Just Out Here Wanting To Play

By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

DALLAS, Ore.— “These girls are just out here wanting to play…It’s just girls that wanted to play ball, they didn’t have a school season and they’re out here tearing up the best that they can,” said West Valley Head Coach Steve Rolston.

The Wardog roster features six Amity High School girls, four Willamina High School Girls and one girl from Perrydale High School. The Wardog name came from combining the Amity mascot (Warriors) and Willamina mascot (Bulldog) as the 11 girls were looking to salvage the year that wasn’t for them this past Spring as they wrapped up another Sunday in the Fall Softball league at the Lyle Sports Complex.

Gabby Rolston hit a three-run home run in their 8am opener, drawing the Wardogs to within one of the Dallas Lady Dragons 16U in the fourth inning. The Amity ballplayer made it 4-3 in favor of the Dragons entering the bottom half of the inning.

Willamina’s Ameila Mooney collected two hits in the game against Dallas as the Dragons used a six-run bottom half of the fourth inning to put an exclamation point in the 10-6 victory for Dallas. Passion was there and energy of just playing the game they love and having another crack at playing it.

Gabby Rolston hopping back to avoid a pitch against Central Sunday morning in Dallas (Picture By Jeremy McDonald)

“It was huge. It’s huge. There were parents and players that didn’t care at that point on where they played or how many games they played, they just want to get out here and hit. Play some games,” said Rolston. “With how the schools are and Covid, it’s going to be tough.

“We’ll see, they might not have a school season this year and this may have been it for them. They just wanted to play and it was good to see that, see all that passion that needed to be released a little bit. Get out there and have some fun.”

In their breakfast doubleheader finale, a tough first inning put West Valley in a hole. Down 15-0 entering the bottom half of the second inning, the Wardogs wheeled off 14 straight runs before games end to pressure Central in slowing them down.

West Valley rallied off 14 runs in the second and third innings to almost comeback from 15 runs down to win it against Central on the heels of their 10-6 defeat to Dallas earlier in the morning (Picture By Jeremy McDonald)

Patience at the plate. Patience on the basepaths. Patience overall offensively helped guided West Valley in the rally in the 15-14 defeat to close out Sunday for the squad.

“You got to be patient. They can have a bad inning like we had, so go out there and play. See the ball and crush it. That’s what you’re out here to do,” said Rolston.

Amity’s Abby Sambuceto collected two hits in three plate appearances in the second game for West Valley.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald