Sports Memory Lane: Aug. 28, 2026

A look back at Yamhill County sports

10 Years Ago

• Hidden perhaps among the offensive exploits of the McMinnville Grizzlies at Friday night’s jamboree was the performance of Carson Brickell, the senior center of the team. Brickell, who played in more of a reserve role last year, is in his first year as a center.

For Brickell, the switch to center has gone smoothly and head coach Ryan McIrvin said he was encouraged by how fast he picked up the position. “From where he was in June to where he is now is like day and night.

“But what is just as important is Carson’s commitment to the game. His commitment is seen in the weight room, during the spring and summer and is one of the reasons physically he has been able to handle the position,” he said.

• The long journey to Hermiston and back (the team left at 6 a.m. Thursday morning and was back in Mac late Thursday evening) provided Linfield’s coaching staff with the opportunity to garner insight into the potential of this year’s team as it lined up against College of Idaho in a controlled scrimmage,.

Linfield Head Coach Joe Smith pronounced the experiment a success on several levels and was very pleased to get through the event without sustaining any further injuries.

25 Years Ago

• A two-out rally in the final inning gave the McMinnville Merchants the championship over Boss Construction in the USSSA E Major Men’s Slowpitch Softball State Championship held at Wallace Marine Park.

Trailing by one run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Merchants hit four straight singles to bring in two runs for a 12-11 win in the championship game.

P.J. McManus started the rally with a single. Patrick Castanon followed with a single and Joshua Gregory brought McManus home with an RBI single. Mac Wittki connected for the game-winning hit to allow Castanon to beat out a close play at the plate.

• Linfield men’s soccer team enters the season ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA national poll and is picked to finish second in the Northwest Conference in a vote by the coaches.

First-year coach Ian Clerihew recognizes that every team in the league is stalking the defending NWC champion Wildcats, who went 21-1-1 last year while reaching the NCAA Division III semifinals.

Linfield enjoyed its finest season ever in 2000. It included a 22-game unbeaten streak that ended in the NCAA semifinals.

50 Years Ago

• If you thought you saw some UFOs on Sunday, relax, it was probably members of the Carlton Packing women’s softball team coming home from Spokane, Washington.

They had just won the Class A Regional Softball Tournament and most of them were flying pretty high.

Carlton Packing not only won the championship trophy but placed five players on the All-Star team and captured Most Valuable Player and Leading Hitter awards.

• A small committee of people has been working on a recreation program for the handicapped of Yamhill County. The result: A full, month-by-month schedule has been worked out and gets underway this weekend.

Debby Smith began working on the project in January, mostly due to the urging of the handicapped residents of two group homes, for which she is program coordinator. She was joined in February by Jeffrey Pitts, a college student, who became recreation supervisor, and later by Howard Aster of City Parks and Recreation.