SPORTS
FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016
1B
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MILTON-FREEWATER
La Grande slides into fi nals
NBA Draft
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
LSU’s Ben Simmons poses for a photo
with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
after being selected as the top pick
by the Philadelphia 76ers during the
NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June
23, 2016, in New York.
76ers take
Simmons
No. 1
Staff photo by Eric Singer
14 international players
picked in first round
La Grande’s Rilyn Kirkland slides safely under the tag of Milton-Freewater catcher Ally Marly during the fi fth inning of a Little
League softball game at the 11/12-year-old District 3 semifi nals on Thursday in Milton-Freewater. La Grande won 17-2.
Milton-Freewater eliminated from Little League bracket
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
The
Milton-Freewater
11/12-year-old softball team
could not take advantage of a
rematch against La Grande on
Thursday, as La Grande pounded
out 17 hits and 17 runs to take
down Milton-Freewater 17-2.
The win advances La Grande
into the District 3 champion-
ship game against unbeaten
Pendleton, whom defeated La
Grande 14-4 on Wednesday.
For Milton-Freewater, its season
comes to an end with its second
loss of the tournament.
Rilyn Kirkland was the star of
the game for La Grande, pitching
4.2 innings and allowing only
one hit and one run with three
strikeouts as well as going a
perfect 5-5 at the plate with three
triples and four runs scored.
She scored the games fi rst run
in the fi rst inning after picking
up a single and a stolen base to
set her team up, and then came
Staff photo by Eric Singer
Milton-Freewater’s Tallulah Sireels makes contact with a
pitch from La Grande’s Callie Glenn during the sixth inning
of a Little League softball game at the 11/12-year-old District
3 semifi nals on Thursday in Milton-Freewater.
across to score on an RBI triple
from Sierra Meuser for the 1-0
lead. La Grande scored one run
in each of the fi rst four innings
against
Milton-Freewater
starting pitcher Hanna Prock.
In the other dugout,
Milton-Freewater’s
offense
could not fi nd the metaphorical
‘On’ switch, getting retired in
order in the fi rst three innings
and could not make any kind of
hard contact against Kirkland.
Milton-Freewater did not earn its
fi rst baserunner until the fourth
inning when Tallulah Sireels
reached on a fi elding error by La
Grande’s right fi elder.
In the fi fth inning, the wheels
fell of for Milton-Freewater. La
Grande’s offense sent 11 batters
to the plate in the inning and
tagged Milton-Freewater pitcher
Anna Propeck for four hits and
six runs to jump to an 11-0 lead.
Milton-Freewater
fi nally
earned its fi rst and only hit of
the game in the fi fth inning as
well, when Kadence Brown led
off the inning with a single up
the middle. She then proceeded
to steal second and third base
before coming home to score on
an RBI groundout by Cambree
Chester to cut the lead to 11-1.
Propeck, who walked earlier in
the inning, scored later in the
inning on a passed ball for the
11-2 lead.
La Grande came out in the
sixth inning and piled on with
six runs and four hits to push the
See LITTLE LEAGUE/2B
By BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Ben Simmons went
from Down Under to the top of the NBA
draft, and a record number of international
players followed.
The Philadelphia 76ers took the Austra-
lian with the No. 1 pick on Thursday night,
making him the fi rst of a record 14 inter-
national players chosen in the fi rst round.
Nearly half the selections in the 30-pick
round were international players, topping
the 12 international players chosen in the
fi rst round in 2013.
Simmons climbed on stage to the sound
of cheers from a Philly-fi lled crowd hoping
he could turn around the 76ers.
Not long after the same crowd was
largely quiet as the draft fi lled with unfa-
miliar names.
The picks included the fi rst Austrian
(Utah center Jakob Poeltl, No. 9 to
Toronto), the highest Greek player ever
drafted (Georgios Papagiannis, No. 13,
Phoenix, rights dealt to Sacramento),
two Croatians (Dragan Bender, No. 4 to
Phoenix and Ante Zizic, No. 23, Boston),
and two players from the Caribbean (Buddy
Hield, Bahamas, No. 6 to New Orleans;
and Skal Labissiere, Haiti, No. 28, picked
by Phoenix but dealt to Sacramento).
