Union teams prep for state title berths

BILLMAN IS MONEY: Union’s Cody Billman is excited to be in the state semifinals. Observer file photo

“This is history making for our school,” Union athletic director Teresa Stratton said. “This is the first time the softball team and baseball team have made it this far in the state tournament at the same time.”

The Bobcats’ softball team is making an epic 475-mile trip to Riddle Tuesday. The Union baseball team is headed to Salem Academy.

The Lady Bobcats are on a familiar trek. It was only last season Union blazed through the state tournament allowing three runs and scoring 45 in four games en route to a state title.

Riddle had last year’s season come to an end in the quarterfinals.

This season the Irish fell in their district championships in extra innings to Monroe, 5-3. Riddle defeated Kennedy on the road in the first round, 6-2 and Wallowa in the quarterfinals, 6-1.

The Irish (22-5) entered its district tournament on an eight-game winning streak and they have won 12 out of their last 14 games. Both losses came to Monroe in extra innings.

Riddle and Union share one common opponent, Central Linn. The Irish beat the Cobras in league play three times by a combined score of 18-5. Union (21-6) defeated Central Linn 4-0 on March 28.

“They have a great left handed pitcher,” Bobcats head coach Paul Phillips said. “We have not even faced a left handed pitcher this season. They are a pretty sound team. They are very well coached.

“We’re just trying to focus one game at a time. We’d love to return to Corvallis and the state finals. It’s been our goal all season.”

This year’s semifinals are the furthest Riddle has advanced in the history of the school’s softball program. They have an all-time record of 5-7 in the state tournament in eight appearances.

The Irish have a school enrollment of 141 students compared to Union’s 219. Riddle has outscored opponents 273-84 this season.

The Bobcat baseball team is traveling to one of the state’s most accomplished baseball programs.

Salem Academy (18-5) has made every state tournament since 1998 posting a 13-10 record. They have made four state championship games, winning one in 1987. The Crusaders last made the championship game in 2005 when they lost to Grant Union, 9-2.

Salem Academy’s Shane Johnson is batting .421 with 22 RBI and three home runs. The third baseman is among seven seniors on the roster who have gone 1-3 in the state tournament, going as far as the quarterfinals last season before falling to Portland Christian, 4-1.

Fellow senior Nick Souza poses a threat on the mound. The right hander has thrown 66.2 innings for the Crusaders this season and has an ERA of 1.36. He has thrown 119 strikeouts and 25 walks. Souza has a 9-1 record.

Salem Academy advanced to the semifinals by defeating Monroe, 17-0, in the first round and Riddle in the quarterfinals.

The Bobcats have escaped in the first two games of the state tournament rallying to beat Glendale, 3-1, and Friday’s unforgettable finish with Lowell.

Union sophomore Vincent Stuckey sent a 1-1 pitch over the right centerfield wall in the seventh inning to win the game for the Bobcats. Union had to rally from a three-run deficit in the sixth inning before Austin Woodward and Stuckey connected on a pair of home runs.

“It’s been the same story in the postseason,” Union head coach Greg Poor said. “We’ve been behind the whole postseason. And nobody seems to tighten-up. Our guys play well and calm.

“It’s amazing. They don’t seem to get excited out there. They just know sooner or later somebody is going to step up, someone is going to get a big hit, and it happens. For my health I wish they would start it a little earlier.”

Union (20-1) is riding an unbelievable winning streak of 19 games. The Bobcats are 5-0 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. The Crusaders are 7-3 at home.

Union and Salem Academy share one common opponent in Kennedy. The Bobcats eased past the Trojans on March 24, 12-2. The Crusaders met Kennedy twice in league play and won the first meeting at home, 1-0, and the second on the road, 15-3.

Salem Academy has outscored its opponents this season 192-104. Union has a 219-41 advantage over its opponents this year.

The other baseball semifinal game the defending state champion Portland Christian at this season’s No. 1, Umpqua Valley Christian, at 11 a.m.

Union baseball versus Salem Academy has a first pitch time of 3:30 p.m. in Salem.

The Union and Riddle softball game does not have a start time yet. Riddle is just south of Roseburg along Interstate 5.

The other softball semifinal is Irrigon at Gaston.

“I think the emotion just continues to build here in the town,” Stratton said. “People are real excited.”

Not all the people associated with the teams are excited. Union softball coach Paul Phillps had a minor problem with the baseball team.

“They stole our busdriver,” Phillips joked. “Now what are we supposed to do? In all seriousness, we wish the guys best of luck. This is a great thing for everyone involved.”