SPORTS
8A — THE OBSERVER
TuESday, JunE 15, 2021
FOOTBALL
Continued from Page 7A
this year due to COVID
restrictions, but Steele said
players still will be able to
see how the game — and,
more specifically, the funds
raised by it — help children
and families.
“We still are going to
get the kids exposure to
what they are playing for,”
Steele said.
The game traditionally
generates about $25,000
for the hospital, which pro-
vides orthopedic, burn,
cleft lip and cleft palate
care — all for free to
families.
“The hospital, No. 1, is
at no cost to nobody, ever.
We do not bill parents for
the cost of care,” Steele
said.
Staigle said now the
hope is he can get on the
field, as a lingering injury
has limited him in wres-
tling this summer.
“I guess the first thing I
thought of was my injury,
hoping it doesn’t hold me
back,” he said. “I was
really surprised, definitely.
Didn’t think I was going to
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Joseph’s Brad Wilcox, left, and Jonah Staigle put the stop on Burnt
River’s Joshua Pinheiro during a 2018 home game. Staigle will be part
of the 69th Shriners game, which is a major fundraiser for Shriners
Children’s Hospital in Portland. The game is at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug.
7, in Baker City.
get a spot on the roster.”
There are four Union
County players and one
Wallowa County athlete on
the alternate list who still
could find their way on the
field.
“If a kid declines (or)
gets injured, we then go to
the alternate list,” Steele
said. “Every year we have
five to 10 alternates who
get selected to play.”
The game is at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 7, in
Baker City.
ON THE SLATE
Schedule subject to change
TUESDAY, JUNE 15
Prep boys basketball
La Grande at Vale, 4:30 p.m.
Crane at Powder Valley, 2 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Vale at La Grande, 5:30 p.m.
Crane at Powder Valley, 3:30 p.m.
Powder Valley at Joseph, 3:30 p.m.
Union at La Grande, 6 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Powder Valley at Joseph, 2 p.m.
Union at La Grande, 4:30 p.m.
Prep wrestling
La Grande at SD4 District Meet, Gladstone
High School, TBD
FRIDAY, JUNE 18
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16
Prep boys basketball
Crane at Enterprise, 1:30 p.m.
Crane at Joseph, 6 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Crane at Enterprise, noon
Crane at Joseph, 4:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, JUNE 17
Prep boys basketball
Prep girls basketball
Baker City at La Grande, 5 p.m.
Damascus Christian at Powder Valley,
5 p.m.
SATURDAY, JUNE 19
Prep boys basketball
Joseph at Grant Union, 3 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Powder Valley at Grant Union, 1:30 p.m.
alisha alexander/Lewis-Clark State College
La Grande High School alum G.T. Blackman delivers a pitch for Lewis-Clark State College during the
2021 season. Blackman earned the save in the second round of the NAIA World Series consolation
bracket against LSU Shreveport on Monday, May 31, 2021.
BASEBALL
Continued from Page 7A
against Corban. Blackman
pitched four scoreless
innings in relief, allowed
only three hits and struck
out six to secure the
victory.
He faced 164 batters last
season to rank fourth on
the roster, but only started
two games. His high usage
out of the bullpen only
goes to show his reliability
later in games.
For Blackman, step-
ping up in crunch-time
situations is something he
perfected during his time
in La Grande.
“He wanted the ball
no matter what,” said La
Grande baseball head
coach Parker McKinley.
“He would step up in any
situation and throw well.”
During Blackman’s
senior year in 2018, he
led La Grande to a 1-0
victory on the road over
North Marion High
School in the Class
4A state semifinals.
McKinley noted such
a narrow, low-scoring
margin of victory is often
rare at the high school
level.
“He puts in the work
and knows that you don’t
just get to that position
without putting in the
work to get there,” he
said.
Blackman was a two-
time Class 4A co-player
of the year at La Grande
and helped guide the
Tigers to a 4A state cham-
pionship in 2017. During
his career at La Grande,
Blackman was a multi-
sport athlete who also
competed in basketball
and football.
“He’s comfortable
being uncomfortable,”
McKinley said. “There’s
not a situation that seems
too big for him or too
heavy for him.”
One of his most
memorable games this
past season was when
Blackman was able to
return home to La Grande
early last month when
LCSC faced Eastern
Oregon University. He got
to show his teammates
where he calls home, and
the Warriors were able
to take three out of four
games in the weekend
series.
“It was still cool to
bring my teammates, and
the team that I play for
in college back to where
I grew up. That was a
pretty cool experience,”
Blackman said.
Blackman’s father,
Greg Blackman, also
played for Lewis-Clark
State in the 1990s and
won three national cham-
pionships during his time
with the Warriors.
Lewis-Clark State
has won 19 NAIA World
Series championships,
including three straight,
from 2015 to 2017.
Blackman is hoping to
get at least one national
title to call his own.
“I’d love to get one of
my own, kind of a legacy
thing,” he said.
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