Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Prep Softball
Rockets,
TigerScots
get wins
East Oregonian
Photo contributed by Debbi Green
The Pendleton dance team Rhythmic Mode finished second at the state championships March 18 at the Moda Center in Portland.
Pendleton earns silver at state dance
Photo contributed by Debbi Green
Photo contributed by Debbi Green
The Hermiston dance team Stardust performs at the state cham-
pionships March 18. The team finished fifth.
From left to right, Kacey Robbins, Giliana Adams, Vanessa Schmidt,
Ashleigh Bolling, Terika Christensen, and Remington Christensen
dance for Rhythmic Mode at the March 18 state championship.
TIMBERWOLVES: Shared heritage aids coach in recruiting
Continued from 1B
with the Timberwolves
during the month of March.
Thirteen high school seniors
from Hermiston, Pendleton,
Umatilla and Riverside will
join the BMCC men’s and
women’s soccer teams in
the fall. Ten of them will be
part of the first men’s season
in program history, while
three local girls will join a
women’s team still looking
for its first win in Year 2 of
its history.
“That’s what we want
to do with both programs,
is to bring in as much local
talent as possible, and I
think that’s going to show
especially on the men’s side.
More than half of the guys
on the roster now are from
Eastern Oregon,” said Mota,
who had six locals that were
freshmen on last season’s
women’s team. “The fact
that we were able to do this
just draws more interest
and motivates those future
potential recruits to come
to BMCC first. So it’s an
exciting time.”
Three of Mota’s recruits
were honored Wednesday
at Umatilla High, as Luis
Vallejo, Jacqueline Ortega
and Yesenia De La Cerda-
Flores took part in a signing
ceremony that capped a
presentation to the student
body about making the right
choices and working hard
for their goals.
“I always thought I was
going to go to the pros, but
this is the next step,” said
Photo courtesy of Art Mota
Blue Mountain men’s and women’s soccer coach Art Mota, second from right,
poses with RIverside High School seniors (from left) Bryan Altamirano, Rubi
Salazar and Adolfo Bedolla after the trio signed National Letters of Intent to play
soccer at BMCC in the fall at a ceremony earlier this month in Boardman.
De La Cerda-Flores. “When
they first instituted the team
I was like, ‘Oh, this would
be really interesting for me.’
And I wanted to join.”
Vallejo, a three-year
starter for the Vikings, said
getting in at ground level
also piqued his interest.
“I thought it would be
an awesome opportunity to
be a part of the first (men’s)
team,” he said Vallejo. “My
coach (Pedro Ortiz) told
me he thought I had what it
takes to play at the next level
so I contacted BMCC.”
Also signing with the
Timberwolves in recent weeks
have been Riverside’s Rubi
Salazar, Bryan Altamirano
and Adolfo Bedolla, Pendle-
ton’s Jonathan Wolotira and
Evan Brandhagen, and five
Hermiston Bulldogs with
more to come. Mota said he
could have as many as eight
players from Hermiston by
the time the recruiting period
ends, and has already gotten
commitments from Elias
Arenas, Isaac Munoz-Ortega,
Anthony Carrillo, Andy
Cocuera and Giovanni
Madrigal.
Mota said it’s not by acci-
dent that so many of his new
recruits come from Latino
backgrounds.
“That’s another reason
why I was offered this
position,” said Mota, who
is Latino. “They felt like if
the players that we wanted
to bring in could identify
with their coach and relate
to their coach culturally,
linguistically — I can speak
their language, I can speak
to their parents in their
native language. That’s been
a huge draw, because getting
the parents to buy in is half
the battle.”
Several of those recruits
were also attendees at
BMCC’s clinics held last
November,
and
Mota
said that those eight-hour,
one-day clinics were more
than enough to determine
which players had the tools
to succeed at the next level.
“They were very coach-
able, showed good skill, and
ever since then we’ve main-
tained contact with them,”
Mota said of Ortega and De La
Cerda-Flores. “They showed
interest from the get-go, and
so I’m really glad that they’re
joining the program.”
Riverside’s
Salazar,
Altamirano and Bedolla also
found their way onto Mota’s
radar at the clinics.
“We were impressed by
all of them,” Mota said. “All
of them are coming from
good support systems, good
families.”
It also gave the players
a chance to get a feel for
Mota’s coaching style,
which for some is much
different than what they’ve
had in the past. Ortega said it
was one of her main reasons
for choosing the T-Wolves.
“It’s more intense, and I
need it to step up my game,”
she said. “I know that it’s
going to be a totally different
style of play but I’m ready to
train and hopefully I can be
a good thing for the team.”
With so many local
players on board, Mota
is hoping for more local
interest and support on the
sidelines as well. Schedules
for the men’s and women’s
teams haven’t been released
yet, but the season typically
gets going with its first
games in early September.
“I just wish we could
start tomorrow,” Mota said.
“I’m so excited about the
program.”
———
Contact Matt Entrup at
mentrup@eastoregonian.
com or (541) 966-0838.
PILOT
ROCK
—
Rockets freshman Ayana
Aguilar pitched through a
second-inning jam and got
a big show of support from
her offense as Pilot Rock
notched a win in her varsity
start 15-4 in six innings over
Gaston on Friday at the Pilot
Rock Tournament.
It was the second game
of the day for the Rockets,
which lost to Scio 7-1 earlier.
“Scio’s one of the best 3A
teams in the state, we knew
they were going to be tough,”
said Rockets coach Darin
Fitzpatrick.
