Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Linfield softball stats, records, notes update 5/16/2011
Five Wildcats have started all 47 games this season: 1b Doucette, c Lepp,
2b Hartman, lf Hubrich and 3b Prestianni
ss Keagbine has started 45 games and cf Baxter 43
--Velaski has been the starting pitcher in 26 games and Harvey has started 17 games. Velaski started all four regional games, allowing no runs (0) in 21 innings pitched. In the first two she allowed one hit (a bunt single) in 11 innings.
Linfield has won 34 consecutive games and has a 45-2 record. The last game Linfield lost was on March 18, 8-7 in eight innings to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a multi-team event at Chapman in Orange, Calif.
--The Wildcats’ 47 victories ties the school record set in 2007, the year Linfield won the NCAA Division III championship. They have broken the record of fewest losses with 2; the record is 6 and the most Linfield can lose in the double-elimination nationals would be 2 more for a total of 4.
Catcher Emilee Lepp has handled 262 straight chances without making an error. Her only error of the season came in the second inning of the second game, against Whitworth. Her fielding percentage is .996.
1b Doucette also has 1 error in 47 games and 3b Prestianni has 2 errors in 47 games.
Linfield’s team fielding percentage is .966 with a total of 42 errors in 47 games.
The school records for highest percentage (.981) and fewest errors (22) were both set in 2008.
--More than half of Linfield’s victories (23 of 44) have been “mercy” victories: The games have been terminated after 5 or 6 innings because Linfield was ahead by at least 8 runs
The Wildcats have already broken several major team offensive records: = 95 home runs (obliterating the mark of 78 set last year);
= 434 runs scored, surpassing 409 by 2007’s national championship team;
= 413 RBIs, beating 2007’s total of 357 set in five more games.
= 917 total bases, far beyond the 852 by the 2007 national champions.
...and are on track to break some others:
= .400 batting average; the record is .388 set by that great 2007 team;
= .699 slugging average, more than 100 points above last year’s .592
= 9.23 runs per game; the 2007 champions averaged 7.87
= .474 on-base average; the record is .433 set in 2007
Linfield pitchers’ aggregate (team) earned run average is 1.74 earned runs per game; opponents’ team earned run average is 9.37 earned runs per game
Holding all four opponents scoreless in the regional, the Wildcats broke the school record for shutouts with 18; it was 16 in 2004
Linfield made no errors in its first three NCAA regional games; the Wildcats have played 21 errorless games this season, in spite of often playing on infields that were not in top condition because of the wet Northwest spring.
Lepp has gotten multiple hits (two or more) in 26 games, including 19 two-hit games. Keagbine and Doucette each have had 23 multiple-hit games and Hubrich has had 22.
Lepp has had 25 multiple-RBI games; Doucette has had 20.
Lepp and Doucette will take nine-game hitting streaks into the nationals. Longest this season was Doucette’s 16 games.
2b Hartman, lf Hubrich and 3b Prestianni
ss Keagbine has started 45 games and cf Baxter 43
--Velaski has been the starting pitcher in 26 games and Harvey has started 17 games. Velaski started all four regional games, allowing no runs (0) in 21 innings pitched. In the first two she allowed one hit (a bunt single) in 11 innings.
Linfield has won 34 consecutive games and has a 45-2 record. The last game Linfield lost was on March 18, 8-7 in eight innings to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a multi-team event at Chapman in Orange, Calif.
--The Wildcats’ 47 victories ties the school record set in 2007, the year Linfield won the NCAA Division III championship. They have broken the record of fewest losses with 2; the record is 6 and the most Linfield can lose in the double-elimination nationals would be 2 more for a total of 4.
Catcher Emilee Lepp has handled 262 straight chances without making an error. Her only error of the season came in the second inning of the second game, against Whitworth. Her fielding percentage is .996.
1b Doucette also has 1 error in 47 games and 3b Prestianni has 2 errors in 47 games.
Linfield’s team fielding percentage is .966 with a total of 42 errors in 47 games.
The school records for highest percentage (.981) and fewest errors (22) were both set in 2008.
