SPORTS
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2016
MILTON-FREEWATER
Sports shorts
Broncos honored
at White House
WASHINGTON (AP)
— President Barack Obama
honored the Denver Broncos
at the White House Monday
for winning
Super Bowl
50 with one
of the best
defenses of
all time and
one of the best quarterbacks
of all time in Peyton
Manning.
The Broncos defeated
the Carolina Panthers by
a score of 24-10. Obama
said the victories over the
course of the season weren’t
always pretty. The Broncos,
won a record 11 games by a
touchdown or less.
“You don’t do that
without one of the greatest
defenses of all time,” Obama
said.
Obama mentioned several
stars of the offensive unit
before jokingly stating,
“And we can’t forget to
mention the heart and soul
of this team’s offensive
fi repower — kicker Brandon
McManus,” which drew
plenty of laughs.
Curry withdraws
from Olympic
consideration
(AP) — Stephen Curry
has withdrawn from
consideration from the
Olympics, leaving the U.S.
basketball team without the
NBA’s MVP.
Curry said Monday in a
statement that
FACES he has decided
to pull out for
“several factors
— including
recent ankle
and knee
injuries.”
He is the
Curry
highest-profi le
absence for the two-time
defending gold medalists,
who will already be without
NBA All-Stars Chris Paul
and Anthony Davis.
Curry has won a pair
of world titles with the
Americans and was a starter
when they won the 2014
Basketball World Cup.
Curry said he had spoken
with his family and recently
informed USA Basketball
chairman Jerry Colangelo
that he would not go to
Brazil.
The Americans have a list
of 31 players in their roster
pool for this summer and
plan to name their 12-man
roster later this month.
1B
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Pioneers fall short of three-peat
Mc-
Lough-
lin assis-
tant
coach
Megan
White
con-
soles
Micha
Fortune
after the
Pio-
neers’
5-2
loss to
Banks
in the
state 4A
champi-
onship
softball
game
Satur-
day in
Corval-
lis.
Staff photo
by E.J. Harris
Mac-Hi’s rally comes too late against Banks in 4A state title
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
CORVALLIS — The Mac-Hi
Pioneers were unable to overcome
a dominant championship debut by
Banks freshman Michaela Shaw,
and the Braves came out swinging
for a 5-2 win in the OSAA 4A
Softball State Championship on
Saturday at OSU Softball Complex.
Shaw held the Pioneers scoreless
until the seventh inning to guide her
team to its third state championship
and knock Mac-Hi from the top of
the hill after a two-year title reign.
“I’m proud of them, no one
thought we going to be here,” said
Mac-Hi coach Nichole Christian.
“Obviously we wanted gold but
we’ll take the silver, and try to keep
the girls positive because no one
expected us here without (2015
4A Championship
Banks
Mac-Hi
5
2
Player of the Year) Colette (Robert)
and that’s all a team effort. … This
was a tough loss but I’m really
proud of them.”
Pioneers senior Abi Biggs had
been trying to spark the Mac-Hi
offense all game. With each at bat
she confi dently stepped to the plate,
and each time she delivered, going
3 for 3 in her fi nal game. It wasn’t
until the bottom of the seventh that
her teammates caught the fever, and
Biggs led off the at-bat with a hard
grounder through the left side for a
See PIONEERS/2B
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
McLoughlin’s Shannon Carter looks up in disbelief after being
called out at home plate as Banks’ catcher Shakayla Snyder holds
up the ball in the Pioneers’ 5-2 loss to the Braves in the state 4A
championship softball game Saturday in Corvallis.
OUR VIEWS
All-EOL Softball
TigerScots sweep top honors
“No, I’m done.
I’m done. I
enjoyed my time
playing, now it’s
time to watch my
cousins do they
thing.“
— Marshawn Lynch
Former Seattle Seahawks
running back addressing
some rumors of Lynch
contemplating a
comeback in an inter-
view with 60 Minutes
Sports. Lynch has not
formally fi led his
retirement papers with
the NFL, which fueled
speculation that the
All-Pro RB was in fact
not yet ready to call it a
career.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1998 — Utah breaks the
record for fewest points in an
NBA game since the incep-
tion of the shot clock, losing
96-54 to Chicago in Game 3
of the NBA Finals. It’s the
highest margin of victory in
NBA Finals history.
