Fall Sports Roundup: Mark Morris’ Toney tops leaderboard after 18 holes at The Club
Around the Yard: Lumberjills knock off Kelso in cross-river slowpitch slugfest
Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
The Monarchs saw Broden Toney set the pace Monday with a three over par round of 73 at their 18-hole boys golf invitational at the Longview Country Club.
After a full day on the Planned City’s most exclusive course, Mark Morris wound up in second as a team behind Columbia River by a scores of 310-317. Luke Potter and Owen Winn led the Rapids with twin rounds of 74. Ridgefield placed third with a team score of 328. Ethan Cox led the Spudders with a round of 80 that was good for sixth place.
Woodland finished sixth at the invite and R.A. Long placed eighth as a team. The Beavers were led by Jake Sams, who placed 13th with a round of 83. The Lumberjacks were led by Riley Coleman and his round of 80 that was good for sixth place tie.
As for the rest of the Monarchs, Ethan Kosoris placed 5th with a round of 79, Henry Kelly placed 10th with a round of 81, Reilly O’farrell placed 15th with round of 84, and Mark Khendrickson finished on 87 to round out the Monarchs scoring.
The extended affair was a win-win for the Monarchs as they were able to take advantage of some sunny midseason weather while preparing for the increased workload of postseason golf.
“Playing 18 more often will help prepare the kids for Districts,” MM coach Kim Ulman said. “It’s also good to play a course they aren’t familiar with.”
Monarchs on a the march
The Monarchs improved to 8-0 on the season in standard match play with a win over Hudson’s Bay by a score of 144-204 in 2A Greater St. Helens League action at Fairway Village last Thursday. Broden Toney and Henry Kelly were co-match medalists for the Monarchs with matching even par scores of 34.
Owen Hewett led the Eagles with a round of 46.
The Monarchs locked down the team win with help form Reilly O’farrell’s card of 37, and Ethan Kosoris round of 39.
Mark Morris will play Union at Camas Meadows on Wednesday afternoon.
Coleman carrying the lumber
The Lumberjacks fell to Ridgefield by a score of 162-187 at Mint Valley in 2A GSHL boys golf play at Mint Valley last Thursday. R.A. Long’s Riley Coleman was the match medalist with a two-over par round of 37.
The Spudders were led by Drew Krsul’s round of 38, while Brody Newcombe posted a 40.
The Jacks saw Kian White and Alex Wooden both finish on 48 in the loss.
R.A. Long is scheduled play Kelso at Three Rivers Golf Course on Wednesday starting at 2:30 p.m.
BOYS TENNIS
R.A. Long doubles finding their rhythm
The Lumberjacks seem to have found some synergy in their doubles pairings this season on the boys tennis courts. Last week R.A. Long defeated Hudson’s Bay 4-2 at home thanks to a clean sweep in partner play. On Monday the Jacks lost 5-1 on the road to Ridgefield, but still saw encouraging performances on the doubles courts in the 2A Greater St. Helens League match
Against the Eagles last Thursday, R.A. Long was able to see their cooperative unit working at full tilt. Kasen Burr and Alberto Martinez defeated Kemper Fox and Pedro Ferreira 6-2, 6-2 in No. 1 doubles. Rhet Young and Aiden Tran beat Hudson Wright and Alex Perkins 6-1, 7-5 in No. 2 doubles. While, Mason Waddle and Tobias Anderson defeated Cameron McClary and Karson Starr-Nelson 6-1, 6-1.
“It was a nice win for us,” RAL coach Rally Wallace said. “It was nice to have Kasen Burr find his stroke after being out over a week with illness. He and Alberto Martinez were solid at number doubles.”
The Jacks needed all that help from their doubles teams in order to overcome a talented singles contingent from Hudson’s Bay.
“They have three really strong singles players but Khang Le was able to pick up a win at number two singles to secure the victory for us,” Wallace added. “He was really making some tough shots and was able to play though a lot of pressure at the end of the sets.”
Le defeated Sam Perlick 7-5, 7-5, while teammate Payton Thill lost a tight match to Tanner Koford by scores of 7-5 and 6-2.
The Lumberjacks didn’t fare as well to open the week when they went to Ridgefield, picking up just one match win along the way.
