Sports
Sports is
at its peak
in March
A8
Saturday, March 19, 2022
Alex Wittwer//EO Media Group, File
Jace Schow throws a strike against Hodgen Distributing at
La Grande’s Pioneer Park on Friday, July 23, 2021.
DAVIS
CARBAUGH
CARBAUGH’S CORNER
any sports fans can
agree that March is
one of the best times
of year for sports.
The combination of eying
your NCAA tournament
brackets, the ping of bats
starting up and local ath-
letes gearing up to take part
in their spring competitions is
a sport’s lover’s dream. With
NBA playoffs and MLB right
around the corner as well, we
find ourselves in the pinnacle
of the sports schedule.
Locally, that excitement
is present as high school ath-
letes get set to compete in their
respective spring sports. At the
college level, Eastern Oregon
University is midway through
its baseball and softball sea-
sons, while track athletes are
just getting up and running in
their outdoor season.
EOU softball is off to a
strong start, going 6-0 in con-
ference play thus far and com-
piling a 16-5 overall record.
The Mountaineers take their
10-game winning streak into
a four-game series against
the rival Raiders of Southern
Oregon this weekend.
Eastern’s lacrosse program
continues to build momentum
in its second year as an offi-
cial program. The Mountain-
eers are set to host Whitman
at Community Stadium in La
Grande at 1 p.m. on Sunday,
March 20.
The La Grande track and
field team has roughly 70 total
participants this year, a good
sign for interest in the sport.
The Tigers will look to con-
tend at the 4A level, while
Powder Valley will look to
defend its throne on the boys
side of the 1A state compe-
tition. The Elgin girls team
is coming off a great finish
in 2021, taking third place at
the 1A state championship —
replacing star athlete Aaliyah
Burton will be no easy task,
but the Huskies are trending in
the right direction. Imbler and
Cove will also look to make
noise at the 1A level, while
Union’s strong finish in cross-
country this year bodes well
for the Bobcats’ hopes on the
track this season.
La Grande tennis kicked off
its season with a match at Vale
this week and is looking for-
ward to a strong season. The
Tigers join Union/Imbler as
local golfers set the stage for a
productive year on the course.
As spring sports get
underway, scores and recaps will
be available at The Observer’s
website under the sports tab.
———
Davis Carbaugh covers
news and sports for The
Observer. He can be contacted
at dcarbaugh@lagrande-
observer.com.
M
High hopes
La Grande upperclassmen
setting tone for title run
By DAVIS CARBAUGH • The Observer
A GRANDE — With two outs in the final inning of last year’s
L
4A state title game, a walk-off grand slam by Hidden Valley
ended La Grande’s season just one out away from a state title.
This time, the Tigers want to finish the job.
A large group of returners from last year’s
team is set to take the field again this season,
leading the way for what could be an exciting
year in La Grande. The Tigers will lean on a
wide array of talented, experienced players
across their lineup as the team aims to end this
season on top.
“Ultimately our goal every year is to win
a state championship. That’s what we want,”
La Grande head coach Parker McKinley said.
“That’s the way that we conduct business and
prepare ourselves.”
La Grande graduated three seniors from
last year’s roster, returning the majority of its
starters who played big roles in the team’s 14-2
record last spring. The narrow loss to Hidden
Valley in last year’s final has lit a fire under
some of La Grande’s players, while the end goal
still remains the same across the board.
“I think about it every day,” junior Logan
Williams said. “I think it makes me that much
more hungry this year.”
“This preseason, I think we’re all just
chomping at the bit to get back on the field
and get the feeling back for baseball,” senior
Devin Bell said. “I don’t think what hap-
pened last year defines us for this year. I
think we can do better.”
Bell is one of 12 seniors on La Grande’s
roster who will be looking to end their careers
as state champions. As for Williams, this year’s
junior class showed major promise toward the
spring season and into the summer season with
the La Grande Legacy Legends.
Senior catcher Cole Jorgensen returns for
one final prep season before joining Western
Oregon University’s baseball team. Jorgensen
posted a .643 average last spring, totaling 32
RBIs, 10 runs and 36 hits in 56 at-bats.
“This whole class has been playing together
since we were about 9 years old, so we have a
really good chemistry and dynamic,” Jorgensen
said. “We’re going to do everything we can to
win this time.”
Bell, an infielder and pitcher, led the team
with 35 runs last spring and posted a .462
average across 52 at-bats. In the summer season
with the Legends, he went 3-0 over 16 innings
and recorded 22 strikeouts.
