Lady Outlaws off to quick start on the diamond

The Sisters High School softball teams are off to a quick start, recording sweeps of 5A opponents Madras, Mountain View and Bend high schools. The varsity went 3-0 and the junior was 2-0 during the opening week of play.

"Both squads did a lot of things right," said varsity coach Tom Mauldin. "We came out with bats swinging in each game, getting off to comfortable early leads."

The locals led Madras 9-2, before winning 10-6. They led both Mountain View and Bend 8-0 before winning 11-4 and 11-3.

Doing a "lot of things right" would include 34 base hits, consistent fielding and strong pitching. 

Senior Dara Kosanke pitched 18 innings and recorded 30 strikeouts in getting off to a 3-0 start. More importantly, she limited opponents to 13 base hits.

"And we've had a chance to show the versatility of our entire team - lots of players have the ability to succeed at several positions," said Mauldin. "We have a lot of work to do, but a lot of positives are obvious."

In their opening game of the season, the Outlaws beat Madras 10-6, as Kosanke set a school record with 14 strikeouts, breaking the single-game record of 12, previously held by Sam Stoneback. 

Kosanke, a senior, had at least one strikeout in every inning and on two occasions fanned three in one inning.

The Outlaws had their bats working quickly again, scoring four in the first behind key hits from Amber Milliman and Cassie Hernandez (triple). And they scored five in the fourth on a double from Milliman, a pair of bases on balls and singles by Carly Kreminski and Taylor Walker.

Kosanke had 10 strikeouts against Mountain View on March 18, but the day belonged to the batters, with sophomore Carly Kreminski driving in five runs on a four-for-day at the plate. She knocked in three runs in the first with a bases-loaded double to take the Outlaws to a 5-0 lead.

And in the second, singles by Kosanke, Milliman, McKenzie Cooper and Kreminski made it 8-0. Kreminski also drove in a run in the fourth when the Outlaws jumped out 10-1.

Cooper had three hits, and Milliman and Kosanke added a pair each and Marisa Calavan doubled in a run.

In all, the Outlaws had 16 base hits, and 17 Outlaws saw game time.

Against Bend, the Outlaws scored two in the first, five in the third and a solo run in the fourth, then two in the fifth for a 10-0 lead. Bend scored two in the bottom of the fifth. The Outlaws closed out their scoring in the seventh for the 11-3 win.

Taylor Walker and Kreminski drove in two runs with Walker doubling. Calavan had two hits including a double, and Milliman tripled. Kosanke, who pitched four scoreless innings before calling it a day, also had a pair of hits. Zoe Wavrin, who pitched the final three innings with three strikeouts, also drove in a run for the winners.

Next up for the Lady Outlaws is a trek to Canby to play 6A powers Tigard and Canby.

"Those will be strong tests for us. The girls are looking forward to the challenge," said Mauldin.

The junior varsity Outlaws opened with a 12-11 win over Madras, then routed Bend, 15-5, in five innings. 

Drawing praise from coach Rusty Bellew were Lauryn Chauncey, Taylor Neiri, Britney Heagney and pitcher Katie Bellew.

Both varsity and junior varsity Outlaws will be in action March 26 and 27, when they host their fourth annual Outlaw Tournament at Sisters High School. Action starts each day at 10 a.m. There is no admission charge.