Panthers in playoffs, Dragons fall short

Central travels to Thurston Tuesday for opening round action from the Class 5A state baseball tournament. Despite sweeping the Panthers in a two-game series earlier this month, the Dallas Dragons did not get an invite. Photo by Lance Masterson.

Central is in. Dallas is not.

Hopes were both lifted and dashed once the OSAA released its bracket for the Class 5A state baseball playoffs.

“We are happy to be in the playoffs,” Panthers coach Ben Kramer said. “All you need is a chance and we are lucky to have one after a pretty disappointing stretch in league play.”

Central lost eight of 11 games to end the season. That said, they began the season with 12 wins in 14 games. Which team shows up Tuesday will determine if the team’s postseason run lasts more than one game.

Experience gained by competing in the postseason play could pay dividends later.

“The playoff experience for our team is huge given that we start a lot of young guys in key spots,” Kramer added. “I’m excited to see how we compete at Thurston.”

Seven freshmen are on the varsity roster.

Tuesday’s game is in Springfield and starts at 5 p.m.

The Panthers (10-8, 16-10 overall) finished fifth in the Mid-Willamette Conference. The four teams ahead of them in the standings - league champion Crescent Valley, West Albany, Lebanon and Corvallis - also made the postseason.

As for the Dragons (9-9, 12-14), who swept Central in a two-game series earlier this month, they ended the regular season in a seventh-place tie with Silverton. The Dragons were swept by the Foxes to close out the season.

As for the teams’ conference mates: Putnam is at  fourth-seed West Albany, LaSalle Prep is at fifth-seed Crescent Valley, 14th-seed Corvallis is at Ridgeview, and 16th-seed Lebanon is at top-seeded Canby.

This is a single-elimination tournament with round two set for Friday.