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Sports Local Sports Huskies lose Valiantly in semifinals
Huskies lose Valiantly in semifinals
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Less than a year ago the Elgin/Imbler softball team celebrated a Class 2A State Championship. On Tuesday they hosted the defending Class 3A State champions Valley Catholic. While the team from Beaverton rolled in on a luxury bus, Elgin/Imbler stood its ground. One pitch separated the two teams during a 1-0 win by the Valiants. “It’s an amazing feeling to be where we are,” sophomore pitcher Tara Ludwig said. “Nobody thought we’d be here.” Naysayers didn’t think Elgin/Imbler would make it out of the Eastern Oregon League. According to a Vale fan earlier this season, “They don’t belong in our league.” But nobody wanted this team. And they showed why — they’re that good. Ludwig, 2A Player of the Year, battled 3A pitcher of the year Sami Picken all the way to the wire. The first baserunner of the game came in the second inning — a walk drawn by Valley Catholic’s Emily Becker. Both teams finally collected a hit in the fifth. Ludwig faced trouble after issuing her second walk of the game. A single by Jill Suratt put runners on first and second with one out. Ludwig beared down and struck out the next batter. Two outs and still the go-ahead run stood 60 feet from scoring. A simple pop up to the second baseman turned into a single second of terror. Valerie Barry’s swing sent Karley Knapp to her left. The yellow ball popped back out of Knapp’s mitt for a brief second before disappearing into the brown leather. Kacie Merrigan dealt the only blow to Valiants’ right-hander Sami Picken. Merrigan found the only green landing spot in seven innings against Picken — a one-out single. The sophomore stayed stranded at first base. Then in the sixth, one pitch made the difference. A walk put Chelsea Lambert on first base with one out. Then a wild pitch moved the Valley Catholic baserunner down to second. Ludwig countered with a strikeout — two down. Becker stepped to the plate and served a soft single into center field, scoring Lambert. Picken didn’t need anything else. She looked like a Jugs machine feeding pitch after pitch to the outside corner of the strike zone. Her line — one hit, 13 strikeouts, zero walks. Elgin/Imbler finished the season 17-5. A great season for a team nobody wanted to play, and a team nobody thought should be in Class 3A. Elgin Imbler will lose five seniors Katie Griffin, Brandi Campbell, Tara Witherspoon, Megan Myers and Sam O’Donald. |
