SPORTS
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2016
1B
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS
MLB
Little League Softball
‘The Kid’ goes in
Oregon
fi nishes pool
play strong
Crowd of
50,000 watches
Griffey Jr. join
Hall of Fame
Single elimination
tournament starts today
East Oregonian
By JOHN KEKIS
Associated Press
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Two
players who began their careers
at opposite ends of the spectrum
nearly three decades ago ended up
in the same place on Sunday — with
their names etched on plaques at the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
For Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike
Piazza, the culmination of their long
journeys was tinged with tears all
around.
“I stand up here humbled and
overwhelmed,” Griffey said, staring
out at his family and tens of thou-
sands of fans. “I can’t describe how
it feels.”
The two became a piece of
history on their special day. Griffey,
the fi rst pick of the 1987 amateur
draft, became the highest pick ever
inducted. Piazza, a 62nd-round pick
the next year —No. 1,390 — is
the lowest pick to enter the Hall of
Fame.
Griffey played 22 big-league
seasons with the Mariners, Reds and
White Sox and was selected on a
record 99.32 percent of ballots cast,
See HALL OF FAME/2B
AP Photo/Mike Groll
National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ken Griffey Jr. speaks during the induction
ceremony at Clark Sports Center on Sunday, July 24, 2016, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
PENDLETON
Inaugural hillclimb a hit all around
Riders say event
already one of
best on circuit
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — After
three days fi lled with the sound
of full-throttle motorcycles and
the sight of dirt and dust fl ying
around the air, the inaugural
Nitro in the Blues pro hillclimb
is being labeled as a big hit.
One reason it was such a
success was because of the
hill, which is located on a
ranch one mile south of Rieth.
It was labeled as an average
hill compared to some on the
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A rider attempts to keep his front tire down while compet-
ing in the Nitro in the Blues hill climb on Friday in Reith.
North American Hillclimbers
Association circuit coming into
the event, but event promoter
Ron Dillon said it turned out to
be better than expected.
“I think it went really well.
The riders loved the hill and
loved the dirt,” Dillon said. “It’s
really good dirt and it holds the
moisture well. The riders loved
the layout with the fl at bottom
and steep hill and that every-
body could see everything.
We had rave reviews from
everybody this weekend from
the riders to the spectators.”
One of those riders was Joe
Shipman, a 29-year-old from
Cottonwood, California and
one of the top riders on the
NAHA circuit, who scaled the
hill three times with relative
ease on his way to a victory in
the Open Pro class on Sunday.
“It was a really great hill,
one of the best hills we’ve ever
been to,” Shipman said. “The
dirt here in Pendleton is really
See HILLCLIMB/2B
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — After
a tough loss to begin the West Regional on
Friday, Team Oregon rebounded in a strong
way on Saturday and Sunday as they picked
up a pair of victories with a 11-9 win over
Utah and a 13-5 win over Alaska to fi nish off
pool play.
On Saturday, seven of the nine Oregon
starters
recorded
a hit in the game,
while Josie Wilson,
Delaney
Duchek,
Ella
Chrisman,
Sauren Garton and
Ellie Samford all
collecting two hits
apiece in the game.
Garton had a team-high three RBI to go with
her two hits, while Duchek led with three runs
scored.
Garton got the start at pitcher and tossed
fi ve innings while giving up eight hits and nine
runs, however just four of those were earned
as Oregon struggled on defense again with
six errors in the fi eld. Garton had allowed just
four hits and four runs until the sixth inning
when Utah attempted their comeback.
Mackenzie Burke came on in relief of
Garton in the inning and allowed just one
more inherited runner to score on one hit, but
closed the door to save the victory.
Oregon scored fi ve runs over the fi rst two
innings to put pressure on Utah from the start,
and Duchek got the scoring going with an RBI
single up the middle to bring in Wilson for the
1-0 lead. Duchek and Maria Lilenthal both
crossed the plate later in the fi rst inning on
a pair of Utah’s defensive miscues, and then
an RBI single into left fi eld by Garton in the
second brough home Duchek and Chrisman to
give Oregon a 5-2 lead.
They then took complete control of the
game in the fi fth inning when Oregon put
a fi ve spot on the board behind a four-hit
performance to jump out to a 11-2 lead. Ellie
Samford had the big hit in the inning with an
RBI triple into left fi eld.
On Sunday, Delaney Duchek smashed a
solo home run in the second inning to give
Oregon its fi rst lead of the game at 6-5 and
later fi nished the game a perfect 4-4 at the
plate with three runs scored and two RBI.
Along with Duchek the top of Oregon’s lineup
continued to shine for the tournament as Josie
Wilson and Maria Lilenthal combined to go
4-8 with four runs scored and three RBI.
