had to be considered with his .440 batting average and leadership from behind the plate. Freshman. Wow, two freshmen made first team and one made second. It was a joy to watch Scott Kuvass play short for Willamette. His frosh teammate Cole Urioste pounded the ball at a .349 clip. Finally, Thurston's Kyle Watson picked up two victories against no losses with a sub 2.00 ERA and showed clutch hitting at the plate.

Next Year: Bye-bye Colts and hello Spartans. I stated in my blogs last spring and winter that I was really pumped for the 2010 baseball season because I thought at least four teams had a shot at the title and maybe five, plus it just seemed like the caliber of baseball had improved a lot throughout the league. I'm just as pumped for next year, but for far different reasons:

1. Thurston and North Eugene would have been the clear favorites next year. Thurston returns five all leaguers. North Eugene returns six if you count Shawn Boehm, who was injured this year after an all league year in 2009. So, without considering Marist until I learn more about them, Thurston's move to 6A puts North in the driver's seat. How will the returning players handle the high expectations? Will they be overconfident? Will they tighten up? How will Coach Nicholsen manage the players' heads?
2. Marist joining the league. We're all curious how Marist will compete at the 5A level in all sports. They'll do just fine is my guess.
3. The development of the Willamette program. The Wolverines are looking good with four returning all leaguers and a new domed stadium. I was talking to Jeff McKay of Baseball Northwest late in the season and he said hitting in Oregon was way behind Washington. One of the main reasons was a lack of adequate indoor facilities. Well, Willamette has solved that.
4. A lot of pressure will be on Springfield. They return the league MVP, Kameron Bates, along with Blaine Dudley and Ryan Helfrich - all excellent with the stick. Frosh pitcher Malik Evans (4-0) returns, but will need to improve his K to BB ratio. But what is there after those four? We'll find out if Coach Lansdon has developed a program or if 2010 was a once every 40 years phenomenom.
5. Churchill will be replacing a ton of players due to graduation. The Lancers got on a roll way too late - winning their last four league games, finally looking like the Lancers of recent years. Coach Hoberg will hope to copy what Thurston did this year after the Colts lost most of their 2009 team.
6. I'm even looking forward to improved play by my Marshfield Pirates, who only had four seniors this year and had several sophs and frosh. They need to develop several pitchers. As usual for the Pirates, a lot will depend on how many kids play summer ball.
7. The Man Cave at a field I won't mention. Baseball diehards all, and they'll be back.

Next Year's College Players: Today's Register-Guard reported that Dawson Phinney and Jordan VanEngers have committed to LCC. Please let me know if you know of any others who have committed to a college baseball program. I believe Sam Kiesse is headed off to George Fox and I've heard and forgotten about many others. If you know of any other commitments, please email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com. Also, if you can update me on kids who are playing college ball this year (2010) please let me know. Here's what I have so far for 2010.

Photos - All photos should be 50 cents for 4x6's unless I didn't get the pricing change made. I sold photos to just three people this year. Hopefully, that will pick up next year to make it worth my time of working with thousands of pics. Here's a link to the main photo page. Click in the '2010' column.

That's about it for this year. I'll post the all state list when it becomes available. Thanks to all those who texted scores and other information this year - the Moore's, Bates, Dew's, Kiesse's, Mill's, Watson's and the coaches. I'm sure I missed several fans who helped out. This was the first year that I had scores posted for almost all games by 9:00 on game nights. A special thank you to Rich Lari. Rich emailed the great recaps of the North Eugene games. Rich goes into the parent reporter Hall of Fame along with Tony Schauermann, a Thurston parent. Rich and Tony are closet sports writers.

Will Bulldogs Blast Highlanders?

Aye-yi-yi! West Albany's Bulldogs took down Springfield, our #1 seed, 11-1. West Albany hammered out three home runs in the process. They have scored 10 or more runs at least 13 times. They scored 20 or more three times this season. Put it all together and the Bulldogs average 9.5 runs per game. And with all but one game score showing on the MaxPrep site, the Bulldogs have never been shut out or even held to just one run!

Defensively, the Bulldogs have really tightened up their game during the playoffs. They held Glencoe to just two runs and Pendleton to just one run.

That said, we do have a little MWL comparison to look at. Thurston beat West Albany 3-2 in the season opener. A week later the Bulldogs jumped on Willamette at Willamette, 10-2. Finally, North Eugene lost to West Albany 5-4 two weeks ago.

So what's in store for North Eugene in the semis? I'm thinking that North's defense will keep the Bulldogs within reach. That means that the Highlanders will need an offensive game more like the Corvallis (13-2) playoff game than the KU game (3-2). The Bulldogs like to jump on it early, so if North can get out of the first two innings in good shape, they can put some pressure on the West Albany defense. If North stays close they can get the small ball game going and then mix in some extra base hits.

It'll be interesting to see who goes to the mound for North on Tuesday. Kyle DeHaven pitched four innings against West Albany just two weeks ago and Garrett Harpole tossed three against the Bulldogs, allowing no hits. Just last week, Garrett Mills tossed four innings against Corvallis before turning the ball over to Chris Clayton in the fifth, Mills holding the number one team in the state to one run through four. Finally, Andrew Moore pitched a complete game last Friday, but has had three full days of rest. All pitchers are availalbe Tuesday and it's common in the state playoffs to see the same starter in the Friday-Tuesday- Saturday quarterfinal to final stretch. We'll find out at game time. I'm guessing Mills will start and coach Nicholsen will make early changes as he did with Corvallis and West Albany to give the Bulldogs lots of different looks.

Offensively for North, the Highlanders have been getting good production up and down the line up recently. That takes a lot of pressure off of the top of the order when they know the bottom four guys have been knocking in runs and hitting doubles and homers in the playoffs. The recent batting surge throughout the lineup also gives hope for a comeback if the Bulldogs do happen to jump out to a fairly large early lead. The Aslhand one inning comeback from six runs down agaisnt Thurston in the quarters serves as a reminder that with a little luck and some hard hit balls, you're never down too far.

....Coach Corey Nicholsen becomes only the second baseball coach in North Eugene's 53 year history to take the Highlanders to the state semifinals. Garry Selby pulled off the trick in 1977 and 1998. North fell short of the state championship game by one run both times. Hopefully, this is the Highlander's year, which would make 2010 the fourth year in a row that the MWL has sent a team to the state finals.

Go North. Go MWL.

