By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SCIO, Ore.– It’s been a work in progress for the Scio Softball team four games into the season.  A work in progress in just slowing the game down and playing the game to the level they know they can play, and Monday afternoon’s game with Clatskanie was just another opportunity to put that into play.  

The Tigers had kept the Loggers within reach at the midway point of the game, trailing Scio 2-1 going into the bottom half of the third inning, speeding the game up and throwing the Loggers off their game just enough to get the hometown squad on their heels.  Forcing them to find a way to settle it down and play.

“We’ve been working on it the past few games in slowing the game down and play our game.  I think we did way better today.  We slowed down the game and got out of our heads for the most part I think.  The first half of the game, everything with the game was moving a little too fast and in the second half of the game, we just slowed down and play like we usually play,” Myleigh Cooper starts.  “We just got to know that errors are going to happen throughout the game.  When those things happen, we just need to take a deep breath and be like, ‘we know how to play the game’.  We are good enough and we know how to play the game, so we just need to take a deep breath and relax.”

“Just get more into the game from the beginning instead of waiting until the end and just have more energy for the whole game,” adds Carrie Jones. 

Little by little the Loggers began to build some momentum.  Cooper and her defense shut down the Tigers threat, pitching a shutout over the remainder of the game as their offense trickled in runs until it became a steady stream by the fifth inning when they produced a four-run inning.  Their first crooked number since the first inning when they scored a pair.  At this point, that 2-1 lead ballooned out to a 8-1 lead going into the sixth inning.

Another shutout inning defensively in the top half of the sixth was followed by a trio of runs in the bottom half of the frame had ultimately ended the game 11-1 in six innings.  First-year softball player in Jones led the Scio squad with 3RBI’s.  Cam Dalke, Meagan Trissel and Rilee Nelson each had an RBI in the victory with the Loggers improving to 4-0 on the year with a pair of good tests ahead with South Umpqua (Friday at Stayton) and Pleasant Hill.

Clatskanie’s Joey Sizemore led the squad by going 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Kylie Thomas struck out eight for the Tigers to 12 struck out by Cooper from Scio in the game.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald