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A league of their own

=

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor

M sports
@theotherpress.ca

-

ty i

he women’s softball team

wrapped up their season last

month with a trip to Oregon for
the NWAACC Championships.
Expectations were high for the
Royals going in, but the path to
the final was always going to be
a difficult one. While the squad
left the tournament without the
ending they were hoping for, a
top-six finish and a season of
accomplishments were decent
consolation prizes.

Day one in Oregon featured
two games for the Royals,
the first of which was against
Highline and the second
against Walla Walla. Against
Highline, Douglas got off to the
start they were looking for in
the tournament as the Royals
confidently took care of the
opposition. It was a close enough
game until the fourth inning;
the Royals were up 3-1 when
Sydney Brown cleared the fences
for a three-run homer.

“It was nerve-wracking at
first in the box, but coach had
called time and told me to relax
and just swing away, so that’s
exactly what I did,” commented
Brown.

 

The team scored two runs

: in the remaining innings and

: Tori Belton supplied some solid
: pitching to send the crew from
: Canada to their next game on

: the back of an 8-1 win.

Unfortunately, the Royals

: were unable to carry the

: Momentum of that first win into
: their second game and they lost
: to Walla Walla 4-3.

Assistant coach Rob

: Warburton noted afterwards,

: “I think we were just missing

: that spark; we didn’t get off to
: agreat start. We'd won quite a
: few games in a row and maybe
: coasted a bit on our laurels.”

The Royals did make a push

: near the end of the game when
: they were down 4-2 though.
: Veronika Boyd remarked on
: that effort in her post-game
: comments: “Definitely a wake-

Know the score?

Contact: Eric Wilkins, Sports Editor

M sports@theotherpress. ca

www theotherpress.ca

: advantage of my speed, coach

4: made me steal, and the rest of

 

the team hit me in,” said Strelau.

The Royals then faced off

against Chemeketa, ready for

: another hard-fought game. Both
; teams were ready to play “D,”

: and asa result, neither squad

: put points on the scoreboard

: until the fourth inning. Another
: Chemeketa run in the fifth

2: put Douglas down 2-1, but the

By Campus Life and Athletics on flickrJerald Walliser . . .
: final two innings while keeping
: up call for us. I think we're going :
: to come back strong tomorrow
: and bring the heart we had

: from the seventh inning of that

: game.”

Come back strong they did.
Olympic was first on the bill

: for the next day and Douglas’

: potent offence went to work

: early. With three runs in the

: first and another three in the

: third, the squad was up 6-1.

: Olympic had an offensive boom
: of their own at the top of the

: sixth to tie it up, but by the end

: of the inning, thanks to a clutch
: showing from Hillary Strelau,

: the Royals regained the lead 8-6
: before shutting the door tight in
: the final frame to preserve the

: win.

“Being leadoff, I knew I just

had to put the ball in play and
: do what I normally do. Took

 

: Royals didn’t panic and put

up three of their own over the

: Chemeketa scoreless; 4-2 final
: score. Kelsey Hari, credited by
: coach Michelle Peters as having
: two game-saving throws, was

: having some difficulties with

: her arm: “[I] was actually really
: struggling before the game... I

: didn’t really take any practice

: throws—trying to preserve it.”

: Nonetheless, she didn't let it

: bother her when it mattered: “T
: knew if there was a ground ball
: to me I'd just gunner it home.

: Was thinking, ‘Home, home,

: home; all the way.”

The next game was against

: Wenatchee Valley, and would

: be Douglas’ last. The Royals

: suffered their only mercy of the
: season 15-3. Taylor Miller gave

: the group something to cheer

: about in the bottom of the fifth
: with a solo home run but it was
: never going to be enough.

Much as it wasn't first place,

Peters was impressed by her

: team’s showing this season:

: “These girls have made me

: proud from the very beginning.
: They’re a close team. They

: support one another. They do

: the right things on and off the

: field. Regardless of their role,

: they put their heart and full

: effort into it. I don’t know how
: much more I can say about these
: girls.”