5A Coaches Poll - Kaboom

MWL fans have to be proud that unranked North Eugene crushed #1 Corvallis in Corvallis. Another MWL winner, Thurston, was ranked number eight and beat number six Lebanon 7-3. Hopefully, Springfield will not undo the MWL success by losing to unranked Madison at PK Park tonight.

The first full round of playoff games provides ammo for every baseball coach to tell his players to "Ignore the polls. Games are won on the field". Let's take a look:

Unranked Crater beat #11 South Albany in a subround game.
Crater beat #12 Cleveland 12-0 in the first full round.
Unranked Klamath Union beat 7th ranked Wilsonville.
Unranked North Eugene beat #1 Corvallis 13-2.
Almost (#13) unranked West Albany beat 3rd ranked Pendleton.

That means half of the quarterfinalists are unranked or nearly unranked. What's with the coach's poll?
Well, I can't imagine a coach having the time to check out teams statewide or hearing about key injuries or a pitcher who just hasn't had it the last half of the year.
Media polls used to be better predictors than coaches polls, especially early in the season. Reporters had a pretty good network around the state and would pick up info from each other. But with the cutbacks in staff at all newspapers, that doesn't happen much anymore.
The questionable 5A poll probably lends support to a Power Ranking System and seeding for playoffs. Fortunately, at the 5A level, there weren't too many matchups where a team played another team that was closely ranked in the polls. #8 Thurston versus #6 Lebanon was one of those games. Lebanon players will probably always wonder why they couldn't have been matched up with an unranked team, although 2010 wasn't a good year to play the unranked.

At the 6A level, things were a little different. Six of the top 10 teams will be in the quarterfinals (Elite Eight). Lincoln, ranked #11, is the 7th team in the playoffs. Unranked South Medford is the final quarterfinalist, having won two games over unranked teams. Unlike the 5A level, 6A did have some match ups between teams closely ranked. #2 Lake Oswego versus #3 North Medford being one of those games. Seeding using Power Rankings would have prevented the #2 versus #3 matchup and unranked South Medford would not have advanced to the quarterfinals without playing a ranked team.

Quick Notes:
The Midwestern league can advance three teams to the quarterfinals for the first time ever if Springfield beats Madison tonight (Wednesday).

North Eugene can advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1998 with a win over Klamath Union in Klamath Falls Friday. BRRRR!

North Eugene and Springfield are on the same side of the bracket.....

North Eugene pulled off a miracle getting their game in last Friday. It had rained most of the day and was raining solidly when I showed up at 4:30. The rains slowed to a sprinkle by 5:00. The North players rolled back the tarp and the sprinkles turned to a light mist and the field was mowed and dry. I think that the Dalles-Wahtonka players were ready to call it an evening, stay overnight, and play at PK park on Saturday. Those thoughts apparently didn't go out the window when the umps called "Play Ball" at 5:05. The sun even poked it's smiley face out now and again.

If you have friends who are interested in softball, I started a few pages for MWL softball. Just has this year's league and playoff results, all stars and some playoff history so far. http://www.mwathletics.com/softball/softball_index.htm


Photos prices slashed:
Only two people ordered photos this year -- even as good and as inexpensive as they are :) I've already left some DVD's of photos with some of the teams, but I've also lowered the prices of the photos to a little above cost. If you saw some photos of your favorite player that you were interested in, you may want to check out the prices.

North Medford - Are 6A Schools that good?

It was quite a treat watching #3 rated North Medford play North Eugene at Swede Johnson stadium on Monday. The Black Tornado showed off their hitting prowess and some spectacular defense.
And to think that we didn't get to see North Medford's two best pitchers - Matt Mauer (Pepperdine next year) and Bradey Shipley (Western Nevada Junior College).
North Medford's catcher Colin Sowers led off the game by driving a first pitch fastball over the Red Lion sign in left center. The dinger wasn't a towering shot barely clearing the fence. It was more of a liner. The hard hit ball was a foreshadowing of the 18 hits to follow. Most of the Tornado hits were hit on the button. The most noticeable consistency of the Medford batters was that they were rarely fooled by off speed pitches. I can only recall three or four times where the batters upper body was out ahead of their legs. It didn't matter what type of pitcher the Highlanders threw - Moore, Mills or Clayton - the batters just stayed back and attacked the ball at the last moment possible and with tremendous explosion.
Defensively, the Medford shortstop put on a show. He played so deep and covered so much ground that I think they could have played without the third baseman. He made two throws from deep behind the third baseman and then topped off his performance by going well behind second base and flipping the ball, back handed, to second for a force.
The Medford catcher, Colin Sowers, not only made a point of not throwing him a fastball in his zone, but he showed he was a wily catcher by setting up a Highlander on first by hiding behind a left handed batter for a few pitches. The Highlander kept creeping off a little more and then Sowers picked him with a nice backdoor move behind the batter.
Medford's Michael Bradshaw shut out the Highlanders in a complete game victory. The good news for the Southwest conference is that Bradshaw and the other two pitching aces are all seniors.
So, are the 6A schools that much better than 5A schools? For the most part yes. The obvious reason is that they have so many more bodies in their school to choose from. The OSAA has North Eugene with an average daily membership of 938 students and North Medford at 1665. Imagine if Highlander coach Nicholsen could look down the hallway and choose from 840 boys instead of 470. There would be a lot more juniors and seniors on the team, meaning a bigger, stronger, faster team.
It's tempting to say that the teams down south just play a lot more ball than Eugene teams. But with fall ball and legion and kids being invited to Area Code games, the Eugene schools have players who get in a lot of baseball. Notably, since the big boys were split off four seasons ago, just three of twelve state semifinalists were from down south. And from 2000 to 2006, when there were 80 teams in the upper 4A Division, only one SOC team made the state finals. So I go back to larger student bodies as the reason for success - along with a great program and conditioning.
So how do the smaller schools compete when they merge with the 6A schools next year? Well, pitching and defense are the classic neutralizers in baseball. One good ace on a staff can win half of a team's league games. Just look at the teams going to state from the current MWL and you'll find that with the exception of one starting pitcher, the pitchers rarely walk anyone. (By the way, North Medford got to Andrew Moore for two in the first inning, but Moore settled down in the second and might have had a good outing if he would have been allowed to go more than two innings.)
Developing a good hitting team seems to be more difficult than putting together a good defense. I believe this is where focus and conditioning come into play. Good hitters focus on every pitch, even in practice. Focus is a habit, and good habits have to be practiced. Focus needs to be automatic in gametime. Good hitters believe a sharply hit ball - a line drive preferably, or a blistering grounder- are the only acceptable hits, even in the cage. Some coaches preach almost any grounder as okay, but grounders weren't going to get through the North Medford infield.
Conditioning has changed tremendously in the last 15 years. I remember when the Churchill football team was running the double wing. The entire team worked out relentlessly and they looked like they would do well in any street fight. The next team to take conditioning to another level was when Marty Johnson took over the Sheldon football program. Amazingly, the Irish have maintained their weightroom/plyometrics attitude for over ten years. Other teams have had spurts in different programs. A few years ago, the Thurston basketball team would have looked like NBA thugs is they had just added some tats. The bottom line is, if you want to compete with the big boys, you better have a great 'core' conditioning program. In baseball, you need to add the arm muscles, too. Bigger - stronger - faster.
North Eugene hosts The Dalles-Wahtonka Friday. The Indians-Eagles made the playoffs in both football and basketball, but were eliminated early. So they have players with playoff experience and they will hungry to advance. For the most part, the Indians-Eagles have played good D, the exception being getting blown out by second ranked Pendleton. (Interresting hyphenated school and mascot names. If Sheldon and North Eugene merged, would they be called the Irish-Highlanders, or just the Kilts?)
Here's a challenge to North Eugene. Friday's playoff game is the last chance for a MWL team to advance past the sub round into the group of sixteen under the current playoff model. The OSAA four year classification experiment is over after spring season and next year begins the 'Hybrid' leagues and the 'Everybody goes to the Playoffs' format. Let's get three teams into the Sweet Sixteen!

