12
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
SPORTS
Eagles clinch second place, IMC
baseball playoffs next
Weber
■ By For Mike
Columbia Gorge News
The Hood River Valley
High Eagles baseball team
has enjoyed tremendous suc-
cess this season and they’re
hoping that it will contin-
ue as they seek to win the
Intermountain Conference
Championship for the first
time since 2017.
Following a pair of wins
May 8 in Redmond, the
Eagles clinched second place
in the six-team IMC with a
6-2 league mark and an 8-4
overall record. HRV will play
an opponent yet to be deter-
mined in an IMC semifinal
May 19 at 4:30 p.m. at Hood
River Valley High School. The
winner of that game plays in
the May 21 championship
game at a site and versus
an opponent both yet to be
determined.
Hood River, guided by
12th-year Coach Erich Harjo,
played the first game of a
three-game series vs. Gorge
rival The Dalles May 11 (re-
sults came after the printed
edition deadline). Hood River
meets The Dalles (3-4 IMC,
3-9 overall) in the final reg-
ular season contest for both
teams in a 3 p.m. double-
header May 14 at Hood River.
A Senior Night ceremony
will be held after Game 1 to
honor Eagle seniors playing
in the final regular season
game.
“Everything is going good,
the players have a good
attitude, and our league is
stronger than we thought it
was going to be,” said Harjo.
“Things are so much different
now, but we’re trying to keep
things as normal as possible
with practice and games and
we’re just trying to maintain
the same routine that we’ve
had in the past. Having a
shorter season isn’t ideal,
but it’s better than what we
had last year, which was no
season at all.”
The Eagles’ stellar season
continued last week when
they won three straight
games. The streak started
with a 10-7, come-from-be-
hind home win May 4 over
“Everything is going
good, the players have
a good attitude, and our
league is stronger than
we thought it was going
to be."
Erich Harjo
HRV baseball coach
the Redmond Panthers (3-4
IMC, 3-7).
“We expect to win every
game because we have an
experienced team with lots of
juniors (seven) and seniors
(six),” said Harjo, a 2000
The Dalles High graduate.
“When you play against a
young team like The Dalles
(10 freshmen, no seniors)
the biggest thing you have to
keep in mind is you have to
jump on them early and play
competitively right off the bat
and try to get them to match
your effort. If you play at an
effort that is difficult for them
to match, then it can set the
tone for the rest of the series.
“I played on the baseball
team for (The Dalles Coach)
Steve Sugg when I was at
The Dalles High School and I
know how he operates. I have
a lot of respect for Steve and
what he does and how he
goes about things and I know
he’ll have his guys ready to
play hard. They’ve won some
games, so I expect them to
be a pretty competitive team.
We’re just going to play Hood
River Valley baseball to the
best of our ability and stick
with the goals that we have
this year.”
HRV baseball against
Redmond last week came
with a never-say-die atti-
tude. Redmond took a 3-1
second inning lead, but HRV
narrowed it to 3-2 in the third
when sophomore Jake Von
Lubken (3-for-4, two singles,
RBI) hammered a solo home
run. Redmond came back,
extending its advantage to
7-3 in the fifth inning.
The Eagles responded with
an explosive sixth-inning
rally, highlighted by a two-
RBI double by junior Mason
Hood River Valley High School senior baseball players stand for a photograph. Pictured are, left to right, Nate Van Dooren, Nolan Ryan,
Andy Foster, Sebastian Zeman, Emilio Castaneda and Harrison Howell.
Mike Webber photo
Spellecy (3-for-4, four RBI)
that helped narrow the mar-
gin to 7-6. A key RBI single
by senior Harrison Howell
knotted it 7-7 with Spellecy
scoring the tying run. The
Eagle offensive spurt includ-
ed three more runs to propel
Hood River in front 10-7 after
six innings. The Panthers
were unable to recover from
the Eagle power surge (15
total hits) and Hood River’s
defense was solid and didn’t
allow any Redmond runs in
the seventh inning.
“It was hit hard enough to
get past their infielder, and it
allowed a run to score and tie
the game,” said Howell. “We
played really sluggish at the
beginning of the game, but
then we started hitting the
ball better later. Everyone just
started putting their bats on
the ball and we were scoring
some runs and we got the
lead and scored seven runs in
the sixth, which was the most
runs we’ve scored in one
inning this year.
“It would be sweet to win
the championship. We’ll
probably meet Pendleton in
the finals and hopefully we’ll
be able to beat them again to
win the title. We have a really
good team and I know we
can beat them. I believe we
can do it.”
Hood River won 11-3
over the defending IMC
Champion (2019) Pendleton
Buckaroos (8-0 IMC, 10-2) in
a non-league game April 16
in Hood River.
Spellecy, the Eagle starting
pitcher and relief pitchers
Von Lubken and Howell,
combined to allow 12 hits.
Howell is one of six Eagle se-
niors who will be honored in
Friday’s Senior Night event.
The others include Nate Van
Dooren, Sebastian Zeman,
Nolan Ryan, Andy Foster, and
Emilio Castaneda.
