Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current, April 12, 2017, Image 10

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Newspaper Page TextA10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017 Herald Sports PREP ROUNDUP BASEBALL HERMISTON 14, KENNEWICK 11 — At Kennewick, Washington, Kody Moss hit a two-RBI single to put Hermiston on top during its eight-run ral- ly in the fifth inning, and the Bulldogs never gave the lead back in Monday’s non- league baseball game. Kennewick challenged them in the bottom of the seventh and had bases load- ed after a two-out walk. A single brought one run in and the winning run to the plate, but Bulldogs reliever Jordan Ramirez got a fly ball that center fielder Joel Men- dez hauled in for the final out. Hermiston (4-5) went into the seventh inning up 11-10, and added three insurance runs when Wyatt Noland doubled to drive in Mendez, then Kaden Caldwell singled through the right side of the infield to score Noland and Slade Gritz. Mendez went 3-for-5 with three RBI from his lead-off spot in the lineup and scored two runs. Noland (2 for 4) scored twice with two RBI, and Moss and Gritz also had two RBI. Ramirez scored three runs and tossed the final two in- nings. He allowed one run on two hits and three walks. Caden Schwirse got the win after coming in for start- er Lucas Tolan in the third inning. Schwirse threw three complete allowing nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits and three walks. UP NEXT Hermiston opens Colum- bia River Conference play on Friday with a double- header at Hood River that starts at 4 p.m. ——— R H E HHS 110 180 3 — 14 11 2 KHS 003 430 1 — 11 11 2 W — C. Schwirse. 2B — S. Gritz, W. Noland (HHS); Sellers, Gee, Stevens (KHS). SHERMAN 15-23, HEPPNER 0-4 — At Sher- man, the Huskies showed why they are one of the top teams in Class 2A/1A, pelt- ing Heppner pitching for 38 runs and 26 hits in a double- header sweep on Saturday afternoon. On the other side, Hep- pner (1-7, 0-2 SD6) managed just nine hits on the day, with Coby Dougherty (2 for 5), Tyler Carter (2 for 3, RBI, double) and Wyatt Steagall (2 for 3, run) led Heppner’s offense. The Mustangs scored all of their runs in the second in- ning of Game 2, starting with Nik Dias Martins and Beau Wolters both drawing a bas- es-loaded hit-by-pitches and Kevin Smith a bases-loaded walk. Carter then finished off the scoring with a RBI single to right field to bring home Martin. ——— Game 1 R H E HHS 000 00 — 0 4 5 SHS 067 2X — 15 12 0 (HHS) K. Smith, K. Gibbs (3), W. Steagall (4). (SHS) Troutman, C. Homer (5). WP — Troutman, LP — Smith. 2B — Justesen, Winslow, Moe, Martin, Fields 2, Jones (SHS). Game 2 R H E HHS 040 00 — 4 5 3 SHS 734 9X — 23 14 0 (HHS) W. Steagall, T. Jaca (2), Z. Glover (4), K. Wilkins (4). (SHS) Justesen, Martin (2), Shandy (4), Winslow (4). WP — Justesen, LP — W. Steagall. 2B — T. Carter (HHS); Winslow 2, Troutman, Fields, Homer (SHS). STANFIELD 11-15, BURNS 0-5 — At Burns, Stanfield got its league sea- son started the right way, sweeping Burns with wins of 11-0 and 15-5 on Friday afternoon. In Game 1, Stanfield’s (8-1, 2-0 EOL) offense col- lected 15 hits as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Dylan Grogan and Klay Jenson were lights out on the mound, throwing a combined six-inning no-hit- ter. Grogan struck out three in one inning, and Jenson struck out one and walked three in five innings. In Game 2 it was more of the same for the offense as Stanfield scored nine of its 15 runs in the top of the first inning. For the day, Grogan was the team’s leading hitter with four hits, four runs and three RBI. Thyler Monkus added a team-high six runs scored and Tony Flores added three hits, two doubles and a team- high five RBI. Flores struggled with command on the mound in Game 2, walking five and giving up four runs in two innings. Hunter Barnes came on for big innings allowing just two hits and one un- earned run and Ryan Bailey pitched a scoreless seventh. ——— Game 1 R H E SHS 302 015 — 11 15 1 BHS 000 000 — 0 0 5 (SHS) D. Grogan, K. Jenson (2) and T. Monkus. (BHS) Case, Tiller (6). WP — K. Jenson, LP — Case. 2B — B. Woods, H. Barnes, T. Flores (SHS). Game 2 R H E SHS 900 120 3 — 15 11 2 BHS 130 100 0 — 5 4 2 (SHS) T. Flores, H. Barnes (3), R. Bailey (7) and T. Monkus. (BHS) Goss, Nyburg (1), Zamora (6). WP — T. Flores, LP — Goss. 2B — R. Bailey, T. Flores, D. Grogan (SHS). Knights stymie Vikings Rice, Harrington com- bine for no-hitter to win EOL opener UMATILLA — Austin Rice and Brady Harrington combined for a no-hitter and then Harrington came in to pitch the final two innings of a combined shutout with Johnny Phillips in the night cap to sweep Umatilla 13-0 in five innings in both games on Friday. It was the Eastern Ore- gon League openers for both teams. Rice struck out 10 and walked two while taking a no-hitter through four before Harrington finished out the last frame in Game 1. Tanner Mills went 3 for 3 at the plate with five RBIs, and Rice scored four runs while going 2 for 3 with one RBI. Phillips gave Irrigon (9- 0, 2-0 EOL) another strong start in Game 2 and allowed just two hits over three full innings while striking out six and walking one. Harrington allowed no hits and struck out four in two innings of relief. Rice had another big game at the plate going 2 for 3 with three runs and one RBI. ——— Game 1 (5 innings) R H E IHS 243 40 — 13 8 2 UHS 000 00 — 0 0 6 A. Rice, B. Harrington (5). D. Soto, U. Garcia (3). W — Rice. L — Soto. Game 2 (5 innings) R H E IHS 461 11 — 13 6 0 UHS 000 00 — 0 2 6 J. Phillips, B. Harrington (4). C. Sampson, S. Cranston (2). W — Phillips. L — Sampson. 