Santiam Youth Sports came away from summer competition with a pair of high-level championships.
The group’s junior American Junior Baseball Organization team, coached by Kyle Hughes, downed Dallas 10-3 in the July 17 title game at North Clackamas Park in Milwaukie.
Santiam Youth Sports’ 7th-8th grade Valley League softball team, meanwhile, won its district tournament with a 14-10 win against Harrisburg in Lebanon (no state event was held). The team was coached by Brandon John.
In addition to the two big winners, the Stayton JBO senior national team battled its way to a third-place finish at Central High in Independence, with Stayton player Ryland Thiessen taking home the top trophy, the individual sportsmanship award. He was selected by the tournament directors and the game umpires.
The minor American team, meanwhile, took second in its tournament in Lebanon, falling to Mount Angel in the championship match.
Two other local softball squads found success at their district tournaments. The 5th-6th squad took third and the 3rd-4th finished second, falling 4-3 to Monroe in the district final.
“This was a very successful year for our program,” said Jeff Bohnke, board president of Santiam Youth Sports. “It’s not every year that we win a state title, but we are used to having good success.”
Here is a closer look at the state JBO baseball champion and district title winners for softball.
JBO: Stayton opened with a 12-1 win vs. Tigard, downed Estacada 10-1 and then edged Dallas 5-4 to advance to the title match. Dallas then battled its way through the lower bracket to get a second chance at Stayton, but the local squad cemented the trophy with the
10-3 victory.
On the roster for Stayton were Easton Arnold, Kellen Barth, Maddox Basl, Charlie Benefiel, Liam Brown, Stephen Carlgren, Madden Hughes, Dylan Kerrigan, Ben Kierce, Reed Laro, Coen Roberts and Carter Vinson.
Assisting Kyle Hughes with the coaching were Dan Kierce, Luke Vincon and Chris Arnold.
Softball: The Stayton squad, which won the Valley League regular-season title with a 13-0 record, drew a first-round bye before outscoring Diamond Clean 22-14 in the semifinals. The local squad then outlasted Harrisburg 14-10 in the title matchup.
The Stayton roster included Khloe John, Tenley Miotke, Mila Morley, Kourtney Samek, Kathryn Samek, Makenzie Schacher, Madison Schacher, Zinea Andersen, Zuri Andersen, Addison Bishop, Madelyn Hendricks and Hadley Foster.
Head coach Brandon John was assisted by Tim Miotke and Jennifer Morley.