Non playoff teams to decide MWL title

It's hard to believe it could turn out this way, but the three teams fighting for the MWL title do not play each other this week. If the top tier teams each win their two games this week, then here's the playoff seeds:

1. Springfield 12-3
2. Thurston 11-4
3. North Eugene 11-4

Fourth place Churchill, a playoff team last year, is the most likely to change the above scenario. The Lancers host North Eugene Monday and have both Spencer Jorgensen and Brad Birch available to pitch. North Eugene threw Andrew Moore all seven last Friday, so he probably won't be throwing Monday unless it's an inning of relief. I'm assuming that North Goes with Kyle DeHaven, who is 4-1 on the season. But he has thrown both of the other games against Churchill. On Wednesday, the Lancers travel to Thurston Wednesday with Sam Kiesse rested.

Fifth place Willamette hosts first place Springfield Monday and travels to North Eugene Wednesday. The Wolverines have wins over Churchill and North Eugene, so they know they can knock either Springfield or North down a notch. The Wolverines are likely to face Kameron Bates for the first time this year on Monday. Then Willamette will likely see Moore at North Eugene on Wednesday.

Marshfield hosts Thurston Monday and travels to Springfield Wednesday.

I'm thinking the highest possibility of an upset(s) will be Monday with the Springfield at Willamette game and the North Eugene at Churchill game. Both games are at the underdog's field. Willamette hasn't seen Bates yet this year, but I don't think that is a problem. Willamette doesn't like to strike out and they should put up a battle..... Churchill and North Eugene have traded 1-0 ball games. We could see a third 1-0 game.

Wednesday's games are less likely to give us an upset. All three playoff bound teams are at home. Marshfield at Springfield, Willamette at North Eugene (Moore) and Churchill at Thurston (Phinney). And I'm betting it's all hands on deck as far as the pitchers go on Wednesday, everyone is a potential reliever for the last league game.

The pressure's on. The number one seed is the only MWL team to get home field advantage for their first playoff game. Who wants it?

PS. Thanks to those who text me the scores last Friday. I was at the James Taylor/Carol King concert in Portland - Row 1. I know you youngins don't know who these people are, but they were and are still awesome.

Will North Eugene spoil Springfield's Party?

Before going into the North Eugene - Springfield game, a question.... Why would anyone pay to see the Ducks or Ems play at PK park, when you can see a ten inning 3-2 game at Thurston with great pitching and fantastic defensive plays for free?

Back to the MWL. Springfield has answered the call this week with wins over fourth place Churchill and second place Thurston. But believe it or not, Springfield still could fall all the way to third. If Springfield loses out and North Eugene or Thurston wins out, Springfield falls to at least second.

North Eugene will begin their final push to take the pennant away from Springfield on Friday. A North Eugene win over Springfield gives North a 3-0 tiebreaker over the Millers. Springfield would still have a one game lead with two games to go with games against Willamette and Marshfield. But stumble once and North Eugene can steal the first seed by beating Churchill and Willamette next week.

North Eugene has two wins over Springfield by scores of 13-1 and 3-1. Springfield's Kameron Bates won't be available Friday after pitching ten innings Wednesday. In the other dugout, Andrew Moore is fresh and available for the Highlanders. North has given up just a little over 1 run per game over the last ten games. As bizarre as it may seem, Springfield might be wise to work their relievers a few innings each, see how the chips fall, and save their starters for next week. What the heck, North Eugene already owns the tiebreaker.

Willamette at Thurston
Dawson Phinney should be on the mound for Thurston. He'll be going for his fifth league win. Thurston is tied with North Eugene for second and the Colts own the tie breaker. Thurston should be focused for this one. I was impressed by the Colts valiant effort against the Millers yesterday with frosh Kyle Watson on the mound. Thurston will certainly miss Tyler Johnson if he can't get back on the field, but the Colts sure aren't going to be feeling sorry for themselves.

Churchill at Marshfield
I saw a Churchill-Marshfield game in Coos Bay a few years ago when Churchill was playing fantastic ball. The Lancers laid a complete egg. I think everyone felt that the Lancers would just kick into gear at some point and destroy the Pirates, but suddenly the game was over and the Pirates won. It looks like Elliot Aurdahl is available for the Pirates while Spencer Jorgensen pitched yesterday for Churchill.

My guesses, which were worth something before this year, is that North will prevail over Springfield and tighten up the race for the title. ... Thurston's Phinney will continue his mastery of the strike zone and beat Willamette to stay deadlocked with North in the standings.... And Churchill will have their hands full with Marshfield.

Bottom line is that we are down to the last three games and we don't know who our top three seeds are. A Churchill win and North Eugene loss Friday, keeps Churchill's faint playoff hopes alive. Churchill can catch North Eugene and capture the tiebreaker. Long odds, but it could happen.

Millers Clinch Playoff Spot - Title next?