2B — A. Rice. 3B — A. Rice. NYSSA 17-2, RIVER- SIDE 2-9 — At Boardman, the Riverside Pirates split a doubleheader with the Nyssa Bulldogs to open up league play on Friday, falling 17-2 in Game 1 before rebound- ing 9-2 in Game 2 for the Pi- rates’ first win of the season. Riverside (1-8, 1-1 EOL) was carried on offense by Aramis Corpus on offense, as he tallied four hits on the day with a double and a pair of RBIs. Along with Corpus in Game 2, Riverside’s Andrew Martinez and Andrew Soren- son each had two hits apiece. “It was fun to win again,” Riverside coach Clair Costello said. “I think they (Nyssa) took us for granted and we got a couple runs and kept the pedal down. It’s a big win, and in league is a big deal.” UP NEXT Riverside will host Vale on Friday for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. ———— Game 1 R H E NHS 153 80 — 17 8 2 RHS 000 11 — 2 5 13 (NHS) B. Thompson, E. Cleaver (5) and B. Cleaver. (RHS) A. Corpus, Martinez (4), Calvillo (4) and Bither. Game 2 R H E NHS 000 200 0 — 2 4 5 RHS 013 005 X — 9 9 2 (NHS) Gonzalez, E. Cleaver (4) and B. Cleav- er. (RHS) Calvillo, Corpus (5) and Bither. 2B — A. Corpus (RHS). HR — Gonzalez (NHS). See ROUNDUP, A11 Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports GRITZ PROVIDES LATE-GAME MAGIC Hermiston senior records second walk-off hit as Bulldogs split By ERIC SINGER Staff Writer Slade Gritz has made a new name for himself this baseball season and it’s Mr. Clutch. With Hermiston and Heritage (WA) tied at 11- 11 in the bottom of the sev- enth inning, the Bulldog senior catcher hit a one-out chopper past the Timber- wolf shortstop and into left field, bringing home Lukas Tolan for a walk-off win in Game 1 of Friday’s dou- bleheader at Armand Lar- ive ball park. It was Gritz’s second game-winning hit of the season, and third overall contribution to a Hermis- ton (5-7) walk-off win, af- ter scoring the winning run on a walk-off wild pitch in the Bulldog’s season open- er. So with those two pre- vious game-winning con- tributions in his back pock- et, Gritz said he stepped to the plate in the seventh looking at his teammate standing on second base and expected something good to happen. “I just know I need to get a job done every time I go up there and if I’m the one that’s got to do it, then I’ll gladly do it,” Gritz said. “I’m not try- ing to steal anything from STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER Hermiston’s Slade Gritz is congratulated at first base by teammate Joel Mendez (2) after driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning in the first game of a baseball doubleheader against Heritage on Friday in Hermiston. Hermiston won 12-11. STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER Hermiston’s Andrew James delivers a pitch during the second game of a baseball doubleheader against Heritage on Friday in Hermiston. my teammates, I wouldn’t mind somebody else to hit a winning run, but I’m definitely not complain- ing about it, I’ll take it for sure.” Just prior to Gritz’s he- roics at the plate, sopho- more Wyatt Noland had his own heroics on the pitching mound. Heritage had scored three runs in the top of the inning to tie the game at 11-11 and had the go-ahead run at second base with only one out. Noland came on in relief of Kody Moss, and threw just one pitch and induced a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat and the inning to set up the win. “We always talk to the guys that they’re one pitch away,” Hawkins said of the situation. “And play- ing good defense, it helps a guy a lot and there the guy rolls over on the pitch and we’re out of it just like that. That was huge.” Overall, Game 1 was an offensive showcase for Hermiston as the Bulldogs put up season highs with 12 runs and 17 hits. Gritz finished with four hits in Game 1 with a double and an RBI and added two more hits in Game 2 to fin- ish off a terrific day at the plate. “He’s usually a dead- pull hitter and today he hit it up the middle and good things happened,” Hermis- ton coach Lance Hawkins said. “He gets in those See BULLDOGS, A11 Dawgs pass test against Rams Hermiston sweeps doubleheader with Central Catholic By ERIC SINGER Staff Writer Being in the four-team Columbia River