By Mike Warner
For The New Era
The Warriors ended their softball season with a pair of losses, 11-1 at league-leading Dallas and at home to third-place South Albany, falling 17-5.
Lebanon ended the year 4-10 in the Mid-WIllamette Conference and 7-17 overall, finishing ended up in sixth in league.
In the Dallas game, Lebanon managed only four hits; two by Hailey Myers and a single by Majesta Nida and a double by Bristol Hockema. Hockema pitched the entire game.
Against South Albany, the Warriors gave up eight runs in the first inning and were playing catch up the rest of the game. The Warriors got six hits and five runs but just couldn’t cut into the Redhawk lead. Tatum Cole, Scarlett French and Majesta Nida all homered for the Warriors.
The season was difficult for a team used to success. The Warriors played for the state championship just two years ago.
The pitcher that year was then-sophomore Tatum Cole, who received numerous league accolades that year. Unfortunately, she incurred an injury to her right shoulder and was unable to pitch for the Warriors this year.
Two starters for the Warriors had limited experience in the circle. With Cole on the bump, the year would very likely have ended much differently.
In any event, she still helped the team by playing a quality first base. She was also a solid batter with several home runs to her name.
Looking forward to next year, the Warriors return nine players including two freshmen, three sophomores and four juniors.
Lebanon baseball ends year on hot note
Lebanon’s baseball team finished its 2026 campaign with a home-and-home split with Crescent Valley to finish off a 7-4 run to end its season.
Both games last week were defensive struggles with the Warriors winning 4-2 at home Monday and Crescent Valley winning 3-0 on Wednesday in Corvallis.
Lebanon ended the season with a 9-9 record in league and 11-16 overall.
In the Monday game, senior Trenton Lewis pitched beautifully, giving up only three hits and no earned runs.
Trey Enright went 3 for 3 and Wyatt Jenkins, Jaidyn Von Ruden, Trenton Lewis and Niko Autry all recorded an RBI.
In the Wednesday game, the Crescent Valley pitching was dominating in what turned out to be a defensive battle. Jaidyn Von Ruden managed the only two hits recorded by the Warriors. Preston Bryan was equally in control on the mound for the Warriors, giving up only three hits and three walks.
The Warriors started the year slowly losing 13 of their first 17 games but then jelled and finished on a much higher note.
“After Corvallis (April 20), we went 7-7,” Coach Jeff Stolsig said. “A big spark for us offensively was inserting Cohen Vandiver in the leadoff spot. Cohen was on fire for a bit and really jump started the offense.”
The team and individual batting averages reflect the change. The team batting average jumped to .326. Those last 14 games were spectacular offensively. Batting averages for key players included Brayden Fountain’s .667; Von Ruden’s .500; Enright’s .449; Lewis’ .394; Jenkins’ .381; and Austin Turnidge’s .306.
If the final 14 games were invigorating, the last 10 were even more so. The Warriors went 7-3 during that stretch, sweeping South Albany and Woodburn and splitting with West Albany, Silverton and Crescent Valley.
Every phase of their game improved over the year. The batting averages increased, as did the fielding percentage which went from .858 to .916.
The team ERA dropped from 4.072 to 2.56 led by Lewis, whose ERA was just over 2.00. He recorded 77 strikeouts for the year. Not bad for someone maintaining a .346 batting average himself.
The Warriors return 10 players from this year’s varsity and are already looking forward to next year.
