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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 2016)
SPORTS WEEKEND, MARCH 19-20, 2016 Sports shorts Austin Dillon takes the pole at Fontana FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Austin Dillon has won the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Fontana, California, claiming the spot for WKH¿UVWWLPHWKLVVHDVRQDWD top speed of 188.482 mph. Dillon turned a lap in VHFRQGVÀDW)ULGD\LQ his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, edging Kevin Harvick by .031 seconds for his second career pole. Dillon was also fastest in practice, putting Childress’ grandson in prime position WRFKDVHKLV¿UVWFDUHHU victory Sunday. Harvick, the California native and 2011 champion, will start on the front row for WKH¿UVWWLPHDOOVHDVRQ Denny Hamlin set the track record on the way to third place, with Ryan Newman fourth and Carl (GZDUGVLQ¿IWK Colts to retire Manning’s No. 18, build statue 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Hermiston sweeps aside Liberty Bulldogs get strong performances from Kopacz, Naylor Softball Liberty Hermiston 2-4 9-6 By SAM BARBEE East Oregonian enthusiasm from Game 1 to Game The Hermiston Bulldogs used 2, and they didn’t stop. There was a seven-run second inning in the not one point where I thought they opener of a doubleheader to down would cool down. So I couldn’t be the Liberty Falcons 9-2, then got more proud of them, and it’s every a three-run go-ahead double from exciting for them to win two games Breyanna Naylor in the bottom of for them to know that they can.” The theme of Friday’s games was the third to give them a 6-4 win capitalizing on mistakes. Liberty LQ ¿YH LQQLQJV DQG D VZHHS RI WKH FRPPLWWHG ¿ YH HUURUV LQ +HUPLV Falcons on Friday at Rocky Heights ton’s 6-4 win, and booted four balls Elementary in Hermiston. “I couldn’t be more excited,” in the Bulldogs’ 9-2 victory. It was a reversal of fortune from Hermiston coach Kate Greenough See HERMISTON/2B said. “The girls carried over their Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hermiston Mikayla Kopacz is greeted at home plate after hitting a three-run homer in the Bulldogs 9-2 win against Liberty in the fi rst game of a doubleheader Friday in Hermiston. PENDLETON %XFNDURRV¿QLVKVWURQJ Bucks Madison Parker (5), of Pend- leton, makes it to third base before Kamiakin third baseman Dani Mastel- er can make the tag in Friday’s fi rst game at Steve Cary Field. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Colts owner Jim Irsay announced Friday that the team will retire Peyton Manning’s No. 18 and build a statue of the record-setting quarterback FACES outside Lucas Oil Stadium. Less than two weeks after announcing his retirement in Denver, Manning Manning returned to KLV¿UVW1)/KRPHRQH more time to thank his supporters. Irsay made the announcement as a slide show of Manning’s moments in Indy played on the podium in front of him and on two screens behind him. “When I got here, it was basketball, basketball, basketball and it was car racing, car racing, car racing. Football was probably in the third place and that’s no longer the case. It’s a football town,” Manning said. “It was fun to be a part of that transformation.” “I’ll be honest with you, in my wildest dreams I didn’t think they’d hit some of the shots they hit. We didn’t guard them good, but man, they made some shots.“ — Tom Izzo Michigan State basket- ball coach after the No. 2 seed Spartans lost 90-81 to No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee State in the fi rst round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Friday. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1950 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias shoots a record 298 and beats Clair Doran by eight strokes to capture the U.S. Women’s Open. 1995 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan returns from his 17-month retirement. Wearing No. 45, he shoots RI IURP WKH ¿HOG DQG scores 19 points in the Bulls’ 103-96 loss at Indiana. 2006 — Tennessee’s &DQGDFH 3DUNHU LV WKH ¿UVW woman to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game, jamming one-handed on a breakaway 6:12 into the second-seeded Lady Vols’ 102-54 victory against an Army team that was making its tournament debut. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com PENDLETON Staff photo by Kathy Aney split Pendleton carried by strong pitching efforts on Friday By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian RICHLAND, Wash. — The Pendleton Buckaroos hit WKHURDGIRUWKH¿UVWWLPHLQ the 2016 season, taking a one hour drive for a doubleheader with the Hanford Falcons. The Buckaroos ended up splitting the two games, ZLQQLQJ WKH ¿UVW JDPH before losing the second game 4-2. In game one, the Bucka- roos (1-2) showed Baseball improve- ments at the plate Pendleton that helped lead to their downfall in the season- opener. The team Hanford tallied nine runs and eight hits, including a trio of extra-base hits. “They looked a lot better out there, their swings were a lot more aggressive,” Bucka- roos coach T.J. Haguewood said. “The guys are getting settled into baseball mode now.” Devon Roe racked up three hits and two RBIs in the game, while Quinn Cockburn and Wyatt Morris each added two hits and two runs scored. On the mound, senior James Bradt got the starting nod and threw three solid innings allowing just one hit and one run with four See BUCKS/2B 9-2 4-4 Pendleton overcomes early mistakes, wins two By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian up three unearned in four runs to help Softball runs in the top of the cause. WKH ¿UVW LQQLQJ LQ Teammate Alexis Morrison, who hit The Pendleton softball team the opener, but they Kamiakin Pendleton her second home run IDFHGLWV¿UVWELWRIDGYHUVLW\RIWKH outscored the Braves in as many games, 2016 season and came through it in 15-0 over the next said it was a great style on Friday to knock off Kami- three frames before situation for the team DNLQLQ¿YHLQQLQJVLQWKH¿UVW allowing another run to see early in the half of a non-league doubleheader at LQWKHWRSRIWKH¿IWK “We struggled in the beginning, season. Steve Cary Field. They carried that “I think it’s good to have begin- momentum into the second game for it happens, but we came back together as a team and got it done,” nings like that so you deal with DQZLQDOVRLQ¿YHLQQLQJV The situation wasn’t looking said pitcher Kiersten Murphy, who adversity instead of always kind of good for the Bucks (3-0) after giving picked up her second win and drove See BUCKAROOS/2B 4-0 15-11 Men’s College Basketball No. 1 seed Oregon romps past Holy Cross Upsets motivate 'XFNVLQ¿UVWURXQG By TIM BOOTH Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. — Dillon Brooks and his Oregon teammates were glued to their televisions, watching and keeping up on the craziness happening elsewhere in the NCAA Tournament. As other higher seeds faltered, the Ducks wanted no part of joining that group and being remembered for the wrong reasons. “I was kind of scared to be honest,” Brooks said. “We have been making a lot of history (at) Oregon, but I didn’t want to make that kind of history.” Carrying the marquee for the under- achieving Pac-12, No. 1 seed Oregon showed Holy Cross no nerves playing as a top seed and rolled past No. 16 seed Holy Cross 91-52 on Friday night in a West 5HJLRQDO ¿UVWURXQG Oregon game. Chris Boucher led Oregon (29-6) with 20 points, while Brooks and Elgin Cook both added 11 points as the Ducks won their ninth straight and advanced to the round of 32 for the fourth straight season. With nearly all of the Pac-12 making a quick exit out of the NCAA Tourna- See OREGON/2B NCAA 52 91 Oregon guard Ca- sey Ben- son (2) is fouled by Holy Cross guard Robert Champion (22) as he shoots during the fi rst half of a fi rst-round men’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tourna- ment in Spokane, Wash., Fri- day, March 18, 2016. AP Photo/ Young Kwak