Tuesday was Senior Night for the Siuslaw Vikings softball team, and it was the juniors who came through to spark a 4-1 Far West League victory over South Umpqua in the season finale at the Siuslaw High School field.

Prior to the game, with athletic director Jeromy Graybill emceeing, family, friends and teammates saluted seniors Hannah Bartlett, Taylor Dotson, Nicole Gordon, Anna Petras and Anna Stonelake.

Then the team went about the task of winning to finish on a high note, 4-11 in league and 7-15 overall and ranked just outside a state playoff spot at No. 27.

League-champion North Bend (ranked No. 7), runnerup Marshfield (9), South Umpqua (16) and North Bend (20) likely are all headed to postseason play.

Tuesday's win was very much in doubt until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Vikings bunched all their runs after being shut out and no-hit through five innings by Lancers freshman Tayah Kelley.

Winning pitcher Heidi Jones got the rally going with a one-out double down the right-field line, scooting to third on a called ball four on catcher Nikki Launius.

Jones scored the tying run on a wild pitch and Launius the go-ahead run on an RBI single by first baseman Claire Waggoner.

Jones, Launius and Waggoner are all juniors.

The Vikings padded their lead on an RBI single by Petras, who later came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 4-1.

South Umpqua broke open a pitchers' duel in the top of the fifth. Junior second baseman Caitlyn Telford, batting in the No. 8 slot, doubled to the left-center gap to lead off the inning, and scored three batters later on an infield single by junior centerfielder Emma Lind.

For the Vikings, Jones was 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored and two stolen bases, while Waggoner and Petras were each 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

Jones struck out 4, walked 2 and scattered 9 hits.

Kelley struck out 5 and walked 4. She gave up 5 hits, all in the sixth inning when the Vikings sent 8 batters to the plate.

NOTES

The Vikings also saluted the South Umpqua seniors: Chanel Stewart, Ella Botts, Samantha Lydick, Alexis Westbrooks, Jenaka Black and Emilee Mueller.

LINESCORE
Tuesday, May 10, at Siuslaw High School

SOUTH UMPQUA     000 010 0  —  1    9    0
SIUSLAW                  000 004 X  —  4    5    2
Winning pitcher — Heidi Jones. Losing pitcher — Tayah Kelley.