Outlaws clinch another league title

The Outlaws finished league with a perfect 15-0 record and claimed the league title for the fourth year in a row. Seniors finished up four years with a 59-1 record. Sisters is currently ranked No. 1 in the state.

Sisters packed in three games in five days: An 11-1 win against Junction City on Monday, May 12, a 12-3 win at home over La Pine a day later, and a 13-0 win at La Pine on Friday.

Monday's contest was a make-up game with Junction City that was rescheduled from the previous week due to rain. The Outlaws scored 11 runs off 13 hits and the Tigers scored one run off two hits.

Justin Harrer was the winning pitcher, and pushed his record to 7-0 on the season. Austin Ogilivie came in and pitched the final two innings of the contest

The Outlaws scored eight of their 11 runs in the fifth inning. Hitting highlights included: a double by Joey Morgan that went over the center-fielder's head, a two-RBI double to left field by Jardon Weems, a two-run RBI double by Olivier that one-hopped and went over the left field fence. Alec Gannon hit a hard ground-ball up the middle that knocked in two runs.

Several players contributed on offense. Justin Harrer went 2/4 with a double, Jardon Weems went 2/4 with a double and two RBI, Ryan Funk was 2/4 with an RBI and Alex Olivier was 2/3 with three RBI.

Gannon went 1/1 at the plate and freshman Ryan Cook hit a nice line drive for his first varsity hit.

A day later, the Outlaws honored their seniors in their final home game of the season against La Pine.

Sisters scored 12 runs on nine hits, and committed one error in their win over the Hawks. La Pine scored three hits on three runs and three errors.

Weems went four innings on the mound for the Outlaws and earned the win. Funk pitched one inning, and Morgan closed out the final two.

Sisters started off with a 10-run scoring frenzy in the first inning. Highlights included a two-RBI double to left center field by Funk, an RBI single by Weems, and a two-RBI double to left center field by Morgan.

La Pine scored all three of their runs in the second inning. The Outlaws tacked on one run in the third and another in the fifth to wrap up their scoring effort.

On Friday, Sisters shut out La Pine 13-0 in five innings.

Harrer's RBI double to the left field fence in the first inning and Jonathan Luz' two-RBI double to the left field fence were the hitting highlights of the game.

Funk pitched the first three innings of the contest, and struck out four batters. Ogilivie pitched the final two innings.

Hodges said, "We reached our goal of going undefeated in league and of getting four league championships in a row."

Seniors Joey Morgan and Jarden Weems are both four-year varsity players and are thrilled with the success the team has had.

Morgan said, "Finishing first in league for the fourth year is great, and being a senior makes it even more special. We get to go out on a high note.

"We've been doing well the last two weeks, but there's always room for improvement," added Morgan. "We need to keep our hitters going as the pitching gets tougher throughout the post-season."

Weems said, "Nothing can beat four in a row. That's truly special and it shows we've been extremely successful all four years. We have a great program and it was nice to be able to maintain a high level of play all four years."

Hodges said, "As we look ahead to the post-season we will focus on bunt defenses, first and third defenses and our offensive execution. We need to stay aggressive at the plate and hit early in the count. We are peaking at just the right time."

The Outlaws were to play at Summit on Tuesday, May 20, and will play at Santiam Christian on Friday, three days later, in preparation for the upcoming state playoffs.