Sports
Legends dominate
weekend games
La Grande 16U and
18U squads both
cruise to pair of
five-inning wins
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Put
four marks in the win
column for the La Grande
Legacy Ford Legends.
The 16U squad won
both of its games Friday,
July, 24, routing Herm-
iston 20-4 and Pendleton
13-2. Saturday, the 18U
team toppled Hermiston in
a doubleheader, 12-2 and
11-1.
La Grande instantly put
Friday’s first game out of
reach with a six-run first
inning and added on with
a 10-spot in the second
that gave it a 16-0 lead.
A Cesar Rodriguez
RBI single and a Jarett
Armstrong sacrifice fly
highlighted the first. La
Grande also scored runs
on a balk and on three
passed balls.
Rodriguez knocked in
his second run with a sac-
rifice fly to kick off the
second-inning barrage,
and Sergio Staab’s RBI
double made it 8-0. A run
scored on an error before
Levi Earp’s RBI single
pushed the margin to 10.
A bases-loaded hit batter
and walk allowed two
more runs to score before
Jace Schow’s RBI single
gave the Legends a 13-run
lead, and after an error
and another bases-loaded
walk, Cole Shafer capped
the big inning with an RBI
single.
Shafer, Derek Begin
and Earp all drove in runs
in the fourth.
Pendleton scored early
in the nightcap before
La Grande struck back
and took control. Sta-
ab’s RBI groundout, Sha-
fer’s two-run single and
Armstrong’s RBI double
gave the Legends a 4-1
lead after an inning, and a
bases-loaded hit batter, a
fielder’s choice and a balk
extended the lead to 7-1
after two.
La Grande put the game
away with six runs in the
fourth on another bas-
es-loaded hit batter, an
error that led to two runs,
a run-scoring single by
Armstrong and a two-run
single by Ryan Jones.
On Saturday, the 18U
team plated 10 runs in
the first two innings to
coast to an easy win in the
opener.
A double steal, a bas-
es-loaded walk and Devin
Bell’s two-run single gave
the Legends a quick 4-0
lead after one. Braden
Carson and Riley Miller
both hit two-run dou-
bles in the second inning
to double the lead, and
after a passed ball allowed
another run to score,
Logan Williams sin-
gled in a run for a 10-run
advantage.
A passed ball and a
groundout by Rodriguez in
the fourth led to two more
runs.
Cole Jorgensen gave La
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Grande all the offense it
needed in the second game
with a two-run double in
the third that put the Leg-
ends ahead 2-1, and Miller
and Nick Bornstedt fol-
lowed with run-scoring
singles to double the lead.
Rodriguez and Payton
Cooper both knocked in
runs in the fourth before
Jorgensen capped a
three-RBI day with a run-
scoring single for a 7-1
advantage. Miller singled
home another run and a
walk, and a hit batter with
the bases loaded extended
the margin to 10-1.
Cooper scored the
walk-off run in the
fifth on a passed ball to
enforce the mercy rule,
La Grande’s fourth mercy
rule win of the weekend.
Contributed photo by Michelle Bell
First baseman Nick
Bornstedt catches a pickoff
attempt at first base during
a recent game.
The La Grande Legacy
Ford Legends 16U and 18U
baseball teams both won
a pair of games over the
weekend.
Sale Ends July 31st 2020.
7A
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
The Observer