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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2016)
Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Wednesday, August 24, 2016 JAMES: Emergence shifts Neal to WR Continued from 1B that saw its quarterbacks carry the ball 172 times last season. He’s not a “running quarterback”, though, and has been getting high marks from his receivers when it comes to delivering a catch- able ball. “He gots everything, he gots the arm, he gots the strength,” said senior receiver Jerry Ramirez. “He’s mature as a sopho- more. We’ve just got to get in there and feed off him, every ball he throws us we’ve got to catch. He throws really good balls. We’ve just got to pick him up and he’ll feed off us, once we start making grabs.” James said the chemistry in the passing game seems to be improving with each practice. “I’ve got some good wide receivers to throw to. There’s definitely some skill out there,” he said. “They’re working on their part and I’m working on my part and we should be able to put it together. Every day we’ve gotten better. Once we got pads on the fire came under us and everything started to click better.” James’ emergence allows junior Dayshawn Neal to shift out to wide receiver where his athleticism and speed can be used a variety of ways. Neal was the starting quarterback to open the 2015 season, but the team was winless when he broke his ankle in Week 5 and the since-graduated Nathan Hunsaker stepped in to go 4-1 in his starts. Transfer senior Damien McLeod (Ridgeview) has Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hermiston senior Damien McLeod looks to hand the ball off during drills on Tuesday in Hermiston. won the backup quarterback role, and said he’s coming from a system where he was mostly used as a runner. “(James) reads the defense and steps up into the pocket and throws, which is great,” McLeod said. “We’ve both kind of been learning off each other.” McLeod, who also starts at linebacker, said he sees his most important role in the offense as that of mentor. “He’s a young kid, so my senior values I can put off onto him, but he’s going to be ready,” McLeod said. “Coming here, Andrew was pretty much the first kid I met. We kind of have that kind of bond, he was my first buddy. “We work out (together) in the weight room and as a backup I kind of take that as pushing him to be the best that he can be, and I’m just try to work him, get him going.” McLeod also gives James insight into the defensive mindset. “From the opposite side of the ball I’ve been scouting QBs from Day 1,” he said. “I guess that’s more knowledge that I can put off onto him.” One thing McLeod said he won’t need to help James learn is how to be a leader in the huddle and the locker room. In fact, it’s one of the areas James said he feels he’s the strongest, and he’s been working hard to demonstrate that by “knowing every posi- tion so I can give everyone my input and let them do what they do.” “He’s smart, intelligent, just confidence is the biggest key for him,” Ramirez said. “Once we get that going we’re going to be a scary team. Last year as a freshman he started all three sports — football, basketball and baseball. So we don’t doubt him one bit. “Friday nights varsity is a different animal, a different beast, but he’ll be good.” James echoed Ramirez’s confidence, and said he’s envisioning a clean entry. “There’s a big difference between practice and Friday night lights,” he said. “I’ll be ready for it, but it will sure be a surprise. It should be good.” ——— Hermiston will hold its intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday at Kennison Field from 9-11 a.m. Admission is free. ——— Contact Matt Entrup at mentrup@eastoregonian. com or (541) 966-0838. MARINERS: Reliever Tony Zych recalled Continued from 1B by Ronald Torreyes. The Yankees made it 4-1 in the sixth when Mark Teixeira doubled, took third on Brian McCann’s groundout and scored on Aaron Judge’s sacrifice fly to center. New York added an unearned run in the ninth when Ellsbury reached on a two-base error by left fielder Guillermo Heredia and scored on Didi Grego- rius’ ground-rule double. The Yankees took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the second. Judge reached on a two-out error when his infield bouncer went off the top of third baseman Kyle Seager’s glove. Aaron Hicks walked and Torreyes followed with an RBI double to left. TRAINING ROOM: Yankees: RHP Anthony Swarzak, who took the loss after giving up Mike Zuni- no’s go-ahead three-run homer in a 7-5 loss Monday, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right rotator cuff inflammation. RHP Ben Heller, acquired from Cleveland in the trade for Andrew Miller on July 31, was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes- Barre. Heller also was with the Yankees from Aug. 11-13 but did not pitch. Mariners: RHP Tony Zych was recalled from a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma and acti- vated off the 60-day disable list Tuesday. Zych was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 10 early season relief appearances before going on the 15-day DL (right rotator cuff tendinitis) in early May and