WEEKEND, MAY 16-17, 2015
Sports shorts
WNBA hands out
record suspensions
NEW YORK (AP) —
WNBA stars Brittney Griner
and Glory Johnson
were suspended
seven games each
Friday for their
domestic violence
arrest last month
— the league’s
longest ban in its
19-year history.
WNBA President Laurel
Richie said the league
“takes all acts of violence
extremely seriously” in
handing down a suspension
that represents more than
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regular season. Richie
called the players’ actions
“unacceptable.”
“Brittney and Glory’s
conduct is detrimental to the
best interests of the WNBA
and violates applicable law,”
Richie said in a statement.
“We also understand that
people make mistakes, and
that education and training
are as important as imposing
discipline.”
SPORTS
1B
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WAR ON 84
The
Bucks’
Brady
Smith
pitches
during
the fi rst
inning of
Friday’s
game
against
Herm-
iston
at Bob
White
Field.
Smith shuts down Dawgs
Senior brings best
on senior night
season, throwing a three-hit
shutout as the Buckaroos
defeated the Bulldogs 7-0.
“That was by far his best
Hermiston
Pendleton
(game),” Pendleton coach
By ERIK SKOPIL
Greg Whitten said. “That’s
East Oregonian
what I was expecting him to
do all year.”
PENDLETON — Brady Bob White Field Friday.
Prone for bouts of inac-
Smith was in a familiar jersey
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for Friday’s senior night, it just It’s kind of a cool thing to do,” curacy, the righthander had
ample command of his fastball
wasn’t his own.
Smith said.
The senior right-handed
What he did on the mound and curveball Friday, throwing
pitcher traded his No. 12 for Friday night against rival each for strikes, while walking
his father and Pendleton assis- Hermiston was equally cool. only two. While not overpow-
tant Bobby Smith’s old No. 9 Smith tossed a gem versus ering — he struck out just one
MHUVH\ IRU KLV ¿QDO &ROXPELD rival Hermiston. He went the batter — he kept the ball in
See BASEBALL/2B
River Conference outing at GXUDWLRQ IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH DOO
BASEBALL
7
0
Staff photo by
Kathy Aney
WAR ON 84
Prep Roundup
Tigers
top
district
Busch speedy in
return to racing
CONCORD, N.C.
(AP) — Walking gingerly,
his mood upbeat, Kyle
Busch climbed back into his
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almost three
FACES months.
He quickly
settled into the
No. 18 Toyota,
got used to
his new seat,
and ripped
the fastest lap
Busch
in Friday’s
practice session for the
All-Star race.
Make no mistake, Rowdy
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“I didn’t sleep all that
great last night and I was
wondering why — I wasn’t
sure if my body was just
thinking I would miss an
alarm,” Busch said Friday.
Busch broke his right
leg and left foot when he
crashed into a concrete wall
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Series race at Daytona. He
missed the Daytona 500 the
day after the accident and 10
other races, but had his eye
on returning for Saturday
night’s $1 million All-Star
race during his recovery.
“That horse didn’t
really get his A
game together
in the Kentucky
Derby, and he
still won. That’s a
scary thought.“
— D. Wayne Lukas
Horse racing hall of
fame trainer on Kentucky
Derby winner American
Pharaoh, who is also fa-
vored to win Saturday’s
Preakness Stakes, the
second jewel in horse
racing’s triple crown.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
May 16, 1916 —
Damrosch, ridden by Linus
McAtee, takes the early lead,
gives it up in the stretch, and
comes back to beat Green-
wood by 1 lengths in the
Preakness Stakes.
May 17, 1979 — Dave
Kingman of the Cubs hits
three home runs and Mike
Schmidt of the Phillies hits
two, as Philadelphia beats
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at Wrigley Field. The game
includes 11 home runs, 50
hits and 109 at-bats.
1988 — John Stockton of
Utah ties Magic Johnson’s
NBA playoff assist record with
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Los Angeles Lakers in Game
5 of the Western Conference
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Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com
Stanfield girls
win first track
title in decades
EO Media Group
said. “That was that type of game
today, where it was close enough
that it could have gone either way,
so I’m glad we had this game. This
is very good for us, this is a learning
situation and I don’t know if could
have planned it any better heading
into the playoffs to have a good
tight game like this.”
The Bucks got a great reminder
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scoreboard when Hermiston took
a 1-0 lead in the top of the second
inning.
