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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2015)
S PORTS www.hoodrivernews.com Hood River News, Saturday, April 4, 2015 HRV baseball splits games after return from spring break Kam Walker and Ryan Ward shine behind both mound and plate for the Eagles By BEN MITCHELL News staff writer HRV returned from spring break this week after a rough trip down to Phoenix, Ariz., where the Eagles went 1-3 against non-league teams during the Coach Bob Invitational. Upon their return to Oregon, the 18th-ranked Eagles (5-4) had a lack- luster outing against Redmond on Tuesday, dropping that game by a score of 4-1. On Wednesday, HRV edged Gladstone, 4-3, but only after the Eagles had given up a 3-0 lead they had established in the first in- ning. The offensive production has slowed considerably for HRV fol- lowing a red-hot Week One when the Eagles put up 34 runs against their opponents’ 12 in three games. Coach Erich Harjo said he was “very disappointed with our offen- sive production” in Tuesday’s game ag ainst Redmond, which was stopped for about 20 minutes dur- ing the fourth inning due to passing rain showers. Knotted up at 1-1 with Redmond, HRV lost the game after they were unable to respond to the three-run effort posted by the Pan- thers in the top of the eighth in- ning. “We left multiple runners on base and no one stepped up with a big hit to get us going,” he said. “I believe (Redmond) walked us nine times and that should equate to at least five runs with the potential we have as a team. Adjustments weren’t made early and we paid for it.” On a positive note, Harjo high- See EAGLES, Page A8 A7 SPORTS BRIEFS Tennis matches rescheduled It’s been a rough start for HRV’s tennis teams, which, be- tween the rain and scheduling conflicts, haven’t had many op- portunities to get in matches so far this season. Both the boys and girls teams saw their Tuesday matches against Wilson get rescheduled for Thursday, April 9. The teams will next face Benson Polytechnic on Monday, April 6 at 4 p.m.; girls will play Benson Poly at home and boys will play away. Rain halts softball game Tuesday’s rain also cut short the softball team’s game against La Salle. The game was called dur- ing the top of the third inning, with La Salle up to bat and lead- ing HRV by a score of 6-0. Coach Eric Keller said Wednesday evening the game could be fin- ished Monday, April 13 at 5 p.m. but that date had not been final- ized as of press time. Golf matches canceled Wednesday’s boys and girls golf matches against The Dalles- Wahtonka at Indian Creek Golf Course were canceled due to mul- tiple conflicts. The next match for HRV is scheduled for Monday, April 6 at noon at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton, where they Eagles will face off against six to eight teams, accord- ing to coach Mark Gradin. HRATS work party Saturday Photo by Ben Mitchell BOYS LAX GETS FIRST WIN The HRV boys lacrosse team made a big statement in its home debut Wednesday evening, handily defeating the Hermiston Bulldogs by a score of 9-2. After a tight first quarter that saw multiple lead changes, the Eagles were up 4-2 going into halftime and then ran away with the game in the second half, scoring five unanswered goals. First-year head coach Matt Luchsinger said the team was led by attack Torssen Brown with three goals, attack Henry Barton with four assists, and long stick middie Alex Ellifritz, who led the team with ground balls. Luchsinger said the first quarter “started off pretty shaky,” but that the Eagles eventually found their foot- ing. “We were letting them control the tempo instead of playing our game,” he said. “The game changed near the end of the second quarter when Ellifritz won a huge ground ball which ended up in a transition goal. We still have a lot of work to do as we are a very young team, but I truly believe we are going to surprise people this year.” Above, middie Kiel Sorenson evades a group of Hermiston players while looking to make a pass. HRV had another home game Friday evening against Oregon City (results not available due to morning deadline), then face Valley Catholic away on Wednesday. The Eagles were 1-1 on the season after Wednesday’s game. Eagles softball looking to snap losing streak By MIKE WEBER For the News Competing in what’s considered as the state’s strongest Class 5A softball league and having such a tough schedule every year is a challenge that the Hood River Valley High Eagles have re- sponded quite well to recently. The Lady Eagles, who are the defending Columbia River Confer- ence co-champions with the Pendleton Bucka- roos, are focusing on continuing the remarkable success they’ve enjoyed the last several years again this season. The Eagles, guided by coach Eric Keller, have had a rough early season schedule, while being outscored 70-43. The 70 runs scored in eight games by HRV opponents is rather surprising, since the Eagles allowed a total of just 55 runs scored during the entire season a year ago. Following a 10-5 home loss Wednesday to the Gladstone Gladiators, the Eagles (2-6) have dropped four straight nonleague games. HRV was hoping to snap the losing streak in Friday’s nonleague matchup versus the Mountain View Cougars (results unavailable at News press time). HRV’s next contest is 4:30 p.m. April 6 ver- sus the Centennial Eagles in Gresham. “We’re still trying to figure out our lineup, while trying to make good plays and do the best we can,” said Keller. “We just need to learn how to execute plays a little better. We hit the ball well and we did a pretty solid job of executing of- fensively (10 hits) against Gladstone. Our pitch- ers (Hannah McNerney, Kaylin Winans) were hitting their spots and doing what they’re sup- posed to do. We just made too many errors (six) behind them, which makes it difficult to win.” The Eagles fell behind 4-0 in the top of the third inning, but came back and scored twice in the bottom of the frame. Senior Jenni Packer in- gnited a rally after drawing a walk and freshman Zoe Munn (2-for-4) followed with a single. Packer scored HRV’s initial run on a sacrifice fly RBI by JoJo Karr and Munn followed later by scoring on a wild pitch, trimming the margin to 4-2. The Gladiator offense (13 hits) was just too much for the