Kameron Bates had a day for Springfield against Churchill. Bates went 4 for 4 with a two run dinger. The 11-7 win put Springfield ahead of Churchill by five games with four to play, thus earning the Millers a playoff spot. This years trip to state will be the Miller's first playoff appearance since 2000.

The Millers next goal has to be to win an outright league title. The next step to the title for the Millers is to go on the road and beat crosstown rival Thurston this Wednesday. Springfield won the first two by scores of 11-8 and 6-2, so the Millers own the tiebreaker. But it is a lot different at the end of the season to be a co-champion with the first seed via tiebreaker, than to be the outright champion.

I was at the Thurston-North Eugene game last night where Thurston's shortstop and pitcher Tyler Johnson was hurt at second trying to turn a double play. Hopefully, the injury won't keep him out of the playoffs. I don't have any information from Thurston, but Johnson getting helped off of the field by teammates isn't indicative of being a starter against Springfield tomorrow. Dawson Phinney pitched five innings last night for Thurston, so Phinney probably won't be used as a starter tomorrow (Wednesday). Does coach Dube put the ball in the hands of frosh Kyle Watson? Or perhaps senior Jordan Loos? Maybe junior Austin Parrett or bring someone up from JV's?

Personally, I was hoping for a Kameron Bates - Tyler Johnson pitching matchup. But now my interest will be to see if the Thurston group can pull together in baseball like they did in football when they weathered some injuries late in the season. This game might be a little like the first Springfield - Thurston game this year - high scoring. Springfield got out in front and seemed to be cruising, but Thurston pulled within three in an 11-8 Miller victory. Springfield's coach Lansdon and Thurston coach Dube both have offenses that can hit with power and bunt you to death. If it is high scoring, I hope the wind stays down so I don't freeze taking pictures over a long period of time.

Churchill's shot at the playoffs are getting slim. A Lancer loss to Willamette Wednesday, combined with a North Eugene win over Marshfield knocks the Lancers out of the playoffs. (The Wolverines beat the Lancers in round 2, 9-6.) But there is still hope. Churchill is down three games to third place North Eugene with four games to go. The Lancers have to close the gap with North to one game by their league season finale against North Eugene. Churchill and North Eugene are even as far as the tiebreaker goes. Both teams won one head to head game, 1-0. I'm guessing the Willamette-Churchill game will be high scoring on both sides.

North Eugene hosts Marshfield. Marshfield's Elliot Aurdahl has the Pirates only two wins, and he pitched Monday. So the Highlanders will see someone else. The Pirates have given up just one run in each of the last two games and have been getting some good outings from some frosh and sophomore pitchers. It'll take a great outing for Marshfield to beat North. North Eugene has given up just 1.8 runs per game over all 11 league games. That stellar performance includes two shutouts and five games holding the opponents to just one run.

So it looks like we may know the playoff teams after Wednesday's games or maybe not until next Wednesday. I hope the drama drags on a little longer.

Millers Griller Week Coming Up

Churchill at home, Thurston on the road and a home game against the Highlanders. That's the Miller challenge this week. Sweep and Springfield would be on the verge of the MWL title. Win two and they are going to state. But, if they get swept, they could be on the edge of elimination if the Lancers get hot.

Springfield's bats have earned the Miller's a first place tie so far. They've pounded out 7.4 runs per game in league. That's quite a way ahead of Thurston's next best of 6.0. Four different players have jacked it for the Millers. Oliver Johnson and Blaine Dudley have two each, and Brandon Hubbard and Ryan Helfrich have one apiece.

Alex Camarena, Kameron Bates, Johnson and Cody Whitney have been hammering doubles and triples. With these bats it has to follow that Springfield would have the most players in the top 10 of RBI producers. And they do.

The other side of the Miller coin says that Springfield isn't winning their games with stellar D. They are giving up 5.6 runs per game in league. Fourth best out of six teams. But most of the runs against Springfield were scored in the first four games. Other than giving up nine runs to Willamette in a 15-9 victory in the second round, Springfield has held opponents to four or less in the last six games.

Frosh Malik Evans is 3-0 with wins over Thurston, Churchill and Willamette. Bates is 2-1 with wins over Thurston and Churchill. Jordan VanEngers is 2-1, the loss coming against North Eugene by a score of 3-1. It will be interesting to see who gets the Churchill start Monday, and who is saved for the game against Thurston on Wednesday.

Thurston
The Colts share of first place has been earned through a nice balance of offense and defense. The Colts are second in league in scoring at 6.0 runs per game. They are also second in defense at 4.2 runs per game. That's far behind North Eugene's 1.9 runs given up per game, and just ahead of Churchill at 5.0 and Springfield at 5.6 runs per game.

The Colts are getting hits, and hits with power, all up and down the line up. Jarren Goddard and Tyler Johnson have each homered and tripled, Goddard having two dingers. Goddard has also been hammering doubles, as have Peanut, Tylor Dumilieu, and Johnson. Zach Kopczanski and Jordan Loos have been hitting in the clutch and are among the team leaders in RBI's.

Colt pitcher Dawson Phinney leads the league in league wins with a 4-1 record. He could see another three starts in league. But it will be interesting to see if coach Dube holds him out of the Monday start at North Eugene to save him for Springfield. I'm guessing he goes with Phinney against the Highlanders. Phinney beat North, Willamette and Churchill in the first round. It makes sense to let him do it again.

North Eugene
The Highlanders are the defensive kings of the MWL. By a mile. They are giving up just 1.9 runs per game in league. Thurston is next at 4.2. So why aren't the Highlanders tied for first? Because they are next to last in scoring with 4.8 runs per game. My Pirates are last at 3.4 runs per game.

North's losses are by scores of 3-5, 2-4, 3-4 and 0-1. Sophomore Andrew Moore is 2-2 and has a key save. He's averaging over 10 strike outs a game versus a little over 1 walk. Kyle DeHaven is 3-1, with two wins over Marshfield and a split in 1-0 games against Churchill. Chris Clayton and Garrett Harpole have been doing very good work in relief roles.

North hosts Thurson Monday and travels to Springfield Friday. These are must wins if the Highlanders hope to regain the league title.

Churchill
The Lancers have been involved in three 1-0 ball games. Unfortunately for Churchill, they lost two of those in the second round to North Eugene and Thurston. If the Lancer's would have won those games, they would be in third place ahead of North and own the tie breaker. If....

Churchill may have to sweep this week to stay alive. They play Springfield, Willamette and Marshfield. In previous years, everyone would have thought "A sweep is very probable". Not even close this year. Any of the Lancer's opponents next week can defeat them.

