The losing streak is over.
“We've gotten five losses in a row, and it feels very good to finally get this win,” said Crook County first baseman Tylee Cossitt after the Cowgirls defeated Gladstone Wednesday afternoon 8-6. “We need to keep this energy going to all our next games.”
The Cowgirls dominated all but one inning of Wednesday's game. However, that has been one of the hallmarks of the losing streak. The team has played well enough to win, but then has given up one big inning to their opponent.
Wednesday was almost more of the same. The homestanding Cowgirls jumped on top with a run in the second and three in the third. A solo home run from Ashlynne Franssen in the fourth inning gave the Gladiators life and made the score 4-1. Then Gladstone exploded for four runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead.
Crook County rebounded, scoring four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to regain the lead. Gladstone added one more run in the seventh to make the score 8-6 before relief pitcher Jaycee Villastrigo struck out the side to close out the game.
“One inning we got down on ourselves, but then we picked ourselves up and we kept on getting runs,” Cossitt said. “I'm very excited. We just need to keep our bats rolling and keep our energy up and kick some butt.”
Starting pitcher Raelynn Weaver threw three innings for the Cowgirls, before being replaced in the circle by Kendall Martinez in the fourth. Martinez struggled, giving up four hits and four runs without getting an out, before Weaver returned to the circle. Weaver then pitched through the sixth inning before being replaced by Villastrigo in the seventh. Weaver allowed three hits and one run, while walking two and striking out six. Villastrigo gave up one hit and walked one before getting her three strikeouts.
Gladstone finished with eight hits, including a triple from Franssen and a double from Ashley Phillips. Crook County also had eight hits in the game, led by Weaver, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. Alyson Ware also had multiple hits, going 2-4 with an RBI. Cossitt and Martinez added doubles for the Cowgirls, while Danner Hemphill and Kya Mozingo each had singles.
With the win Crook County improves to 12-9 overall and 7-3 overall, while Gladstone falls to 1-8 in conference play and 7-13 overall.
It is important to note that the Cowgirls have played possibly the toughest schedule in Class 4A, with eight of their nine losses coming to teams that were ranked No. 1 in the state when the Cowgirls played them. Because of the difficult scheduled the Cowgirls are still ninth in the OSAA power rankings, despite their nine losses.
Crook County is scheduled to play at Estacada Thursday, May 2, weather permitting, in a game that has playoff implications. The Rangers are 13-7 overall and 7-4 in league, giving the winner a leg up on second place in the Tri-Valley Conference. The Cowgirls are tentatively scheduled to play at Molalla on Friday, but that game will most likely be postponed again due to weather. The team hosts Madras, 2-7, 4-11, on Monday, travels to The Dalles, 11-0, 15-1 on Wednesday, then hosts Molalla, 2-8, 5-14 on Friday.
Crook County 8, Gladstone 6
at Crook County
Gladstone – 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 – 6 8 1
Crook County – 0 1 3 0 4 0 x – 8 8 3
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