Mackenzie Burke allowed fi ve runs to
Alaska in the top of the fi rst inning to put her
team in an early 5-0 hole, however settled
down and found a groove for the fi nal fi ve
See SOFTBALL/2B
NBA
McCollum agrees to 4-year extension with Trail Blazers
Portland continues
to lock up its core
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
PORTLAND — CJ
McCollum agreed to a four-
year, $106 million contract
extension with the Portland
Trail Blazers, a person
familiar with the deal said.
The person spoke to The
Associated Press on condi-
tion of anonymity Monday
because the deal hadn’t
been announced. It was fi rst
reported by Yahoo Sports.
McCollum was voted
the NBA’s Most Improved
Player after averaging 20.8
points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.3
assists during the regular
season. He raised his scoring
average by more than 14
points over the previous
season.
As the 10th overall draft
pick in 2013, McCollum
bided his time on the
bench his fi rst
the fi fth seed in the
two seasons. The
West and advanced
24-year-old guard
to the second round
became a starter in
of the playoffs.
the backcourt with
McCollum aver-
Damian
Lillard
aged 20.5 points,
last season after
3.6 rebounds and
four of the team’s
3.3 assists in the
starters left in the
postseason.
offseason.
His
14-point
With one of the McCollum
improvement was
youngest rosters in
the most since
the league (24.6 years), the Tony Campbell improved
Blazers were considered a from an average of 6.2
team that was rebuilding. But points to 23.2 points with
they overachieved to earn Minnesota from the 1988-89
to 1989-90 seasons.
McCollum also fi nished
the regular season with 197
3-pointers to rank ninth in
the league and fourth most
for the Blazers in one season.
He scored in double fi gures
in 79 games.
McCollum’s extension
comes in a busy offseason
for the Blazers. This month
they re-signed restricted free
agents Allen Crabbe and
Meyers Leonard.
Portland also signed free-
agent forward Festus Ezeli
and acquired guard Shabazz
Napier in a trade with the
Orlando Magic for cash.
Portland also signed forward
Jake Layman, acquired in a
draft-day trade, as well as
free-agent wing Evan Turner.
In another move Monday,
Portland signed free-agent
guard Tim Quarterman.
Undrafted out of LSU, Quar-
terman averaged 11.2 points,
4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists
as a junior for the Tigers last
season.
Sports shorts
Manning cleared of HGH allegations
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL says it
found no credible evidence that Peyton Manning
was provided with HGH or other prohibited
substances as alleged in a documentary by
Al-Jazeera America last fall.
FACES The league said the quarterback
and his wife fully cooperated in
the seven-month investigation,
providing interviews and access to
all records sought by investigators.
Manning vehemently denied the
allegations when they were made
late in the season.
Manning
Manning retired from the NFL
a month after Denver’s 24-10 win over Carolina
in Super Bowl 50.
The NFL is continuing its investigation into
allegations made against other NFL players in
the documentary, which the league said involves
“different lines of inquiry and witnesses.”
“Wear the UNI. And be
proud of those before
you. It’s (an) honor to
wear any MLB UNI.“
— Greg Swindell
Former Major League pitcher
on his public Twitter account on
Monday evening. The tweet was
in reference to Chicago White
Sox pitcher Chris Sale’s pre-
game antics on Saturday when
he cut up the throwback uniform
the White Sox were scheduled
to wear that day because Sale
thought they were uncomfortable.
Sale was suspended for one
week by the White Sox.
Timbers defender out for year
PORTLAND (AP) — Portland Timbers
defender Nat Borchers needs surgery to repair
a ruptured left Achilles tendon and will miss
the rest of the season.
Borchers was hurt on
Saturday during the Timbers’
2-1 loss to the Los Angeles
Galaxy.
It did not appear that the
veteran defender was injured by
contact when he collapsed to the
turf late in the fi rst half. Borchers could not
stand after he was treated on the fi eld and left
on a stretcher.
Borchers, 35, is a fan favorite and was a
key last season when the Timbers won the
MLS Cup. The injury comes at a time when
another starting defender, Liam Ridgewell, is
dealing with a calf injury.
Surgery has not yet been scheduled.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1981 — Pat Bradley
shoots a record 279 total to
win the U.S. Women’s Open.
1998 — Three spectators
are killed — the fi rst fan
deaths at a major race in the
United States in more than a
decade — and six are injured
by fl ying debris from a
one-car crash at the U.S. 500
at Michigan Speedway.
2005 — Greg Maddux
records his 3,000th career
strikeout against San Fran-
cisco, striking out Omar
Vizquel in the third inning of
a 3-2, 11-inning victory for
the Giants.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com