Comets Repell Crimson Tide For a Third Time

5A resembles 3A in that since redistricting, only two teams have made the trip to OSU for the title game. The Crater Comets (17-12, 10-2), champions of the Southern Sky, and fifth ranked in the last coaches' poll of the year, seek their third title game win against the top ranked Glencoe Crimson Tide (28-2, 20-1), three time champions of the NorthWest Oregon Conference.

Two years ago, Crater built a 7-1 lead, and held off Glencoe's comeback, while last season, it was the Crimson Tide that took a 2-1 lead into the sixth inning, before the Comets rallied.

Four of the losses were to difficult competition in Reno, and four were to 6A North Medford, playing for the 6A title. Another was to Sunset, also playing for the 6A title, and one to was to South Salem, who was a 1-0 loss short of reaching the 6A title. The Comets also hold wins over 4A finalist Henley and 6A South Medford.

Coach Jacy Schmidt's Glencoe team's only losses were by one run each, to Liberty and defending 6A Champion Grants Pass. The Crimson Tide has a pair of wins over Midwestern League champion North Eugene, and a victory over PIL champion Cleveland. Glencoe earned their third title shot at Crater with a 2-1 8 inning win in Pendleton, over the Intermountain champions.

The brightest mostly cloudy weather of the day greets the final game of the weekend. With the Henley crowd mostly gone now, and the North Medford procession headed back for graduation, Glencoe actually has a crowd to match Crater's size wise.

Sloan Anderson gets in trouble early, as Kayla Hopkinson doubles into the stiff wind in right, and one out later, Brittany Reeves homers to left center for a 2-0 lead. Anderson then hits Sarah Haga with the first pitch, but avoids any further damage.

Crater's Brittany Reeves homers for two runs.

The bottom of the Comet lineup gets only an Emily Medina walk, and Anderson strikes out Dennae Grant to get thru the second inning.

Glencoe pitcher Sloan Anderson got 8 strikeouts, but allowed Crater 7 hits.

Dacia Hale draws a leadoff walk, and moves up on Meghan Dendinger's sacrifice bunt, but there she stays, as a strikeout of Emiley Atkins ends the Tide's half of the inning.

Kayla Hopkinson drives one to left, but no where near deep enough, and it starts a progressively easier inning.

Compared to the first two games, this one slows way down, as Glencoe offers little resistance to Reeves in the third inning.

Haga hammers one down the left field line, and Tara Ruvaclava doubles to left center to drive her in.

Crater's Sarah Haga scores to put the Comets up 3-0 in the 4th. inning.

Medina singles to right, and a passed ball scores Ruvaclava. Medina is thrown out at third, looking for the knockout run, and Sarah Smith strikes out, but the Comets have flown to a 4-0 lead at the midway mark.

The 2-3-4 Tide hitters need to get started on a rally, and Lindsay Eubanks starts it off with a single to left. A steal gets her to second, but strikeouts strand her there.

Glencoe's Lindsay Eubanks beats the tag by Crater's Sarah Smith stealing second.

An error on Tre' Sullivan at first lets Dennae Grant get on for Crater, and after a sacrifice gets her to second, Reeves drives her in with a single to center, for a 5-0 lead, going to the bottom of the fifth.

Crater's Dennae Grant scores to put the Comets up 5-0.

6-7-8 hitters are due up for the Tide, and Atkins drops a wind dampened single into right, which allows her to get to second base. But the inning ends on a double play as she trys to go to third on Hale's ground out, and Glencoe loses an important opportunity. Crater can smell it now, needing just 6 outs with a 5 run lead.

Glencoe's Emiley Atkins (1) is put out at third by Tara Ruvalcaba (10).

Crater goes down quietly, but they are thinking defensive outs now.

Anderson leads off, trying to help her own cause, and a low throw on her grounder gets her on on an error. Alyssa Gillespie beats out a bumper, and the Tide has something going, with two runners on. But Eubanks flys out to short left field, and Sarah Verboort, running for Anderson, was running on what looked like a ball that would drop in, is doubled off second easily. Gillespie steals second, and Jordan Kreiger walks, and they both score when Hale hammers one over the head of Reneee Murphy in right field for a double.

Glencoe's Alyssa Gillespie (9) and Jordan Kreiger (8) scored on Dacia Hale's double.

It should be 5-3 with one out, but that base running error allows Reeves to strike out Dendinger, and go to the seventh up 5-2.

"Getting that second out was huge," Arnold explained. "But we anticipated aggressive base running by Glencoe, and practiced for that. We call it 'Crater D', where we are always looking ahead, and Taylor (Mackey) made a great play."

Bottom of the order up for Crater, and Smith goes down swinging. The top of the order gets it going though, as Grant gets on with a perfect bunt. The Crater crowd comes to their feet, and Kayla Hopkinson draws a walk. An infield fly and Reeves' fly out into that right field wind prevents Crater from getting any insurance runs, but she has two runs to work with to get three outs, and a third title.

6-7-8 hitters have to get it started for the Tide, and Sullivan doubles to center when the wind curls the ball away from Denae Grant.

Two flys to right die in the wind for outs, and Anderson is the last hope for Glencoe. That Crimson Tide is blood in the water though, and Reeves can smell it. Going hard after Anderson, Reeves strikes her out on three pitches to claim Crater's third title at Glencoe's expense, 5-3.

With the win, Crater joins Valley Catholic with three straight state titles, all won against the same opponent.

"Glencoe is a great program," both Arnold and Reeves agreed. "Clearly, one of the top programs in the state," Arnold felt. "To be able to beat them three times...is incredible."

The pattern of winning championships "Never gets old," Reeves, who was present two years ago, but didn't play in that game, said. "Every time out is a different game. Last year I was really nervous; this year, I was more in control (of my pitches), and got my rise ball working."

Crater pitcher Brittany Reeves struck out 10 Glencoe batters againt 5 hits.

Arnold also felt Crater's tough preseason and non-conference schedule was key in preparing for another run at Glencoe. "This was the most difficult non-league schedule we have played, and after graduating 5 players from last year, I wondered about that. But this is the most focused, mentally tough team I've ever had, or we couldn't have pulled this off."

"We went up against some great pitching in Reno, and all those games against North Medford, who it turns out was a pretty good team too!"

Doubt could conceivably have crept in, but didn't, according to Arnold. "These girls focused on what we were learning from each experience, not the wins or the losses in those games."

Crater Coach Chris Arnold holds the last post-game meeting of the season.

Reeves added "Preseason tells nothing about what a team will eventually be able to do. Most of us, we had played together a long time, but we had to find the right mix. We moved a lot of people around before finding where we wanted all the pieces to be."

The loss of the lead didn't completely surprise Arnold, who said "We only have a couple of come from behind wins. So its always nice to get out ahead. We can, and have, gotten lackadaisical in the middle innings. So there was frustration, but it never affected the team's effort."

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