--More than half of Linfield’s victories (23 of 44) have been “mercy” victories: The games have been terminated after 5 or 6 innings because Linfield was ahead by at least 8 runs
The Wildcats have already broken several major team offensive records: = 95 home runs (obliterating the mark of 78 set last year);
= 434 runs scored, surpassing 409 by 2007’s national championship team;
= 413 RBIs, beating 2007’s total of 357 set in five more games.
= 917 total bases, far beyond the 852 by the 2007 national champions.
...and are on track to break some others:
= .400 batting average; the record is .388 set by that great 2007 team;
= .699 slugging average, more than 100 points above last year’s .592
= 9.23 runs per game; the 2007 champions averaged 7.87
= .474 on-base average; the record is .433 set in 2007
Linfield pitchers’ aggregate (team) earned run average is 1.74 earned runs per game; opponents’ team earned run average is 9.37 earned runs per game
Holding all four opponents scoreless in the regional, the Wildcats broke the school record for shutouts with 18; it was 16 in 2004
Linfield made no errors in its first three NCAA regional games; the Wildcats have played 21 errorless games this season, in spite of often playing on infields that were not in top condition because of the wet Northwest spring.
Lepp has gotten multiple hits (two or more) in 26 games, including 19 two-hit games. Keagbine and Doucette each have had 23 multiple-hit games and Hubrich has had 22.
Lepp has had 25 multiple-RBI games; Doucette has had 20.
Lepp and Doucette will take nine-game hitting streaks into the nationals. Longest this season was Doucette’s 16 games.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Linfield Softball’s ‘Mercy’ victories so far in 2011
Special thanks from Wildcatville to Dennis Anderson for supplying this information.
Through May 16, 2011, half of Linfield’s softball victories this season (23 of 45) were “mercy” victories; i.e., games that by rule were terminated after 5 or 6 innings because Linfield was ahead by at least 8 runs.
Only four of those games were played at Linfield; 15 were Northwest Conference games, including one in the NWC Tournament. All four of Linfield’s NCAA regional tournament games were “mercy” wins.
On six days, Linfield invoked the mercy rule in both games of a doubleheader.
Linfield has won 34 games in a row, and 6 of the last 8 have been “mercy” victories
These were the “mercy” victories so far this season:
Games listed below played at Linfield unless designated with @ for opponent field or * for neutral field.
Feb. 26 Whitworth
12-2 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Baxter hit 4x4 with 3 RBI
Feb. 26 Whitworth
10-1 in 6 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Lepp had her only error of the season and hit her first of 29 home runs
Feb. 27 + Whitworth
16-0 in 5 innings
March 5 @ George Fox
12-0 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Velaski pitched a no-hitter and struck out 10; Lepp hit 3-run home run
March 5 @ George Fox
11-0 in 5 innings2nd game of doubleheader
Doucette hit 3-run double; Lepp and Keagbine each hit their 4th home run
March 6 + Lewis & Clark
12-4 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Keagbine hit solo HR and 3-run double, both in the 2nd inning, and had 5 RBIs total
March 6 + Lewis & Clark
20-1 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Keagbine and Baxter each hit two home runs; Baxter hit 2-run HR and 3-run HR both in the second inning, when Linfield scored 11 runs on 13 hits. Hubrich and Keagbine each hit 5x5 and Linfield got 27 hits total. Keagbine had 4 RBIs, giving her 9 RBIs for the day, and scored 4 runs.
March 19 @ Chapman (Calif.)
10-2 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Hubrich hit 3-run, inside-the-park HR
March 19 @ Chapman (Calif.)
15-2 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Doucette hit 3-run HR
March 22 @ Cal Lutheran
15-1 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Baxter hit 2B, HR and had 4 RBI; Prestianni hit 3-run HR
March 23 @ Whittier (Calif.)
12-0 in 6 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Lepp hit 4x4 with 2-run HR and grand slam for 6 RBIs; Velaski (5 innings) and Karscig (1 inn.) pitched 1-hitter
March 26 + George Fox
8-0 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Hubrich 3 hits, triple, 3 RBIs
March 26 + George Fox
12-0 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Hartmann and Keagbine both hit 3-run HRs; Doucette hit a 3-run double; Keagbine had 5 RBIs altogether.
