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15-year-old CVBR team ready for state tourney
Thanks to a forfeit, CR Woods qualifies for
state tournament
GFU tanks in top 25 percent of D-III athletic
programs
Newberg youth win hoops tourney
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Royals win two of three to end season |
The baseball team beats up on McMinnville and
Reedville to finish at 25-22 overall |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
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The Newberg Royals made
their last week of the season an interesting one.
Newberg picked up an 11-6 win at McMinnville Tuesday, nearly blew a
nine-run lead in a 17-15 home win over Reedville Wednesday and
closed out its season with an 8-5 home loss to Westview Thursday.
The Royals, a 13/14-year-old team, ended the season with a 25-22
overall mark and 13-9 league record.
“My expectations were exceeded as far as I thought how we would do
with a young team going into a 14-year-old division,” said Newberg
coach Steve Hodges.
Hodges said it was difficult for the Royals to compete for a
playoff spot because Newberg was in a more competitive league and
its pitching staff was relatively young.
“It’s a long season and we can’t expect those guys to get you a win
every time,” he said. “It would have been nice to start the year
with a couple of more (starting pitchers).”
On Thursday, the Royals ended their season with a loss to
Westview. Newberg saw Westview jump out to a 7-1 lead before the
Royals scored two runs apiece in the fifth and seventh innings.
“Our defense wasn’t particularly good,” Hodges said.
Pitcher Jake Burger struck out three batters in the loss.
“He hasn’t pitched a lot, but he looked good (Thursday),” Hodges
said of Burger. “He’ll definitely pitch next year a lot more.”
While Hodges said Burger’s efforts on the mound were enough to keep
the Royals in the game, Newberg’s offense and defense lacked a
spark.
“We had a few hits late, but our infield defense struggled again
and we gave up quite a few unearned runs,” Hodges said.
In the loss, Bill Brown recorded two hits while Brett Case added a
double. Tanner Hodges and Trent Boston were both 1-for-2.
On Wednesday, Newberg and Reedville combined for 32 runs in a 17-15
thriller that the Royals won.
“It was crazy,” Hodges said.
Crazy is right. The Royals took a nine-run lead into the final
inning and barely escaped with the win.
“It was pretty much an emotional roller coaster,” Hodges said. “You
take a nine-run lead into the seventh inning and it should be easier
than that.”
Newberg led early in the contest before Reedville bounced back and
took a five-run lead. But Newberg, which had 10 hits in the win,
scored seven runs in the fifth inning to take a slim two-run lead
and the win.
“We hit the ball pretty well and throw some walks and errors in
there and we had seven runs before the dust cleared,” Hodges said of
the fifth inning.
Taylor Burrows had a double and a single for the Royals, while
Austin Dahl chipped in a triple of his own. Boyd recorded a double
while Coby Nelson went 2-for-3 in the win. Burger was 2-for-4 while
Tyler Church was 2-for-3 with a double.
Dahl claimed the pitching victory for the Royals, striking out four
and walking eight in the win.
“It wasn’t a stellar performance but it got the job done,” Hodges
said.
On Tuesday, Zach Anderson claimed the pitching victory for Newberg
in an 11-6 triumph. The Royals recorded 12 hits as Evan Windsor and
Church both went 2-for-4. Boyd recorded 3-for-4 performance; Brown
went 2-for-3.
With the season complete, Hodges said the team obtained the
experience it needed against several of the top teams in the state.
“I think they really got challenged and they grew from that,” he
said. “I think you can see there’s some definite improvement from
where they started the season and that’s what it’s all about.”
Hodges said a few players on the team struggled to make contact
with the ball because of the quality of the competition.
“When you play good competition, you’re forced to step up,” he
said. “It was a good learning experience for all of them.”
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From
July 24,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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