It's Springtime in Oregon

Unbelievably, the first day of the High School Baseball Season in Oregon was greeted with clear blue skies and warm temperatures. A great way to open up the season. I took the opportunity to shoot a game at Southridge High, which is near my home. The Skyhawks hosted Roosevelt of Portland and coasted to a 9-1 victory. This was the first baseball game I have shot since high school. All-in-all, it wasn't too bad. A good day for shooting...nice late afternoon sun and I found a couple of half-way decent shooting angles....which I quickly found out was going to be the trick to baseball and softball...getting access to good shots. I'm looking forward to the spring sports season...baseball, softball, track, tennis and golf.

More Southridge vs Roosevelt photos in my Pbase Gallery.

OSAA Basketball Championship - Mayhem in the Pit

The Pit (McArther Court in Eugene, OR) has a reputation of being the home of some of the wildest college basketball games in the Pac 10. Last week, the aura and magic of The Pit was the backdrop to the Oregon High School Boy's Basketball Championships. In the semi-finals, Lake Oswego upset Jefferson High...handing the Democrats another tournament loss, spoiling their chance to regain the title which they last won in 2000. But it was the championship game between the Lakers and Jesuit High that added another legend to the chronicles of The Pit.

After being all but dead and buried with a 17 point half-time deficit, the Crusaders magically executed an amazing come from behind victory to crush Lake Oswego's dream of their first state title. It was in their hands...with less than 3 minutes remaining, they still held on to a 10 point lead. But Jesuit's intense defensive pressure broke the Lakers and the Crusaders managed to literally steal the state title away in the final seconds; their second in school history.

Additional photos are posted on my SportsShooter member page and in my PBase Gallery.

OPSL Final - FC Swoosh vs Westside Action

You would hardly believe it is still Winter in Oregon. It was another sunny 70 degree day...perfect for soccer and for photography. The OPSL Final was held at Tigard High School between FC Swoosh (heavly clad in Nike gear) and the Westside Action (with strong Adidas sponsorship)...classic matchup in more ways than one.

I won't try to give you a full rundown on the match here (you can get that at the Pacific Coast Soccer League website), but I will say that Three Stripes edged out the Swoosh in a penalty-kick shootout.

Shooting conditions at the beginning of the match were good...the low winter sun wasn't too harsh. As the overtime periods stretched into the late afternoon, the sun dropped further, which provided some excellent light with a touch of warmth. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the outcome of shots. They can be seen in my PBase Gallery.

Coming up in a couple weeks will be High School Baseball, Track, Lacrosse, Tennis and Softball. Ahhh...springtime in Oregon...it's back to shooting in the great outdoors. How much you want to bet the sun is going to do a quick disappearing act?

Oregon 4A Girls Basketball Championships

I was fortunate to spend the past weekend shooting the Oregon 4A Girls Basketball Championships at the University of Portland Chiles Center. It was a great opportunity. Lots of action...lots of good shots...and lots of misses. I learned a lot through the experience. Check out my SportsShooter member page for a few more shots. I'll post a few more shortly. Thanks goes out to SportsShooter member Craig Mitchelldyer, Valley Times Photographer Jamie Valdez and Valley Times Sports Editor Miles Vance for sharing their knowledge and insights.

Congratulations to Southridge High School's Girls Basketball Team on winning their first Oregon State High School Championship title. In the photo below, Southridge’s only graduating Senior player Ashley Yukich hoists the 4A Championship Trophy in celebration with her teammates (l-r) Michelle Jenkins, Stacey Nichols, Jamie Burg and Falissa Smith. Joining them in the back include Aarika Hughes, Kelly Vega, JJ Hones and Alex Earl. The Skyhawks defeated Central Catholic 56-45 for the OSAA title.