The Tillamook High Cheesemakers concluded their season last week and even though they didn’t have a very good record in the Class 4A softball Cowapa League, they started to turn things around and enjoy some success on the field.
Tillamook, guided by Coach Chelsea Miller, snapped a 14-game losing streak with an 11-5 home win over the Seaside High Seagulls May 4.
“It’s much better to end the season on a win streak than having a losing streak,” said Miller. “That streak felt like a hole that we weren’t going to get out of. After winning against Seaside, we could just feel like we had momentum and then beating Scappoose just felt great.”
The Mooks won again one day later with a 16-7 road win over the Seagulls (1-9 league, 8-13 overall) on May 5. The Mooks then got their most impressive victory of the season with a 3-2 home win on Senior Night over the No. 6 ranked Scappoose High Indians (7-2 league, 17-3 overall). Prior to the game, Scappoose was ranked No. 1.
Tillamook concluded the season with a 10-2 road loss to Scappoose May 11. That contest marked the final game of their Tillamook High School softball career for senior pitcher Tori Pesterfield and infielder Gabi Garcia. Pesterfield had a strong performance in the circle while tossing a seven-hitter with one walk and no earned runs allowed.
“It was such a special game for us to beat Scappoose in what was a big upset win, which was just amazing,” said Miller. “When we got people on base, we executed and we scored in the first inning while capitalizing on a couple of Scappoose errors. Then we got a couple more runs in the fifth to get a 3-2 lead and we were able to get it done and finish with a win.”
The final two innings were scoreless but there was also a dramatic conclusion. Aided by Tillamook errors, Scappoose got two baserunners in the top of the seventh with two outs and they had runners on first and third base and a chance to tie the score. Then a Scappoose player hit a high fly ball to right field and junior Aracely Viramontes Morales made a great catch for the final putout of the game to help preserve the huge win for Tillamook.
“It was so exciting at the end and to overcome the errors that we made too, it was just incredible,” said Miller. “It was nice to have a win streak at the end of the season. At the beginning of the year, we had a majority of our losses that happened because of our mistakes, like errors and strikeouts. It’s just nice to see the way we finished the season strong with resilience and it was really special to win the last three games. Our team has an incredible amount of potential and I think we have a lot to look forward to next season.”
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