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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2016)
Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Pend- leton’s Wyatt Morris throws from the mound in the Bucks’ 3-0 win against The Dalles on Tues- day in Pendle- ton. Wednesday, May 11, 2016 BASEBALL: Win against Hermiston on Friday clinches spot in 5A play-in pool Continued from 1B expect that from him, and he came through.” Russell then laced a hard grounder down the third-base line to give Pend- leton the lead, and Daniel Naughton followed with a line-drive single to center ield. Jerome stepped into the batter’s box next, and continued a recent hot streak with a bases-clearing triple off the wall in right-center. Jerome was 1 for 2 Tuesday and is batting .666 (4 for 6) in May. “The coaching staff’s really been working with me a lot. Different stance, a lot of things,” Jerome said. “I didn’t try to pressure myself because I did that in Herm- iston and it didn’t work out Staff photo by E.J. Harris for me too much (0 for 1). I just tried to stay relaxed and hit the ball.” “Shaw’s one of those dynamic players … if he puts the bat on the ball somewhere he’s going to put a lot of pressure on the defense,” Haguewood said. “He’s staying within himself and making contact and letting the game come to him, and he’s playing good solid baseball right now.” Pendleton would get just one more hit the rest of the way off Ortega, but continued to make contact and didn’t strike out once. As it turned out, three runs was plenty cushion for Morris, who allowed just three hits and was able to rely on his defense to strand all nine Riverhawks to reach base in the game. “I was feeling pretty conident in the defense. They always come up and make the plays for me,” said Morris, who had one strikeout and four walks. “Can’t win a baseball game without defense, it’s not just the pitcher.” The Dalles had bases loaded with two outs in the fourth and sixth innings but hit groundouts to end each threat. Pendleton also turned double plays to end the third and seventh innings. “Wyatt didn’t have his best stuff today but he’s one of those guys who’s always going to get out there and battle for you,” Haguewood said. “When Wyatt’s on the hill he pitches to contact and keeps our defense active. We make plays behind him and usually good things happen.” Pendleton will try to get a winning streak going as it looks to extend its season. The Bucks inish CRC play at Hermiston on Friday at 4:30 p.m. A win guarantees them a state play-in game, which they would also auto- matically get if The Dalles loses to Hood River. Hermiston has beaten Pendleton three times this season but each game was decided by two runs or less. ——— R H E TDHS 000 000 0 — 0 3 0 PHS 030 000 X — 3 5 2 B. Ortega and K. Mathisen. W. Morris and Q. Cockburn. W — Morris. L — Ortega. 2B — J. Miller (TDHS); D. Roe (PHS). 3B — S. Jerome (PHS). ——— Contact Matt Entrup at mentrup@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0838. Follow him on Twitter @ mattentrup. SOFTBALL: Game inishes under protest as Riverhawks upset with umpires Continued from 1B The senior shifted the momentum into Pendleton’s (20-4, 9-2 CRC) favor from the get-go in the bottom of the irst inning, leading off the inning with a single up the middle and then stealing second base just two pitches later. She then came around to score on a rocket single up the middle from Ellie Richards to give the Bucks the 1-0 lead just two batters into the lineup. Pendleton coach Tim Cary said that having that weapon to start off the order is something he enjoys having in the arsenal. “It’s great having her at the top,” Cary said. “We were very fortunate having Darian Lindsey there for four- straight years, and as we lost her to graduation we looked to our next-best player to ill that role and Alexis was it. We want her there because she can manufacture runs in so many ways.” The win marks the seventh in a row for Pendleton, as the team has put together some of its most complete games of the season down the stretch. Morrison believes it all starts with the pitcher. “I think having Lauren (Richards) in the circle really helps us,” she said. “Having a really good pitcher really helps the team set the tempo and then work together