SPORTS
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016
1B
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State Track and Field
Sharks top Blues
to take 3-2 lead
Buckaroo boys shine on Saturday
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joe
Pavelski scored two goals,
including the go-ahead score
in the opening minute of
the third
period, and
the San
Jose Sharks
beat the St.
Louis Blues
6-3 to take
a 3-2 lead in the Western
Conference fi nal on Monday
night.
Joel Ward also scored
twice including one of two
empty-netters in the fi nal
minute for San Jose, which
can close it out at home
on Wednesday night. The
Sharks have never reached
the Stanley Cup Final. Joe
Thornton had three assists
for the Sharks.
Pavelski leads the
playoffs with 12 goals
and has three two-goal
games, one in each series.
The Sharks’ captain added
an assist and is tied with
teammate Logan Couture for
the postseason points lead,
each with a franchise-record
21 points.
Pendle-
ton’s Gari-
son Alger,
Andrew
Porter
and Nolan
Bylenga
catch
their
breaths
after fi n-
ishing the
4x400 me-
ter relay
Saturday
at the
Oregon
State
OSAA
Track
& Field
Champi-
onships in
Eugene.
Pendle-
ton and
Redmond
both
broke
the state
record on
Saturday,
Redmond
with a
time of
3:20.37
and Pend-
leton with
3:21.63.
Rangers OF
Hamilton to miss
rest of season
ARLINGTON, Texas
(AP) — Josh Hamilton will
have another surgery on
his left knee and not play
a game this season for the
Texas Rangers.
The 2010 AL MVP and
fi ve-time
FACES All-Star
slugger has
already had
surgery twice
on his left knee
the last nine
months, along
Hamilton
with cortisone
shots and even
a stem cell and platelet-rich
plasma injection during
spring training. He played
in one game for Double-A
Frisco on April 30 before
being recalled from his
rehab assignment.
Hamilton, on the disabled
list all season, got another
opinion from Dr. Walt
Lowe in Houston. The knee
specialist is scheduled to
perform another surgery
June 8.
Hamilton, who turned
35 on Saturday, is signed
through next season. Daniels
said Hamilton is fully
committed to coming back
in 2017.
Staff photo by
Kathy Aney
Both Pendleton relay teams reach podium, one breaks state record
By DAVID BALL
For the East Oregonian
EUGENE — The Pendleton
Buckaroos saved their best for last
at the OSAA track state champion-
ships Saturday at the University of
Oregon’s Hayward Field.
Pendleton’s biggest highlights
came late in the meet, starting with
senior Nolan Bylenga coming in
second in the 800-meter fi nal.
Bend’s Caleb Hoffman broke
into the lead from the start and spent
the entire race well in front of the
pack. That created a tight chase for
second place on the podium — a
battle that Bylenga wasn’t sure he
wanted.
“I was a little disappointed, and
I wasn’t running well,” he said.
“There was a point where I told
myself I had already screwed it up,
so what’s the point? I felt myself
slowing down.”
Bylenga came around the turn
for the bell lap in second place, but
while he was having his internal
struggle, Jerik Embleton of Marist
overtook him on the backstretch.
That was enough to throw cold
water in Bylenga’s face, waking
him up for a fantastic fi nish that saw
him streak down lane 2 and move
from fourth to second over the fi nal
50 meters.
“I got my head back into it,
and realized that there were plenty
of reasons to fi ght for second,”
Bylenga said.
He crossed the line in 1:56.78,
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
edging out his two closest foes by Pendleton’s Soren Wolf hands the baton to teammate Gabe Walker
less than a second. Hoffman won in during the 5A Boys 4x100 meter dash Saturday at the Oregon State
See TRACK/2B
OSAA Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.
State Softball
Pioneers, Rockets ready for title defenses
Six area schools
prepare for start of
playoffs on Wed.
“God is
AMAZING. Just
got the call that
my body is clean
of cancer!!! Been
a long road but
God had my
back.“
— James Conner
University of Pittsburgh
running back tweeted
out on Monday
afternoon that he is can-
cer-free just six months
after being diagnosed
with Hodgkin
lymphoma, missing all
of the 2015 season.
Conner, a junior, was
the 2014 ACC Player
of the Year when he ran
for 1,765 yards and 26
touchdowns.