And to round out the

season, there were a number

: of individual accolades to

: consider as well. Making the

: North Region First All-Star Team
: were Allison Wiens, Belton,

: and Brown. Making the Second
: Team were Morganne Blattman,
: Ashley Jongejan, and Jennifer

: McKellar. Peters was named

: North Region Coach of the Year,
: and Strelau was selected as the

: North Region MVP along with

: being named to the NWAACC

: All-American Team.

The Royals overcame

: inexperience (nine freshman),

: asmall roster (13 players), and

: some tough competition to put

: forth one of the finest seasons in
: the program’s history. Seventeen
: wins. Three losses. A North

: Division pennant win. And a

: top-six finish at the NWAACC

: Championship. Not bad. Not

: bad atall.

 

Stinking up the joint

» The NFL, marijuana, and suspensions

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor

M sports
@theotherpress.ca

ty i
I: been an interesting
off-season for the NFL. Big
names and washed-up stars
have moved around. Rule
changes have been discussed.
Fresh faces from college have
been drafted and immediately
anointed the saviours of their
new teams. And it’s just not
the NFLif Roger Goodell’s
crackdown on drugs hasn't
come up with a few more
felons, so there’s that too.

You have to wonder what
goes through the mind ofa
professional athlete when
they take a banned substance,

: especially when that athlete is
considered among the elite in

: the game. They've got the fame,
: the money, the house, the car,

; and pretty much anything else
; they desire. Why jeopardize

: that? Regardless of the player

: and whatever perceptions

: about their work ethic (or lack
: thereof) are, they have put a

: significant effort into honing

: their craft and to get where

: they are. Are steroids really

: necessary to up their game? Or
: worse, is it really worth risking
: everything for a bit of bud?

Exhibit A is currently

: Josh Gordon. The NFL's leader
: inreceiving yards—with

Pan astonishing 1,646—is

: expected to be suspended

: by the league for an entire

: season after reportedly failing

: adrug test due to marijuana.

Hold the collective face-

palm for a moment. Gordon’s

: remarkable season is made all
: the more impressive by the
fact that he missed two games.
: The ex-Baylor man averaged

: 117.6 yards per outing. The real
: story here is that he missed

: the first two games due toa

: failed drug test (codeine from
: his cough medicine is his

alibi and he’s sticking to it).

But wait, there’s more.
Gordon was a supplemen-

: tal draft pick coming out of

: college because he had some...
: issues. Bet the house on the

: daily double, kids, because

: it was marijuana that landed

: him in trouble in school too.

To sum up Gordon’s career,

he just about had his career

: aspirations ruined by dope,

: made it to the NFL anyway, had
a decent rookie season, failed
ia drug test, realized he should

: probably be more careful, led

: the entire league in receiving

: yards quite handily, and then

: got nailed for pot again. You

: can’t write this stuff. And to top
: it off, when he was pulled over

: on the weekend of May 25, the

: passenger in his car was found
to have marijuana on him.

The complaints from many

: fans is centred on the fact

: that Gordon is being busted

: for dope. Not Adderall. Not

: steroids. Nothing that will

: actually help him on the field.

: He’s being punished fora

: purely recreational drug that

: millions upon millions partake
: in. Frankly, those fans should

: just leave it. Sure, dope isn’t a

: performance-enhancing drug,
: but it is illegal. Can you really

: expect the NFL to stand by

: and let their players blatantly
: use banned substances? What
: kind ofan image would that

: portray? All the Pop Warner

: leagues that look up to the

: pros suddenly wouldn't quite

: have the same wholesome
family atmosphere to them.

No, Gordon and all the

: other suspensions (including

: another season-suspension

: to star linebacker Daryl

: Washington) handed out

: since 2006 by Goodell have

: only themselves to blame.

: Performance-enhancing or not,
: a drugisa drug;a rule isa rule;

: asuspension is some quality

: time to think about errors.