Churchill's defense hasn't been too bad. At 5.0 runs given up per game, they are a little behind Thurston. It's the offensive side that is hurting. They've scored 3 or less in 7 games. I find it tough to believe that a line up with speedy left handed lead off man Ben Straka, Alex Priaulx (three dingers), Sam Kiesse, Brad Birch (2 dingers) and Spencer Jorgensen in the 1 through 5 spots, Churchill isn't putting up more runs.

Willamette
The Wolverines are third in runs scored in league and fifth in runs given up. Willamette finished the first round 0-5, with two one run losses, two two run losses and a fifth loss by three runs. Four of those losses were low scoring affairs. The Wolverines picked up their bats the second round and finished 3-2. This time in mostly high scoring affairs.

Willamette will most likely have to sweep the final round to have a chance of making the playoffs, although a miraculous cave in by North Eugene and Churchill could get them to the playoffs with a 4-1 final round.

Willamette's two homers have been by a frosh and soph - Scott Kuvaas and Trent Waggoner. Frosh Kuvaas also has tripled. Taylor Woodke has been hitting with men on and is among the league leaders in RBI's. Jake Hughes cleared the bases with a double to win the game against North last week. Junior TonySvensson has also been clutch with men on base.

Pitching duties have been spread pretty evenly among Trent Waggoner, Jack Hughes, Koleton Williams and Tony Svensson.

Marshfield.
The Pirates almost messed up the tie at the top of the league in a 1-0 loss to Springfield. They had a man on third with no outs in the 7th and couldn't get him in.

Seniors Cody Dew and has homered for the Pirates. There have been some outstanding performances late in the year by some frosh and sophs. The Pirates could end up in a three way tie for third if North loses out to end up 6-9, Willamette wins three to end up 6-9, Churchill wins one against North (5-10) and Marshfield sweeps five to end up 6-9.....

Please share your comments or corrections by responding in this blog or email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com

You can now buy MWL photos

Over the past few years, I have had a lot of parents ask me if they could buy some of the photos on the web site. Well, I've finally set up an account to sell photos on line.

The photo handling site is called SmugMug. It came highly recommended by several photographers, including the photographer in Coos Bay who shoots a lot of Marshfield and North Bend sporting events.

* Photos come in many different sizes. The base size is usually 4x6.
* You can order larger prints, but sometimes you have to crop a little because the dimension ratio of the larger photo may not be 4x6. For example, an 8x10 ration is 4x5.
*Sometimes a larger print is not available. That is because I had to crop so much that if the picture were blown up it would be too fuzzy. This happens a lot with distant photos, like those taken of outfielders.
*SmugMug doesn't charge separate shipping charges for each picture. So it is cost effective to order several prints at once. You may want to join in with another parent or two to save on shipping.
*You can order merchandise with pictures on them such as mouse pads, refrigerator magnets, coffee mugs, etc. Look for the merchandise tab.

Each team can have up to two people who can buy photos of their favorite player at cost plus shipping. The two people need to be regular contributors of scores and or stats. So far, the following teams have contributors:
Marshfield : 1 (same person does stats and scores)
North Eugene: 2 (1 sends in scores, the other stats)
Willamette: 1 (Coach sends in stats and recaps)
If you would like to be one of those who is eligible to buy at cost, please email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com

Coaches who want to do something special with photos for their season ending banquet or other function should contact me so we can make it happen.

Half of the profits will go to the school of the main player in the photo. The head coach will determine which group receives the money. Some schools use the baseball booster club or general booster club.

As always, two DVD's of photos will be provided to each school approximately two games before league ends. These photos are not cropped or edited. Some schools have used them for the student Yearbook, and some have turned them over to the baseball boosters.

Your support by buying photos is appreciated. There are many expenses doing the website. The biggest being the 27 inch Imac, the Nikon D700 and the 200mm & 400 mm lenses. If you want me to follow your kid around for a game or two, get me one of these:) Nikon 600mm lens

Here's my SmugMug web site.
Gary Haliski Photography
Here's the website of the photographer who covers Marshfield High School. He recently posted photos from the North Eugene at Marshfield game.
Outlawguy Photogrpahy

Good luck down the stretch!

8 Games Down, 7 To Go - Who Wants It?

The MWL just made the turn at the halfway point, and not much has been established for the title or the playoff teams. The league is as tight as I hoped.

Four teams have a legitimate shot at the title. Co-leaders Springfield and Thurston, 3rd place North Eugene and fourth place Churchill. Of the four, Churchill has the longest shot, being 2 games out of first with 7 to go. But those 7 games include 2 against co-leader Thurston. Lancer wins would give Churchill a tie breaker over the Colts.
And odd as it seems because Willamette has a 2-6 record, the Wolverines have a shot at making state. They are only 3 games out of third, with two games against third place North Eugene, and two against co-leader Springfield. Four of the Wolverines five losses are by two runs or less. It wouldn't take much to turn their record around.

Springfield and Churchill have to be the surprises so far. Springfield has played up to its potential. That was a concern before the year. It's tough for players to change their mindset from just playing ball with no real expectations of going to state, to playing ball to go to state. The question was, "Can the players and coaches play to their potential every game, every pitch?" The Miller's have answered the call as shown by their prolific bats in most games, and the D of the last four games where they have held opponents to a little over three runs.

Churchill jumped out to a 3-1 record, but lost three in a row. And they weren't pretty losses. They will need to get back to their defensive ways of the first four games, when they were giving up just 2.5 runs per game. Churchill is loaded with seniors. That can be good if they band together. Or, it can be bad if they succumb to spring term senioritis and their minds drift towards off field thoughts.

There are no league games Friday, but there are key games Monday and Wednesday. Now's the point in the season where coaches will use a starting pitcher in back to back games if they can pull them early in a lopsided win. The Churchill at North Eugene game Monday is the first opportunity to see if a coach uses this strategy. Lancer Brad Birch started Friday and went just four innings. He got the last 10 batters out that he faced, six by strike outs. He could be used in a pinch. If you really get into this strategy and want more to consider.... a Churchill win would give the Lancers the tiebreaker. But if Churchill loses, the Lancers still have another chance to take the tiebreaker in the third round. What would you do with Birch if it's close in the fifth?

Wednesday's games feature Thurston at Churchill and North Eugene at Willamette. Thurston likely will have a full set of pitcher options on Wednesday. Churchill will be coming off of the game against North Eugene and will have fewer pitcher options if the Lancer starter goes deep into the game on Monday. Fortunately for Churchill, they have a lot of guys who can throw.