2009 — Roger Federer
completes a career Grand
Slam, winning his fi rst
French Open title. Federer
wins his 14th major title to
tie Pete Sampras’ record by
sweeping surprise fi nalist
Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1),
6-4.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com
Staff photo by Matt Entrup
In this May 21, 2016 fi le photo, Weston-McEwen’s Jessica Lambert smiles
as she heads into the dugout after retiring the Vale Vikings in the fi fth in-
ning of their district championship softball game in Athena.
Lambert named EOL player and pitcher of the year
East Oregonian
After coming one step short of a state
championship at the 2A/1A level in
2015, the Weston-McEwen TigerScots
embarked on a new journey in 2016 as
they moved up to Class 3A.
But the move up did not have much
negative effect on the TigerScots, as
they earned the Eastern Oregon League
regular season and district titles and
advanced to the second round of the
Class 3A state tournament before
falling in extra innings to Pleasant Hill.
They accomplished these feats with a
solid combination of top-line talent and
steady coaching, and both efforts were
recognized by the rest of the league
with eight players and the head coach
earning all-league honors.
Senior pitcher Jessica Lambert was
chosen as the league’s Player of the
Year and Pitcher of the Year, and head
coach Jeff Griggs was chosen as Coach
of the Year for leading the team to a
19-5 overall record.
Lambert, who will pitch collegiately
at Wenatchee Valley Community
College beginning in the fall, was a
force in the pitching circle and at the
plate in 2016, leading the team in every
pitching category as well as home runs
and RBIs. In the circle, she fi nished
15-4 with an ERA of 1.37 in 105
innings, while striking out 167 batters
and walking just 18. And on offense,
Lambert hit .449 with 6 home runs, 43
RBI, 11 doubles, and 17 runs scored in
89 at-bats.
Weston-McEwen also placed four
players on the fi rst team: catcher
Sydney Peal (.406 avg., 1 HR, 20 RBI),
shortstop Isabelle Dillow (.580 avg., 2
HR, 24 RBI, 46 runs), third baseman
Jordyn Lambert (.514 avg., 6 HR, 28
See SOFTBALL/2B
Stanfi eld’s
title game a
masterpiece
K
EIZER — What a
that game.
weekend.
“It means a lot because
Now that the
now (our brothers) can’t
dust has settled in Corvallis
rub it in our faces,” Monkus
and Keizer from another
said.
amazing fi nish to the high
It had heart. The game
school sports year, and two
was the fi nal one in the
state championships making third base box for Tigers
their way back to trophy
coach Bryan Johnson,
cases in Umatilla
who announced at
County, it’s good
the beginning of
opportunity to take
the season that he
another look at what
would be taking a
may have been the
job outside of the
best 3A baseball
district at the end
game of the season.
of the school year.
The Stanfi eld
His contributions to
Tigers’ 5-4 win over
Stanfi eld baseball,
Matt
Santiam Christian in
Entrup athletics in general,
the 3A championship
and the community
Comment
will ensure he’s long
had everything a
remembered and
spectator could ask
sorely missed.
for in a game (as a writer
It had action. Oh boy, did
there’s always more you
it have action. Double plays,
could ask for).
hits in the gap, a game-
It had a back story. The
saving play at the plate, a
two teams had met about a
failed suicide squeeze, great
month prior with the Eagles
earning a come-from-behind clutch pitching and three
extra innings; the only thing
2-1 win with a walk-off
home run by star pitcher Dru this game was missing was
the long ball.
Draper in the bottom of the
It was also painfully long
seventh inning.
for those of us in the press
It had historical signifi -
box nervously watching
cance. The Tigers had four
players on the team who had deadlines as the shadows
crept across the infi eld at
watched their older brothers
Volcanoes Stadium.
win titles on that same fi eld
“For a sport that you just
in 2011, and assistant coach
stand there, I don’t know if
Trevor Morris was also
I’ve ever been that tired,”
on that team. Two of them
Grogan said.
(Dylan Grogan and Thyler
Monkus) were bat boys in
See ENTRUP/2B