Sports

Vandal hitters will likely not miss Homedale’s Dani Sitts after she graduates in the spring.The Trojan ace again proved problematic as the McCall-Donnelly softball team hit the road for a Snake River Valley Conference tilt on Monday, but was promptly dismissed with a 15-0 loss.Izzy Pietri came up with a single on one trip to the plate, but otherwise Vandal bats came up empty against the reining SRV Player of the Year and two-time all-state first-teamer.Trojan hitters were no less sympathetic.

The McCall-Donnelly baseball team struggled to get going against Homedale on Monday, falling 14-0 during a Snake River Valley Conference tilt played on the road.Cole Naugle provided the Vandals with their lone hit during the game, going 1-for-2 at the plate with a single.Trojan pitchers Chance Martell and Payton Fine did not make things easy, combining for 10 strike outs without giving up a single walk.Homedale also sprang for 10 hits, including a triple and a pair of doubles.Despite coming off spring break, the M-D defense held the home team down for two runs in the first inning and one in the second.But Trojan hitters got hot and posted 11 runs during the third inning alone.M-D fell to 2-7 with the loss, but with a short turnaround were back in action Wednesday against Parma with hopes to halt a three-game slide.

School records were toppled as the McCall-Donnelly track and field team competed at the Lewiston Invitational on Friday, but several other Vandal athletes found room to shine as well.George Speirs set new M-D mark in the 3,200- and 1,600-meter races while Van Vinson did that same in the pole vault.But Speirs’ younger brother Charlie also provided a highlight when he subbed for his older sibling in the boys sprint medley relay, and helped the group – Caleb Beaman, Lennox Bowling, Vinson and Speirs – snare gold by holding on with a strong final leg.“It was neat to see all the upperclassmen come and pick him up,” M-D coach Freddy Hernandez said.

Owen Naugle looked sharp from both sides of the bat as the McCall-Donnelly baseball team notched another win, this one a 9-3 victory over Nyssa, Oregon at the Treasure Valley Invitational in Ontario.At the plate, Naugle drove in two runs on two hits to help the Vandal hardballers snap a two-game slide against varsity opponents.But the M-D senior also got it done on the mound, allowing just three hits over six innings while striking out six Bulldogs.Naugle and teammate John Hatfield also sprang for triples while Seth Julian added a double.In addition, Cole Naugle delivered two RBI on a 3-for-4 performance at the plate while also gashing the Nyssa infield with three stolen bases.M-D hitters collected 10 in total.

Freshman Natalie Ruth shined again, this time seizing a bronze finish as the Meadows Valley track and field team competed at the Kamiah Invitational last week.“Kamiah meet went fantastic,” MV coach Jared McIlvain said.