Newbies. Some more frosh had impressive outings last week. We're all pretty familiar with Thurston's Kyle Watson trying out the clean up batter's position and pitching, Springfield's Malik Evans on the mound and Willamette's Scott Kuvaas at shortstop. We may be seeing a few more frosh in bloom. Willamette's Cole Urioste had a great week and Marshfield's Doug Molzahn was pressed into duty and pitched a complete game against Willamette. Another baby buc from Coos Bay, Tyler Johnson, also is picking up momentum at the plate. Coupling these outstanding frosh with the many very solid sophomores it appears the league is in good shape for at least a few more years. (The Coos Bay newspaper reported Molzahn out for the season with a knee injury)

Fight for First in Springfield and other thoughts

The Springfield and Thurston wins over baseball powers Churchill and North Eugene not only set up a much anticipated battle for first place between the Millers and Colts, the wins also opened the door for Marshfield and Willamette to work their way into the playoffs. More on the Eugene - Coos Bay schools later.

Springfield and Thurston
Hats off to both coaches. Erik Lansdon has taken the Millers from a struggling program to a highly competitive team. The Millers were 4-11 in 2008 and 3-12 in 2007. Phil Dube at Thurston has developed the entire Colt program - from JV's to Varsity - so that Thurston can graduate 10 all leaguers and still play the best ball in the MWL, so far.

The city of Springfield has two very different 5A teams. Springfield wins anyway they can - and anywhere. The Millers have played only one league game at Hamlin. They win the high scoring games, like the 11-8 and 12-10 first round games, or close ones like the 5-3 win over Churchill in the league opener.
Starting pitching duties have been spread out among junior Kameron Bates, frosh Malik Evans and senior Jordan VanEngers. Three starters with solid wins gets the opponents thinking a lot about which Miller they might see in the next game.
Blaine Dudley has been a nice surprise at the plate, leading the Millers in league RBI's. Alexjandro Camarena has shown some power and his speed kills. Bates hasn't jacked one in league yet, but who's throwing to him? He's still getting his share of RBI's.

Thurston has become the team to watch as they are playing the best D in the league, holding opponents to four or less in five of the Colt's six league games. Of course, it's the Millers who tagged Thurston for 11 runs at Thurston.
Dawson Phinney is 3-0 and if coach Dube throws him every other game, Phinney will get five more league starts. How's that for stepping up as a senior? Like Springfield, the Colts use a frosh in the starting rotation. Frosh Kyle Watson has been solid, with a sub 2.0 ERA. Junior Tyler Johnson also has had some memorable outings, especially the 5-3 win over North. Johnson came in in relief. He loaded the bases with no outs. Then he struck out three in a row. I guess he's a teaser.
Thurston's bats are alive. Tyler Johnson, Peanut Havens and Jarren Goddard have all been hitting with power and with men on. Jordan Loos leads the teams in league rbi's.
What I like about this team is the D. Solid pitching, out of sight infield and outfield play and speed to get to the wall or the short strokes. And catchers are oftentimes overlooked. Thurston has two great catchers in Peanut Havens and Jarren Goddard. Goddard makd two outstanding plays on bunts in the second round North Eugene game.
On O, the Colts lay down bunts like they are on autopilot, double steal, hit the long ball and tear up the bases with speed.

A true MWL fan wants tomorrow's game to go to Thurston. That would make them tied for the tiebreaker, potentially setting up a rubber match in the third round for all of the marbles. I'm assuming Dawson Phinney is throwing for Thurston. Phinney has been money so far. I'm thinking the Colls and Phinney will take this one to the bank and set up the possibility of a round three ballapalooza.

Churchill and North Eugene
They both need to win to stay two games out of the lead and pull to within one game of second.

Churchill's pitching has been inconsistent. They've won games, 3-2 and 1-0, but lost them 4-12 and 3-10. Their strike out to walk ratio isn't what we're used to. Hopefully for the Lancers, that will change for the second and third rounds.
The big surprise is that Churchill's bats haven't woken up yet. Brad Birch does have two dingers. I'm glad the opponents are throwing to him a little. Seemed like last year, I only saw him get walked. Alex Priaulx also has a homer. But overall, the Lancer's just haven't been the Lancers, but there's time left. They just better not wait too long.

North Eugene seems snakebit. The team is taking some hits in the injury department and they've lost three close ones; 3-5 and 3-4 (in 8) to Thurston, and 0-1 to Churchill. With recent injuries to Mills and up and coming soph Dillon Hudson, the Highlanders will be regrouping to find a way to make it to the playoffs for the 15th straight year.
After 10 run wins in their second and third league games, I thought the Highlanders had the swagger back, but they've only scored 7 runs total in the last three games. Garrett Harpole has two dingers and leads the team in league rbi's.
With Mills hurt, Andrew Moore, Kyle DeHaven and Chris Clayton are going to have to carry the pitching load. They can do it, but they need some runs behind them.

Willamette and Marshfield.
Willamette picked up their first league win Monday. The Wolverines are probably playing the most consistent D after Thurston. They've held opponents to five or less in five of six games. A lack of bats lost four of those games.
On the mound, seniors Jake Hughes and Logan Wright are looking for more run support. And a couple of sophs are getting a lot of innings, Trent Waggoner and Koleton Williams.
Taylor Woodke is leading the team in RBI's. Wright and Jordan Bowman have been blasting doubles.

Marshfield got out of the blocks with a 5-3 win, then gave up at least 10 runs in the next four games. The Pirates are looking much better at the plate than last year. They haven't been shut out this year, while at this time last year they had been goose egged twice already and were on their way to more.
Cody Dew has a homer for the Pirates. They are likely to sneak out another win or two this year. It's early and when Elliot Aurdahl is on, he can really frustrate the other team.

I'll be at the 'fight for first' game tomorrow. Then I think I'll check out my alma matre, Marshfield, Friday. Pirate coach Quintin Hall is doing a great job of building the program. There is huge improvement in the way the Pirates swing at the plate. It'll take a year or two to instill consistent hitting technique. In the meantime, it's fun to watch the improvement and anticipate what's coming in the future. I saw Springfield change for the better last year, and look at them so far this year.

A Moment of Silence

Amid all of the noise and excitement of a four way race for first place comes a moment of silence on behalf of one of our MWL baseball players in Coos Bay.

