The return of two key players – one from injury, one from a transfer – has The Dalles looking like a contender in 4A softball.
Senior shortstop Maddy Sagapolutele, the 4A player of the year for the Riverhawks' state-title team in 2023 before spending the last two seasons at 6A Gresham, is back at The Dalles. Junior first baseman/pitcher Ainslee Eisland, who missed most of 2025 after suffering a concussion early in the season, also is back in the fold.
Sagapolutele and Eisland are the catalysts for an offense that has put up 105 runs in an 8-0 start. Sagapolutele is batting .600 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. Eisland is hitting .654 with four home runs and 23 RBIs for the Riverhawks, ranked No. 9 in the OSAAtoday 4A coaches poll.
“They're pushing each other,” The Dalles coach Duane Witter said.
The heavy-hitting duo came up clutch in the team's biggest win of the season Friday, a 5-4 victory over No. 2 and reigning state champion Astoria in the final game of the Steve Garett Memorial Tournament at The Dalles. Sagapolutele blasted a home run to tie 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth, then drew a lead-off walk and scored the game-winning run on a single by Eisland in the bottom of the seventh.
The win avenged last year's 4-3, first-round playoff loss to Astoria in which the Riverhawks were two outs away from winning. Witter said the victory reflected the team's change in mindset from last year, when they finished 13-12.
“We were in a lot of games, it's just that mental side of it,” Witter said. “We weren't quite ready for it. This year, I feel we're ready for it.”
Sagapolutele hit 14 home runs as a freshman in helping The Dalles set a state record with 70 home runs. At Gresham, she hit 15 home runs as a sophomore and 12 last season, when she was a 6A second-team pick. With 46 career home runs, she is tied for third on the state's all-time list behind Scio's Myleigh Cooper (75, 2022-25) and Marist Catholic's Ariel Carlson (72, 2016-19).
Sagapolutele is showing the way for The Dalles with her bat and leadership.
“The great thing about Maddy is she's a light-hearted senior,” Witter said. “She helps them to stay focused, but she's having fun. When she came back, I said, 'Maddy, this is your senior year, I want you to have fun. I have no expectations, no pressure. I want you to be that person that I know you were as a freshman, fun-loving.'”
The Riverhawks added Sagapolutele and Eisland to a lineup that returned all but two starters. Sagapolutele bats second, behind junior left fielder Edie May (.367) and before senior center fielder Ava Graves (.619, 12 RBIs) and Eisland.
The rest of the order features junior first baseman Cadence Young. junior second baseman Morgan Donivan, senior third baseman Makenzie Barrett, senior pitcher Siyra Faulkner and freshman right fielder Callie Walters.
Witter, the JV coach before replacing Lindy McNab as head coach last season, likes his hitters' approach. He said the Riverhawks, who fell victim to swinging for fences in recent seasons, are showing more discipline at the plate.
“The last couple years I was getting rid of that mantra that we're big boppers, so now we're just putting the ball in play and letting it happen,” he said. “I've told them that I just want to set the table. It puts more pressure on the pitcher if we put runners on.”
The Dalles rolled to a 10-3 win over 5A No. 1 Ridgeview, the reigning state champion, in a tournament at Madras on March 23. The Riverhawks also have defeated 4A No. 3 La Grande 15-3 and 4A co-No. 6 Cascade 9-5.
“When they're playing loose and fast, they'll beat anybody,” Witter said.
Faulkner, in her second season as the team's ace, has been steady in the circle. In 25 innings, she has allowed 21 hits, struck out 28, walked eight and has a 2.52 ERA. Witter compared her focus and drive to Kennedy Abbas, the 4A pitcher of the year as a senior in 2023.
Witter credited the revamped coaching staff – he brought back former head coach Katherine Kramer and assistant Amy Schwartz and added Jason Walters, a football assistant at 1A powerhouse Dufur – with tapping into the players' potential.
“I always felt that the girls were good enough,” Witter said. “But did they believe they were good enough? By putting these people together, I'm orchestrating it.”
Freshman leads Vale
Vale freshman Sophia Navarrete used her arm and bat to power the 3A No. 6 Vikings to a three-game sweep in the Spring Break Bash at La Grande on Friday and Saturday.
Navarrete opened the season Friday by tossing a one-hitter with 19 strikeouts and no walks in a 9-0 win over 2A/1A No. 1 Weston-McEwen, which had scored 35 runs in winning its first three games.
Navarrete also had three RBIs for the Vikings, who got standout performances from senior Bailey Blake (three-run homer) and junior Brooklyn Maag (2 for 2, two walks, four runs).
Vale followed that win by beating 2A/1A No. 6 Union/Cove 17-6 in five innings Friday as Navarrete went 2 for 4 with a home run, double, three RBIs and four runs. Maag also homered and junior Grace Chamberlain struck out 11 in five innings.
Navarrete went 3 for 4 with three doubles and five RBIs as Vale blitzed Warrenton 11-1 in five innings Saturday. Senior Emma Carpenter pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts for the Vikings.
Glencoe sweeps Best of West
Glencoe, No. 6 in the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll, is off to a 5-0 start after going 3-0 in its own Best of the West Tournament last week. The Crimson Tide defeated McNary 6-2, Tigard 8-3 and Lakeridge 7-4.
Freshman Amelia Bouska went 3 for 4 with a triple and an RBI and senior Tuesday Mevis went 2 for 3 and drove in two runs in the win over McNary.
Senior Makena Petrick (2 for 3, three RBIs) and junior Ally Meyer (two RBIs) hit home runs against Tigard. Bouska also went 2 for 4 with an RBI and junior Kendyl Mishler went 2 for 4 with two doubles.
Glencoe rapped seven doubles to defeat Lakeridge, getting three from Mishler (three RBIs) and two from junior Harlow Huson (two RBIs). Sophomore Lexi Brester pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and one earned run and fanning 11.
jerryu@osaa.org
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