April 3 Puget Sound
8-0 in 5 innings in 3rd game of tripleheader
Lepp hit 2-run double and 2-run HR; Freshman Paavola pitched shutout.
April 7 @ Lewis & Clark
12-4 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Prestianni 3-run HR; Lepp hit 4x4,
3-run double, HR and 5 RBIs.
April 7 @ Lewis & Clark
18-4 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Doucette hit 3-run HR and grand slam in first two innings for 7 RBI
April 12 @ Puget Sound
11-1 in 5 innings
Keagbine hit 2 HRs, team hit 6
April 17 Pacific
8-0 in 6 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Karscig pitched shutout
April 22 Pacific Lutheran
11-2 in 5 innings at NWC tournament
Lepp hit grand slam, her 27th HR; Doucette hit 18th and Keagbine 16th
May 12 + Anderson (Ind.)
10-0 in 6 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa*
Velaski pitched one-hitter; Lepp and Doucette hit 3-run home runs
May 14 + Washington (Saint Louis)
17-0 in 5 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa*
Velaski pitched no-hitter; Baxter hit bases-loaded triple and Prestianni hit grand slam, both in first inning
May 15 + Coe (Iowa)
10-0 in 5 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa*
Doucette hit 3-run HR in first inning, her 20th; Velaski extended scoreless string to 20 innings in regional games
May 16 @ Central (Iowa)
12-0 in 5 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa
Keagbine hit her 17th HR, doubled and she and Hartmann each drove in 3 runs; Velaski pitched her fourth shutout in five days, a 2-hitter
The “mercy” rule also was invoked in one of the Wildcats’ two losses
March 12 @ Pacific Lutheran2-10 in 6 innings
Velaski gave up 10 runs (4 earned) in 5.1 innings; PLU ended game with 6 runs in bottom of the 6th inning, 5 of them on two home runs
More info:
--After 3 games in the NCAA regional softball tournament, Linfield outscored opponents 37-0 and all three games were terminated by mercy rule.
--Linfield has only batted in 14 innings! (did not need to bat in bottom of 5th Saturday or Sunday as the Wildcats were the home team)
.............
Linfield vs. Central (Iowa) at Kuyper Athletic Complex, Central College, Pella, Iowa
Monday, May 16, 2011
Play-by-play from NCAA regional tourney in Pella, Iowa, Linfield vs. Central of Iowa
Through May 16, 2011, half of Linfield’s softball victories this season (23 of 45) were “mercy” victories; i.e., games that by rule were terminated after 5 or 6 innings because Linfield was ahead by at least 8 runs.
Only four of those games were played at Linfield; 15 were Northwest Conference games, including one in the NWC Tournament. All four of Linfield’s NCAA regional tournament games were “mercy” wins.
On six days, Linfield invoked the mercy rule in both games of a doubleheader.
Linfield has won 34 games in a row, and 6 of the last 8 have been “mercy” victories
These were the “mercy” victories so far this season:
Games listed below played at Linfield unless designated with @ for opponent field or * for neutral field.
Feb. 26 Whitworth
12-2 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Baxter hit 4x4 with 3 RBI
Feb. 26 Whitworth
10-1 in 6 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Lepp had her only error of the season and hit her first of 29 home runs
Feb. 27 + Whitworth
16-0 in 5 innings
March 5 @ George Fox
12-0 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Velaski pitched a no-hitter and struck out 10; Lepp hit 3-run home run
March 5 @ George Fox
11-0 in 5 innings2nd game of doubleheader
Doucette hit 3-run double; Lepp and Keagbine each hit their 4th home run
March 6 + Lewis & Clark
12-4 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Keagbine hit solo HR and 3-run double, both in the 2nd inning, and had 5 RBIs total
March 6 + Lewis & Clark
20-1 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Keagbine and Baxter each hit two home runs; Baxter hit 2-run HR and 3-run HR both in the second inning, when Linfield scored 11 runs on 13 hits. Hubrich and Keagbine each hit 5x5 and Linfield got 27 hits total. Keagbine had 4 RBIs, giving her 9 RBIs for the day, and scored 4 runs.
