Tuesday, June 7, 2016
SPORTS
SOFTBALL: Echo/Stanield ends solid season with ive irst team selections
Page 2B
East Oregonian
Continued from 1B
RBI), and outielder Amie
Coffman (.412 avg., 26
runs, 13 stolen bases).
Making second team
for the TigerScots were
second baseman Bailey
Hillmick (.456 avg., 40
runs), outielder Char-
mayne Bennett (.439 avg.,
4 HR, 31 runs), and utility
player Ashley Hill (.345
avg., 1 HR, 19 RBI).
The Echo Cougars also
had a tremendous season
in the Eastern Oregon
League, inishing third
in the EOL with a 19-9
overall record, which
earned them a trip back
to the state tournament.
The Cougars were also
well represented in the
all-league teams, earning
ive irst team selections,
one second team selec-
tion and one honorable
mention.
The irst team selections
were junior pitcher MacK-
enzie Gonzales (11-8,
2.49 ERA, 122 K’s, 117.2
IP), senior catcher Erika
Parks (.301 avg., 19 RBI,
27 runs, 19 stolen bases),
senior irst baseman
Kenzie Blankenship (.402
avg., 7 HR, 32 RBI, 10
doubles), junior outielder
Hannah McCarty (.400
avg., 37 runs), and senior
designated player Raychal
Campana (.391 avg., 12
RBI).
Senior inielder Chey-
enne Hilliard was Echo’s
lone second team selec-
tion (.402 avg., 25 RBI, 27
runs) and senior outielder
Jamie Christopher was
named honorable mention
(.253 avg., 19 RBI, 33
runs).
The Riverside Pirates
were represented by
sophomore pitcher Skylar
Wightman on second team
and junior irst baseman
Sadie Hasbell an honor-
able mention.
Umatilla senior utility
player Bridgett Dunham
was also picked as an
honorable mention.
———
EOL All-League 2016
Player of the Year: Jessica Lambert,
sr., Weston-McEwen
Pitcher of the Year: Jessica Lambert,
sr., Weston-McEwen
Coach of the Year: Jeff Griggs,
Weston-McEwen
FIRST TEAM
Pitchers
MacKenzie Gonzales, jr., Echo/Stanield
Jessica Lambert, sr., Weston-McEwen
Catchers
Erika Parks, sr., Echo/Stanield
Sydney Peal, jr., Weston-McEwen
Inield
Isabelle Dillow, sr., Weston-McEwen
Jordyn Lambert, fr., Weston-McEwen
Hannah Mizuta, jr., Vale
Asucena Trujillo, sr., Nyssa
Outield
Amie Coffman, fr., Weston-McEwen
Hannah McCarty, jr., Echo/Stanield
Lexi Mulvany, jr., Vale
First Base
Kenzie Blankenship, sr., Echo/Stanield
Utility
Mariah Moulton, so., Grant Union
Designated Player
Raychal Campana, sr., Echo/Stanield
SECOND TEAM
Pitchers
Kelsey Hawley, jr., Vale
Skylar Wightman, so., Riverside
Catchers
Gracie Jacobs, fr., Vale
Brianna Zweygardt, so., Grant Union
Inield
Cheyenne Hilliard, sr., Echo/Stanield
Bailey Hillmick, jr., Weston-McEwen
Amanda Trenkel, jr., Vale
Rayvn Walker, jr., Grant Union
Outield
Charmayne Bennett, so.,
Weston-McEwen
Darby Gassett, jr., Enterprise/Joseph/
Wallowa
Jocelynn Smith, sr., Grant Union
First Base
Natalie Williams, sr., Enterprise/Jo-
seph/Wallowa
Utility
Ashley Hill, jr., Weston-McEwen
Designated Player
Natalie Stearns, jr., Grant Union
HONORABLE MENTION
Pitcher
Cody Madden, so., Grant Union
Catcher
Madison Mitchell, jr., Nyssa
Inield
Madison Plew, so., Enterprise/Joseph/
Wallowa
Outield
Jamie Christopher, sr., Echo/Stanield
Whitney McClellan, so., Grant Union
Sicily Simpson, jr., Elgin/Imbler
Kelsy Weber, sr., Vale
First Base
Sadie Hasbell, jr., Riverside
Olivia Olvera, sr., Nyssa
Utility
Bridgett Dunham, sr., Umatilla
Lucy Trujillo, jr., Nyssa
Designated Player
Sydnee Thomas, fr., Vale
Staff photo by Sam Barbee
In this Mar. 30, 2016 ile photo,
Echo’s MacKenzie Gonzales deliv-
ers a pitch during a game in Echo.