East Oregonian
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
In this June 9, 2015 fi le photo, members on the Mac-Hi softball
team hold up the fi rst place trophy for their fans after the Pio-
neers’ 4-0 win against Banks in the 4A state softball champion-
ship game in Corvallis.
Prep Roundup
Irrigon claims district title behind Rice’s no-hitter
Junior lefty no-hits
Dufur for second time
this season in win
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1935 — In the fi rst major
league night game, the Reds
beat the Philadelphia Phillies
2-1 before 25,000 fans in
Cincinnati.
1995
—
Oakland’s
Dennis Eckersley becomes
the sixth pitcher to record
300 saves, in a 5-2 win over
the Baltimore Orioles.
2009 — Brazil’s Helio
Castroneves becomes the
ninth driver to win the India-
napolis 500 three times.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com
After winning state champi-
onships in each of the past two
seasons, the Mac-Hi Pioneers came
into the 2016 season as a team many
expected to take a slight step back.
The Pioneers had lost 4A Player
of the Year and star pitcher Colette
Robert to graduation and had no
returning pitchers that had any
meaningful experience in the circle.
However, former all-state catcher
Mallory Copeland stepped up to
take the No. 1 slot in the Pioneers
pitching staff and came through
big time, helping carry her team to
a 22-5 overall record and the No. 1
overall seed in this year’s 4A state
bracket.
“We had to go prove ourselves
this season and prove that we’re just
as good and we had a great year,”
said Mac-Hi coach Nicole Christian.
“But this team earned that No. 1
seed, it wasn’t handed to them for
things we’ve done in past years and
I think we’re dialed in and ready to
go.”
But Christian and the Pioneers
are aware of the size of target that
adorns the teams’ backs this post-
season.
“Everybody always wants to take
down the big dog,” Christian said,
“but we try to not worry about it like
that.”
Pilot Rock came into the 2016
See SOFTBALL/2B
East Oregonian
IRRIGON — It’s safe to say the
Dufur Rangers are tired of seeing
Irrigon’s Austin Rice.
The senior left-hander threw
a six-inning no-hitter against the
Rangers with 14 strikeouts as
Irrigon defeated Dufur 11-1 to claim
the 2A/1A Special District 6 cham-
pionship on Saturday afternoon.
It was the third time that Rice had
faced the Rangers this season, and
his second no-hitter against them as
well.
In a combined 15.2 innings in
those three games
will host their fi rst-
Baseball
against Dufur, Rice
round game, which
has allowed just one
will be released
hit, one run and fi ve
Sunday morning.
walks while striking
In
Saturday’s
Dufur
Irrigon
out 30 batters.
game,
Cougar
Rice’s only run
Kroske
supplied
allowed came in the
plenty of offense
third inning when
for Irrigon as he
he loaded the bases with two walks went 3-4 with one run scored and a
and a hit-by-pitch before inducing a pair of RBIs. Adrian Roa and Zack
ground out to second base to bring Henrichs eached compiled two hits,
in a run. He then struck out the next two runs, and two RBIs as well to
batter to end the scoring threat.
help lead the Knights.
The win boosts Irrigon (16-5,
Irrigon put the pressure on Dufur
10-2 SD6) back into the state tour- right away in the bottom of the fi rst
nament after missing out by one spot inning, as Henrichs ripped an RBI
in the district standings one season single to right fi eld and Nate Verley
ago. With the Knights holding the smashed a two-run double to help
No. 4 OSAA ranking as of Saturday the Knights to a 5-0 lead. They
evening, they will safely be in the added three more in the second
higher seeds of the bracket and inning on a sacrifi ce fl y from
1
11
Henrichs, an RBI single to right by
Hayden White to take an 8-0 lead.
The game ended one inning early
when Kroske ripped an RBI triple
to left fi eld to score Henrichs from
fi rst, and then Roa followed up with
an RBI single to right to bring in
Kroske and invoke the 10-run rule.
———
R H E
DHS
001 000 —
1 0 3
IHS
531 002 — 11 10 1
Crawford, Red Cloud, Clapham. Rice. W — Rice,
L — Crawford.
2B — N. Verley, N. Gumbert (IHS). 3B — C.Kroske
(IHS).
WESTON-MCEWEN
2,
PILOT ROCK 0 — At Pendleton,
the Weston-McEwen TigerScots
clinched a spot in the 2A/1A state
tournament with a victory over
the Pilot Rock Rockets in the
See PREPS/2B