After last year’s ace Riley Miller graduated
to play for Clark College, Bell will be one of
the players looking to round out a solid rotation
for La Grande. Williams, Bell, Jace Schow and
Sam Tsiatsos are set to serve as the core of an
upperclassmen-led group of arms.
“I think we’re just as good as we were last
year,” Jorgensen said of the rotation. “We lost
Riley, but we have some guys that can fill his
spot and be really strong pitchers this year.”
The coach agreed. “We’re pretty fortunate to
have the number of pitchers that we have in the
program,” he said. “A lot of our guys are going
to compete.”
Senior Nick Bornstedt will be another key
piece of La Grande’s lineup. The first basemen
hit for an average of .567 off 30 at-bats last
spring, tallying 14 RBIs and 10 runs.
“Our lineup is really strong,” Bornstedt said.
“We all try to really work hard at hitting. Our
pitching is going to be good this year and we
have a sound defense. We’re strong all around.”
The Tigers have a large turnout this season,
with a mix of upperclassmen and new players.
From the coach’s point of view, the winning
expectations are passed down from the upper-
classmen to position the program to be suc-
cessful for years to come.
“I truly believe that it’s not just the guys
on the field for the varsity team that make that
happen,” McKinley said. “It starts with the
seniors, who are working really hard right now.
I think that will continue to be passed along.”
Coming just one out away from finishing
on top last season, the expectation for La
Grande is a return trip to the championship
game. According to McKinley, that same
expectation is put into place at the beginning
of every season.
“I think the kids have very much bought into
the philosophy of the program,” he said. “Win-
ning and losing is often a byproduct of the hard
work, the character, the discipline and all these
things that go into it. We all hold each other
accountable.”
ON THE SLATE
Wednesday, March 16
PREP SOFTBALL
Hermiston 18 — La Grande 17
Thursday, March 17
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande 12 — Hermiston 2
La Grande 7 — Hermiston 6
Friday, March 18
(Games not completed by print
deadline)
PREP SOFTBALL
Union/Cove at Toledo Tournament, 5 p.m.
PREP TRACK & FIELD
Sunday, March 20
Cove, Imbler, Union at Diana Thurmond
Invitational 2022, Harper, 11 a.m.
Cove at Lewiston Invitational, noon
Saturday, March 19
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon
(2), 2 p.m.
PREP SOFTBALL
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech (2),
11 a.m.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon (2),
11 a.m.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Whitman at Eastern Oregon, 1 p.m.
La Grande at Philomath, 10 a.m.
La Grande vs. Gladstone, Philomath
High School, noon
Union/Cove at Toledo Tournament, TBA
Monday, March 21
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech (2), 11 a.m.
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande vs. Canby, Surprise, Arizona,
2 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande vs. Shadow Ridge, Surprise,
Arizona, 5 p.m
Wednesday, March 23
PREP BASEBALL
La Grande vs. Dakota Ridge, Surprise,
Arizona 2 p.m.
SPORTS SHORT
Stricklin named CoSIDA
Academic All-American
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Coming off a strong senior
season, Eastern Oregon University’s Taylor
Stricklin was honored for her performance on and
off the court.
Stricklin earned a second-team
selection on the College Sports
Information Directors of America’s
Academic All-American women’s
basketball team. The honor recog-
nizes athletic excellence along with
high marks in the classroom.
Stricklin
The senior forward was a
key player on the court for the Mountaineers this
season, helping the team qualify for the NAIA
National Tournament after accumulating a 22-11
record. Stricklin led the team with 8.4 rebounds
per game and added 13.4 points per contest. The
senior shot 42.1% from the field and was second on
the team with 68 assists on the year. Stricklin con-
verted a team-high 69 three-pointers and averaged
36 minutes of playing time per game.
Stricklin has tallied a 4.0 GPA as she works
toward a master’s degree in teaching — she earned
a 3.99 GPA during her undergraduate studies
toward a bachelor’s degree in health and human
performance.
The award marks Stricklin’s first career
CoSIDA Academic All-American selection.
Stricklin was previously named Academic All-Dis-
trict twice. She was the only player from the Cas-
cade Collegiate Conference to earn a selection on
this year’s CoSIDA Academic All-America team.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Eastern Oregon University’s Taylor Stricklin makes a layup at Quinn Coliseum, La Grande,
on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. Stricklin earned a second-team selection on the College Sports
Information Directors of America’s Academic All-American women’s basketball team.