“Kasen Burr showed a lot of grit at third singles, winning a three hour marathon match,” Wallace noted.
Burr defeated Zach Wallace by scores of 4-6, 7-6(6) and 6-2.
R.A. Long’s Le played a tough match with Macain Reed before falling 6-3, 7-5.
In doubles, Rhet Young and Aiden Tran played the closest match of the day with a 7-5, 6-1 loss to Caden Dalley and Jack Region.
R.A. Long will hit the road again on Tuesday for a 2A GSHL match at Fort Vancouver.
SLOWPITCH SOFTBALL
Lumberjills toss a wrench in Kelso’s gears
The Lumberjills came across the Cowlitz River last week as underdogs through no fault of their own. That’s just what happens when you’re up against an undfeated Kelso side that’s playing on its home turf. But the R.A. Long slowpitch softball team didn’t let expectations derail a good time when they went off script for a 20-5 win over the Hilanders in six innings of cross-river rivalry action dressed up as a league affair.
“(We) were firing on all cylinders today,” RAL coach Josh Donaldson said
Edie Korpi led the way for R.A. Long with four hits on a day when the visitors pounded out two dozen knocks to keep the bases crowded. All told, nine of the Jills 10 starting players had at least two hits and everyone who got an at bat notched at least one base knock in the box score. Nicole Walker, Malia Byrnes and Kace Prindel all had three hits in the win. Prindel turned in four runs batted in from the leadoff spot.
But it wasn’t just the Jills offense that came to play, who had three diving catches in the outfield.
“Nicole Walker is really making a name for herself after moving to the outfield after being the pitcher the last three years,” Donaldson noted. “Nicole caught all five attempts she had in left field today, including two diving catches and one over the shoulder running towards the fence. I am very proud of her development as an outfielder.”
R.A. Long (6-2, 2-1 league) will host Mark Morris on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Hilanders’ hot start halted
Errors cost Kelso dearly in their first loss of the season at the hands of the Lumberjills last week. While R.A. Long certainly brought the lumber, the Hilanders simply gave away too many free chances.
But it wasn’t all bad for the hosts.
“Avery Mackin led the team with strong hitting and base running,” Kelso coach Liz Hoopfer said.
The Hilanders couldn’t get that sort of performance to catch on, though, when they fell 11-3 at Columbia River on Monday.
Mackin again led Kelso on offense and defense, turning in several highlight reel catches in left field and bashing a home run.
The Hilanders cleaned things up considerably on defense, but the Rapids blasted a pair of home runs in the fourth inning to blow the game open.
Kelso (6-2, 4-2) will play at Skyview on Tuesday afternoon, before hosting Union on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Robbins, Monarchs take it to Prairie
Number nine in the order, but number one in the hearts of Monarchs fans, Neelie Robbins led Mark Morris with three hits in a 19-9 win over Prairie at home last Thursday.
All told, the Monarchs slugged 17 hits compared to 14 for the Falcons in league play.
“The girls came to play today and would not be denied the win,” MM coach Chris Mejia said. “It was a great game by both teams.”
Mark Morris jumped out to the lead in the bottom of the first inning after Keira McGinley singled home two runs, Cheyenne Wagner grounded out to score another and an error added one more ace. The Monarchs added to their early lead in the bottom of the second inning when Navaeh Cavazos Avery Carpenter each doubled home two runs, and Sydney Nelson singled to score another run. The hosts added one more run when Neelie Robbins doubled to make the score 9-3.
Prairie Falcons tied the game in the top of the fourth thanks to a single by Claire Jodoin, a triple by Lauren Bisson, a fielder's choice by Meliya Conn and an error.
The Monarchs recaptured the lead, 14-9, in the bottom of the fourth after Carpenter doubled, Nelson singled, Wagner doubled, McGinley scored on a sacrifice fly and Wensday Cavasos hit into a fielder's choice to score a run. The Monarchs added five insurance runs in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run Wagner double.
“Wagner provided pop in the middle of the lineup, and led (us) with four runs batted in,” Mejia said.
Wagner finished the day 2-for-4 in the box. Carpenter, Nelson, Baxtor, Cavasos, and McGinley each tallied multiple hits for Mark Morris.
Mark Morris will play at R.A. Long on Tuesday at 4 p.m.