Lady Falcons Roll to 3-0 Record, Seize #1 Ranking in 4A

Junior pitcher Maranda Hanson fired 8 strikeouts in a workmanlike, strong performance as the Elmira softball team cruised to a 6-1 non-league road victory over Creswell.  The victory after two previous in the week, propelled the Lady Falcons to the #1 ranking in 4A for softball.

Despite the fact that game was close through 5 innings, Elmira never seemed to be out of control in a a game they never trailed.  This was even during Creswell's only real threat mounted in the 4th inning.  After being staked to a 2-0 lead on three Lady Bulldog errors, Creswell rallied against Hanson, who had pitched three innings of no-hit ball.  A lead off double, an infield hit, and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs.  Hanson settled down and struck out the next batter, surrendered a single run on a fielder's choice ground out, and then struck out the final batter of the inning to snuff out the rally and hold the lead.  Creswell would not threaten again.

The Lady Falcons' bats were slow to warm up, aided by some questionable umpiring that vexed both teams.  However, Elmira erupted in the sixth inning when they got a run on a lead off homer by Ashley Feltz who crushed a line drive deep over the left field fence.  After a walk and a hit batter, Carly Grossmiller cashed both runners in with a sharp 2-run single to make it 5-1.  Feltz played add on in the 7th, when she rapped an RBI single, scoring Cheyanne White who led off the last inning with a hard double.

The story of the game though wound up being Hanson's complete control of the game.  After putting down the Creswell rally, she gave up no hits, scattering two in the game.  Hanson was 17 of 25 on first pitch strikes and has 24 strike outs already this season. 

The Lady Falcons will participate in the Sandy Softball Tournament next week.  Any parents who are attending the tournament feel free to share photos for publication and photo credits.

Rough Start for Falcon's Baseball

The Falcons game against Hidden Valley High School was cancelled after the bus that was driving the team en route lost control and crashed through a fence and into a tree shortly after leaving Elmira High School.  The driver and one student were transported to a local hospital.  According to head baseball coach Ryan Wolgamott, there were enough minor injuries that the game at Pleasant Hill could not be played because of an insufficient number of players.  Several players will be out for tomorrow's game at North Valley.  Athletic Director Brian Brands suggested that they might make up the game while they were down south at Grant's Pass.  

This was as the Falcon's were seeking to rebound from a moribund season last year.

"Our outlook is good when healthy.," said Wolgamott in an email.  "I expect us to be much improved over last year's 3-19 team that went winless in league.  I believe we
have the potential to finish around .500 in league and challenge for a
playoff spot."

Elmira returns 9 players from last year's team including Gavin Parker and C.J. Smith, both who were second team all conference in the 4A Sky-Em.  

Mixed results on 2019 Boys Hoops Campaign

"I know our boys are disappointed that we didn’t make one of the playoff spots," said Falcon's head basketball coach Nick Garman in and email.  "But I’m not disappointed in them at all."  Garman's enthusiasm on a 9-13 (3-7 in the 4A Sky-Em conference) was based on the Falcons previous year.  

"We were 0-10 in league the year before and we really only returned three kids off that team," Garman explained.  "So we started over in a way and finished 9-13 overall, a pretty dramatic improvement."

Starting Falcons' center, 6-7 Jacob Marr towers above Junction City opponents for a rebound in Elmira's game against the Tigers Tuesday, February 5 at Elmira High School.  Photo by Michelle Ossowski.

The 2019-20 version of the Falcons will move on without starting point guard Paul Ossowski, and loose some length with the graduations of Keegan Cook and Jaden Palmer.  Also moving on will be sixth man  Riley Chambers.

There is evidence that the progress made this season will not be a one season aberration.  Starters Christian Davis and Jacob Marr return this year.  Davis showed flashes of devastating offense but also had periods where his shot abandoned him.  Defensively he is long and aggressive.  Marr will be a junior and with a year of being a starter in the rugged Sky-Em conference, he will be ready to up his game which at times seemed unstoppable.  However, the 6-7 sophomore needed work defensively and sometimes struggled against offensively versatile centers.

Junior wing Christian Davis scores against two defenders in the Falcons' victory over the Vikings, Tuesday February 12.
Photo by Michelle Ossowski

Others playing a key role next year will be Gannon Harpole, 6-5 Cobyn Herbert, Mason Smart and Keaton Warner, as well as JV players Jacob Admire and Josiah Hernandez.

6-5 sophomore Cobyn Herbert battles two Siuslaw defenders for a rebound in the Falcons' 23 point blow out Tuesday February 12. Photo by Michelle Ossowski

The real revelation of the season was the ascension of Bryson Forsman during the last third of the season.  Not big or long, Forsman nonetheless became a vital scoring weapon for the Falcons down the stretch including a 25 point outburst in a victory against Junction City.  It will be interesting to see how coach Garman utilizes him next year.  Forsman's real contribution was an almost frenetic and fearless energy.  Smaller than most front liners, Forsman would courageously take forays into the paint, attacking the opponent's rim.  He also has a competent outside game to complement his aggression and, despite his size, he is a frustrating defender. 

Bryson Forsman shoots a three pointer off a screen by Riley Chambers in Elmira's big win over Siuslaw, Tuesday, February 12 at Elmira High School.  

"It probably seemed like Bryson did come out of nowhere," Garman commented.  "But that was mainly due to a lingering illness that kept him out of most of the first two weeks of the season. He then had to play catch-up in a couple of ways. One, he had to get in basketball shape and was two weeks behind in some ways and two, he had to learn our system and style of play as a transfer kid. He is an excellent penetrator, a decent three-point shooter and an above average pull-up jump shooter. He improved a lot defensively and is an excellent rebounder, especially for his size. He is a pretty tenacious kid. 

All this portends an even more successful season for Elmira Hoops in 2020.

Injury Halts McDougal's Championship Quest

On the verge of being a dominant factor in girl's 4A wrestling in only her freshman year, Anna McDougal's season ended suddenly just 1 minute and 29 seconds into the )SAA Girls Championship wrestling match at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Saturday night, February 24. 

Elmira freshman Anna McDougal is declared victor in a match earlier this season.  McDougal was the state runner up in the girls division.  Photo by Kimberly Lillie.

"She (Hood Valley senior Grace Miller) had me on my back," described McDougal.  "I was arching to get a reversal and that's when it happened, like a stinger."  The sudden paralysis in her arms turned the festive nature of the state championship tournament into a harrowing time of silence as McDougal was attended by paramedics on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital, McDougal's suspicion of a neck stinger was realized. 

"I had to wear a neck brace for a week," McDougal noted with disgust.

The loss in the championship round does nothing to lessen the astounding success of the youngster from Veneta.  All the freshman did was compile a 30-9 record in her first season.  This included a staggeringly dominant 26 pins.  McDougal has recovered nicely as of press time and that means three more seasons of strong showings going forward.  When asked if she thought she was going to win the championship match against Miller, McDougal only smiled coyly.