March 19 @ Chapman (Calif.)
10-2 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Hubrich hit 3-run, inside-the-park HR
March 19 @ Chapman (Calif.)
15-2 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Doucette hit 3-run HR
March 22 @ Cal Lutheran
15-1 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Baxter hit 2B, HR and had 4 RBI; Prestianni hit 3-run HR
March 23 @ Whittier (Calif.)
12-0 in 6 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Lepp hit 4x4 with 2-run HR and grand slam for 6 RBIs; Velaski (5 innings) and Karscig (1 inn.) pitched 1-hitter
March 26 + George Fox
8-0 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Hubrich 3 hits, triple, 3 RBIs
March 26 + George Fox
12-0 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Hartmann and Keagbine both hit 3-run HRs; Doucette hit a 3-run double; Keagbine had 5 RBIs altogether.
April 3 Puget Sound
8-0 in 5 innings in 3rd game of tripleheader
Lepp hit 2-run double and 2-run HR; Freshman Paavola pitched shutout.
April 7 @ Lewis & Clark
12-4 in 5 innings in 1st game of doubleheader
Prestianni 3-run HR; Lepp hit 4x4,
3-run double, HR and 5 RBIs.
April 7 @ Lewis & Clark
18-4 in 5 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Doucette hit 3-run HR and grand slam in first two innings for 7 RBI
April 12 @ Puget Sound
11-1 in 5 innings
Keagbine hit 2 HRs, team hit 6
April 17 Pacific
8-0 in 6 innings in 2nd game of doubleheader
Karscig pitched shutout
April 22 Pacific Lutheran
11-2 in 5 innings at NWC tournament
Lepp hit grand slam, her 27th HR; Doucette hit 18th and Keagbine 16th
May 12 + Anderson (Ind.)
10-0 in 6 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa*
Velaski pitched one-hitter; Lepp and Doucette hit 3-run home runs
May 14 + Washington (Saint Louis)
17-0 in 5 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa*
Velaski pitched no-hitter; Baxter hit bases-loaded triple and Prestianni hit grand slam, both in first inning
May 15 + Coe (Iowa)
10-0 in 5 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa*
Doucette hit 3-run HR in first inning, her 20th; Velaski extended scoreless string to 20 innings in regional games
May 16 @ Central (Iowa)
12-0 in 5 innings at NCAA regional @ Pella, Iowa
Keagbine hit her 17th HR, doubled and she and Hartmann each drove in 3 runs; Velaski pitched her fourth shutout in five days, a 2-hitter
The “mercy” rule also was invoked in one of the Wildcats’ two losses
March 12 @ Pacific Lutheran2-10 in 6 innings
Velaski gave up 10 runs (4 earned) in 5.1 innings; PLU ended game with 6 runs in bottom of the 6th inning, 5 of them on two home runs
More info:
--After 3 games in the NCAA regional softball tournament, Linfield outscored opponents 37-0 and all three games were terminated by mercy rule.
--Linfield has only batted in 14 innings! (did not need to bat in bottom of 5th Saturday or Sunday as the Wildcats were the home team)
.............
