To be called a state champion is a right that not many get to claim. Rylan Austin and the North Medford Black Tornado softball team have that right, after they beat Westview 11-3 in Corvallis last Saturday. “(Being a state champ), It’s an amazing feeling, the best feeling of the entire season…I couldn’t have done it without my team. They supported me and helped me get this title. It wouldn’t have been possible without them,” according to Rylan.
North Medford, on the arm of Austin, was able to cruise past David Douglas 13-3 and West Albany 7-2 in the first two rounds of the OSAA 6A state tournament. In the quarterfinals, The Black Tornado ran into a bit of a snag in Glencoe, that took a bunt, a wild throw and a throw out at third for North Medford to claim the 4-3 victory. The craziest of North’s victories, came in the semifinals, in a, grueling, eight inning game against Tualatin. “Going through it all, it was crazy and then they started scoring and I kind of got nervous…then Mike (North Medford’s head coach) went out there to talk to us and he said it was ok…he just wanted to say how much he cared about us and that gave me the confidence I needed,” was Austin’s response about winning the big game.
On the way to a state championship, the stud pitcher racked up 128 strikeouts and 33 walks, on 164 innings pitched and tallied, just, a 2.01 ERA. Rylan credited her parents for her success, saying, “They would spend hours on the buckets, tossing me front pitches, so i can get my swing down.”
Austin spends most her time playing softball however, if she isn’t on the North Medford softball fields, she is probably at a local field, helping upcoming softball players. “If I’m not playing softball, I’m at the softball fields helping the younger girls, or my little sister, who is going to be a stud! But, I love helping all the girls because I love watching them grow into an amazing person and softball player,” according to Austin.
Rylan hopes to continue her softball career after high school, but is just focus on building next years’ team. However, she’ll never forget how memorable this season was, “I’ll definitely miss the chemistry from this team…there’ll never be anything like it My favorite part about this team is how much fun we have,” was Rylan’s final words for her team.
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