Marshfield senior Josh Perkins lost his mother to cancer on Thursday. You may recall that I wrote about the four seniors at Marshfield and what great kids they are. I got to know them during my five years in Coos Bay. Josh is a huge guy. Looking at him, he's meant to be a shot putter, or a football lineman. But Josh loves baseball and he loves band. He'd rather be in the spirited Pirate marching band than in the trenches.

I used to see him in the halls at Marshfield and I noticed that he hung around with his band friends more than his jock buddies. As a former trombone player myself in Marshfield's pep band and also a baseball player, I could relate. 'When the Saints Go Marching Home' is among trombone player's favorite songs. So maybe I'll pull the t-bone out of the garage and play it for Josh.

Josh's mom was a fixture at the Marshfield baseball games. That's not always a pleasant time, as you know if you've been to one of those games in pea soup thick fog. But, there she was, always encouraging Josh to do his best. Now she won't be at games anymore.

Josh is going to take a few days off. You see, he lost his father a year ago. I imagine it would be tough to go out on that field and look in the stands and not see the family there after all of these years of support. So it's likely that there will be a moment of silence before the Willamette at Marshfield game on Monday for Josh and his mother.

Sad events like this make us remember that life is about relationships and not baseball.

Good Luck Josh

Four Way Tie Thoughts

Last week, opening day made sure this wasn't going to be a free ride for Churchill and North Eugene as Springfield and the young Thurston squad made statements about their programs by taking games from the traditional Eugene powerhouses.

Friday's games started to bring league standings back to the good old days, and last nights games saw the home run bats break out as North Eugene and Churchill 10 runned their opponents.

North Eugene - Springfield game review.

I see more Highlander baseball than any other teams. That's because I live so close to Swede, Swede is a great place to shoot photos and coach Nicholsen lets me into regular season games for free. All last year and earlier this year, I saw North flail at bunt attempts. I can't remember seeing them lay one down on the first attempt during that period. Pop ups galore, guys in that frozen bunt pose after the balls in the catcher's mitt (With that look of 'Sorry, coach'), and bunts going right back to the pitcher for DP's. I should have switched from still photography to video to capture coach Nicholsen writhing in pain in the coaches box.

Sure enough, last night in the third inning; man on first, no outs... North popped up a bunt to the pitcher. But Corey must have some Wiley Coyote in him and laying down a successful bunt must be the equivalent of catching the Road Runner. Wiley Coyote never gives up. North got the first runner on in the third with no outs. Then, lo and behold, Wiley Coyote laid down four straight bunts. I'm always curious what coaches have said to their players that gets them on track. Maybe coach Nicholsen said, "No successful bunts, no swings!" Because after the successful bunts, it was bombs away. Dingers, doubles, hard liners for singles.

So my most looked forward to game of the young season went from a 2-0 game after two full innings to 13-1 in five. And over at Thurston, I'm missing a 5-2 Thurston-Willamette game.

I can't help but notice that Willamette is playing as good as ball as anybody and is 0-3. All were games I would have liked to see because I like well pitched games. 3-5, 2-3, 2-5 losses have to be hard to take. But they also are playing the type of ball that when the bats heat up, they could pull a big run on the league like Churchill did last year and be on their way to the playoffs. It's still early.

Out in east Springfield, Thurston senior Dawson Phinney has thrown 13 innings and picked up two wins. That's stepping up. Phinney has beaten North and Willamette. I expect him to start Friday against Churchill.

Churchill's D is looking looking steady. They've given up 5, 3 and 3 runs. If the 19 run explosion in Coos Bay got their bats going, Wednesdays game with North should be firework city.

Marshfield finished 1-2 against the Eugene schools. Now they move on to the Springfield schools. They will host Thurston Wednesday. I am interested to see who takes the mound for this one.

Springfield had one of those games last night. 0-0 after two innings, then the wheels fell off. The season is a long one, though, so one or two of those games during league is no big deal.
I would not want to be the team going to Willamette on Wednesday. The Millers are that team. Looks like they are going to run into a good D and the Willamette bats are bound to come alive soon.

The only thing we know for sure about Wednesday's games, weather permitting, is that North Eugene or Churchill will be in first - either all alone or tied with other teams, but not each other. The league could have anywhere from a three way tie for first to a three way tie for second after Wednesday. It'll be at least another week before we start to see much separation among teams. That's exciting.

Thoughts on Friday April 9 Games

I chose the matchup of the Springfield Undefeated's over the Willamette 0-1 -Churchill 0-1 game. I wanted to see Springfield frosh Malik Evans pitch and see how he would handle a pressure situation. On the other hand the Churchill-Willamette game was loaded with a bunch of good seniors and teams that have been playing solid D, a good chance for a well played game.

Despite the final 11-8 score, the game was exciting through five with Springfield up 5-3.

The score was 0-0 after two innings. Thurston pitcher junior Tyler Johnson got three infield outs in the top of the first. The second was shakier for Johnson as he issued a walk and hit a batter, but he got out of it when he left three Millers stranded on a ground ball back to him.
Miller frosh Evans quickly got through the first two innings with little trouble. He did walk the second batter of the game, but picked him off. The only Colt hit in the first two innings was by frosh Kyle Watson, who peppered a double to left with one out in the second.

The sun was still shining, but you would have thought a big dark cloud had settled over the pitchers and fielders, as it was about to shower walks and errors. Ollie Johnson got it going for the Millers with a single. Alex Camerena, who is turning into a wall basher, hit the first of two doubles to drive in Ollie. Two walks later, with one out and the bases loaded, Cody Whitney did his job and hit a deep sac fly for an rbi and the second out. The runner on second advanced to third, but the runner on first tried to take second. Peanut Havens said, "uh-uh", and tossed him out for the third out. Springfield 2 Colts 0.

Evans must have gotten cold during the Miller at bat as he walked the first two in the bottom of the third, Dumilieu got on via a bunt to load the bases. Kyle Wright showed some football strength and blasted one to right center for a three rbi double with no outs. A popped up bunt was caught at first by Bates who doubled Wright off at second. Evans got out of the inning with a K. Colts 3 Millers 2 after three full.

Springfield used four singles and a walk to score 3 in the top of the fourth. Evans K'd the first Colt batter, but then the Miller shortstop took a routine grounder and mailed it to the stands, putting Jarren Goddard into scoring position at second. Apparently the shortstop was just building some drama, as he made a spectacular play to get the third out of the inning for the Millers. Millers 5 Colts 3 after four full.

