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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2016)
SPORTS FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON Sports shorts Raiders willing to spend $500 million for Vegas move Bucks, Bulldogs put momentum to test LAS VEGAS (AP) — Raiders owner Mark Davis says he wants to move the team to Las Vegas and is willing to spend a half billion dollars as part of a deal for a new stadium in the city. Davis upped the ante in a bid to move the team to this gambling city, appearing Thursday alongside soccer great David Beckham and billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson. He told committee members he will put $500 million — with $200 million of that coming from the NFL — into funding the stadium in Las Vegas. The Raiders have a one-year lease in Oakland for next season, and Davis indicated the team would stay until a new stadium is built. Rivals meet for doubleheader today Broncos trade up to draft their QB ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos have selected Peyton Manning’s presumed successor in Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch with the 26th pick of FACES overall the fi rst round in the NFL draft. The Broncos swapped the fi nal pick of the fi rst round Tunsil along with a third-rounder (94th overall) with the Seattle Seahawks to move up fi ve spots. Lynch, a shade under 6-7 and 244 pounds, is perfect for Gary Kubiak’s play action but the question is how soon will he develop into the starter. Lynch joins a QB group that includes newcomer Mark Sanchez and 2015 seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian. The Broncos found themselves searching for a quarterback after Brock Osweiler bolted to the Houston Texans in free agency. “I’m probably the happiest guy in the draft right now, being reunited with Arik (Armstead), having that history with him back in Oregon ... I was praying to be reunited with Arik and Coach Kelly.“ — DeForest Buckner Former Oregon Duck and now a new San Francisco 49er speaking on his excitement to be back with Chip Kelly and former Oregon teammate Arik Armstead with media after being drafted by San Francis- co at No. 7 overall in Thursday’s NFL Draft. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1961 — ABC’s “Wide World of Sports,” debuts. 1986 — Roger Clemens set a major league record by striking out 20 batters as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-1. 1990 — Pat Riley becomes the winningest coach in NBA playoff history as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 104-100. Riley’s 100th victory put him ahead of Red Auerbach. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Pendleton and Hermiston baseball teams are enjoying a bit of momentum at the moment. For Pendleton, their positive vibes emanate from a two-game winning streak in the Columbia River Conference — their fi rst in league play. For Hermiston, a 9-1 win over defending state champion Hood River on Tuesday has added an extra bounce to their step this week. The Buckaroos and Bulldogs will test whose momentum is In this May 2, 2015 fi le photo, Hermiston junior RJ Robles come home with a pitch during an 8-2 win over the Pendleton Bucks at Armand Larive Mid- dle School. strongest when they meet today for a War on 84 rivalry doubleheader at Pendleton’s Bob White Field. “We went down on the road on Tuesday and kind of put our fi rst full game together,” said Hermiston coach Lance Hawkins, whose Bulldogs enter the game 3-3 and in second place in the CRC. “I was so proud of the kids, how they showed up. And we just hit the ball around, played great defense, and (Chase) Root threw the ball great. It was their time. “We’ve had a pretty good last couple days of practice trying to keep that momentum going in the right direction.” Pendleton (11-8, 2-4 CRC) has controlled the season series 6-2 the last two years, but Hermiston (10-8) See BASEBALL/2B Sam Barbee photo PENDLETON Hermiston looking to end trend In this May 2, 2015 fi le photo, Pendleton’s Alexis Mor- rison slides into second base in front of the tag front Hermiston’s Makayla Kopacz in the Bucks’ 9-2 win against the Bulldogs in the fi rst game of a double- header in Hermiston. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton has dominated the rivalry series in recent seasons By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Coming off back-to-back losing campaigns, the Hermiston softball team entered the season embracing an underdog role with fi rst-year head coach Kate Greenough. The Bulldogs have proven to be anything but in their fi rst two Columbia River Conference series, and will look to cement their status as a title contender when they take on defending CRC champs Pend- leton in a doubleheader today at Steve Cary Field. The teams enter the game tied for fi rst place as they near the midway point of league play, and the Bull- dogs (13-7, 4-2 CRC) are hoping for their fi rst wins in Pendleton since 2011. “They’re really excited to get going and get playing,” Greenough said of her players. “We talked to our seniors (Wednesday) that (Friday) will be the fi rst of their last set against Pendleton, that rivalry that they grew up with, and it’s the last time that they’ll play at Pendleton. So we talked about just leaving our mark. “We’ve kind of been the under- dogs through most of the season. People didn’t expect us to be able to compete the way that we have, so what a better place to do it than with our No. 1 rival?” The Bulldogs have won two of HERMISTON their last three, but no member of the team has beaten Pendleton (15-4, 4-2) in their high school career. The Bucks are 12-0 against the Bulldogs in the last three seasons, but know these Dawgs are a different animal. “Hermiston is playing very well, they’re playing with confi dence,” said Pendleton coach Tim Cary. “We know Hermiston is a very good team this year and we know that See SOFTBALL/2B Prep Roundup Ramirez makes painful decision Hermiston senior to play college hoops despite chronic aches Bucks, Dawgs golfers get state tourney preview East Oregonian By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Pain is something Hermiston senior Sara Ramirez knows well. Sharp and searing, it’s been the trade-off for participating in her favorite sport since her freshman season of what would be a record-setting Bulldogs basketball career. “It was just like somebody stabbing me in the back every single day,” she said. The pain got bad enough at times that Ramirez even consid- ered walking away from the hardwood for good. “Sometimes I was feeling really weak and I wouldn’t be able to, like, I would try going 100 percent and it was really hard just because of the pain it would bring,” she said. But for the girl who wears a silver basketball charm on a thin chain necklace every day, giving Staff photo by Matt Entrup Hermiston senior Sara Ramirez, middle, signs her letter of intent with Central Washington University while her parents look on Thursday at Hermiston High School. up wasn’t in the cards. Ramirez managed her back, and sometimes knee pain, the best she could during her senior season and on Thursday declared her intention to continue playing at the next level when she signed a letter of intent with Central Washington University in Ellens- burg, Washington. “I had a lot of thinking,” she said of her late commitment. “There was times when I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to go play basketball because I don’t know if I want to deal with my body anymore.’ And then there’s times when I’m like, ‘I need to go because I just feel like I need to.’” Playing college basketball had been Ramirez’s dream since grade school, and when the Wildcats entered the recruitment picture about three months ago she felt like there was fi nally a fi t See RAMIREZ/2B BANKS — Just like their boy counterparts did on Wednesday, the Pendleton Buckaroos girls golf team got a taste of the state tournament course as they participated in a preview tournament at Quail Valley Golf Course on Thursday. Pendleton fi nished the day ninth with a team score of 363 — more than 40 strokes behind the fi rst-place Summit Storm with a 319. The Buck- aroos, Storm and Hermiston Bulldogs were the only 5A schools in attendance, with several 6A schools participating as well. Pendleton’s top fi nisher was junior Haley Greb with a 72, which was good enough for a third place fi nish individually — just two strokes behind McKenna Pratt with a 98, Megan George with a 110, and Riley Harris with a 112. Hermiston fi nished in 13th place with their top score being Makenzie Lind with a 102. Other scores for See PREPS/2B
