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The Canby Cougars softball team may have lost two games this past week to Tigard and Oregon City, but don’t let the scorelines fool you: The Cougars are still one of the top teams in the state. Facing other top-five Three Rivers League foes as well as Lake Oswego, the Cougars finished 1-2 on the week.
The Cougars (15-7, 5-5 TRL) started their week with a huge win over visiting Lake Oswego (11-14, 2-8 TRL). Canby stormed out of the gates, scoring six runs on three hits in the first inning alone to put the Lakers out of reach early.
Star junior Ava Carroll led the charge with two hits and three RBIs in the game as the Canby offense put up 12 runs in just four innings. Senior pitcher Abigail Loomis struck out five in five innings on the moung.
Along with Carroll’s three RBIs, Natalie Just chipped in two, and Kenna Kraft added one, as did Kaylee Allen and Madi Bigej. Bigej, who recorded a hit along with an RBI, is one of the standout players of the year for Coach Ty Kraft.
“Every girl is working on specific individual things, and they are all improving as we move along the season,” Kraft said. “One girl in particular who is gaining more confidence and working hard to improve each week is freshman Madison Bigej.”
The freshman right-fielder also scored two runs herself on the day.
After a dominant win over the Lakers, the Cougars ran into trouble against the Oregon City Pioneers (16-7, 7-4 TRL) Wednesday. The game was tightly contested from the very start, with both teams grappling for the lead.
Though the Pioneers opened up a two-run advantage, a three-run fifth inning from the Cougars gave them a 4-3 lead. But, similar to their previous outing against the Pioneers, the Cougs failed to finish their opponent off.
Oregon City scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to send things to extra innings. From there, defense forced another extra inning. And another. And another.
In the top of the tenth inning — the third extra — Canby got on the board with an Ella Kiehl sac fly. Due to new OSAA softball rules, in the tenth inning, an additional runner is placed on second to start each frame, similar to what took place in the MLB in 2020.
With Natalie Just on base, Kiehl’s fly out to center field gave Canby a 5-4 lead.
Once again, though, the Pioneers fought back. Armed with the additional runner, Lily Riley hit an RBI single. Before Loomis could manage an out, the Pioneers had tied the game.
After another single that moved Riley to third base with no outs, and with a runner in prime scoring position, Oregon City took advantage on the very next pitch. Ellie Joseph won the game on a walk-off sac fly to end the longest game of the Cougars’ season.
Canby would have no time to lick their wounds after the heartbreaker. Next up was Senior Night against Tigard (22-3, 8-2 TRL), the new No. 1 team in the state that was recovering from losses earlier in the week.
The Tigers’ 3-4 loss to Lakeridge had snapped an unprecedented 10-game streak where they outscored their opponents 46-0 — yes, you read that right.
Tigard got back on track on their Friday game against the Cougs; on the fourth at-bat of the day, Tiger Kani Korok slapped a ball off the Canby scoreboard for a two-run homer. The Cougars managed just two hits in an 11-0 blowout loss at the hands of one of the most dominant teams in the nation.
Though the Cougars ended the week with two losses, their strength of schedule is something that coach Ty Kraft believes has prepared them for the rest of the season. With three games remaining, the Cougars have already played seven of the top 10 teams in the state, winning three.
“The schedule of tough teams we have played this year should hopefully help us be prepared for a good playoff run,” Kraft told the Current.
Canby will finish their season with a trio of road games against West Linn, Tualatin and Southridge. The final game of the regular season is scheduled to begin in Southridge and 4 p.m.