On Saturday, the Eagles
HRV boys golf win
streak ends despite
lowest score of season
The level of competition
increased last week for the
Hood River Valley boys golf
team and the Eagles re-
sponded with their lowest
18-hole, par-72 round of the
season.
HRV was a last-minute
entry into a Northwest
Oregon Conference tour-
ney after its regular season,
Intermountain Conference
tourney in Pendleton was
cancelled. The Eagles played
solid golf at Glendoveer
Golf Course in East
Portland against St. Helens,
Scappoose, La Salle and
Wilsonville, finishing second
by five strokes to La Salle,
336-341. St. Helens finished
third with a 348, Scappoose
was fourth at 366, and
Wilsonville shot 378 for fifth.
“I knew La Salle had a pret-
ty good team,” HRV Coach
Erin Mason said. “I had heard
their No. 1 and No. 2 golfers
were single-digit handicap
players potentially.
“It was a shootout in the
end and a close one. None of
my players had ever played
the course. So, in the end, I
couldn’t be happier with how
my guys played.”
Ren Tappert led the HRV
boys with a 75 and placed
second overall. Dylan Santee
was seventh with an 83. La
Salle’s Will Koch was medal-
ist with a 73.
“We went to a course no
one had played ever and
competed with the top
school in that conference,”
Mason said. “Hats off to La
Salle, they have a great team
and coaching staff. I would
love to be able to get them on
our course for a rematch.”
Hood River Valley played
its final home tournament
Monday at Indian Creek vs.
The Dalles and Pendleton
(results were unavailable for
the print edition).
traveled to Central Oregon
to face the Panthers again
and Hood River had a more
dominating performance in
an 8-1 win at Redmond High
School. The Eagles jumped in
front 1-0 in the second inning
when Howell (4-for-4, three
singles, double, two RBI)
scored on a wild pitch thrown
by Redmond’s Isaac Erhardt.
HRV added run in the third
for a 2-0 edge. HRV then put
three runs on the scoreboard
in the fifth, while Redmond
got one run, making it 5-1.
The Eagle momentum
continued in the sixth, led by
Van Dooren (3-for-4, three
singles, two RBI) and Howell
(4-for-4, three singles, dou-
ble, two RBI), who each drove
in runs to help extend HRV’s
lead to 8-1. Von Lubken had
a sparkling performance on
the mound while scattering
five hits and striking out
nine. Hood River outhit the
Panthers 15-5 and the Eagles
played outstanding error-free
defense.
In Saturday’s second game
Hood River won 6-5 over the
Class 6A Summit Storm (8-6)
at Redmond High. The Eagles
built an early 3-0 second-in-
ning lead, highlighted by RBI
singles by juniors Hunter
Hough and Ryles Buckley.
Summit came back and
trimmed the margin to 4-2 in
the third. The Eagles added a
run in the fifth for a 5-2 lead
and both teams scored a run
in the sixth, making it 6-3.
Buckley (2-for-3, RBI),
Ryan (2-for-2) and Spellecy
(2-for-3) led the Eagle eight-
hit offensive attack. Starting
pitcher Van Dooren scattered
five hits and had five strike-
outs in six innings pitched.
Van Dooren and relief pitcher
Hough allowed seven hits.
Dr. Cullen’s
Student of the week
Yuliana Robles,
Keegan Ku
Ku for
Global
Student
of the
week Studies:
Keegan
comes
to
class
every
I could not ask for a better student.
She day
has a
with
positive
works
strong a work
ethic, is attitude
not afraid to and
ask questions,
hard,
only improving
and has not
completed
every video and himself,
homework
assignment
that has been
but fellow
classmates
as assigned.
well.
1631 Woods Ct
Suite 102
Hood River, OR
97031
Congratulations
Columbia View Dental
541-386-0826
Joe Guenther
Financial Advisor
edwardjones.com
Member SIPC
Yuliana Ku
Robles,
Keegan
Ku, TDHS
TDHS
1915 E. 19th Street | The Dalles
Victor Cullen, DDS
541-296-5677 | Se habla español
One membership/ Two clubs.
e n t s
r
a
p
r
foste
Tennis, Pickleball, group fitness, private or semi-
private fit classes and virtual classes. Including a
Pool, hot tub and sauna with top brand fitness
machines for every workout. Come by for a tour.
Call 541-308-2207
nextdoorinc.org/fosterparent
Provide weekend
care for teens at
The Next Door
Join today where the
only commitment is to
your good health!
• Hood River and
Wasco Counties
Gorge Athletic
Athletic Clubs
Clubs
Gorge
• Compensation provided
THE DALLES
DALLES | | HOOD
HOOD RIVER
RIVER
THE
• Online training offered
• One or two weekends a
month can make a
difference!
G G o o r r g g e e A A t t h h l l e e t t i i c c C C l l u u b b s s . c . c o o m m
A Healthy Lifestyle Company!
The Dalles 541.298.8508 | Hood River 541.386.3230