Linfield vs. Central (Iowa) at Kuyper Athletic Complex, Central College, Pella, Iowa
Monday, May 16, 2011
Play-by-play from NCAA regional tourney in Pella, Iowa, Linfield vs. Central of Iowa
Background:
Linfield improved to 45-2, tying school record for victories in a season set by the 2007 national championship team
--Central eliminated Coe 7-3 in 8 a.m. game May 16, 2011
--Linfield entered game vs. Central with 44-2 record (ranked first by coaches); Central was 39-8 (ranked 8th)
=LINFIELD 1st
Hubrich singles to left center
Baxter sacrificed to pitcher, Hubrich to second
Lepp walked
Hubrich to third and Lepp to second on wild pitch
Doucette walked; Herren pinch ran for her, bases loaded
Prestianni hits sacrifice fly to CF, Hubrich scored ‘Cats 1-0
Keagbine doubled, Lepp scored; Herren advanced to third ‘Cats 2-0
Hartmann tripled down right-field line, Keagbine and Herren scored ‘Cats 4-0
Watson walked, Karscig pinch-ran for her; runners on first and third
Mixsell grounded out to 2b
Linfield: 4 runs, 3 hits, 2 left on, 0 Central errors
‘Cats 4, Central 0
=CENTRAL 1st
Strike out swinging on 2-2 count
Single through right side on 0-2 count
Force out, pitcher to 2b
Strike out swinging on 2-2 count
Central 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 left, 0 Linfield errors
=LINFIELD 2nd
Hubrich hits first pitch for single to center
Central changes pitchers
Baxter forces out Hubrich at second base, ss to 2b
Lepp flies to left on 1-0 count (2 out)
Doucette flies to right on 1-2 count
Linfield 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 left, 0 Central errors
=CENTRAL 2nd
Ground out to ss on 3-1 count
Strike out called
Error on SS Keagbine, Linfield’s first error in the tournament
Pinch hitter pops out to 1b
Central: 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 left on, 1 Linfield error
=LINFIELD 3rd
Prestianni flies out to CF on 3-1 count
Keagbine fouls off three straight pitches, then homers to left center ‘Cats 5-0
Hartman singles to left on 0-1 count
Watson singles to left on 2-2 count after 3 straight foul balls, Hartman advances
Mixsell hit by pitch, loading the bases
Hubrich singles to short stop. Hartman scores ‘Cats 6-0
Baxter rallies from 0-2 to hit three foul balls and walks on 3-2 count, forcing in Garcia, bases still loaded
‘Cats 7-0
Lepp singles to left field, Mixsell scores, bases still loaded ‘Cats 8-0
Doucette lines out to second, Lepp double off first
Linfield: 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 left on base, 0 Central errors
‘Cats 8, Central 0
=CENTRAL 3rd
Strike out swinging on 1-2 count after 3 straight foul balls
Pop up to 2b on first pitch
Ground out to pitcher on 2-2 count
Central 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 left on, 0 Linfield errors, 11 pitches
=LINFIELD 4th
Prestianni flies out to left on 1-1 count
Keagbine singles up middle on first pitch
Hartmann hits first pitch, reaches on fielder’s choice, runners on first and second
Garcia reaches by error on 2b; Keagbine scores ‘Cats 9-0
Mixsell singles to LF to drive in Hartmann ‘Cats 10-0
Central changes pitchers
Hubrich grounds out to 2b on 1-1 count, runners advance to 2nd and 3rd
Baxter flies out to RF on 2-2 count
Linfield 2 runs on 3 hits, 2 left on, 0 Central errors,
‘Cats 10, Central 0
=CENTRAL 4th
Swinging strike out on 3 pitches
Single to center on 1-0 count; pinch runner (what’s the point down 10-0?)
Double play, short stop to 1b on 2-0 count
Central: 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 left on base, 0 Linfield errors
=LINFIELD 5th
Lepp doubles to left on 0-1 count
Doucette singles through left side on 1-0 count; Lepp to third
Prestianni walks on 3-2 count, bases loaded
Keagbine fouls out to RF, sacrifice fly; Lepp scores, Doucette to third
‘Cats 11-0
Hartmann flies out to LF on 1-2 count, sacrifice fly, Doucette scores
‘Cats 12-0
Garcia walks, runners on first and second
Mixsell walks on 3-2 pitch after numerous foul balls, bases loaded
Hubrich strikes out swinging
Linfield: 2 runs, 2 hits, 3 left on base, 0 Central errors
Cats 12, Central 0
=CENTRAL 5th
Pinch hitter strikes out swinging
Fly out to right field
Ground out to second base
Central: 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 left on base, 0 Linfield errors
Final score: LINFIELD 12, CENTRAL OF IOWA 0
Claire Velaski pitched her fourth NCAA regional tournament shutout in five days; runs her string of scoreless innings to 25 and improved her season record to 23-1 while lowering her earned run average to 1.70. She walks no one, strikes out six, allows two singles and faces 17 batters, two over the minimum.
