Two Douglas County teams are headed to spring state finals
Two Douglas County teams will wrap up the high school sports season playing for championships.
Umpqua Valley Christian avenged a couple of tough losses against Blanchet Catholic with a 7-0 win in the Class 2A/1A semifinals Tuesday at Champion Car Wash Field. The Monarchs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Cavaliers last season and lost 17-3 to Blanchet Catholic earlier this season.
The Umpqua Valley Christian baseball team punched its ticket to the 2A/1A state finals with a little bit of revenge. The Monarchs beat Blanchet Catholic 7-0. #UmpquaPreps #opreps pic.twitter.com/pk9AHRomzb
— 1490 The Score (@KSKRTheScore) May 29, 2024
Tyler Haynes said Umpqua Valley Christian was definitely looking to make amends for the previous losses.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for so long. I saw that they were in our bracket and I was just, oh my god, just let us at them,” Haynes said. The senior was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI’s. “I felt so confident. We’re a completely different team now.”
Ty Hellenthal tossed a complete-game shutout for the win, allowing just four hits and two walks. He described how it felt to pitch the Monarchs into the finals.
“It feels so good,” the junior explained. “Last time I was there it was my freshman year and it didn’t go the way we wanted, but we’re hoping to come back this year and get it done.”
Umpqua Valley Christian will play for its fourth state title on Saturday at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer. It will be the first appearance in the finals since 2022.
It was nearly an all-Douglas County state finals for the 2A/1A baseball championship. The North Douglas/Elkton (22-6) baseball team was leading 1-0 going to the bottom of the 7th inning against top-seeded Knappa, but the Loggers rallied to win 2-1 and put an end to No. 12 North Douglas/Elkton’s Cinderella run.
UVC (25-5) and Knappa (24-4) will face off for the state title at noon on Saturday.
Softball playoffs
The South Umpqua softball team is heading to the Class 3A chipper after knocking off Yamhill-Carlton 6-3 in Tri-City on Tuesday. In a battle of No. 2 versus No. 3, the Lancers prevailed on a walk-off home run by Kaydence Norton that capped a comeback from a 3-0 deficit.
This will be the first appearance in the state championship game for South Umpqua (26-3). The Lancers will face top-seeded Scio (25-1) at 2 p.m. on Friday in Eugene at Jane Sanders Stadium.
The season came to an end for the North Douglas (23-4) softball team with a 9-0 loss against top-seeded Grant Union (24-4) in the 2A/1A playoffs. The Warriors managed just four hits in the contest.
