DALLAS – Visiting Lebanon scored three runs in the third inning and leaned on its defense to knock out top-seeded and reigning 5A softball champion Dallas 3-1 in a state semifinal Tuesday.
The fourth-seeded Warriors had dropped their last five meetings against their Mid-Willamette Conference rivals – including last year's state championship game – but came through with the big hits to return to the final. They will face Bend, a team they defeated in last year's semifinals.
Gen Osburg hit an RBI double and Tatum Cole followed with a two-run homer to open a 3-0 lead in the third inning. Dallas scored a run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Ruby Halligan, but could not get more against Cole, who scattered seven hits, struck out nine and walked one.
"Honestly I feel like I'm doing great and I'm proud of myself," Cole said. “We were thinking, 'Get it done and score first and keep the momentum going.'”
Cole worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning.
"I was telling myself, 'Let my defense work,' because then I'll do better,” Cole said. “When I have that, I do good. … I feel like the main reason why we won was because of energy today."
Osburg went 3 for 3 for Lebanon, which got five hits off Dallas lefty Kadence Morrison, the Mid-Willamette pitcher of the year. Morrison struck out 15 and walked two.
Morrison and Madison Ruman each had two hits for the Dragons.
– Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
Highlights from Tuesday's other semifinal games:
6A
No. 21 Glencoe 7, No. 1 Westview 2: The Crimson Tide completed its stunning run to the state final by knocking off the top-seeded Wildcats for its fourth consecutive playoff road win. Glencoe took a 3-1 lead in the third inning on an RBI double by Bailey Farrimond and a two-run single by Kalli Farrimond. The Crimson Tide scored four runs in the seventh to make it 7-1. Irene VanDyke hit an RBI single and Isabel Hill hit a hard ground ball off the shortstop's glove that scored two runs. Bailey Farrimond recorded the win in the circle for Glencoe.
No. 2 Sheldon 10, No. 19 Tigard 0 (five innings): The reigning champion Irish secured its berth in the final by routing the upstart Tigers, extending their winning streak against Oregon teams to 39. Payton Burnham pitched a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts and no walks and drove in four runs. Burnham hit a two-run homer in the first inning to make it 2-0 and added an RBI double in the fourth inning and a run-scoring groundout in the fifth. Avery Coffin smacked a two-run homer in the third inning and Ashlyn Martin knocked a solo homer in the fifth inning. Kinley Pappas went 3 for 3 for the Irish. McKenna Clark had Tigard's only hit.
5A
No. 2 Bend 6, No. 3 Silverton 0: The Lava Bears, who lost in the semifinals the last two seasons, earned a trip to the championship game behind a shutout from Addisen Fisher (two-hitter, 10 strikeouts, one walk). Fisher belted a two-run homer for a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Bend added three runs in the third inning, getting a solo homer from Lauren Glasser, an RBI double from Mackenzie Shaughnessy and an RBI from Bryanna Schaefer. Isabella Lauerman added a solo homer in the sixth inning for the Lava Bears, who have hit eight home runs in the last two games.
4A
No. 1 Henley 4, No. 4 Astoria 2: Down 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the host Hornets erupted for four runs on five hits. Haydyn Higgins hit a two-run single to tie 2-2 and Belle Birch ripped a two-out, two-run single for a 4-2 lead. Annie Campos (seven innings, seven hits, seven strikeouts, one walk) notched the win in the circle, leading Henley back to the state final, where it lost to The Dalles last year. Astoria got an RBI double from Shelby Bruney in the first inning and a solo homer from Taryen Wray in the fifth inning.
No. 3 Pendleton 6, No. 15 Scappoose 2: Melanie Boatman (2 for 3, double, two RBIs), Josie Jenness (2 for 4, double, two RBIs) and Madaline Schumacher (2 for 4, RBI) led the for the Buckaroos, who had 10 hits in the win over the Indians. Kendall Murphy pitched 6 1/3 innings – allowing five hits, striking out eight and walking three – to record the win.
3A
No. 1 Scio 4, No. 5 Burns 0: Myleigh Cooper pitched a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts and one walk and hit a home run as the Loggers prevailed in a rematch of last year's state final, won by Burns 1-0 in 12 innings. Cooper's home run made it 2-0 in the fifth inning. Cam Dalke homered in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 4-0. Scio got four hits off Burns ace Ayla Davies, who struck out 11. The Loggers have won 22 in a row.
No. 2 South Umpqua 6, No. 3 Yamhill-Carlton 3: Kaydence Norton ripped a three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Lancers to the win. Reaghan Gilbert went 2 for 4 and pitched a complete game for South Umpqua, striking out seven.
2A/1A
No. 1 Grant Union 9, No. 4 North Douglas 0: Grant Union moved one step closer to a repeat title by blanking the Warriors. Reece Jacobs went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs, Halle Parsons homered and drove in two runs, Skylar McKay went 2 for 4 with an RBI and Drew Williams went 3 for 4 for the Prospectors, who had 13 hits. Williams tossed a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks.
No. 2 Weston-McEwen 5, No. 3 Willamina 4: The TigerScots scored five runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to earn a finals rematch with district rival Grant Union. Bre Ward and Hope Berry led off the seventh inning with singles, and with two outs, Keely Pettyjohn reached on an infield error to score one run, Berry scored on a wild pitch, Bailey Moore hit an RBI single and Lily Langford singled on a 2-2 pitch to tie it 4-4. As the play continued after Langford's hit, she took second base, and when the defense turned its back, she bolted for third. The pitcher's throw to third base got past the third baseman, allowing Langford to score the winning run. Through six innings, Weston-McEwen was limited to one hit by Willamina's Laney Deloe. Paisley Deloe had two hits and two RBIs for Willamina.