better. It’s easier to play defense and then go hit the ball and score and not have to worry about a close game.” Richards ired another gem on Tuesday, giving up only two hits through ive innings to go with six strikeouts and three walks. Richards has come on strong when the team has needed her most, and appears to have found her groove at an important part of the season. “Lauren’s hitting her stride right now, hitting her spots and feeling good about what she’s doing,” Cary said. “You can’t win playoff games without great pitching and right now we’re getting that, and we’d like to keep it going.” Richards lone jam of the game came in the ifth where she loaded the bases with Riverhawks (16-9, 5-6) with two outs behind two walks and a hit, but escaped unscathed by inducing a jam-shot pop ly for the third out. Richards was able to settle into her groove early, as the Buckaroos ended the irst inning with three runs in their favor, following an RBI groundout from Richards BLAZERS: Stotts says team remains conident Continued from 1B tip-off of Game 5 of that series. It’s a regular-season honor, but what he did in Game 4 on Monday night in Portland won’t be soon forgotten. Curry scored an NBA-record 17 points in overtime, inished with 40 in his irst game back after missing two weeks with a sprained knee ligament, and helped the Warriors put the Blazers on the brink of elimination with a 132-125 win. Put most simply, the MVP took over. “When Steph would have a game like this last year, (former Warriors assistant) Alvin Gentry would say I’ve got two plays for you. ‘Steph, get the ball’ and ‘Get the ball, Steph,”’ Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Those were Alvin’s two play calls so in Alvin’s honor that’s what we ran in overtime.” There’s no shortage of people likely thinking that Portland is in trouble. The Blazers were written off in July after massive roster upheaval, probably left for dead in December after an 11-20 start, and certainly not expected to go anywhere when they dropped the irst two games of the irst round to the Los Angeles Clippers. But now, down 3-1 and heading into Oakland on the night when Curry gets a trophy, this is a very tall mountain to climb. “The people that were writing us off are the ones talking about it,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said Tuesday. “We’ve always been pretty conident from the beginning of the season AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer Portland Trail Blazers center Mason Plumlee shoots during Game 4 of a second-round play- off series on Monday in Portland. that we were going to be a competitive team. “I don’t necessarily think it’s served as a chip or anything,” Stotts said. “A lot of things came together at one time.” It all better come together for Portland now, or else. The Blazers ran out to a 16-2 lead in Game 4 — and then Curry came into the game. Portland led by three with a minute left in regulation, but couldn’t inish it off and now need to win three straight to pull an enormous upset. “Of course I think they’re done,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said after Game 4. Predictably, that didn’t seem to go over that well on the Blazers’ side. “Draymond does a lot of talking. That’s what he does,” Stotts said. “We’ll worry about our business and go about our business. Really, whatever he says doesn’t have much of an impact on us.” Staff photo by Kathy Aney Pendleton’s Kalan McGlothan gets tangled up with shortstop Sierra Watson, of The Dalles, on Tuesday at Steve Cary Field. Since Watson tagged her with an empty glove, McGlothan made it safely to third. and a irst-pitch RBI double from Kiersten Murphy that had the Buckaroos in busi- ness. They added three more runs in the second inning as Morrison, Ellie Richards and Kalan McGlothan all came around to score for the 6-0 lead through two frames. Early leads have been a team goal in every game this season for Pendleton, and it was no different on Tuesday. “I think there’s a big advantage to scoring irst, especially when you get a three-run margin because that can potentially change the strategy of the other team,” Cary added. “Maybe it stops them from stealing, maybe it stops them from bunting, so it’s important to get up early and play good defense.” Pendleton