Pilot Rock (2-1) didn’t
give starter Tehya Ostrom its
best game in the field, either,
and committed four errors.
Olivia Zeiher hit a home run
for Scio (4-0).
There were no errors
against
Gaston
(1-3),
although Brooke Jordan
did hit a home run during a
four-run second inning to
take a 4-2 lead.
Fitzpatrick
left
his
freshman in, though, and was
rewarded for his confidence.
“I let her continue to
work out of trouble, and we
played good defense behind
her,” he said. “After that she
didn’t allow another run,
so it was good to see the
freshman step up.”
Bekah Roe, Jacey Wilson,
Sara Weinke and Stacy
Fitzpatrick (3-for-4) all hit
doubles for the Rockets.
The Rockets host Weston-
McEwen and Enterprise
today at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
———
R H E
SHS
210 100
3 — 7 7 0
PRHS
000 100
0 — 1 6 4
K. Pollard and N. Mikolas. T. Ostrom and
R. Oates. W — Ostrom. L — Pollard.
2B — T. Ostrom (PRHS). HR — O. Zeiher (SHS).
(6 innings)
R H E
GHS
040 000 —
4 6 0
PRHS
230 037 — 15 18 0
T. Bassel, B. Jordan (1) and A. Heisler.
A. Aguilar and V. Walker. W — Aguilar.
L — Jordan.
2B — B. Roe, J. Wilson, S. Weinke, S.
Fitzpatrick (PRHS). HR — B. Jordan (GHS).
WESTON-MCEWEN
5, ENTERPRISE 4 — At
Pilot Rock, the TigerScots
won both of their games
Friday at the Pilot Rock
Tournament, and also beat
Gaston 12-1 in five innings.
Bailey Hillmick pitched
for the win over Enterprise
and Whitney Roggerio (2 for
4) hit one of three doubles
for the TigerScots (2-1).
Weston-McEwen
then
scattered 12 hits to support
Lambert in the circle against
Gaston.
Sydney Peal (2 for 3)
and Charmayne Bennett
each hit home runs and had
three RBIs. Lambert (3 for
4) hit a double and had three
RBIs, and Hillmick (2 for 2)
reached base four times and
scored three times.
Weston-McEwen plays at
Pilot Rock at 11 a.m. and then
faces Scio at Pilot Rock at 3 p.m.
———
R H E
WMHS
200 030
0 — 5 5 3
EHS
000 201
1 — 4 5 3
W — B. Hillmick. L — Plew.
2B — W. Roggerio, E. Burke, J. Lambert
(WMHS); Plew (EHS).
(5 innings)
R H
GHS
000 01 —
1 3 3
WMHS
400 53 — 12 12 3
W — J. Lambert. L — C. Hall.
2B — J. Lambert, C. Cain, B. Hillmick
(WMHS). HR — S. Peal, C. Bennett
(WMHS).
E
DAWGS: Giusti scores hat trick, Christianson adds two goals for Hermiston
Continued from 1B
2:33 left in the second Hermiston
scored again when Luke Walchli,
holding the ball behind Hood
River’s net, flipped a pass over the
net to an awaiting Bradlee Giusti
on the doorstep who caught it and
whipped it past the goalie to make
it a 3-2 game.
In the second half, Hood River
got an insurance goal to make it a
4-2 game with 2:24 left in the third
quarter, but a mere 18 seconds later
Christiansen found the back of the
net again. The senior attacked the net
from the right side, fought through
a hit and then zipped a backhander
into the net to make it a 4-3 game.
Hermiston would tie the game
with just over one minute left on
a goal from Walchli, as the junior
snuck in from behind the net and
beat the goalie low.
“Those guys never quit,” Arnold
said of his team. “We’re a good
team and we have a great group
of kids that can play the game and
keep battling no matter what.”
The Bulldogs kept the scoring
going in the fourth quarter, as just
25 seconds in Walchli found Giusti
again right in front of the net with
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Bradlee Guisti (1) scoops up the ball during Friday’s
lacrosse game against Hood River at Kennison Field.
Hermiston’s Beau Blake (25) and Jake Palmer (20) defend the goal
against a charging Hood River player Friday at Kennison Field.
another behind the net pass to give
Hermiston its first lead of the game
at 5-4. After Hood River tied it at
5-5, Giusti earned himself a hat
trick with a highlight-reel goal,
attacking the net from the left
before absorbing a big hit from the
Eagle defender, jumping in the air
and snapping in a goal from a tough
angle to put Hermiston back on top
with 7:55 left.
direction.
While Hermiston did not get the
result it wanted, they were more
pleased with the overall effort put
forth than in its two previous games
against McNary and Richland
(WA) where the Bulldogs lost by a
combined score of 27-12.
“The first two games we weren’t
completing basic passes,” Palmer
said, “and I feel in this one we really
“I don’t know how it went in,
honestly,” Giusti said of his goal
with a big grin. “I just squeaked it
in and got lucky I guess.”
After that goal, Hermiston was
playing determined to not let Hood
River get the momentum back and
kept it going for the majority of the
period. However at the 2:30 mark,
the Eagles flipped a switch and
started to tilt the field back in their
came together and started to coordi-
nate passes and coordinate the plays
and it showed it’s starting to work.”
“It really builds our confidence
because we haven’t played up with
a team like Hood River for a long
time,” Giusti added. “So we’re
going to try and take the best of it
and put it together next week and go
get Southridge and see if we can get
the dub.”