“We’re totally excited,” Head Coach Steve Bonde said of the atmosphere following the softball team’s sweep of the South Umpqua Lancers. “They didn’t even know, or at least I wasn’t making a big deal out of it.”

The Lady Bruins took the Lancers to task in game one, destroying them 8-1. 

Courtney Kay pitched a complete game with four strikeouts, one walk and a 0.00 ERA.

Tyler Kido and his mighty bat stroke one out of the park on Friday. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

Sweep the best team in the Far West League, and keep destiny in the hands of those who want it, or lose a game and hope that the gods of baseball smile favorably upon a team struggling to break .500 for the season.

Those were the two options for the Brookings-Harbor High School baseball team as they headed into Friday’s doubleheader matchup against the Lancers of South Umpqua.

The Bruins needed to win both games against the Lancers, or win one and have North Bend sweep Douglas. 

Larry Ellis holds two salmon caught this time last year out of the Port of Brookings Harbor while trolling an anchovy behind a Bechhold Bullet, fishing with Robert Phillips. The Pilot/Larry Ellis

Fishing report for 

May 4-10

Anglers may finally get their first chance to fish for Pacific halibut, Chinook salmon, rockfish and lingcod as the National Weather Service (NWS) is predicting lowering winds and a reduction in swell size possibly by this weekend and into the first part of the week.

There are three excellent ways of ascertaining the latest weather conditions. The first two involve using your computer.

Kyle Gordon plays out of the sand at the Far West League district championships on Monday. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

The Far West League district golf tournament is the proving ground for high school golfers and the top two teams qualify for a berth at the state tournament. In addition, the golfers with the five lowest scores qualify as individuals if their team fails to make it.

Shortstop Joey LeFebvre makes a back-handed stop during Tuesday’s game. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

The Bruins took one step closer to that possibility on Tuesday night as they defeated the Sutherlin Bulldogs, 7-5.

Alaura Marrington gives the ball a ride during Monday’s doubleheader action at the Brookings-Harbor High School. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

The victories move the Bruins to 7-6 on the season and into a tie for third place in the Far West League.

Brookings-Harbor High School teacher and Head Football Coach Joe Morin encourages early-morning participants in a new club on the BHHS campus dedicated to keeping athletes off drugs. The Pilot/Jef Hatch

According to a 2003 study done by the Center for Disease Prevention, one in 16 high school athletes has taken anabolic steroids, with approximately 850,000 high school athletes across the nation affected.

In the Brookings-Harbor School District there are no concrete numbers on how many athletes have taken steroids, but because one kid on steroids is one too many, according to Head Football Coach Joe Morin, he has applied for and received a $10,000 scholarship to implement the ATLAS and ATHENA programs in the Brookings-Harbor school district and particularly in his football program.

ATLAS (Athletes Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids) was developed in 1993 and ATHENA (Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise and Nutrition Alternatives) was created in 1997 by Drs. Linn Goldberg and Diane Elliot of the Oregon Health and Science University and are aimed, respectively,  at male and female high school athletes. 

Jack Hanson of Jack's Guide Service holds a nice springer caught on the Klamath River. The Pilot/Larry Ellis

Fishing report for 

April 27-May 3

As I’ve often said, Brookings is the most strategically-located city on the West Coast for anglers craving to put the hurtin’ on a plethora of freshwater and saltwater fish.

Case in point. Brookings-area anglers don’t necessarily have to travel 27 miles to the Rogue River in order to put a springer on the stringer. In fact this year, you might want to consider heading the opposite direction. Just 47 miles south of Brookings, located off of Highway 101 is the Klamath River, and this year’s projection of Klamath River springers could possibly set a new river record.

Jason Sharp leaps to a fourth-place finish and a personal record.

“Weather helps a lot,” he explained. “When we have decent weather, we do better.