After suffering a dismal pounding from third ranked Junction City two weeks ago as well as the loss of JV pitcher Imari Gabica to injury, the Lady Falcons softball team found themselves at 11-7 and outside the possibility of the play in games. Ah... what a soothing balm a 5 game winning streak can be.
Coming off the deck from the bludgeoning that the Lady Tigers took to them, Courtney Haffner took the rubber against Cottage Grove on the road and was spectacular going all the way in a shortened 5 inning game. Haffner wound up giving up a stingy 2 hits and collecting 8 strikeouts with her baffling off speed pitches. 76% of Haffner's pitches went for strikes. Meanwhile, Maranda Hanson and Ashley Feltz both homered as part of a brutal 16 hit attack that also feasted on 8 Lady Leo walks as Elmira punished Cottage Grove 19-0.
Elmira then pulled off a stunning road upset of Thurston 11-10. Hanson got the win and needed to pitch her best because her teammates committed 5 errors, 3 in the second inning that helped stake Thurston to an early 5-1 lead.
But the Lady Falcons' murderer's row answered in the top of the third. Hanson doubled, followed by Feltz, who also doubled, scoring Hanson in front of her. Then Cheyenne White crushed a 2 run homer over the left field fence scoring Feltz and drawing Elmira within one.
In a back and forth contest by two heavyweight teams, Elmira wrestled the lead away for good in the sixth inning when Madison Wisner walked to open the inning enabling the top of the order to come to the plate. After a Carly Grossmiller ground out, Hanson doubled again, scoring Wisner. Back to back doubles by White and Josie Dickson gave the Falcons a lead they would never loose.
Hanson then took control winning the next three consecutive games including a sweep of a road double header against Marshfield 16-9 and 7-3. Dickson jolted a 3 run homer in the first inning to set the table for Hanson's win.
Finally, Hanson was again solid in a final road win against Siuslaw. She gave up only 1 earned run, going the full 7 innings and tallying 12 Ks in the 12-1 victory. The win saw Carly Grossmiller step up as the offensive hero, moving into the lead off position and going 4 for 5 with 2 RBIs and 4 runs scored.
So now it comes down to Friday, May 10, as 8th ranked Marist comes in with a 20-3 mark in virtual tie with Junction City for the league championship. Both teams are assured of a playoff spot. A sweep of the Lady Pirates would almost guarantee that Elmira would probably rise in the rankings and secure a home field play in game next week. A split will probably keep them in the remaining top 8 in 4A. Two losses could spell an early summer for the softball this year.
Showing posts with label Marist Catholic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marist Catholic. Show all posts
Friday, May 10, 2019
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Soaring Falcons are Grounded by Marist
The magic carpet ride that was flying into the conference schedule for Elmira's football team was brought to earth in the most guttural way, as Marist Catholic managed to snuff out a Falcon offense that came in to the game as the #3 scoring team in 4A, as the Spartans defeated then #4 ranked Elmira 15-2.
"We could have won this game," head coach Justin Peeler said as he came off the field. This could be an enormous understatement. Peeler was looking back at the squandered opportunities that Elmira left on the field. Four times the Falcons had the ball inside the Marist red zone; three of those were inside the Spartan's 5 yard line. On all of those drives, the Falcons were turned away, as they failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time this year.
The contest was a defensive slug fest with quarterbacks paying the price. Passing was a premium for both teams, though Marist QB Joey Laing did manage to connect on a 40 yard pass and the Spartans' halfback Hagen Stephenson connected on a 35 yard option pass. Both strikes led to both of Marist's touchdowns, a 2 yard touchdown by Hayden Loboy, and a 3 yard run by Laing. However, the Elmira defense came to play and did their job, pressuring Laing all night, registering 5 sacks and a safety from a holding penalty in the end zone which closed the score to 7-2 in the second period. The Elmira defense held the Marist offense to under 200 yards. The Falcons defense was led by Alex Head who rung up 7 tackles on the night.