Eagles as they scored in every in- ning except the first and took control of the game by building a 9-2 advantage in the sixth. HRV got a run in the bottom of the sixth making it 9-3. The Eagles came back with a rally in the seventh, highlighted by an RBI double by sopho- more Makena Zeller (3-for-4, two RBI) and got two runs for the final margin. McNerney, a fresh- man, threw for four innings in the pitching cir- cle and had two strikeouts. Winans, also a fresh- man, relieved McNerney in the fifth and pitched the last three innings and allowed four hits and struck out one. “We have three incredibly talented freshmen who are able to fulfill their roles and help our team do the best we can,” said Keller. “Our ex- pectations are to compete well in our league again this year and we’ll see how things turn out at the end of the regular season.” HRV (22-7 overall in 2014) finished tied atop the CRC last year with Pendleton with identical 10-2 records. The Eagles advanced to the 5A semifi- nals last year and lost 3-2 to the 2014 state cham- pion Buckaroos. HRV is looking to reach the OSAA state playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years. The Eagles open a 12-game CRC schedule April 18 at Pendleton. CSRT AT BUDDY WERNER CHAMPS The Cooper Spur Race Team traveled to Schweitzer Mountain in northern Idaho for the annual Buddy Werner Championships ski race that was held March 13-15. The ski race brings together the best 12- and 13-year-old ski racers in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. Local racers from Cooper Spur Race Team brought top 5 and top 10 finishes home. Josie Peterson was fifth in the girls slalom and ninth in the giant slalom. Josh Nardone was in sixth after the first run of the slalom and still finished ninth after a small fall halfway through the second run. Cassell Lefervre was ninth and Annika Howell 15th in the Super G. Over 25 teams competed in the race; CSRT finished fifth in the girls and seventh in the boys team competition. Shown in the picture are: Top Row: from left to right: Frances Melby, Annika Howell, Lilly Nelson, Kathy Kaichkeiv, Paris Nunn, Josie Peterson, Reed Bauer, Tori Hopkins, Shana Sweitzer (coach). Bottom Row: Chelsea Laswell (coach), Nick Lawerence, Cassell Lefevre, Tyler Howell (not on BWC team), Josh Nardone, Walker Hendricks. Hood River County will be holding a trail work party Satur- day, April 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in order to reroute the popular section of Trail 140 that is below and to the north of FMX. The sec- tion was originally built by volun- teers about 6-7 years ago, but it was constructed in a wet area and has been unsustainable, says the county’s trails program coordina- tor, Henry Buckalew. The work party will remove brush and de- bris along the flagged trail corri- dor and cut-in some of the tread. The section of 140 on the south end in the timber will be partially rerouted so that it will better sep- arate motorized traffic from FMX traffic. Meet along Riordan Hill Road (Forest Road 1000) where Trail 140 crosses the road. Volun- teers are advised to wear appro- priate gear, and bring food and water. Tools will be provided, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own. For more info, call Henry Buckalew: 541-387-7089. Full Sail Banked Slalom Sun. Mt. Hood Meadows presents the 9th annual Full Sail Banked Slalom, sponsored by Full Sail Brewing on Sunday, April 5th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Everyone will get two runs and the combined time will be used to determine the fin- ish order. The event is broken up into three divisions where each division is subdivided into groups for men and women. There is a cash prize purse to be split among the open and masters division winners (based on full fields) and gift cards for the junior divisions. Helmets are required for competi- tion. Both skiers and snowboard- ers can participate, filling a field of 120. Competitors will run in order of registration. Please con- tact 503.337.2222 Ext. 0 with any questions regarding registration. Another close one for HRV Submitted photo GRG GETS SOME SWEET REVENGE The Gorge Roller Girls All Stars put a hurt on the Rose City Rollers Fresh Meat during the team’s March 28 at The Dalles Armory, with GRG annihilating their opponent by a score of 299-182. The bout was a revenge match of sorts for the roller derby team, who narrowly lost to Rose City earlier this year by a score of 250-246. “The bout was amazing; all the Gorge Roller Girls really outplayed themselves,” said GRG marketing coordinator Kimberly Cannon, or as she’s known on the derby track, Kimbo Slice. “It was the best bout we have ever played together,” adding that “it was the most amazing revenge ever!”Kimbo Slice was picked by RCR as GRG’s MVP. Slice said GRG teammate Ginger Binger “had an outstanding bout being the lead scorer of the jammers.” Teammate Bad Abbott also had a good night, leading the team with a total plus/minus of +105.The next bout is a tournament in Boise, Idaho, April 25-26. The next and last home bout of the season is May 30 at The Dalles Armory, where GRG will face the Willamette Kidney Thieves. At left, Kimbo Slice (far left) works with teammate Booyah (far right) to impede the progress of a RCR jammer. Photo by Jeanette Li The HRV girls lacrosse team had another tight game during Tuesday night’s match against Grant High School, but unfortu- nately, the Eagles were once again on the wrong end of the stick, losing to the Generals, 6-5, in Hood River.“We led going into the half, but we struggled all night getting into solid scoring posi- tion,” McElderry said. “Grant’s defense was tough. They were good on their slides.” The McElderrys (Kat and Lydia) each led the team with two goals apiece on four shots. Ellen Hudon had a team-high with two draw controls, and Savanna Boersma and Victoria Kohner-Flanagan led the team in ground balls with three each. Riley Bauer and Daisy Dolan had the sole assists for HRV on the night, with each credited for one. McElderry commended the play of his team this season despite the struggles against Grant, noting that his squad has shown “massive growth” this year. “The team was scheduled to play Sunset away on Friday at 7 p.m.; results not available due to Friday morning deadline.