Jamie Hinkley hit a two-out
single that escaped the glove of a
diving Alexis Morrison in left to
bring in Taylor Betz from third, but
wouldn’t have even gotten to the
plate in the inning had it not been
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STANFIELD — The
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girls district title in several
decades Friday, nearly
doubling up the competition
despite not owning a single
individual champion at the
Columbia Basin District
meet.
The Tiger long relay team
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win, once exhibiting the
depth of athletes.
Kelly Wilson was the
top performer on the girls
side. The Heppner senior
won three events, the shot
put, long jump and triple
jump. Madison Carlin was
the only other individual
to double up wins, taking
victories in the 100 meters
in the pole vault.
Irrigon took the boys
crown behind strong sprints,
jumps and throws. Carlos
Zacarias swept the short
sprints, Xavier Rambo took
wins in the long and triple
jumps and Adrian Romero
and Oscar Romero won
discus and shot put crowns.
The Knights also won both
relays.
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Braithwaite was another
regular podium participant.
The Tiger senior took titles
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high hurdles.
The top two athletes from
each event qualify for next
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meet at Heyward Field in
Eugene.
See SOFTBALL/2B
See PREPS/2B
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton’s Ellie Richards slides head fi rst into third base as Hermiston’s Ellery Jones attempts the
tag on Friday in the Bucks’ 3-1 win against Bulldogs in Pendleton.
Bucks complete sweep
Hermiston pushes
Pendleton in close
league finale
SOFTBALL
Pendleton
3
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — After rolling
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league play, the Pendleton Buck-
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in nail biter on Friday when rival
Hermiston came to town.
Pendleton’s
high-scoring
offense was held to its lowest total
in Columbia River Conference
play, but the Bucks got another
solid outing from pitcher Kiersten
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After winning their other league
games by an average of seven runs,
Pendleton head coach Tim Cary
said it was good to see his team
close out a close one.
“It’s obviously been fun scoring
a lot of runs, but I am glad that we
played a very close game today
because when we get into the play-
offs we have to be able to handle
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton’s Kiersten Murphy
throws from the pitching circle in
the Bucks’ 3-1 win against Herm-
iston on Friday in Pendleton.
some pressure — where we know
we can’t make mistakes, Kiersten
knows she can’t afford to make
mistakes and the defense also has
a little added pressure on them,” he
Hermiston
1
CRC Track
Lots of locals headed to state
on our team had an awesome
performance today.”
Fellow
distance
runner
THE DALLES — Hood
River Valley won boys and Delaney Clem added a win in the
girls team titles at the Columbia WRKHUFKDPSLRQVKLS
5LYHU&RQIHUHQFHWUDFNDQG¿HOG from Wednesday, and teammate
championships on Friday in The Hannah Boozer won both the 100
DQGPHWHUKXUGOHVDVZHOODV
Dalles.
Hermiston’s boys were second, running legs for the relay teams,
and Pendleton’s girls also took ZKLFKERWKTXDOL¿HGDVZHOO
Keagan Utter was another
second, placings that came along
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Pendleton girls. She won the
for the local programs.
None were happier than Pend- discus with a throw of 117 feet,
leton’s Taryn Sokolski after she QLQH LQFKHV DQG ¿QLVKHG VHFRQG
JUDEEHG RQ KHU WHDP¶V VWDWH in the shot put.
Hattie Thomson and Kristin
berths by placing second in the
Williams (javelin), Kiara Glover
800-meter run.
“She has never been to state (high jump), Hailey Kendrick
and she was so overjoyed that (pole vault) and Jackie Talbot
she as crying tears of joy today (triple jump) also punched state
because she was just so over- tickets for the Bucks.
Hermiston’s girls placed fourth
whelmed with happy emotion,”
Pendleton head coach told Mike as a team, but still made state in
Weber after the meet. “Everyone ¿YHHYHQWV
East Oregonian
Audrey Lincoln earned three
of their berths and placed second
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dashes. Joining her at state will
be shot put champion Jazmin
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runner-up Valerie Beas.
Lincoln won’t be the only
Bulldog competing in multiple
events next weekend at Hayward
Field in Eugene.
Sprinter Chris Behrendt could
be entered in up to four events
after he ran for both of Hermis-
ton’s champion relay teams, then
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the 200.
The Bulldogs’ throwers and
jumpers also fared well, and Trey
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by winning in javelin (155-2)
and placing second shot put
Photo by Mike Weber for the East Oregonian
and discus. Nathan Hunsaker Pendleton’s Andrew Thomas took second
See TRACK:/2B
place in the boys triple jump at the CRC
district track meet Friday in The Dalles.