Keagbine hits her 17th home run and her 13th double. Keagbine and Hartmann each drive in 3 runs.
Central’s Kiley Lythberg, who pitched six innings and 96 pitches in the earlier game today, lasted one inning and one batter against Linfield, allowing four hits and four earned runs. She faced 10 batters and walked three of them. She took the loss, falling to 20-7
In the regional, Linfield outscored four opponents 49-0, with all four games terminated early because of the “mercy” rule.
The Wildcats batted .505, out-hitting their opponents 50 to 6.
The team earned run average was, of course, 0.00 with Velaski pitching all but one of 21 innings. Freshman Karina Paavola pitched the last inning on Sunday.
Linfield has won eight straight regional games, going 4-0 last season also.
Linfield will fly directly from Iowa to Salem, Virginia, and will play the State University of New York-Cortland, on Friday, May 20, in the first round of the NCAA Division III national championship tournament. The 8-team, double-elimination tournament runs through Tuesday, May 24
It will be Linfield’s fourth trip to the finals in six years, since 2006. The Wildcats won the championship in 2007 and placed second last year to East Texas Baptist.
Salem is familiar to Linfield athletics. In 2004, the Linfield football team won the NCAA DIII national title. s As he is today, Linfield head softball coach Jackson Vaughn was defensive coordinator on the football team.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Don Rutschman: McMinnville High Sports Hall of Fame
At home at McMinnville
Rutschman part of family legacy
By Carl Dubois
McMinnville News-Register
The five other inductees in the 2011 class of the McMinnville High School Sports Hall of Fame live in other cities now. They have varying ties to present-day Mac, mostly characterized by distance of time and place.
Don Rutschman is a different story. A three-sport athlete from 1968-71, he has coached at the high school since 1991. His high school past encircles him daily during his high school present.
Hall of Fame plaques line a hallway leading from the main office to the area with gyms, athletic offices and other remembers of Mac sports. Six new plaques will join them soon after the Hall of Fame banquet at 7 p.m. today at Evergreen Aviation Museum.
Rutschman is at home in McMinnville, where the family legacy cuts a wide swath. Ad
Rutschman, his father, is a Linfield living legend, an Oregon sports figure of prominence, with awards and sports venues bearing his name.
Father and son share the Linfield bond, as Don Rutschman enrolled in college in 1971, the year his father started coaching the baseball team. The younger Rutschman played for the Wildcats.
Linfield won the NAIA national championship in 1971.
“If they wouldn’t have won that national title,” Don Rutschman said, “you don’t know where I might have ended up. Maybe I would have been at Washington State playing baseball.”
Instead, he stayed in the town where he went to high school, where his high school was in the midst of a couple of decades of success in baseball, basketball and football that, as a whole, is unlike the present.
“Mac was on a big run in the ’60s and ’70s,” Rutschman said.
He was a part of it, playing each of those sports, including quarterback on the football team, pitcher on the baseball team and guard on the basketball team.
Today he remains a firm believer in the value of playing multiple sports. He looks at the rosters of teams at Linfield, Oregon and Oregon State, and he sees athlete after athlete who played more than one sport in high school.
He thinks it’s great preparation.
“I think many times that the people highly encouraging athletes in high school to do just one sport were probably one-sport people themselves in their athletic careers,” Rutschman said.
He enjoyed success in all three sports ... He enjoyed practice and setting goals for himself. That helped keep things fresh for him, as did playing three sports.
“If I would have had to play just one sport, I would have been bored to death,” he said.
If he hadn’t played any sports?
“Pruning, fertilizing, gardening, edging and mowing are not my deal,” he said, “and
I know if I wasn’t out for a sport, I was probably going to have to do some manual labor.
“That was not,” he said, laughing, “a part of my program. I did enough of that on the weekends to see the alternative to playing sports.”
Family can vouch. There’s Ad, his dad, his mom, Joan, a former secretary in the athletic department at Mac. Brothers, sisters and sons are part of the family’s Mac tree.