In like manner, the Marist defense dismantled the Falcon offense, punishing Elmira quarterbacks with 8 sacks on the day, usually at the most inopportune moments of the game. Starting quarterback Cobyn Herbert was workmanlike in passing 8 of 15 for 81 yards. However, Herbert injured his knee late in the first half while the Falcons were still inside the Marist 5 yard line. Back up quarterback Wolfgang Marsalis came on and was immediately sacked by Marist and the drive was thwarted. Marsalis' night was miserable, throwing 2 for 9 and a meager 4 yards while absorbing 5 sacks the rest of the way and failing to show the kind of foot speed that Herbert has shown that propelled the offense this season . This changed the complexion of the Falcons offense, which failed to threaten Marist significantly afterwards.
Herbert's knee injury could mean a decision for Peeler between the established backup Marsalis and the faster Rowdy Ramirez, who got quarterback time earlier this year in a mop up role at Suislaw. The diagnosis and prognosis of Herbert's injury was not available at press time.
The Falcons have the opportunity to get both healthy and back into the win column as they host bottom dwelling Junction City for homecoming this Friday, September 28 at Swartz Field.
"We could have won this game," head coach Justin Peeler said as he came off the field. This could be an enormous understatement. Peeler was looking back at the squandered opportunities that Elmira left on the field. Four times the Falcons had the ball inside the Marist red zone; three of those were inside the Spartan's 5 yard line. On all of those drives, the Falcons were turned away, as they failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time this year.
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| Elmira's sophomore quarterback Cobyn Herbert (17) fires a pass under heavy pressure from a defender in the first quarter of the Falcons' 15-2 defeat to Marist, Friday September 21 at Swartz Field. Photo by Kimberly Lillie |
The contest was a defensive slug fest with quarterbacks paying the price. Passing was a premium for both teams, though Marist QB Joey Laing did manage to connect on a 40 yard pass and the Spartans' halfback Hagen Stephenson connected on a 35 yard option pass. Both strikes led to both of Marist's touchdowns, a 2 yard touchdown by Hayden Loboy, and a 3 yard run by Laing. However, the Elmira defense came to play and did their job, pressuring Laing all night, registering 5 sacks and a safety from a holding penalty in the end zone which closed the score to 7-2 in the second period. The Elmira defense held the Marist offense to under 200 yards. The Falcons defense was led by Alex Head who rung up 7 tackles on the night.
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| Elmira running back Ryan Imelm (33) catches a pass in the soft spot of the Marist defensive zone early in the first half of the Spartans' 15-2 win over the Falcons Friday September 21 at Swartz Field. Photo by Kimberly Lillie |
In like manner, the Marist defense dismantled the Falcon offense, punishing Elmira quarterbacks with 8 sacks on the day, usually at the most inopportune moments of the game. Starting quarterback Cobyn Herbert was workmanlike in passing 8 of 15 for 81 yards. However, Herbert injured his knee late in the first half while the Falcons were still inside the Marist 5 yard line. Back up quarterback Wolfgang Marsalis came on and was immediately sacked by Marist and the drive was thwarted. Marsalis' night was miserable, throwing 2 for 9 and a meager 4 yards while absorbing 5 sacks the rest of the way and failing to show the kind of foot speed that Herbert has shown that propelled the offense this season . This changed the complexion of the Falcons offense, which failed to threaten Marist significantly afterwards.
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| Falcon defenders Blake Wigham (28) and Bryce Sawyer (20) combine on tackling Marist tailback Hayden Loboy during the Spartan's 15-2 victory over Elmira Friday September 21 at Swartz Field. Photo by Kimberly Lillie |
Herbert's knee injury could mean a decision for Peeler between the established backup Marsalis and the faster Rowdy Ramirez, who got quarterback time earlier this year in a mop up role at Suislaw. The diagnosis and prognosis of Herbert's injury was not available at press time.
The Falcons have the opportunity to get both healthy and back into the win column as they host bottom dwelling Junction City for homecoming this Friday, September 28 at Swartz Field.
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