PIONEERS: Five seniors depart, but young talent leaves future looking bright
Continued from 1B
for a single.
“It was great to start that
off and get it going. Us ive
seniors really went out with
a bang in that last inning,”
Biggs said. “We spent a
good half an hour before
warm-ups just talking about
how this was our last game,
and how we’ve got to do
something.”
“What a game for her,”
Christian said. “Three hits,
senior year blowout. She
was just crushing the ball
and having fun and that’s
what it’s all about.”
Senior Brittney Erb
followed with a pinch-hit
double, and then senior
Jenny Field put the Pioneers
on the scoreboard with
an RBI single to center.
A sacriice ly by Rachael
Lyon brought Erb in to make
it 5-2 with one out, but Shaw
inished off the Pioneers with
a strikeout and a groundout.
“I was super proud, and
all the girls showed a lot of
heart,” said senior Shannon
Carter. “We weren’t going to
go down without a ight.”
Shaw inished the game
with two earned runs
allowed on eight hits, three
strikeouts and no walks.
Mac-Hi pitcher Mallory
Copeland started the game
by striking out Banks’
MaKenna Partain and the
Pioneers retired the Braves
in order in the irst, but
Banks quickly got to Cope-
land in the second an had
chased her from the circle
by the fourth with a 5-0 lead.
The Braves scored four
in the second inning, which
was led off with a single to
left ield by Shakayla Snyder
(3 for 4). One of Mac-Hi’s
three errors to advance pinch
runner Destiny Maller, and
Mac-Hi’s
Sydney
Earls
throws
from the
pitching
circle
in the
Pioneers’
5-2 loss to
Banks in
the state
4A cham-
pionship
softball
game Sat-
urday in
Corvallis.
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
after a groundout, another
Mac-Hi error allowed two
runs to cross the plate after a
grounder by Alyssa Rogers.
A ly to right gave the
Pioneers their second out,
but Partain then hit a triple
to the wall in right-center for
an RBI, and Keegan Wise
followed with an RBI single
before getting caught trying
to stretch it to a double for
the third out.
After Shaw kept Mac-Hi
searching for its irst hit in
the bottom of the frame, the
Braves jumped right back
on Copeland in the third and
plated one more run.
Mary Schorn (4 for 4) led
that at-bat off with a double,
the Snyder hit her in with a
single to right.
Sydney Earls relieved
Copeland in the fourth, and
allowed just one hit between
the fourth and ifth, then
struck out Partain swinging
to strand two in the sixth
inning and keep the score at
5-0.
The Pioneers brought the
top of their lineup up in the
sixth, and a swinging bunt
by Carter was followed by
Micha Fortune beating out
a bunt in a cloud of dust to
put two on with no out. Both
runners moved up on a pitch
in the dirt with Copeland at
the plate, and the Pioneers’
rally took a devastating blow
when Carter was called out
at home plate trying to score
on a grounder to second.
Carter appeared to slide
under the tag from Shakayla
Snyder, but home plate
umpire Gary Taylor saw it
differently, and third base
ump Michael Lieuallen
agreed with his call when
Christian protested.
The Braves killed the
rally there and got the next
two batters out to put the
Pioneers down to three outs
left in their season.
“That would have been
a huge momentum for
us,” Christian said, “but it
shouldn’t come down to one
call. We had a couple errors
that were uncharacteristic
today. I told the girls if we
did lose we lost to a good
team. (Banks) hit the ball
well, they hit the gaps, and
ours went right to some-
body. That’s how it goes
sometimes.”
Banks threatened in the
seventh, but left two runners
stranded as Earls inished
with a line of no runs
allowed on four hits, one
strikeout and no walks.
“I thought Sydney Earls
did a great job to come in
and shut them down,” Chris-
tian said. “Some hitters hit
certain pitchers really well
and I think (Copeland) was
more like what they’d seen
all year. Earls came in with
a little bit different look and
was able to keep us in it.”
Mac-Hi was making its
fourth-straight champion-
ship game and had beaten
Banks 5-4 on April 2 in
Milton-Freewater.
