Softball Game Preview: West Linn Lions vs. Oregon City Pioneers

By Team Reports May 8, 2025, 12:37am

Softball Preview: West Linn Lions vs. Oregon City Pioneers

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The West Linn Lions will venture away from home to challenge the Oregon City Pioneers at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (West Linn 3.3, Oregon City 3.5) so any runs scored will be well earned.

West Linn is probably headed into the matchup with a chip on their shoulder considering Tigard just ended the team's eight-game winning streak on Wednesday. They fell just short of the Tigers by a score of 7-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Lions have suffered since May 8, 2024.

West Linn got a good showing from Meadow Sanborn, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Sanborn has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances.

At the plate, Meg Allen was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with one home run and one double. Emery Curtis also deserves some recognition as she launched her first home run of the season.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Oregon City). Everything went their way against Lakeridge on Wednesday as they made off with a 13-4 win. The victory was nothing new for the Pioneers as they're now sitting on four straight.

Ellie Joseph made a big impact no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out ten over 5.2 innings pitched. Joseph was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two triples, three runs, and two RBI. Those two triples gave her a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Sophie Funnemark, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Maggie Schneider, who went 3-for-4 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.

Oregon City always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .553. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in four consecutive contests.

Oregon City's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-11. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.0 runs over those games. As for West Linn, their loss dropped their record down to 17-4.

Oregon City's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: West Linn has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .444. It's a different story for Oregon City, though, as they've only averaged .347. Will they be able to contain West Linn's hitters?

West Linn came out on top in a nail-biter against Oregon City when the teams last played last Monday, sneaking past 3-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lions since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps