Gracie Mello behind the plate.

Photos by Kirk Davies

The Burns High School softball team ended their season last Tuesday, May 28, as they fell to Scio in the 3A playoffs, 4-0. The Loggers advanced to the state championship game where they fell to South Umpqua, 9-1.

The Hilanders finish the season at 23-5, with the seniors amassing a 93-8 record in four years, while never losing a league game, along with three league titles and two state championships. Burns will graduate six seniors with 12 players returning next season. 

One of those departing, all-star pitcher Ayla Davies, has won Oregon’s 3A Pitcher of the Year two times, and is on pace to win it again in 2024. In her four years, Davies currently sits in fourth place in career strikeouts with 1,293. Without the COVID-19 season, Davies would probably hold the record. She also led Oregon with 407 strikeouts this season, which puts her in third place for most strikeouts ever in a season, and according to MaxPreps, she’s sitting in third place in the nation on the year.

Her 81 career wins, puts her in fourth place in Oregon’s record books. With only seven loses, Davies has the highest winning percentage of the top 10 pitchers with the most career wins.  

Davies also holds the most strikeouts ever in a seven inning game with 22 and the most strikeouts ever in a state championship game with 23.