It was he second straight
year the Pioneers and Braves
met in the championship and
the third time in the last four
years. Banks beat Mac-Hi
1-0 in 2013 for the second
of its back-to-back titles,
and the Pioneers won their
second-straight title 4-0 over
the Braves last season.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
McLoughlin loses to Banks 5-2 in the state 4A state
championship softball game Saturday in Corvallis.
The Pioneers will lose
ive seniors (Biggs, Carter,
Erb, Field and outielder
Brooke Kralman), but bring
up a lot of younger players
that should keep them
bracket-bound for at least
a few more seasons. Banks
graduates just two (Partain
and irst baseman Gabby
Eckhardt). Christian said
she expects the Pioneers to
make another run at the title
in 2017, and wouldn’t be
surprised in the least to meet
Banks there.
“We’re going to have to
ill some gaps and see where
we need to go to reload,”
Christian said. “We have
some great talent (coming
up). … Banks is always
solid. I think people just
look at us and think, ‘Oh
great, here they are again.’
Deinitely, I could see us
back here.”
———
R H E
BHS
041 000
0 — 5 12 1
M-H
000 000
2 — 2 8 3
M. Shaw and S. Snyder. M. Copeland,
S. Earls (4) and J. Lesko. W — Shaw. L —
Copeland.
2B —M. Schorn, S. Snyder (BHS); A.
Biggs, B. Erb (M-H). 3B — M. Partain (BHS).
ENTRUP: Tigers team, championship game will be talked about for a long time
Continued from 1B
The game was a minute
shy of three hours, which
actually ended up being a
good thing as well.
I had just come from
watching the Pilot Rock
Rockets beat the Union
Bobcats for the 2A/1A
softball title in true-cham-
pion form. There would be
no Rocky Balboa story for
the Eagles, as the Rockets
beat them mercilessly, 9-2,
for the ifth time this season.
With just enough time
to make the drive from
Corvallis to Keizer for the
start of Stanield’s game,
that left me transcribing
interviews with the Rockets’
Tehya Ostrom and Bekah
Roe as Stanield took a 2-0
lead in the irst inning on a
single by Ryan Bailey and
sacriice ly from Brody
Woods.
The Tigers came out
hitting Bobcats ace Draper
hard, a good sign after he’d
gone the distance and held
them to one run in their last
meeting.
Monkus was hit by a pitch
in the game’s irst at-bat, and
Tony Flores followed with
a double to put runners in
scoring position right away.
A rare strikeout by Grogan
followed (he more than made
up for an 0-for-3 day at the
plate later), then the irst of
Bailey’s four hits gave the
Tigers the lead. Woods came
next with a sacriice ly to
center, and it appeared the
Tigers just might continue
their high-scoring romp
through the postseason after
all.
Should have known
better.
Although Stanield would
chase Draper from the
mound after three innings,
the Eagles’ bullpen proved
up to snuff and lefty Hunter
Bain gave his team four
scoreless innings of relief
to keep the Tigers within
striking distance.
Stanield added its third
run in the third when Grogan
hit a sacriice ly to bring
Monkus in, and Monkus then
made a nice double play in
the bottom half of the inning
by catching a popped-up
bunt and then slinging the
ball to irst just ahead of a
sliding Chance Ottinger.
As I rushed to get the
Rockets’ game story written
and delivered, Bain stranded
a pair of Tigers in both the
fourth and ifth innings,
and Grogan had a pair
of strikeouts to go with a
pickoff at irst by Monkus to
highlight two more scoreless
innings by the defense.
But then in the sixth, the
Eagles sucked the excitement
from Stanield’s dugout with
a three-run surge led by (who
else?) Draper, who inished
the game 2 for 4 with three
RBIs. After a Stanield
error gave the Eagles a new
lease on life, the Tiger killer
appeared to have done it
again with a bases-clearing
double into the gap that tied
the score 3-3 and lipped the
momentum back to Santiam
Christian.
“We had to take a minute
because we kind of topped
off there and stopped talking
in the dugout,” Woods said.
“The fans are great. They
were so loud. They helped
us get back into the game,”
Bailey said.
Grogan got the Tigers
out of the inning with a ly
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Stansield defeats Santiam Christian 5-4 in extra in-
ning of the state 3A championship baseball game on
Friday in Keizer.
ball to right ield, where
Jason Fitzpatrick was
having a good game as the
team’s only senior starter.
