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www.hoodrivernews.com C HAMPS Hood River News, Wednesday, June 10, 2015 “I gave up a couple (hits), but I don’t care, Continued from Page A9 I don’t care at all,” he said, giving a dismissive wave. “It would’ve been nice to throw a no-hitter in the state champi- onship and in the first game of the playoffs, but we won it, so I don’t care.” The batters that were able to connect with his pitches were stymied by HRV’s defense, undoubtedly the strongest point of the Ea- gles’ game this postseason. Of particular note was a double play to end the second in- ning, when Walker dove to field a hard ground ball hit to second base, rolled, flipped it up to shortstop Skyler Hunter, who caught it barehanded to get the out at second and then fired it to Montana Kurahara, who got the out at first. Harjo was effusive in his praise of his players, calling Ward’s performance on the mound “one of the best I’ve seen,” and the aforementioned double play “stuff that you dream about in this kind of game.” He laud- ed Harvey’s offense (2 for 3, double, single) as well as Lariza’s (2 for 3, singles) and Van Hoose’s (1 for 2, single) ability to wear down Liberty’s starting pitcher, Renner Stecki. Harjo also gave kudos to Van Hoose’s perfor- mance in the outfield, who “made some great catches like a senior should.” Rounding out the nine hits for HRV were third baseman RYAN WARD Kellan Duffy (2 for 3, sin- gles) and centerfielder Dallas Buckley (1 for 4, single), the latter of whom reader Mike Allegre tells us became part of the first father-son duo to win baseball state championships at the school, as Dallas’ father, Jeff Buckley was part of the team that won HRV’s first title in 1980 (confirmed by HRV Athletic Director Keith Bassham). The win on Saturday was redemption for last year’s loss in the title game, which HRV dropped to Sandy, 8-3. Harjo said that players were “focused on today” and had pushed last year’s g ame out of their minds, al- though he noted that “having been here before helped us a ton” in being able to pre- pare for the game. Ward, who in the f all heads to Washington State University where he will play Division I ball, said he had plen- ty of time to think about last year’s exit in the finals and was determined to make sure this year’s outcome was different. “I’ve had about four days to think about this as my last game, so I was just trying to come out here and win it this year,” he said. ‘...It’s nice to bring one home for Hood River and share it with my teammates.’ A11 “I mean, it was a terrible feeling last year; we’ve been thinking about this for 365 days, so it’s nice to bring one home for Hood River and share it with my teammates.” The majority of HRV’s squad will be back in the fall, but will lose starters Ward, Walk- er, and Van Hoose to graduation, as well as reserves Austin Van Riper, Willie Ishizaka, and Rily Wilson, who could make a serious campaign for the game’s MVP, as he diligent- ly wore a shark costume in the 90-plus degree heat, and served as HRV’s mascot in the post- season. Harjo said the costume was a vestige of last year’s playoff run, brought out as a way to keep things light for a team that was younger, less experienced, and major under- dogs. As the team kept winning, though, it was viewed as more of a good-luck charm. But the Eagles aren’t underdogs anymore. They’re champions. So, will the shark make a return next year? “Absolutely,” Harjo said. “And we expect to be here again.” Photos by Ben Mitchell IN-GAME ACTION: Starting with the top row, at left, starting pitcher Ryan Ward, winds up for a pitch; next, right fielder Patrick Harvey prepares to bolt home to score HRV’s first run of the game; next, left fielder Riley Van Hoose gets a hit. Bottom row: Short stop Skyler Hunter completes the first out of a double play, while second baseman Kam Walker, who had just flipped the ball to Hunter, looks on; next, Walker lets out a yell as he gets the final out of the game; next reserve Rily Wilson says hello to the crowd inside HRV’s lucky shark costume. C UP Continued from Page A9 Things changed in the third quarter, though. “We pushed the ball ahead and we kind of got ahead of ourselves,” Luchsinger ex- plained. “Our guys started breaking down because of the heat.” Making matters worse were injuries. Defender Cullen Bryant had to sub out due to a shoulder injury in the end of the first quarter, and defender Kiefer Kreps, who had received a “pretty hard hit to the back of the head” at the end of the sec- ond, subbed out in the third due to dizziness and nausea, leaving HRV down defend- ers. Long stick middie Alex Ellifritz moved to close-in de- fense, Luchsinger said and middie Elliot Cramer was given “a pole” to become a long stick midfielder, which he played last year. LaSalle was able to come within one, but attack Jack- son Lebsack “got a goal that in my opinion totally switched the momentum,” Luchsinger said, who re- ceived a skip pass from be- hind the net from Levi Glass to score eight yards out to make it 10-8 with a few min- utes left in the fourth. Mid- fielder Bruce Ostler nailed a behind-the-back goal with two minutes left to seal the deal for HRV and although LaSalle answered with two goals, including one with just one second left, the vic- tory was HRVs. Leading the game in goals for HRV was Brown with five. Other scorers included Lebsack (2), Glass (1), Ostler (1), Ben Van Hoose (1), and Henry Barton (1). Cramer was huge on ground balls, winning eight, and Mikey Hall, who made 10 saves, in- cluding a one-on-one from point-blank range. Luchsinger was pleased with No. 3 HRV’s postseason run, defeating No. 14 Rex Putnam, No. 6 Grant, and No. 7 Canby on its way to the fi- nals. The team loses seniors Kreps, Buschaver, and goalie Dallen Olmstead (although Luchsinger said he left the team at the end of the regu- lar season), but should be in a great position next year. “We are an upcoming team that can do some serious damage,” he said. “I think next year we’re going to sur- prise a lot of people.” P U B L I C AT I O N O F HO O D R I V E R N E W S J U LY 2 0 1 5 ess in Bus i n A EWS IVER N H OOD R ISE OF THE E NTERPR ATION ALMON PUBLIC 14 W HITE S JULY 20 AND THE Barb Smith Page 2 Contributed photo A CLOSE-UP of the Cascade Cup awarded to HRV on Saturday. #ALL *EFF FOR HIS VERY PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS Starting at $ 249 (OME 0URCHASES s 2ElNANCES s %QUITY ,INES 981 Tucker Road • Hood River (541) 386-3915 BUSIN E SS A T HE Queen Size Mattress Sets MURRAY’S FURNITURE & SLEEP CENTER IN $ONT GET 4!+%. JEFF SACRE 3R -ORTGAGE 3PECIALIST NMLS-140302, MLO-140302 /FFICE (541) #ELL This is not a committment to lend. 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