Tekoa-Oakesdale players join Gar-Pal for 2014 softball

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Apr 02, 20140

Tekoa-Oakesdale softball players have joined Gar-Pal this year and started off with two wins and a loss.

Playing in the 2B District Nine league with teams such as Waitsburg-Prescott, Dayton, DeSales and Tri-Cities Prep, Gar-Pal-Tekoa-Oakesdale has 16 total players on the roster, including six returning starters from last year’s Gar-Pal team and two from the 2013 Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosalia group.

At pitcher is Chandler Pfaff, with Sammi Johnson at catcher, Kelsey Bielenberg at first base and outfield, McKenzie McClanahan at shortstop and Cassie Martin at third base. All are seniors. Also returning from the Gar-Pal roster is junior Brianna Brown at second base.

T.O.R. veterans include senior centerfielder Alexa Lindgren and junior outfielder and first baseman Kamryn Lehn.

"It’s worked out well," said Steve Witthuhn, who coached the Gar-Pal team for the past five years. "We lost our outfield to graduation and now with T.O. we have our outfielders back so it’s nice."

Another key player from last year’s Gar-Pal team is junior Lexi Rodriguez, who tore an A.C.L. in basketball season and is out indefinitely.

In addition, Pfaff injured her knee during basketball and is not able to hit yet.

The team also has two German foreign exchange students from Tekoa High School, who have never played softball.

After a non-league, 15-12 loss to Pomeroy March 24 that Witthuhn treated as a pre-season game, GPTO played a doubleheader against Waitsburg-Prescott March 27.

The local girls picked up two wins, 7-6 and 8-7.

In the first game, Pfaff threw eight strikeouts while Brianna Brown led at the plate with two hits with a double and Cassie Martin had two singles.

"The top part of our lineup really came through," Witthuhn said.

In the second game, Pfaff threw nine strikeouts as her team nonetheless trailed 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Cassie Martin hit a home run as GPTO scored three runs. In the bottom of the seventh, Martin drove in the winning run with a base hit.

Javelin-16. Brown 119-6, (153-3).

Long jump-6. Fulfs 18-3, 19. Douglas Wall 15-10 (19-9).

High jump-12. Tim Cornelius 5-0 (6-2).

Pole vault: 1. Skylar Simonson 11-0, 8. Sam Daily 9-6, 14.Reece Sanders 7-0.

Triple Jump-5.Fulfs 37-5.0( 41-11.)

GIRLS EVENTS:

100-Hurdles-4. Bailey Mackleit 17.57 ,16. Holly Rimbey 21.85, (16.94).

300 hurdles-2.Mackleit 51.7, (50.25).

4 x 100 relay-3. Amelie Bruya, Mackleit, Sheer, S.Cai 51.47, (51.13).

4 x 200 relay-3.Bruya, Mackleit, Sheer, Cai 1:49.39, (1:47.92).

Shot put-1.Nicole Sheer 34-2.5

Discus- 1 Taylor Cai 122-6, 5.Sheer 95-9