There will be a new Cowapa League Champion this season.
Despite Astoria softball putting together a valiant effort, the team came up one game short in the end. St. Helen’s five-run third inning was enough to score a 6-4 victory for the team on Monday. The victory clinched a league title for the Lions with Astoria finishing in second place.
With bases loaded, the Fishermen had a chance to break the game open in the second inning, but Lions pitcher Emeline Curaming found a way out of the jam and the Astoria team failed to score a run. Then, the Lions went on to score five runs the very next inning.
While all the Lions’ hard hits found gloves on Friday, the inverse happened Monday. Though Astoria pitcher Maddie Wilkin got ground balls, every one of them made it through the infield. St. Helens ended up stringing together multiple hits and taking advantage of an Astoria error to put the game out of reach; an attempt by the Fishermen in the seventh inning came up two runs short.
Kya Lindell and Wilkin led the Fishermen offense with two hits apiece, while Taryen Wray did a good job of stranding a number of base runners after taking over for Wilkin in the third inning.
With two nonleague games remaining against top five teams, the Fishermen will be well prepared for the start of the 4A State Playoffs.

Seaside softball victorious
A 3-0 victory over Tillamook on Monday clinched fourth place for Seaside’s softball team in the tough Cowapa League.
It was the Seagulls’ second shutout of the season, and gave their seniors one last victory on their home field.
Senior Lydia Klumper spun a gem on the mound, as she gave up just one hit in seven innings. She also went 1-2 with an RBI in her last game for the Seagulls. The team played a clean game in the field behind her as they tallied zero errors and finished with six hits.
The win closes the book on the Seagulls’ season. They finished the year 7-17 overall and 2-10 in league play, while Tillamook finished 6-18 and 1-11 in league play.

Marist baseball blanks Warrenton
In a battle of teams Marist Catholic came out on top, 4-0.
Behind the arm of Niko Leyba, the 4A No. 1 Spartans overpowered the 3A No. 3 Warrenton Warriors at Valley Catholic High School on Tuesday.
Leyba pitched five innings and allowed just one hit, while striking out three batters. He was replaced by Luke Benkonvich, who allowed just one walk in two innings. At the plate, Marist produced nine hits and four runs against Warrenton starter Talon McGrorty.
Chad Turner, Cash Andrus and Tanner Mullens each had two hits, while Turner and Andrus both batted in two runs. Ryder Sturgell had the only hit for Warrenton.
After the loss, the Warrenton team ends its regular season with a 21-5 record and a perfect 16-0 league record. With the regular season done, Warrenton will now get ready to defend its 3A State Title. The teams most likely standing in their way will be undefeated Blanchet Catholic, Taft High School and Cascade Christian.

Astoria baseball finishes strong
It was a merry senior day for Astoria baseball on Monday.
Though the season didn’t produce a lot of wins for the Fishermen, the boys found a way to send their seniors out with a victory. A 1-0 win over St. Helens saw the Fishermen win the season series against the Lions and clinch fourth place in the Cowapa League. The Fishermen finished their season with a 7-16 overall record and 3-9 league record.
The crowd in attendance were witnesses to an epic pitchers duel between Astoria starter Dallas Norris and Sawyer Scales of St. Helens. Each pitcher threw up zeroes and tried to one up each other throughout the game. Scales gave up just one hit in 6.2 innings and struck out 10 before being pulled due to pitch count. Zack Edwards took over and pitched 1.1 innings before Astoria walked the game off on an RBI from Ian McCormick in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Norris went all nine innings, as he gave up just four hits and walked two. He threw 109 pitches in his Monday masterpiece.

Seaside upended again
Deja vu struck Seaside once again.
After losing a 1-0 pitchers duel to Tillamook on Friday, the Seagulls came up short with a 2-1 loss on Monday to the Cheesemakers. It marked the third straight one-run loss for the Seagulls. In those losses, Seaside had a total of five runs, but scored only one.
Great pitching by Kevin Hurliman and Jefferson Percy resulted in the duo giving up just two hits and striking out seven in their splendid performances. The Seagulls’ Hayden Halsen delivered another strong outing – in six innings, he allowed just two runs and struck out five. At the plate, he was 1-2 and had the lone RBI for his team.
Though the Seagulls will finish at 2-10 in league play, the team was three one-run games away from finishing at 5-7. This shows the young team is trending in the right direction and is well positioned to make another step next season – they will only lose three players from this season’s team.