Sports
Nyssa,
Riverside
put on
quite
a show
A9
Saturday, May 14, 2022
On
a
roll
Bulldogs, Pirates
combine for 66 runs,
tie a 45-year-old
Oregon record
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
BOARDMAN — The River-
side baseball team was part of a
record-setting game Friday, May
6, at Nyssa — and it had nothing
to do with its bus breaking
down three times, or the Pirates
returning home 23 hours after
they left.
The Bulldogs and Pirates
combined for 66 runs in the
second game of their Eastern
Oregon League doubleheader,
tying a 45-year-old Oregon record
for the most runs in a single
game.
Dufur and Cascade Locks
combined for 66 runs in 1977
when the Rangers beat the Pirates
63-3.
Riverside’s 30 runs set an
Oregon record for most runs by a
losing team.
“I was happy,” Riverside
coach Tyler Davis said. “After
that fi rst game, we were short on
pitchers for the day. We tried to
extend the arms as much as we
could. It was a close game until
we had to go to our bench.”
Riverside scored nine runs in
the fi rst inning, then gave up 11
to Nyssa.
“With the inexperience, it has
been a pretty up and down year,”
Davis said. “I was a little wor-
ried how they would respond.
We hadn’t given up 11 runs in an
inning.”
Riverside pitchers combined
to throw 291 pitches, and simply
ran out of arms down the stretch
as the Bulldogs hung on for a
36-30 victory in a game that
lasted nearly four hours.
“They did as good as I could
have hoped for a bunch of
freshmen with little experience,”
Davis said.
Riley Lantis led the Pirates
with three doubles, fi ve runs
The Observer, File
Jace Schow (1) throws a pitch against the Ontario Tigers at Optimist Field, La Grande, on Thursday, April 7, 2022. La Grande swept the visiting Ontario team in
a double header match, scoring 14-1 and 19-1 in their fi rst home games of the season.
La Grande baseball team rides momentum
into last remaining regular season games
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
L
A GRANDE —
The wins just
keep piling up
for the La Grande High
School baseball team.
The Tigers enter the last
weeks of the season riding
high, winning over 15 games
straight. While La Grande is
currently a clear-cut favorite
in the Greater Oregon League
and highly ranked in the state,
its core of upperclassmen is
looking to continue the team’s
momentum and translate recent
success into a state cham-
pionship push. La Grande’s
deep roster and team chem-
istry stand out as two factors
pushing this year’s team toward
success.
“Compared to all four years
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
La Grande players meet Devin Bell at home plate after he hit a home run
against Pendleton on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at Bob White Field,
Pendleton. La Grande won the game 5-7.
of my high school baseball
career, I feel like this team has
come together the closest,”
senior Devin Bell said. “I think
it’s something really special.”
The Tigers have domi-
nated the competition this
year, building up a 21-1 record
overall and 10-0 in league
play through 22 games. La
Grande is riding a 17-game
win streak into a doubleheader
against Baker/Powder Valley
(completed after print dead-
line), with the last 10 victo-
ries coming in shutout fashion.
La Grande is averaging just
over 12 runs per game on the
season, while holding oppo-
nents to approximately 1.3 runs
per game.
“I think our success just
starts with energy,” senior Nick
Bornstedt said. “Energy in the
dugout and being all in through
every inning is huge.”
Strong, well-rounded
pitching eff orts have played a
benefi cial role for La Grande
this year. The team’s one-two
punch of juniors Jace Schow
and Sam Tsiatsos have given
opposing batters headaches,
while Bell, Bornstedt, Logan
Williams and Sergio Staab
have all had consistent sea-
sons as starting pitchers. Tsi-
atsos leads the way with six
wins through the team’s fi rst 22
games and Schow has tallied
fi ve — Bell has earned three
wins, while Staab, Bornstedt
and Williams each have two
victories on the season.
See, Rolling/Page A10
See, Record/Page A10
SPORTS SHORT
EOU softball team earns at-large bid to NAIA tournament
Mountaineers to meet Texas A&M Texarkana in first round
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The Eastern
Oregon University softball program is
headed to nationals.
The Mountaineers
earned an at-large bid
to the NAIA tourna-
ment during the asso-
ciation’s selection show
on Tuesday, May 10.
Christian
Eastern, who is ranked
No. 15 in the latest
national poll, earned a two seed in the
tournament and will face three-seed
Texas A&M Texarkana in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, on May 16. Joining the
Mountaineers and Eagles in the Okla-
homa City bracket are Oklahoma City
and William Woods.
Eastern is coming off a semifi nal
appearance in the Cascade Colle-
giate Conference tournament, where
the team was eliminated by the Col-
lege of Idaho. The Mountaineers have
currently tallied a 41-15 record, which
tied the program record for wins in a
season.
Texas A&M Texarkana is currently
42-12 on the year, coming off a Red
River Tournament championship title.
The Eagles were ranked No. 22 in the
latest NAIA national poll, but found
themselves ranked as high as No. 13
earlier in the season.
Texas A&M Texarkana’s Anna
Westberry leads the way for the team’s
pitching staff with a 23-4 record.
Eastern’s Amanda Smith has led the
pitching eff orts this season, accumu-
lating a 19-6 record off 19 complete
games.
Eastern’s national tournament berth
is its fi rst since 2018, the last season the
Mountaineers had a winning record.
Head coach Nicole Christian, who is in
her third year as Eastern’s head coach,
is set to make her national tournament
debut with the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers are scheduled to
compete in game one of the Oklahoma
City bracket on May 16, with the game
time still to be determined. The four-
team bracket is double elimination, with
the fi nal matchup slated for May 18.
Following the opening round, the
winners will travel to Columbus,
Georgia, for the world series bracket.
The Observer, File
Amanda Smith (14) delivers a pitch during the Mountaineers’
matchup with Providence University on Friday, March 25, 2022, at
the Peggy Anderson Softball Field, La Grande.
Find up-to-date scores and additional game coverage
for your local high school, available 24/7 at
www.lagrandeobserver.com.