added on to their lead in the fourth inning with the help of an RBI groundout from Gentner to score Ellie Richards and an RBI single from Richards to score McGlothan to bump the lead to 9-0. They added the 10th and inal run when Morrison blasted one into the right centerield gap, scoring Maddi Parker from irst base to end the game. During their win streak, Pendleton has won their games by an average margin of almost eight runs which has Cary pleased as the Buckaroos look ahead to the postseason. “We always try to pick it up a notch when we hit the stretch so we hit the peak as we’re rolling into the play- offs and I think we’re doing that at the right time which is nice to see,” Cary said. UNDER PROTEST The game was played under protest by The Dalles coaches, as they oficially iled the protest in the third inning following a few calls by the umpire crew that the Riverhawks were not happy with. “There were some judge- ment calls by the umpires that probably could have gone either way and fortu- nately for us they went in our favor,” Cary said. “I don’t know the entire procedure on (the protest), but it’ll be turned into some committee I think and we’ll ind out later.” UP NEXT Pendleton will inish its league slate on Friday with a road trip to Hermiston (14-11, 5-6) to face a Bull- dogs team that will be ready to give it their all. “Hermiston’s a scrappy team and I’m telling you they just never say die,” Cary said. “It’s an excellent opponent for us to inish with because they can put us in so many tough situations defensively because they constantly have baserunners on through a lot of bunting and slapping.” First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m. at Rocky Heights Elementary. ——— R H E TDS 000 00 — 0 2 2 PHS 330 31 — 10 10 1 M. Bradford and G. Helyer. L. Richards and R. Gentner. W — Richards, L — Bradford. 2B — Murphy, Morrison (PHS). PREPS: Rockets softball, baseball both earn wins Continued from 1B of pleased with their scores.” Greb shaved 11 strokes from her card with a 76 on Tuesday, which tied for third in the round. “She wore her glasses,” said Prouse. “I think we’re going to have her wear glasses more often.” Summit shot the lowest rounds on both days and win the team title with a score of 329-316—645. Crater was second with 698 and Bend earned the inal team state berth in fourth with 718. Hermiston was ifth with 418-390—808, and did not have any players inish in the top 10, which would have earned them an individual state berth. The state championships will be held May 16-17 at Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks. “We’re going to work on some things in the next couple days and try to polish up some stuff to get ready for state,” Prouse said. “We’ve already played at Quail (Valley) and so they know what to expect so that’s good.” ——— District 2 Championships at Indian Creek Golf Course Team results (Top 4 to state) — Summit 329-316—645; Crater 360-338—698; Pend- leton 362-345—707; Bend 374-344—718; Hermiston 418-390—808; Ashland 407-417—824; Redmond 454-392—846; The Dalles 461-421—882; Eagle Point 461-424—885; Hood River 452-451—903; Ridgeview 500-420—920. Individual Top 10 — Haley Greb, Pendle- ton, 76-74—150; Daniele Giles, Crater, 74- 76—150; Kiana Oshiro, Crater, 77-74—151; Olivia Loberg, Summit 76-76—152; Rachel Drgastin, Summit, 80-75—155; Iliana Telles, The Dalles, 82-76—158; Shelby Greb, Pendleton, 87-76—163; Tiana Brown, Ridgeview, 83-81—164; Josephine Fraser, Summit, 86-81—167; Kaylie Hays, Bend, 86-82—168. Pendleton — Haley Greb 76-74—150; Shelby Greb 87-76—163; McKenna Pratt 97-97—194; Megan George 108-98—206; Rylee Harris 102-107—209. Hermiston — Sydney Adams 100- 98—198; Sonja Peterson 104-96—200; Makenzie Lind 106-98—204; Grace Blackhurst 110-98—208; Lexi Lambert 108-115—223. BASEBALL PILOT ROCK 9, GRANT UNION 0 — At Pilot Rock, Levi Thieme struck out 14 batters and the Rockets took advantage of 10 walks to earn the shutout in Special District 7 play on Tuesday. Tracker Denny had two of Pilot Rock’s four hits in the game and Sean Simmons, Bryson Pierce and Connor McClarren each had two RBI. Thieme inished with one hit allowed and one walk, and Pierce threw a hitless seventh to inish off Grant Union (7-15, 2-7 SD7). Pilot Rock (16-7, 5-5) closes out the regular season at Grant Union in a double- header starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday. ——— R GUHS 000 000 0 — 0 PRHS 004 005 X — 9 W — L. Thieme. L — Mckrock. 