TCP; Cougar baseball swings into season

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Sports Editor
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Volume 47, Issue 14
Sports

March is just around the corner and that means it will be time for baseball. In this frigid winter season, the men of Cougar baseball have been diligently honing their skills for spring. Cougar freshman Cody Watkins is one of the hard working Clackamas athletes practicing for spring season.

“It’s slow right now because we can’t go outside,” said Watkins. “Just trying to get prepared inside before the weather gets good.”

The team has been acclimating to college ball and learning to work together. They have been hard at work all school year. The Cougars hope to translate their synergy into success against the competition during spring season.

“We’ve been together since fall,” said Watkins. “It’s nice to have that bond. There’s a lot of us coming out of high school where we use aluminum bats. Getting used to wood bats is different, takes some pop off your swing, bunting is easier.”

Some of the team is new and some are veterans, but they all have room to improve and they have been consistent on that goal. Cougar Hayden Heying has enjoyed building the team’s prowess throughout the year and is excited for spring.

“We’ll be the sleeper team of the league,” said Heying. “Trying to get stronger, throw harder. Trying to get one of the starting roles. We’re working pretty good, team chemistry seems to be pretty good.”

The NWAACC rules allow baseball to include an unofficial fall and winter schedule before they start the regular spring season. The Cougars fall season is from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15. Nov. and Dec. are for conditioning only. Winter baseball is Jan. 15 to March 1, then spring season starts. During the Spring baseball is allowed 22 game days against opponents. Spring season lasts until June 1.

The weather hasn’t allowed for any pre-season games since fall, but that didn’t stop the Cougars from improving. Shortstop Taren Bradd is excited for Spring too. He enjoys the teamwork in baseball and looks for the hard hits. Like his teammates, he has been honing his game in order to perform at maximum capacity.

“I’ve been working on hitting, staying inside the ball and becoming a leader,” said Bradd. “My favorite part of baseball is hitting line-drives, hitting the ball hard and making plays.”

Head Coach Robin Robinson has been teaching and coaching at Clackamas since 1990. He has seen his fair share of various teams with different skill levels to work with. Robinson is impressed with his team this year. He welcomes the talented returners and looks forward to seeing the team perform in league.

“I feel really good about the sophomore returners,” said Robinson. “Good group of sophomore kids. The depth of our pitching is better than we’ve had in years.”

With such dedication towards practice, Clackamas is off to a good start this year. The coming season will test their strength as a team. The Cougars first four games of the spring season are set for this weekend against Spokane in The Dalles. They will play two games on Saturday and two on Sunday.

TCP; Cougars triumph, wash Riverhawks down-stream

This article originally ran at www.theclackamasprint.com. Too see the original, click here.

David Beasley, Sports Editor
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Volume 47, Issue 13
Sports

The Clackamas women’s basketball team dazzled the crowd with a strong performance Saturday afternoon. The Cougars faced the Umpqua Riverhawks in a match that involved a fist-full of three-pointers. The teamwork of the Cougars overcame the Riverhawks, with Clackamas winning 81-66.

Umpqua didn’t roll over and die. In fact, they were actually ahead during the first half. Umpqua took the lead with a three-pointer for 14-16. Umpqua fouled and Clackamas tied it back up at 16-16 with the free throw. Umpqua would never gain the lead back for the rest of the game.

Lacy Effenberger made a three-pointer with 9:12 left on the clock. The score was 19-16. The game remained competitive. With Clackamas leading at 25-23, Emily Pengelly caught a great pass from Effenberger to score a three-pointer. Pengelly was happy with the team’s communication and cohesiveness, she said.

“My favorite part was when there was flow together and the team was talking,” said Pengelly. “Ball movement was good and we took the shots that we needed to. Our lead kept up momentum. I think we’re looking really good for NWAACCs.”

Freshman Cassidy Edwards continued on the offensive with two points for Clackamas. After a time-out, Edwards sunk a two-point shot again. The score was 30-23 with 4:14 left in the first half. Throughout the game Edwards scored two of the 13 three-pointers by Clackamas. She was satisfied with the win and her team’s performance Saturday.

“That was really overdue,” said Edwards. “Everything ran really smoothly and we topped them on defense. That was a big win for us. If we continue to play like we have been, we’re gonna go to Kennewick and kick some ass and take some names.”

Nearing the end of the first half, the action was far from over. After an Umpqua point on a free throw, Effenberger answered with an ominous three-pointer. Umpqua was able to score two more points before the half ended, but Clackamas rained down more three-pointers. Tori Wilkinson hit the first and Effenberger picked-up another right at the buzzer. Clackamas commanded a 41-26 lead at half time.

Effenberger began the second half with a relentless three-pointer. After Umpqua scored a free throw the score was 44-27. Edwards followed with two points and Emily Pengelly hit a three. At 49-31, Umpqua began to fight back harder, gaining a few points from free-throws and two pointers. Umpqua brought the score up to 49-35.
During the back-and-forth fight for points and position, Clackamas freshman Lorissa Martine scored a nice two-point shot. The score was 54-37 and the battle continued up and down the court. Then Effenberger blasted through the defense and launched one her signature three-pointers for 57-37.

Edwards continued the momentum with a slick hook shot under the basket. The scoreboard read 59-37. Umpqua tirelessly retaliated, scoring four more points before Effenberger sunk one more three-pointer. Effenberger then made a free throw shot from an Umpqua foul. The score was 63-44. Effenberger’s three-pointer rampage included six stellar scoring shots out of 15 attempts. She was happy to win and was impressed with her team’s progress through the season, she said.

“We were off to a good start,” said Effenberger. “We had a few bumps in the road with injuries. That was a good game for us. We came out and accomplished it without any hesitation.”

Umpqua snuck-in a three-pointer, answered by Martine with a three. Then Umpqua hit another couple of three-pointers, bringing the score to 66-53. Umpqua showed that despite trailing, they were in the game to win. They methodically kept up with Clackamas on scoring through the remainder of the game.

The Cougars last shot of the night came from Wilkinson with a solid two-pointer. The second half was a better one for Umpqua. Even though they failed to gain a lead like they did in the first half, Umpqua was able to match Clackamas in score. Both teams scored 40 points in the second half. Despite the River Hawks attempt at a comeback, Clackamas won 81-66.