Clayton Jones

I made my maiden voyage to visit the Pirates (see what I did there ...) on Wednesday as the 3A No. 3 Dayton softball team got one last test in before state in hosting 4A No. 3 Astoria - falling 3-0 in Dayton. The contest remained close as a second-inning solo homer by Astoria was the only run tallied until the seventh when Astoria added two more to make the final 3-0. The 21-5 Pirates, the defending Class 3A state runner-up, will now wait to see where they open play at the state tournament lat

It was my first visit to cover McMinnville softball Tuesday as the Grizzlies defeated Yamhill County foe Newberg, 11-0. McMinnville junior Juliet Pesina-Wade - a day after blasting three homers and driving in 10 runs in a home win over Central Catholic - hit her fourth homer in two days and her ninth on the season as the Grizzlies wrapped up Pacific Conference play - finishing fourth. After a Thursday non-conference matchup with Sheldon, MHS will wait to see who and where it will play to open