Fitzpatrick went 2 for 5 at
the plate and in the seventh
inning had a sliding catch in
foul territory near the dugout
called off (some would argue
wrongly) for being out of
play.
Grogan pitched out of a
jam again in the seventh and
stranded Ottinger at second
with a ly to Justin Keeney in
center. Keeney would come
up big for the Tigers later in
the game.
The top of the eighth
started off great for the
Tigers as Bailey singled to
lead off, stole second and
went to third on a ly-out by
Renner.
But with one out and
runners on second and third
(Woods had walked and
also advanced on Renner’s
ly), Johnson made his irst
risky call of the game with
Fitzpatrick at the plate.
Having already put down
a perfect bunt for a single
earlier in the game, Fitzpat-
rick was asked to do it again
with the added pressure of
sending Bailey on the pitch.
The pitch came in low and
outside, and when Fitzpatrick
was unable to make contact
a rundown ensued that ended
with Bailey tagged out at
home by pitcher Daniel
Hendrix.
Fitzpatrick then grounded
out to the pitcher for the
third out, and the writing was
starting to appear on the wall
for the Tigers.
Two quick outs in the
bottom of the eighth on ly
balls were a positive sign,
but then Macal singled to
bring up Draper.
Again, Draper delivered
in the clutch, and Macal was
off on the crack of the bat
with the speed to bring home
the title for the Eagles.
“When I saw that kid
coming up again I was like,
‘ah’” Bailey said.
“Everybody thought the
game was over right there,”
Monkus said.
At least three people in
Volcanoes Stadium weren’t
thinking that. Keeney tracked
the ball down at the wall and
relayed it Flores who spun
and put the ball on a line
to Monkus at home plate,
beating Macal by a step with
his perfectly placed throw for
the third out.
It wasn’t until the 10th
that the Tigers were able
to take advantage of the
sudden momentum swing
as Hendrix struck out Flores
swinging to end Stanield’s
ninth with Damien Curiel on
second.
Woods relieved Grogan
to start the ninth after 123
pitches, nine strikeouts and
four walks from the junior.
Grogan moved over to
third, and had to make the
long throw to irst on the
Eagles’ irst at-bat in the 9th,
and Bailey had a nice scoop
to inish the out. Woods
struck out the next two
batters just three days after
a six-inning outing against
Rainier in the semiinals.
Woods was the pitcher of
record for three of the Tigers’
four postseason wins.
“Three wins in the
postseason. Three out of four
wins as a sophomore, that’s
stepping it up,” Johnson said.
Grogan took a pitch to
the shoulder to lead off
Stanield’s 10th, and then
took off for the most exciting
270-foot sprint in the Tigers’
season when Bailey sliced
a two-strike double down
the line in left and into the
corner.
Grogan slid across home
well in front of throw and
Bailey followed him in when
Woods hit a single to center.
Hendrix retired the next
three batters, and the Tigers
headed out into the ield to
face the Eagles’ No. 9, 1
and 2 batters in the lineup.
Waiting menacingly in the
ive-hole was Draper, who no
doubt was just itching to have
another chance at dealing a
death blow to the Tigers.
Grogan went deep into the
hole behind third for the irst
out, but then Brady Patterson
put down a perfect bunt to get
an inield single and bring the
tying run to the plate.
Josh Swigart put the tying
run on base with a single,
and then another Stanield
error allowed Patterson to
score while keeping a runner
on irst with two outs for
Macal. Draper on deck.
But that’s where he would
stay as Woods got Macal
to ground up the middle
to Flores, who ielded the
ball cleanly and made an
effortless throw to irst for
the inal out.
And after the game as I
quickly tried to track down
players on the ield for one
last interview of the season,
I got to witness the cycle
starting again as young
boys, probably 10 years old,
looked for autographs from
their favorite players.
“It’s deinitely way better
from this side,” Grogan said.
“It was a fun game, those
are the games you want to
watch.”
I didn’t get to witness
Stanield’s irst state title, but
I’m glad I saw their latest,
because this is sure to be
a game that’s talked about
for a long time. Way to go
Tigers, way to go.
———
Contact Matt Entrup at
mentrup@eastoregonian.
com or (541) 966-0838.