Rutschman teaches driver training — thank him when you make it from one end of town to the other safely — and is an assistant football coach. He coached baseball for years.
He started in education after graduating from Linfield in 1975, and after coming back to Mac High in 1991, he’s something of a “Welcome Back, Kotter” story come to life.
With no end in sight.
“People ask me almost daily,” he said, “and I get tired of it, ‘Geez, how many years do you have left?’ I’m a little irritated by this comment, because I’ve put in a few years, I’m getting older.
“I love what I’m doing. I don’t have a hobby. This is it. So I tell them the alternative is mowing, edging, fertilizing, pruning and trimming, and I hate those things — so I’m still teaching and coaching.”
There were hard times, especially during the recent struggles in football, but Rutschman said he doesn’t regret any of it.
“It’s just been fun,” Rutschman said. “There’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s been fun.”
What: McMinville High School Sports Hall of Fame Banquet
When: 7 p.m. tonight
Where: Evergreen Aviation Museum
Tickets: $35 per person
To buy: Call 503-883-3262
Class of 2011: Alan Cockerham (1983-86), Stephanie (Egan) Banford (1987-91), Ethan McCoy (1999-2002), Tommy Paterson (1997-2001), Don Rutschman (1968-71, 1991-present), Chris Winkler (1978-81)
Distinguished Service Award Recipients: Davison Auto Parts, Doug Fredricks, Farnham Electric, J & W CarStar, Michelbook Country Club, Steve Bernards
Source: Mac HS
Rutschman part of family legacy
By Carl Dubois
McMinnville News-Register
The five other inductees in the 2011 class of the McMinnville High School Sports Hall of Fame live in other cities now. They have varying ties to present-day Mac, mostly characterized by distance of time and place.
Don Rutschman is a different story. A three-sport athlete from 1968-71, he has coached at the high school since 1991. His high school past encircles him daily during his high school present.
Hall of Fame plaques line a hallway leading from the main office to the area with gyms, athletic offices and other remembers of Mac sports. Six new plaques will join them soon after the Hall of Fame banquet at 7 p.m. today at Evergreen Aviation Museum.
Rutschman is at home in McMinnville, where the family legacy cuts a wide swath. Ad
Rutschman, his father, is a Linfield living legend, an Oregon sports figure of prominence, with awards and sports venues bearing his name.
Father and son share the Linfield bond, as Don Rutschman enrolled in college in 1971, the year his father started coaching the baseball team. The younger Rutschman played for the Wildcats.
Linfield won the NAIA national championship in 1971.
“If they wouldn’t have won that national title,” Don Rutschman said, “you don’t know where I might have ended up. Maybe I would have been at Washington State playing baseball.”
Instead, he stayed in the town where he went to high school, where his high school was in the midst of a couple of decades of success in baseball, basketball and football that, as a whole, is unlike the present.
“Mac was on a big run in the ’60s and ’70s,” Rutschman said.
He was a part of it, playing each of those sports, including quarterback on the football team, pitcher on the baseball team and guard on the basketball team.
Today he remains a firm believer in the value of playing multiple sports. He looks at the rosters of teams at Linfield, Oregon and Oregon State, and he sees athlete after athlete who played more than one sport in high school.
He thinks it’s great preparation.
“I think many times that the people highly encouraging athletes in high school to do just one sport were probably one-sport people themselves in their athletic careers,” Rutschman said.
He enjoyed success in all three sports ... He enjoyed practice and setting goals for himself. That helped keep things fresh for him, as did playing three sports.
“If I would have had to play just one sport, I would have been bored to death,” he said.
If he hadn’t played any sports?
“Pruning, fertilizing, gardening, edging and mowing are not my deal,” he said, “and
I know if I wasn’t out for a sport, I was probably going to have to do some manual labor.
“That was not,” he said, laughing, “a part of my program. I did enough of that on the weekends to see the alternative to playing sports.”
Family can vouch. There’s Ad, his dad, his mom, Joan, a former secretary in the athletic department at Mac. Brothers, sisters and sons are part of the family’s Mac tree.
Rutschman teaches driver training — thank him when you make it from one end of town to the other safely — and is an assistant football coach. He coached baseball for years.
