Outlaws softball caps season with victories

Sisters High School's softball team got off to a slow start in 2015, losing its first 10 Sky-Em League games, but the Outlaws finished the season with a pair of wins over rival Junction City and stunned playoff-bound Elmira to win three of their final six games.

"The girls showed up and worked hard the last three weeks (of the season)," said second-year SHS coach Ciera Jones. "They exhibited more dedication and selflessness. They also exhibited more maturity as the season progressed."

As a result, the Outlaws defeated Junction City, 2-1 and 3-1, to end the season with back-to-back wins. And earlier in May, they defeated playoff bound Sweet Home, 9-8, to end a 10-game losing streak.

The Outlaws finished 3-12 in the Sky-Em and 5-19 overall, an improvement over a two-win 2014 season,

Jones noted that the key to the late-season success was "all of the girls."

"Last year, we didn't have a single practice in which all the girls showed up," said Jones, a former D-1 softball player at George Mason University. "We talked about this at the beginning of the season and made a team commitment to attend practices."

Jones said one of the team goals was to get better.

"We definitely did that which in turn resulted in wins."

Junction City finished the league season with an 8-7 mark and Sweet Home was 11-4. Elmira won the Sky-Em title with a 15-0 record (21-4 on the season overall).

Jones said without a doubt, the highlight of the season was the win over Sweet Home.

"The girls played strong the entire game and came back to win after being down three runs in the 10th inning," she said. "Seeing their hard work pay off and their excitement at the end made me so proud."

The Outlaws other victories were over Regis, 13-8 and 12-5, in the Bend Spring Break Tournament. Those wins were followed by a winless April, however, the Outlaws kept working on their preseason goal of getting better.

Led by All-Leaguers Zoey Nason (junior third baseman who drove in the winning run against Sweet Home), Shayla Curtis, Anja Gnos, Amanda Smith and Haylie Hudson, the Outlaws kept battling.

In 2014, Nason batted .108, but in 2015, she batted .469. Curtis doubled her 2014 average and finished 2015 batting over .360. Hudson batted .450 and averaged better than one strikeout per inning as the Outlaws' top pitcher.

Jones praised Curtis, noting that she stepped in to catch after the Outlaws primary catcher was ruled ineligible.

"She was excited to learn the position and worked hard no matter where I put her. She was the most competitive kid on the team."

After scoring just 67 runs and winning two games in 2014, the Outlaws nearly doubled their run production by scoring 110 times in 2015.

Jones said first-year players Nina Horner and Cassidy Ling-Scott were great surprises.

"We had two girls who never played come out to help us field a team," said Jones. "Horner finished the season with an in-the-park homer, a 1.000 fielding average and batted over .300. My freshman, Cassidy was a true learner of the game, always asking how she could get better, most positive attitude. I had a junior player tell me she was the 'best most true teammate' she's ever had."

Rounding out the Outlaws roster were sophomore Kylie Steiner, juniors Anna Ortega and Leah McIntosh, and senior Cheyenne Sproat.

Jones told her squad after the final game that she was returning to the East Coast where she has accepted a research graduate position with George Washington University.

In reflecting on her two seasons as Outlaw head softball coach, Jones said, "It was an interesting learning experience and I got to work with one of the most caring, best athletic directors (Tim Roth) I've ever experienced."