Some of the international players won’t
come to the NBA next season, and perhaps
See NBA/2B
MLB
Sampson exits without a pitch, Seattle skid hits 6
Nuno gets emergency
start, M’s use six pitchers
Associated Press
DETROIT — The Seattle Mari-
ners were at a loss from the start
Thursday.
Pitcher Adrian Sampson exited
with discomfort in his right elbow
while warming up for the fi rst inning
and Seattle wound up dropping its
sixth in a row, 5-4 to Detroit in 10
innings.
Sampson will be evaluated back
in Seattle.
“Was no pop or anything, just a
little discomfort. Felt it was best if I
Seattle
Detroit
4
5
just come out of the game,” Sampson
said.
Reliever Vidal Nuno started for
the Mariners and pitched into the
fourth. Seattle used six pitchers
overall.
Nelson Cruz homered twice and
Chris Iannetta and Leonys Martin
later hit back-to-back drives for the
Mariners.
Seattle put a runner on third with
no outs in the 10th, but stranded him.
Robinson Cano struck out to end the
inning.
The Tigers got the winning run in
the bottom half when pinch runner
Cameron Maybin easily scored on
a bases-loaded wild pitch by Steve
Cishek with two outs.
“That’s the way it goes,” Cishek
said. “It’s just embarrassing to give it
away like that. Rather have him put
in play.”
Detroit swept a four-game set
from Seattle for the fi rst time since
August 1980 at Tiger Stadium.
Steven Moya drew a one-out
walk from Cishek (2-4) in the 10th
and Maybin pinch ran. Pinch hitter
See MARINERS/2B
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Adrian Sampson points to
his right forearm as he talks with catcher Chris Iannetta before
the fi rst inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers,
Thursday, June 23, 2016 in Detroit. Sampson was replaced
with pitcher Vidal Nuno.
Sports shorts
Marbles king and queen crowned
WILDWOOD, N.J. (AP) — Louie Lee
proved himself the current dominant male player
in his sport, crushing his opponent in a national
championship match Thursday in New Jersey.
Louie, of Mesa, Colorado, is 11
FACES and he shoots marbles. He shoots
them so well, in fact, that he scored
fi ve “sticks” — think of a tennis
player serving and slamming
four aces in a row — to beat
Zayd Hadjali, 14, of Lansdowne,
Pennsylvania, by a score of 8-2 in
the best of 15 game series.
Lee
With the win, Louie was
dubbed “king” of the 93rd
National Marbles Championship.
He took his place on a wooden
throne next to “queen” Haley
Grensko, 13, of Pittsburgh, who
beat Lauren Shuty, 12, also of
Grensko
western Pennsylvania, 8-5.
“This track has been
here since the ‘60s. We
had the glory days of
IndyCar here back in the
‘80s and early ‘90s. To
be back, I think it’s what
the series needs.“
— Mario Andretti
Retired IndyCar driver, 76, on the
series’ return to Road America.
The Kohler Grand Prix on Sunday
marks the return of IndyCar to the
rural Wisconsin road course for
the fi rst time since 2007.
LeBron out of Rio Olympics,
Melo left to chase history alone
NEW YORK (AP) — With LeBron James
taking a pass, Carmelo Anthony alone will
have a chance to become the
most-decorated Olympian in
men’s basketball history.
The New York Knicks
forward has agreed to chase a
fourth Olympic medal, a person
with knowledge of the details
said Thursday.
He and James both have two gold medals
and a bronze, but James informed USA
Basketball that he has withdrawn from
consideration, agent Rich Paul told The
Associated Press on Thursday night.
James ranks as the team’s career leader
in points and assists in the Olympics, while
ranking second in rebounds.
The Americans still have two spots to fi ll on
their 12-man roster that will be named Monday.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1910 — For the second
consecutive year, Hazel
Hotchkiss wins the singles,
doubles and mixed doubles
titles at the U.S. Lawn Tennis
Association championships.
1998 — Jamaica becomes
the fi rst Caribbean nation
to win a World Cup soccer
match since Cuba beat
Romania in 1938. Theodore
Whitmore scores in the 40th
and 54th minutes as the
Jamaicans beat Japan 2-1.
2012 — Major college
football fi nally gets a playoff.
A committee of university
presidents approve the BCS
commissioners’ plan for a four-
team playoff to start in 2014.
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