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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2015)
S PORTS www.hoodrivernews.com Hood River News, Tuesday, June 24, 2015 A7 Carson Oilers looking to get first win of the season Team has close first game of doubleheader against Tualatin’s Horizon Christian, plays Gladstone Wednesday at home By MIKE WEBER For the News Two teams seeking their first summer league win met in an American Legion Sin- gle A baseball game Monday as the Carson Oil-sponsored Hood River Oilers hosted the Horizon Christian Hawks of Tualatin at Hood River Valley High School’s Traner Field. The Oilers certainly had every opportuni- ty to come up with their first win in Game 1 of a doubleheader. The exciting contest in- cluded five deadlocks and four lead changes. However, it was the Hawks who ended up on top at the end with an 11-10 victory. Horizon (2-4) continued its solid offense in an 11-3 Game 2 win for the sweep over the Oilers (0- 4). “We played pretty well in the first game and we battled hard and it was a good game,” said Terry Bryant, the Eagles junior varsity coach in his first year guiding the summer league squad, assisted by Mel Ahrens. “In the second game, everybody was just really tired because some of the guys had just re- turned home from a football camp. Trevor Lariza pitched the last four innings of Game 2 and he did a good job, but we just couldn’t overcome the deficit and just couldn‘t get anything going.” The Oilers were shorthanded since they had only 11 players available in Game 1 and just 10 in Game 2. Horizon, a 3A school, had an edge in experience with some seniors on their roster and they also had 13 players available to compete. A young Oilers squad consisted of one freshman (Ben Ahrens) and mostly Hood River Valley High sophomores and juniors that played on the junior varsity squad last season. “The first two games we played were not too good (9-2, 16-3 losses to Banks June 15), but we did really well in the first game and we had a chance to win, so it was the best game we’ve played this year,” he said. “We’re just diving into our season and hopefully we’ll have a few more kids back for our next game, such as our leadoff hitter Diego Perez, who can really help us compete a little better. It was difficult trying to play with without having any well-rested players on our bench to use as substitute for the guys who needed a break during the game.” Nevertheless, the Oilers had their chances in Game 1 and almost came up with a win. Horizon took the initial advantage by scor- ing three runs in the top of the first inning to go ahead 3-0. The Oilers got a run in the bot- tom half of the frame on an RBI single by Andy Schmidt. Morgan Williams, who drew a leadoff walk, scored on the play to make it 3-1 after one inning. Hood River starting pitcher Quienton Ve- lasquez had a solid performance on the mound and he had two strikeouts in the sec- ond frame to help slow the Hawks offense. The Oilers charged back in the bottom of the second, displaying a potent offensive attack as well to take the lead. “We’re all hoping that we can get our first win soon and then continue playing well throughout the summer league and just have Photo by Mike Weber THE CARSON OILERS are, from left to right, starting in the back row: Coach Mel Ahrens, Isaiah En- riquez, Chet Frasier, Dakota Kurahara, Quienton Velasquez, Andy Schmidt and Coach Terry Bryant. Front row: Morgan Williams, Jose Mendiola, Lucas Viuhkola, Diego Perez and Trevor Lariza. Photo by Mike Weber MORGAN WILLIAMS gets a hit during the fifth inning of Monday afternoon’s game against the Hori- zon Christian Hawks of Tualatin at Traner Field in Hood River. fun by winning some games,” said Ve- lasquez, who pitched the first three innings of the game. “The summer league is impor- tant because it helps us prepare for the regu- lar high school season. It’s pretty much like having a summer of practice, which can re- ally help us become an improved team.” Chet Frasier ignited an Oilers rally with his RBI single, driving home Lariza, who ear- lier drew a leadoff walk. Three batters later, Isaiah Enriquez (2-for-4, 3 RBI) hammered a ball deep to left field for a 2 RBI double, scor- ing Frasier and Lucas Viuhkola, who earlier reached base via a walk. Velasquez (3-for-5, 2 RBI Game 1) followed with an RBI double to score Enriquez and Schmidt’s RBI single drove home Velasquez to give the Oilers a 6-3 advantage. The Oilers batted around their lineup while having a total of 11 batters at the plate. Horizon came back to knot it 6-6 in the top of the third and then regained the lead at 8-6 in the fourth. Hood River answered with a run in the bottom half, trimming the margin to 8-7 after four innings. The Oilers came back in the fifth, high- lighted by an RBI single by Velasquez, and knotted it 8-8. The seesaw battled continued in the sixth, as Horizon went up 9-8. The Oil- ers were hopeful of getting their first win though and they came back strong in the sixth inning. The Oilers capitalized on Hori- zon mistakes (two walks, fielding error, hit batter) to regain the lead. After Hood River loaded the bases, Williams drew a bases loaded walk and Dylan Peterson scored to knot it 9-9. En- riquez was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded again and Lariza scored to give the Oilers their final lead of the game at 10-9. In the top of the seventh, the Oilers had an excellent opportunity to pull out the win, but they were simply unable to overcome a cost- ly error that helped the Hawks score. Ve- lasquez, who was playing at first