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SPORTS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016 HERMISTON Sports shorts NCAA title game produces record- low TV ratings HOUSTON (AP) — The NCAA championship posted a record-low TV rating. Villanova’s last-second win over North Carolina on Monday night averaged a 10.6 rating across TBS, 717DQGWUX79LQWKH¿UVW title game to air on cable. The 17.8 million viewers were down 37 percent from the 28.3 million for last season’s Duke-Wisconsin matchup on CBS. The previous low was a 10.8 rating for North Carolina-Michigan State in 2009. Under CBS and Turner’s 14-year, $10.8 billion contract to jointly televise the tournament, the title game alternates between CBS and TBS starting this season. TBS is currently in about 18 percent fewer households than CBS. Pilots hire former Blazer as new men’s coach PORTLAND (AP) — Former NBA player and coach Terry Porter has been formally introduced as the new coach at the University of Portland. Porter replaces Eric Reveno, who FACES was dismissed last month after 10 years with the Pilots. “He is a SHUIHFW ¿W IRU this community Porter and the Univer- sity of Portland campus community,” athletic director Scott Leykam said. Porter played for the Blazers from 1985-95, anchoring a team that went to the Western Conference ¿QDOVWKUHHWLPHVIURP to 1992 and to the NBA Finals twice. Porter was the 24th overall pick by the Blazers in the 1985 draft out of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He remains Portland’s career leader in assists (5,319) and is its second-leading scorer (11,330). He made a fran- chise-leading 773 3-pointers on 2,006 attempts. “I watched it quite a few times and every time it’s just like, wow, I can’t believe I was that open. Then I can’t believe I made the shot. It’s crazy.“ — Kris Jenkins Villanova Wildcats junior guard speak- ing about his national title-winning jump shot to more than 2,000 fans at a pep rally at the schools’ football stadium on Tuesday afternoon. Villanova University cancelled classes for Tuesday in celebration of the championship and a parade through the streets of Philadelphia will take place on Friday. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1896²7KH¿UVWPRGHUQ Olympics begin in Athens, Greece. James B. Connelly ZLQV WKH ¿UVW HYHQW ² WKH hop, step and jump. 1973 — Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees EHFRPHV WKH ¿UVW PDMRU league designated hitter, in an opening-day game against Boston. 1992 — Duke becomes WKH ¿UVW WHDP LQ \HDUV to repeat as NCAA cham- pion with a 71-51 victory over Michigan’s Fab Five freshmen. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Tigers frustrate Bulldogs Varsity lacrosse coach dies Trampis Palmer was dedicated to youth sports in Hermiston By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hermiston pitcher Lukas Tolan fi elds a ground ball as La Grande’s Ryan Adams runs to fi rst base in the Bulldogs’ 4-1 loss to La Grande on Tuesday in Hermiston. Hermiston lacking intensity in loss to La Grande By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Baseball HERMISTON — Frustration levels reached a season-high for the Hermiston baseball coaching staff after watching the Bulldogs drop a non-league game 4-1 to La Grande on Tuesday. Hermiston (5-5) managed just four hits and gave up three unearned runs to waste a solid start by Lukas Tolan and contribute to its fourth ORVVLQLWVODVW¿YHJDPHV “That’s too much pressure on the La Grande Hermiston 4 1 defense and too much pressure on the guy on the bump,” said Herm- iston coach Lance Hawkins of the low offensive output. “We practice really hard and these guys put a lot of time in the (batting) cage, and to see the approaches and the at-bats that we’ve been seeing lately, it’s frustrating.” It wasn’t that Hawkins thought his team had been outplayed, it’s that they had allowed it to happen with a lackadaisical attitude in the dugout. “I don’t think we’re showing up and competing like we should,” he said. “They’ve got to buy in, or we’ve got to get some guys that want to play. We have a great bunch of kids, I’ve said it a thousand times, but it’s very frustrating when you See BULLDOGS/2B MLB Mariners thump Rangers for ¿UVWZLQRIVHDVRQ Six-run eighth inning seals win for Seattle By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nelson Cruz hit one of four Seattle homers, fellow former Texas player Leonys Martin had a tiebreaking double and the Mariners bounced back from an opening day loss to beat the Rangers 10-2 Tuesday night. Scott Servais, who spent six Seattle years in player development with Texas, got KLV ¿UVW ZLQ as a manager Texas while having a shouting match with reigning AL Manager of the Year Jeff Banister. The pair exchanged words after former Seattle reliever Tim Wilhelmsen hit Chris Iannetta with a pitch. Wilhelmsen, who was ejected, had just given up the 10 2 AP Photo/Jim Cowsert Seattle Mariners’ Nelson Cruz is congratulated by Franklin Gutier- rez, right, on his solo home run against the Texas Rangers in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game in Arlington, Texas. second of two homers along with two doubles without getting an out in a six-run Seattle eighth. Nick Vincent (1-0) pitched a scoreless sixth inning. Texas reliever Tony Barnette (0-1) lost in his major league debut at age 32 after six seasons in Japan. Robinson Cano homered for the VHFRQGVWUDLJKWJDPHDQGRQWKH¿UVW pitch as a Ranger from Wilhelmsen, ZKR VSHQW KLV ¿UVW ¿YH ELJ OHDJXH seasons with the Mariners. Cruz, who reached base four times and scored three runs, and Kyle Seager doubled. After Seth 6PLWKKRPHUHG²DJDLQRQWKH¿UVW pitch — Wilhelmsen’s next pitch hit Iannetta on the left thigh. See MARINERS/2B Women’s College Basketball Huskies win 4th-straight championship Connecticut clinches 11th title in program history By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Breanna Stewart and UConn stand alone. Geno Auriemma, too, after DQRWKHU ÀDZOHVV VHDVRQ E\ the dominating Huskies. Syracuse UConn won an unprec- edented fourth straight national championship Tuesday night, capping AP Photo/Michael Conroy another perfect season by Connecticut’s Morgan Tuck (3), Kia Nurse (11) and Brean- Connecticut routing Syracuse 82-51. na Stewart (30) celebrate after Connecticut’s 82-51 victory Until now, only the UCLA over Syracuse in the championship game on Tuesday, April 51 82 See HUSKIES/2B 5, 2016, in Indianapolis. The Hermiston community was left stunned on Sunday when the news broke about the passing of Bulldogs lacrosse coach Trampis Palmer. Palmer, who died at the age RI ZDV LQ KLV ¿UVW VHDVRQ as head coach of the Bulldogs varsity lacrosse team and had been involved with youth sports in the city and surrounding areas since the early 1990s. “It’s tragic,” said Jay Zwiefelhofer, a friend and former colleague of Palmer’s at the Hermiston youth lacrosse program. “He was such a kind- hearted person, and everyone that came into contact with him considered him as a friend.” In 1993 at the ripe Palmer age of 20, Palmer started coaching the Grid Kids Football program in Hermiston and after only a few years of coaching he stepped up to be President of the program. Under his watch, Grid Kids increased from roughly 60 kids split up into four teams to more than 200 kids split up into 10 teams by the time he stepped down from the position in 2013. Aside from football, Palmer was also heavily involved with the Hermiston Youth Wrestling program and City League basketball programs, as well as coaching his daughter Megan’s AAU team for three years. For most of the past 20 years, any free time that Palmer has had has been spent being involved in one or multiple youth sports programs in the area. “He just loved to be around young people,” Zwiefelhofer said. “He was a wonderful coach with a cooperative style that meshed well with his student athletes.” But with everything he had done, he found his true passion in 2011 when Palmer began to realize his passion for the sport RIODFURVVH+LVVRQ-DNHD¿IWK grader at the time, had decided to give the sport a try, and after only one year of watching the sport Palmer wanted to be involved. Zwiefelhofer was running the youth lacrosse program in 2011, and in 2012 he stepped down from his posi- tion to make way for Palmer to take over. “It was time for me to move on and I knew it was in good hands with Trampis,” he said. “He built up the participation level of the program ... he was just the kind of person that left everything he touched better than when he started.” And when he got involved with lacrosse, he developed a dream to become the Bulldogs’ varsity coach, a dream that was realized this past season. “It was his dream to coach there and he was so enthused with the way the program was going,” Zwiefelhofer said. The Bulldogs lacrosse team was 2-3 on the season, with its most recent game on Mar. 31 with a 15-4 loss to Richland (WA). Hermiston’s next home game will be on Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Lincoln where the team will honor their former coach. Also, a graveside service will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Hermiston Cemetery with a Celebration of Life to take place at 2 p.m. in the Hermiston High School Commons.
