Sports
A7
Thursday, June 2, 2022
LA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL
DAVIS
CARBAUGH
CARBAUGH’S CORNER
Farewell
La Grande,
Union Co.
T
he time has come to
say farewell. After
spending a year as a
sports and news reporter for
The Observer, I will be con-
cluding my time here with
the paper to pursue other
endeavors.
While I was here for
only a year, I feel as if this
community has been my
home for ages. Moving here
from the East Coast, I was
anxious about starting fresh
in a new, unfamiliar town
on the other side of the
country.
Within weeks, even
days, the community wel-
comed me with open arms.
Moving can be difficult,
but as a reporter you meet
new people every single
day on the job — through
The Observer, I have made
great connections in the
community, built lasting
friendships and forged great
bonds with the wonderful
people who put this news-
paper together.
I always knew that
sports served a role as a
common connection for
human beings across the
world. People from all dif-
ferent backgrounds can
come together to argue,
debate, agree upon and dis-
cuss topics in the sports
world together.
Coming to a rural area in
Eastern Oregon, I was not
quite sure what to expect. I
quickly learned that com-
munity members in Union
County are die-hard fans
of their local sports teams.
From the biggest football
games to Little League con-
tests over the summer, this
community truly has a pas-
sion and appreciation for
sports.
Watching small schools
pack the stands for state
championship events like
the 1A football champion-
ship or the 2A girls basket-
ball championship just goes
to show how Union County
takes pride in its teams. At
the 4A level, La Grande’s
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
Tigers celebrate after La Grande’s 8-0 victory over Philomath at Pioneer Park on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. The Tigers advanced to the OSAA Class 4A finals where
they will play Hidden Valley at Volcanoes Stadium on June 4.
ANOTHER TITLE?
LHS baseball faces Hidden Valley rematch for state title June 4
By RONALD BOND • For The Observer
L
A GRANDE — For the fourth time in the last six years, the
La Grande High School baseball team will play in the state
championship game.
And it will be against a foe the Tigers
know well.
Devin Bell tossed a no-hitter in La
Grande’s 8-0 victory over Philomath on
Tuesday, May 31, the second time this
season the Tigers have topped the Warriors.
La Grande defeated Philomath at home 5-0
on April 23.
“He was dialed in. He did great,” head
coach Parker McKinley said. “And he com-
peted in the zone, threw strikes in the zone.”
The win in the rematch sets up the Tigers
(27-1 overall) with a title-game showdown
against Hidden Valley (27-2) on Saturday,
June 4, at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer.
The Mustangs downed Mazama in the other
semifinal May 31, 10-1.
A year ago, the teams squared off in a
championship tilt at the 4A showcase won
by the Mustangs, 5-2, on a walkoff grand
slam by Isaac Hill.
“Last year’s championship game was one
of the best games I have ever been a part of,
as a player, as a coach, even a fan. I’m not
expecting anything less than that again,”
McKinley said.
The teams appeared to be on a collision
course for the rematch all season, and they
enter with several similarities, including the
top two offenses and defenses in the state.
“They have good pitching, we have good
pitching. They have good defense, we play
good defense,” McKinley said.
La Grande, which is on a 23-game win-
ning streak, has surrendered just 37 runs in
28 games. The Tigers have tossed 15 shut-
outs on the season, including a stretch of
12 in a row from April 15 to May 13. La
Grande has also scored 316 runs on the
season. Only Burns and Blanchet Cath-
olic have a higher run average across all
classifications.
See, Baseball/Page A8
Future bright for La Grande softball
Tigers lose two seniors off state semifinal team
By RONALD BOND
For The Observer
T
URNER — The season
ended one game short of
the ultimate goal for the
La Grande softball team.
But head coach Cody
Bowen and the Tigers have a
lot to look forward to in 2023
with the team losing just two
starting seniors — albeit the
players are Kinzy Bowen and
Grace Neer who played a key
role in the team turning around
after a slow start and reaching
the 4A state semifinals.
“We got a lot to go with next
year,” Bowen said. “We got a
couple of good solid holes to
fill. We’re going to miss our
seniors, especially their bats.
Kinzy ended up with 12 home
runs this year, Grace had 10.”
That’s 22 of the 34 homers
hit by the team on the season
See, Softball/Page A8
The Observer, File
Grace Neer, center, gets ready in the dugout during a match between the
La Grande and Baker softball teams at Sam Marcum Field in La Grande on
Thursday, May 6, 2021. Neer is one of two starting seniors the Tigers graduate
from this year’s 18-8 squad.
See, Carbaugh/Page A8
SPORTS SHORT
Blazers linked to Toronto forward in trade talks
By ARON YOHANNES
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — The
Portland Trail Blazers will
be exploring all options
this summer to improve
their roster.
The Blazers have a bit of
flexibility with what they
can, which includes the No.
7 selection in the upcoming
NBA Draft. There’s opti-
mism about what Portland
will do with the pick.
One possibility?
Trading it.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher
Report reported Monday,
May 30, that word has cir-
culated among rival front
offices that Toronto Rap-
tors forward OG Anunoby
is dissatisfied with his
role in Toronto in 2021-
22, following a standout
season from Rookie of the
Year Scottie Barnes, who
joined Pascal Siakam and
Fred VanVleet as the pri-
mary ball-handlers in Nick
Nurse’s offense.
Anunoby is believed to
be a potential trade target
for the Blazers as the
summer heats up.
The Trail Blazers
remain widely expected to
pursue trade scenarios with
the No. 7 pick in order to
add a complementary vet-
eran alongside All-NBA
guard Damian Lillard, and
Anunoby is believed to be
one of their primary targets
along with Jerami Grant.
Anunoby is a long and
athletic forward who plays
above the rim and on both
ends of the floor — a great
void he could fill in Port-
land. On top of being a
young (24) and produc-
tive player for the Raptors,
Anunoby is also a bargain
contract, as has three years
left on a four-year, $72 mil-
lion deal.
The Anunoby and Grant
contracts both fit under
Portland’s $20.9 million
trade exception from the
deal that sent CJ McCo-
llum to the New Orleans
Pelicans in February.
The Blazers and Raptors
have conducted trade busi-
ness before, too, when they
swapped Gary Trent Jr. for
Norman Powell at the Feb-
ruary 2021 trade deadline.
Neither Anunoby nor
Grant are expected to be
players that will signifi-
cantly change the Blazers’
championship fortunes, but
they’re good starting points
for the summer project to
re-tool the roster around
Lillard.
Winslow Townson/The Associated Press, File
Toronto forward OG Anunoby goes in for a dunk past Boston’s
Terry Rozier (12), Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown (7) in Boston
Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017.
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www.lagrandeobserver.com.