The 5th. The Millers 7-8-9 spots sat down 1-2-3. Evans K'd the 1-2 spots of the Colts, then walked Peanut. Peanut moved to second on a Loos single. But a long fly ball to left by Watson ended the inning.

The 6th. Austin Parrett struck out three Millers in the sixth, but the Millers used a walk, two singles and an error to score two and go up 7-3.
A great diving catch at second of a line drive off of Goddard's bat probably prevented a Colt rally. The next batter, Johnson, walked and got to second on a wild pitch. But Evans K's the next batter and got a 6-3 ground out to end the inning. Millers 7-3.

Wild 7th. Springfield put a string of singles together, Camarena hit his second solid double. An error put Camarena across the plate. Millers up 11-3 with one out and still two men on. An 'illegal slide' double play ended the Miller at bat. The wind was blowing and it was time to go home and warm up. The first Colt grounded out. Two outs from hot chocolate. But the Colts drug this one out with the help of a three dinger to right by Johnson. Final 11-8.

Overview of the game:
Springfield: Frosh Malik Evans had a good outing with six K's and five walks, 1 HP. He'll get stronger and I'm sure the walk total will go down. Camarena looked great at the plate, in the field and on the bases. Ollie Johnson did what a leadoff man is supposed to do. Three singles and a walk. Bates was hitting the ball on the ground and pushed in a couple of rbi's.
Thurston: This is one of the types of games I thought the Colts would have because of their youth and lack of varsity experience. A couple of unforced errors, a few too many walks issued. And the upside of youth, a never say die rally in the 7th. Wright had a day at the plate. A single, a hard double and a walk. Dumilieu showed his burners on a bunt single. The Colts will just get better and better as the weeks roll on.

Churchill 3 Willamette 2. Didn't get much info on this game, but it was the type of game I expected and wanted to see. Birch went the distance for Churchill. Churchill won it in the bottom of the 7th. Undoubtedly, a well played, well pitched games on both sides. Churchill travels to Coos Bay Monday while Willamette visits the Colts.

North Eugene 12 Marshfield 2. I somewhat anticipated this one after North lost to the Colts and Marshfield beat Willamette. If the Pirates had lost to Willamette, the Highlanders might have overlooked Marshfield. North's DeHaven had a no hitter through 4 and 2/3, so it looks like the Highlanders have a solid 1-2 pitching rotation.

This upcoming week:
If we get our games in, we'll complete the first round. Springfield is the only undefeated team, and North Eugene gets the first shot at them this week. Willamette gets a shot at the Millers Wednesday and the Pirates host the Millers Friday. Besides following the Miller's attempt at reaching the upper echelon of the MWL, the other game I am looking forward to watching is North Eugene at Churchill on Wednesday. If the weather doesn't wash us out, there should be a ton of entertaining games this week.

Final comment. Is there a power outage this year? I think there was just one league homer in the six games so far. Tyler Johnson poked an opposite field homer at Thurston.

Feel free to comment via this blog, or email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com with comments, corrections or additions.

Opening Day - Wild, Wild mid West

Wow, it looks like this season is going to be everything I hoped it to be. Everyone, and put Marshfield in that word, is in it - at least for a playoff shot.

I ended up on a MWL tour Monday due to the Springfield game being moved to Churchill and the Pirates showing up late to Willamettte. That made three games within eight miles of each other and I just couldn't resist trying to get opening day photos of the pitchers.

Opening pitch for me was by Sam Kiesse of Churchill. Junior Kameron Bates would counter for the Millers, who were bumped off of Hamlin by a flood. Although the game was moved, Springfield remained the home team. Both pitchers looked in command when I left in the bottom of the second, although Churchill stranded runners at second and third with one out. Bottom line for this game is that Springfield has joined the upper MWL echelon along with Thurston, North and Churchill. Blaine Dudley and Ryan Helfrich were both 2 for three. Bates k'd 8 while yielding just 3 hits. Tommy Hubbard closed.... Churchill didn't get in many non-league games and should be looking forward to the three game a week MWL routine.

Next up was Marshfield at Willamette. Einstein Elliot Aurdahl started for the Pirates. Trent Waggoner got the nod for Willamette. When I was in Coos Bay, and Aurdahl was a frosh, he used to tell me that a pitcher can win with a 70 mph fastball if he understood the elements of gravity, air drag, the Magnus force and the coefficient of viscosity. You'd think Elliot is an Eagle Scout. That's because he is. Now a senior, Elliot K'd 13 with his 70 mph'er and earned the 5-3 nine inning win. The Pirates remind me of Springfield about a year ago. The players know what to do on D and a lot more of them are agressive at the plate and have good strokes. Marshfield is another program on the way up. By the way, Aurdahl's apparent only flaw is that he is headed to Beaverville instead of Duck town.... Willamette's D held the Pirates to 3 runs through eight. That's enough to win, so beware the Wolverines.

Got to North late. Thurston was up 5-2 after their at bats in the top of the 6th. I missed seeing North's Moore, who started with four scoreless innings and K'd 10, but gave up four in the fifth. I also missed most of the Colts Dawson Phinney's six inning performance. What I did catch was an incredible bottom of the 7th. North was trailing 5-3 and Coach Dube put in Tyler Johnson to close. I believe it was a double, single and a walk later that Dube went to the mound to talk to TJ with the bases loaded and no outs. The next batter was a lefty, which meant a pulled fly ball would score a run and advance the tieing runner to third. Whatever Dube said to Johnson, Dube should save for a book, because Johnson K'd the next three batters, the last two looking.

So at the end of opening day, all three Eugene teams are in the league cellar. The cities of Springfield and Coos Bay are in first. How often does that happen in baseball? This won't last long as the Millers travel to Thurston Friday. One of them will be 2-0 and still at least tied for the league lead after they face off. Most, if not all of the teams, threw their staff aces Wednesday. Friday will be an interesting day to see if any team has a second ace up their sleeve. Several teams have one pitcher who is good for five to eight wins, but does any team have two of those?

I'll be at Thurston Friday to see the 1-0 teams duke it out. The defending state champs will be trying to send a message to the Millers that Springfield is a Colt town. Is it?

PS. You might want to try Twitter via your cell phone. I keep the tweets to mostly game updates. You can click on the Twitter logo on the main page and see what you would find out while sitting at a game. I'm an old fogie and I figured out Twitter. So can you.
If you don't Tweet, you can still the the tweets on the MWL website by clicking on the Twitter logo. So when you get home, just click on the Twitter logo and you'll see the scores before I get home and post to the web page.