base after he was relieved on the mound by Willliams, had an impressive unassisted double play. He caught a line drive for a putout and then beat a baserunner to the bag, who was unable to tagup on the play. If the Oilers didn’t allow Horizon’s leadoff batter to reach base on the error, the game would’ve been over at that point and Hood River would’ve notched its first win. Unfortunately for the Oilers, it didn’t turn out that way. Horizon scored twice in the top of the inning, including a game winning RBI triple by senior Weston Groth to give the Hawks an 11-10 lead. The Oilers had the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh when Schmidt reached base after getting hit by a pitch, but they were unable to come up with a clutch hit to bring him home at the end of the contest. In Game 2, Horizon led from start-to-finish as the Hawks just took advantage of the shorthanded Oilers squad and took control of the game by scoring six runs in the third inning to build a 7-2 advantage. The Oilers will try to get their first of the season when they host Gladstone Wednesday at 6 p.m.; players who are expected to be with the team Wednesday include seniors Dallas Buckley and Montana Kurahara, who were both members of the Hood River Valley High Eagles state championship team. The Oilers will hit the road for the first time this year when they play a doubleheader at Milwaukie High at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The 14-game sea- son continues through July 14 and the state playoffs will be held July 23-26. SPORTS BRIEFS Free fishing event for kids TRIPLE THREAT Photos by Ben Mitchell Horizon Christian School’s annual Triple Threat concluded last week, with about 70 campers in grades 4-9 attending to improve their basketball fundamen- tals (triple threat stands for pass, dribble, shoot). In the above left photo, Connor Wells (left), dribbles while his brother, Luke, guards him during one of the camp’s drills Friday morning. At right, Al Egg, longtime chaplain for the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team, speaks with campers at the end of Friday’s morn- ing session and has served as the keynote speaker for the camp before. Here, he asks kids who their favorite Trail Blazer player is. The top answer? LaMar- cus Aldridge (maybe this will convince him to stay in Portland?). ENDURO The annual Hood River Enduro mountain bike race was held in the Post Canyon area last weekend, the second of four races in the 2015 Santa Cruz Oregon Enduro series. According to the event’s website, Enduro is a form of mountain bike racing in which there is a greater proportion of downhill sections as opposed to uphill climbing sections. The race attracts bikers from far and wide, but plenty of locals entered the event, including Niash Ulmer, pictured at right, who placed 14th overall in the men’s pro category. Local mountain bike racing team Dirty Harlots also had a good showing on the course, with members of the team placing in the top five in numerous categories. For full results, head to oregonen- duro.com/series-events/hood-river/. Photo by Trent Hightower, trenthightowerphotography.com Young fish enthusiasts are invited to come fish at the 25th Annual Junior Fishing Clinic on Saturday, June 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Trillium Lake in the Mt. Hood Nation- al Forest. The clinic is free and is intended for kids 13 and under, but young adults and par- ents will also find it fun and interesting. There will be prizes for biggest fish caught and first fish caught, as well as raffle prizes throughout the day. Educational booths will be set-up for children to learn about the salmon life cycle, watersheds and aquatic ecosystems. Children should bring lunch, warm clothing, a rod and reel if possible, and a cooler to bring home their catch of the day. Limited quantities of rods and reels along with bait will be provided. The Trillium Lake Junior Fishing Clinic is made possible by the sponsorship of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, local area merchants and the Mt. Hood National Forest. Trillium Lake is lo- cated off Highway 26, approximately three miles east of Government Camp. Trillium Lake is a fee area, but participants will be provided a free parking pass for the event. For more information, call the Zigzag Ranger District office at 503-622-2006. White Salmon Backyard Half Results The 8th Annual White Salmon Backyard Half drew hundreds of people to White Salmon last Saturday to compete in the gru- eling half marathon that takes runners up through the hills of the Bingen/White Salmon area, gaining about 2,000 feet of el- evation within the first seven miles of the 13.1-mile race. The event, while free, sub- sists on donations, which go to the Colum- bia High School cross country team in White Salmon. According to the results list, 240 people finished the half-marathon. The top finisher from the Hood River was 28-year-old Dustin Welch, who completed the race in 1 hour, 53 minutes, 54 seconds, exactly 20 minutes behind the winning time. Other top- 10 finishers from the Hood River area are as follows: Gary Daupenspeck (15th, 1:56:51), Nils Engbersen (18th, 1:58:47), Tyler Gray (20th, 2:00:31), Gary Johnson (25th, 2:02:49), Becky Brun (29th, 2nd overall fe- male finisher, 2:05:17), Caluml Robertson (31st, 2:07:06), Jax Mariash Koudele (45th, 6th overall female finisher, 2:13:22), Derek Cerretani, (56th, 2:18:51), and Clark Bryant (89th, 2:32:53). For complete results, head to www.columbiagorgerunningclub.com and click on “WS Backyard ½” link on the side of the page.