Confer- ence, Hermiston has to play each team three times and to get three wins in those situations is always a tough task. So Hermiston coach Kate Greenough said that Saturday’s doubleheader against Central Catholic was a good test for what the Bulldogs will be facing in the CRC, as Hermiston had already played, and beaten, Central Catholic once prior at a spring break tournament on March 28. And after the two games were passed, Greenough’s team passed its first test as the Bulldogs swept the Rams, 6-4 and 5-3, on a windy day at Rocky Heights field. The Bulldogs took two different paths to get both wins, leading the entire way in Game 1 and hold- ing off a late rally by the Rams, followed by a late come-from-behind win in Game 2. “This was a great indi- cation of how our league is laid out because it is re- ally tough to beat the same team three times,” Gree- nough said afterwards. “But the girls didn’t stop fighting and didn’t give up. We definitely had moments of inconsisten- cy, but the ability to fight back and stay in the game on these long days showed a lot of growth.” In Game 1, Hermis- ton (6-5) got to Central Catholic right away in the bottom of the first as the Bulldogs had four hits to help push across four runs for an early lead. Af- ter giving up two in the top of the second, Herm- iston answered with two more in the third after a two-RBI triple by Kalei STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER Hermiston’s Kalei Smith (3) slides safely into third base as coach Kate Greenough looks on after hitting a triple during Saturday’s doubleheader with Central Catholic in Hermiston. Smith for a 6-2 lead. But those were the last runs Hermiston scored in the game as its offense went ice cold. Central Catholic (4- 6) started chipping away and threatened in the seventh. Back-to-back singles plated a run for the Rams to make it 6-3 and then another single brought the go-ahead run to the plate with only one out. However, freshman pitcher Janelle Almaguer slammed the door shut with two straight fly outs to pick up the one-inning save on Hermiston’s win. Julissa Almaguer start- ed that game in the circle and gave up 10 hits, three runs and one walk with five strikeouts in six-plus innings. Then in Game 2, Hermiston struck first again as Sydney Stefani led off the game with a single, advanced around the bases and came across to score on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead. Central Catholic took its first lead of the afternoon in the third inning behind a two-out, three-run home run that was blasted to straightaway center field by Kimberly Pulido off of Bulldog pitcher Janelle Almaguer to put the Rams up, 3-1. The home run was an impressive one, as Puli- do’s shot was hit straight into the wind stream that was traveling straight to- wards home plate. The wind affected plenty of fly balls in the game, mostly turning hard-hit balls into infield fly outs for both sides. But that was all the offense the Rams would get. The freshman righty thrower was very impres- sive in the game, allow- ing six hits and one walk with one strikeout, most- ly pitching to contact and getting 12 of the 21 outs via groundballs. “Her giving up the ho- mer was kind of a bum- mer, but her fight the rest of the game was huge,” Greenough said of Alma- guer. “Even right after, she went after the next batter and got out of the inning. She didn’t give up there, which is sometimes rare for a freshman and I commend her for that.” Hermiston finally got an offensive rally going in the sixth inning, when Julissa Almaguer led off with a walk and then stole second base with ease. Two batters later, Ashley Cameron hit a towering fly ball into left field that got pushed around by the wind and fell in behind the left fielder for a dou- ble, scoring Almaguer to tie the game. Then Janelle Alma- guer put the Bulldogs on top with a hard-hit dou- ble over the left fielder’s head to bring in Cameron. Janelle Almaguer then scored from second on a throwing error from Central Catholic for the game’s final run. Before that sixth in- ning, Hermiston had just four hits in the four pre- vious innings, though one Bulldog said that being the third time through the lineup they were finally seeing the pitches better. “I feel like we were seeing the pitches more and placing the ball where we needed to be,” said Cameron, who fin- ished the day with three hits, three runs scored and three RBI. “We kept fighting in that game just trying to come back and finally got some hits when we needed them.” ——— Game 1 R H E CCH 020 100 1 — 4 11 2 HHS 402 000 X — 6 6 0 WP — Ju. Almaguer, LP — M. Mc- Donald. 2B — K. Pulido (CCH); S. Stefani, E. Jones (HHS). 3B — K. Smith (HHS). Game 2 R H E CCH 003 000 0 — 3 6 1 HHS 100 103 X — 5 7 0 WP — Ja. Almaguer, LP — K. Pulido. 2B — A. Cameron 2, Ja. Almaguer (HHS). HR — K. Pulido (CCH). ——— Contact Eric at esing- er@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0839.