He started in education after graduating from Linfield in 1975, and after coming back to Mac High in 1991, he’s something of a “Welcome Back, Kotter” story come to life.
With no end in sight.
“People ask me almost daily,” he said, “and I get tired of it, ‘Geez, how many years do you have left?’ I’m a little irritated by this comment, because I’ve put in a few years, I’m getting older.
“I love what I’m doing. I don’t have a hobby. This is it. So I tell them the alternative is mowing, edging, fertilizing, pruning and trimming, and I hate those things — so I’m still teaching and coaching.”
There were hard times, especially during the recent struggles in football, but Rutschman said he doesn’t regret any of it.
“It’s just been fun,” Rutschman said. “There’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s been fun.”
What: McMinville High School Sports Hall of Fame Banquet
When: 7 p.m. tonight
Where: Evergreen Aviation Museum
Tickets: $35 per person
To buy: Call 503-883-3262
Class of 2011: Alan Cockerham (1983-86), Stephanie (Egan) Banford (1987-91), Ethan McCoy (1999-2002), Tommy Paterson (1997-2001), Don Rutschman (1968-71, 1991-present), Chris Winkler (1978-81)
Distinguished Service Award Recipients: Davison Auto Parts, Doug Fredricks, Farnham Electric, J & W CarStar, Michelbook Country Club, Steve Bernards
Source: Mac HS
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Nov. 12, 2011, on campus: Linfield quarterback Mike Barrow to be honored
Former Linfield College football quarterback Mike Barrow will be honored during a Nov. 12, 2011, public event on the college campus in McMinnville, Ore.
The Mike Barrow Study Room in Nicholson Library will be dedicated in an hour-long program originating in the library’s Austin Reading Room. It will start about 4 p.m., after conclusion of the Lewis & Clark at Linfield AT&T Hall of Fame football game, which has a 1 p.m. kickoff.
Barrow graduated in 1968 from Linfield and in 1963 from Prineville’s Crook County High School. At age 23, he died June 23, 1969, in combat in Vietnam serving with the U.S. Army.
He lettered in Linfield football for the 1964, 1965 and 1967 seasons. Barrow “quarterbacked” the 1967 Linfield football team which upset the University of Hawai'i, 15-13, in Honolulu, before a crowd of 20,000, the most ever to see a Linfield game.
Taking part in the program, organized by Barrow’s Linfield football teammates, will be his sister, Mary Gail Barrow, Portland. His parents Missionary Baptist Elder Eugene and Myrna Barrow and brother, Gerald (“Jerry”), a Linfield grad, are deceased.
When the library opened in 2003, it included the study room named for Barrow thanks to a fund-raising effort led by the late Ken Williams, former Linfield faculty athletic representative and registrar.
For additional information about the event, contact Bob Ferguson, robefergus@aol.com, 360-254-1224.
The Mike Barrow Study Room in Nicholson Library will be dedicated in an hour-long program originating in the library’s Austin Reading Room. It will start about 4 p.m., after conclusion of the Lewis & Clark at Linfield AT&T Hall of Fame football game, which has a 1 p.m. kickoff.
Barrow graduated in 1968 from Linfield and in 1963 from Prineville’s Crook County High School. At age 23, he died June 23, 1969, in combat in Vietnam serving with the U.S. Army.
He lettered in Linfield football for the 1964, 1965 and 1967 seasons. Barrow “quarterbacked” the 1967 Linfield football team which upset the University of Hawai'i, 15-13, in Honolulu, before a crowd of 20,000, the most ever to see a Linfield game.
Taking part in the program, organized by Barrow’s Linfield football teammates, will be his sister, Mary Gail Barrow, Portland. His parents Missionary Baptist Elder Eugene and Myrna Barrow and brother, Gerald (“Jerry”), a Linfield grad, are deceased.
When the library opened in 2003, it included the study room named for Barrow thanks to a fund-raising effort led by the late Ken Williams, former Linfield faculty athletic representative and registrar.
For additional information about the event, contact Bob Ferguson, robefergus@aol.com, 360-254-1224.
