SPORTS
A10 — THE OBSERVER
EOU
Solid on the mound,
balanced at bat
Continued from Page A9
A big part of the Moun-
taineers’ success has been
the team’s solid pitching
staff, led by senior Amanda
Smith.
Eastern’s ace is currently
13-4 on the year, a win total
that is second highest in the
Cascade Collegiate Con-
ference. Smith is fifth in
the conference with a 1.82
ERA, fourth in opposing
batting average at .197, third
in innings thrown with 119,
second in strikeouts with 100
and third with three saves.
The senior was arguably at
her best all season on Friday,
April 1, against Warner
Pacific, throwing a five-in-
ning no-hitter.
On top of Smith’s consis-
tent outings in the pitcher’s
circle, Abby Giles and Mc-
Kenna Stallings have totaled
seven wins each. Giles ranks
second in the conference
with a 1.54 ERA and fifth
in opposing batting average
at .206. According to Chris-
seen a major shift in the
momentum of the program.
Eastern is 30-11 on the
year and 16-5 in conference
play, just three games back
of first-place Oregon Tech.
The Mountaineers have 12
games remaining on the
schedule, four of which are
against the Hustlin’ Owls.
With the conference tour-
nament and potential NAIA
tournament appearance
on the horizon, Eastern is
within reach of the pro-
gram’s all-time single-
season win mark of 41 set
in 1999.
“We’re putting our-
selves in a great place to
get to the CCC and possibly
nationals, you never know
how the rankings will play
out,” Christian said. “We’re
just playing it day-by-day in
regards to the games we’ve
got left and who we’re
facing.”
BLAZERS
of Nurkic, who will be an
unrestricted free agent.
Simons will become a
restricted free agent, and
although Cronin said he
expects the guard to receive
offers from other teams, the
Blazers plan to be proac-
tive in locking him in with
a long-term extension.
“I like our talent base,
we need more,” Cronin
said.
Adding impact players
via free agency or trade has
been an Achilles’ heel for
the franchise for decades,
and something that dogged
Neil Olshey, the team’s
former president of basket-
ball operations.
It’s one thing to have
flexibility. It’s another to
recruit and sign players that
will make a difference.
Billups and Cronin
said that there is no firm
strategy in place beyond
simply getting into the
room with prospective free
agents, including Lillard in
the recruiting process, and
trying to convince pros-
pects they could flourish in
Portland.
“It’s a generic plan
where we’re going to be
a united group and we’re
going to be ourselves,”
Cronin said. “And we’re
going to be confident in
that room.”
Billups said he is con-
fident that the Blazers can
lure high-end talent — and
the former NBA All-Star
believes he can help make
it happen.
“I know and I believe
that a lot of players in the
league want to play for
somebody like me,” he
said. “I just believe that. A
former player who under-
stands the cadence of the
NBA. Understands what’s
important in terms of
playing, rest. A dude that’s
going to hold you account-
able without being disre-
spectful towards you.”
Continued from Page A9
down for the season, and
the Blazers had decided that
losing would be more ben-
eficial than fighting for a
berth into the play-in round.
Although this strategy
might ultimately pay off,
it doesn’t mean Cronin
always felt at ease with the
path he chose.
“I still feel uncomfort-
able about it,” he said. “We
have a really competitive
group. We didn’t want to
lose ball games. Sometimes
it’s necessary. Sometimes
you have to go with your
youth movement ... This,
theoretically, is a really
quick step backward. We’re
not looking at two, three,
four years of this. So, that
makes it easier. But as far
as the discomfort, the will-
ingness to accept losing,
that was really hard for us
and continues to be.”
The path to simply
becoming competitive
again won’t require much.
After all, most of the crew
that finished the season
2-21 will not be in the reg-
ular rotation next season.
Lillard is on the road
to a full recovery and has
already spoken about how
much better his body feels
after sitting out the last
three months of the season.
Josh Hart, Justise Winslow
and Nassir Little estab-
lished themselves as legit-
imate rotation pieces. Plus,
Anfernee Simons and Jusuf
Nurkic, at their best, had
the Blazers winning games
without Lillard before the
All-Star break.
While Nurkic and
Simons are not under con-
tract for next season, the
Blazers have prioritized
re-signing both.
“He is the type of player
that we definitely want to
build around,” Cronin said
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that any player can step up
when called upon.
“We’re spread out and at
any given moment one of
our athletes can do damage,”
Christian said. “We love that
with our program — we can
look at our lineup and know
that anyone can get it done.”
Gaining momentum
alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Eastern’s Taylor Dow (5) connects with a pitch during the second
game of a doubleheader with Providence University on Friday, March
25, 2022, in La Grande. The Mountaineers swept the series.
tian, Giles has been a crucial
player this year in being able
to step in and provide com-
posed innings during a bas-
es-loaded jam or a difficult
pitching situation.
“She has been our work-
horse,” Christian said. “Abby
has just been that girl that
goes in there with a stellar
attitude and takes care of
business. She’s been our
savior numerous times this
year.”
On the offensive side,
Eastern has seen balanced
plate production across its
lineup. With no major stand-
outs atop the conference
individual stat rankings, the
Mountaineers have entered
games with the mentality
The Mountaineers
earned monumental victories
in early April, defeating No. 5
College of Idaho in two con-
secutive games. The Moun-
taineers lost two home games
to their rivals in late March,
but bounced back to even the
season series.
While Christian noted
that the team takes the season
one game at a time, the vic-
tory over a conference pow-
erhouse had a positive impact
on the team’s morale and
momentum.
“That series was huge,”
the coach said. “It definitely
was a good testament. They
have a great program with
good pitching. Being able to
go on the road and executive
what we wanted to do was a
great momentum builder.”
Moving into the final seg-
ments of the regular season,
Christian stated that the
remaining schedule will be
ideal for getting the team’s
players into the best form
heading into the postseason.
Eastern’s final three series are
all on weekends, allowing for
recovery and practice during
the weekdays as opposed to
travel and competitions.
The Mountaineers are set
to travel to Bellevue, Wash-
ington, to face Northwest
in a four-game series begin-
ning on April 15. Eastern will
have a crucial four-game slate
against top-ranked confer-
ence opponent Oregon Tech,
before closing out the reg-
ular season with a four-game
home series against Carroll.
“We’ve got our hands full
these next three weeks, but
we’re just taking it one game
at a time,” Christian said.
“We expect a battle every
weekend in our conference.”
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