2B — C. McClarren (PRHS). H 1 4 E 1 1 IRRIGON 3, SHERMAN 2 — At Moro, when he couldn’t get Irrigon the win on the mound, Austin Rice did it at the plate against the Huskies on Tuesday. Rice drove in Lino Covarrubia and Fredy Vera with a double in the top of the seventh inning, and Hayden White picked off a runner and induced a pair of lyballs for outs in the bottom of the frame to get the win. Rice started on the mound but left in the ifth inning with a 2-1 deicit after throwing 81 pitches. He allowed two runs, none earned, on three hits, struck out 11 and walked one. The Knights wanted to have Rice available to pitch on Friday in their season inale. White allowed one hit, struck out two and walked three in 2.1 innings. Vera was 3 for 4 with two runs, and scored in the irst inning on a sacriice ly by Adrian Roa. Irrigon hosts Sherman for a doubleheader Friday starting at 11 a.m. The winner will clinch the Special District 6 league title. ——— R H IHS 100 000 2 — 3 8 SHS 000 110 0 — 2 4 A. Rice, H. White (5) and C. Kroske. B. Troutman and M. Winslow. W — White. L — Troutman. 2B — A. Rice (IHS). E 2 2 HEPPNER 12, CULVER 2 (6 innings) — At Heppner, Jake Lindsay scored the go-ahead run on a Lane Wilhelm sacriice ly in the third inning and the Mustangs added three runs in each of their next three at-bats to put Culver away in the irst game of their season- ending series. Lindsay inished the game 3 for 3 with three runs and ive RBI to lead Heppner (4-13, 3-7 SD6), and Weston Putman also was 3 for 3 with three runs and two RBI. Will Lutcher allowed two runs in the irst inning, but only faced 10 batters over the next three innings and inished with one earned run allowed on ive hits, four strikeouts and no walks in four complete. Pat Collins allowed one hit in two innings of relief and also had four strikeouts, zero walks. Heppner hosts Culver (6-13, 1-9) on Saturday in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. ——— R H E CHS 200 000 — 2 6 5 HHS 111 333 — 12 14 4 C. Little. W. Lutcher, P. Collins (5). W — Lutcher. L — Little. 2B — C. Little, M. Little (CHS); W. Putman (HHS). BURNS 14, WESTON- MCEWEN 0 (5 innings) — At Athena, Burns scored ive runs with two outs in the top of the irst inning and Zach McDonald and Justin Lewellen combined to hold the TigerScots to four hits on Tuesday in a game that pitted the top two teams in Special District 7. Trace Tiller hit a lead-off single, and scored on two-out double by Ty Reid. David Vinson followed with a single and they scored on separate errors. Weston-McEwen (17-6, 8-2 SD7) committed four of its ive errors in the frame. McDonald struck out six, walked three and gave up three hits in four complete innings for the win. Reid went 3 for 3 with two RBI and two runs to lead Burns (19-5, 10-0) on offense, and Vince Roff was 2 for 2 to lead Weston- McEwen. The TigerScots inish the regular season at Burns in a doubleheader that starts at 2 p.m. on Friday. ——— R H E BHS 521 60 — 14 12 2 W-M 000 00 — 0 4 5 Z. McDonald, J. Lewellen (5) and D. Vinson. J. Patrick, H. Sater (4) and G. Shell. W — McDonald. L — Patrick. 2B — J. Lewellen, T. Reid (BHS); V. Roff (W-M). 3B — T. Reid (BHS). SOFTBALL PILOT ROCK 14, IRRIGON 9 — At Pilot Rock, Jacey Wilson and Madison Dave hit back-to- back doubles to give Pilot Rock a 3-0 lead in the irst inning and the Rockets extended their lead to 9-1 before Irrigon inished with a lurry on Tuesday in Special District 6 action. Dave added an RBI double during Pilot Rock’s ive-run fourth, and had a single in their ive-run sixth to inish 3 for 4. Rebekka Holman also was 3 for 4, and scored twice while pitching the complete game for the Rockets (20-3, 12-1 SD6). Bea Aguilera was 3 for 3 with three runs to lead Irrigon (12-9, 5-8), which scored four runs in each the sixth and seventh. Kelly McLaughlin was 2 for 3 with two runs and two steals. The two teams square off again in a doubleheader at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Irrigon. ——— R H E IHS 000 104 4 — 9 11 2 PRHS 301 505 X — 14 18 3 J. Garza and L. Mills. R. Holman and R. Oates. W — Holman. L — Garza. 2B — M. Dave 2 (PRHS).