was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 24. IF/ OF Stefen Romero, who was called up Friday, was sent back to Tacoma. MORE MARINERS MOVES: To make room for Walker, the Mariners optioned RHP Cody Martin to Tacoma. Martin was called up Aug. 16, his third stint with Seattle this season. He made two spot starts without a decision, including Monday’s 7-5 victory over the Yankees, when he allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings — with all the runs coming on four home runs. UP NEXT: Yankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (10-4, 3.24 ERA) has won three consecutive starts for the first time since July 9-23 of 2015. He is 4-0 in four career starts against the Mariners, including 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA at Safeco Field. Tanaka will be facing former Japanese teammate Hisashi Iwakuma, with whom he played from 2007-11 with Rakuten. The two also met in April, with Tanaka getting the victory and Iwakuma the loss in a 4-3 Yankees’ win. Mariners: In a season of injuries, trades and roster shuffling, RHP Iwakuma (14-8, 3.78) has been the most consistent member of the rotation, leading in starts (25), victories and strikeouts. He is 13-4 in his last 17 starts. VOLLEYBALL: Anderson knows there are big shoes to fill with Grizzlies Continued from 1B opening for the position, it instantly piqued her interest. “I’ve always been interested in being a head coach in volleyball or track and field,” Fleming said, “and when I saw Hermiston had an opening I thought it would be a good opportunity to take on my own program and create my own culture outside the Tri-Cities area that I was used to.” Fleming and her Bull- dogs recently completed the tryout portion of camp and are heading full-force into season preparations as they inch toward the season opener on Sept. 2. She emphasized how lucky she is to have a great mix of talents and experience on the team for her first year as coach, which has her excited to see how far the team “My plan is to can go. create a compet- “One of the itive culture and things I like about get the girls in this team is their a competitive optimism and mindset all the positive outlook,” time,” she said. she said. “They “When they are very future-fo- compete every day cused and goal-ori- in practice and go ented and having Anderson through the ups and them that way will downs there, they help get us to where we want will be ready for anything to be.” during the games.” Fleming, who is also Another team getting a physical education acclimated to new coaches teacher at Armand Larive is the Helix Grizzlies, as Middle School, inherits a longtime coach Tammie Hermiston roster that had a Parker retired following the disappointing 2015 season 2015 season after 15 years in which it went 5-11 overall at the helm of the Grizzlies and 1-8 in the Columbia program. In her place steps River Conference, and is Dianna Anderson, who like five years removed from its Fleming is in her first year as last league title. So how does a varsity head coach, but has Fleming hope to build up the numerous years of coaching program? experience at the youth level. “It’s big shoes to fill, no doubt,” Anderson said. “It’s tough for me to follow because of (Tammie’s) repu- tation.” Anderson, a native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, began coaching middle school volleyball in Pendleton in 2007 and until 2012 she had stints as the Pendleton freshman and junior varsity coach before moving back to the middle school level in Pilot Rock, a position she held until 2014. After that, Anderson took a two-year hiatus from coaching and instead got involved with officiating before soon realizing how much she missed the coaching aspect in games. “I love the sport and have always had a passion for it,” Anderson said. “Around that time, I knew Tammie was wanting to retire and she had always raved about her group of kids here, so I thought I’d throw my name in the ring … and here we are.” Anderson, who works as a police assistant for the Pendleton Police Depart- ment, admits that it was a bit of a tough transition for the team, but the players appear to have found a groove heading towards the season. “It’s a big adjustment for them, Tammie was there for a long time,” she said. “Especially at the beginning, we had to feel each other out and some girls were standoffish, but now we’re gelling more and more as we go along.” Helix opens its season on Friday at the Umatilla Jamboree before hosting Mac-Hi and Riverside for the first matches in Helix on Sept. 1. The Grizzlies lost a couple of key pieces from last year’s playoff team, but Anderson said she has a strong group this season and that she couldn’t have picked a better group of girls to get started with. “The thing with Helix compared to a place like Pendleton, these girls have a real sense of team and cama- raderie and every day they just boost each other up.” she said. “It’s just a great, great group to get in here with and they’re so welcoming and fun. “Time just flies by when we’re on the court.” ——— Contact Eric Singer at esinger@eastoregonian. com or (541) 966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ ByEricSinger. BALDWIN: Receiver finished 2015 with 78 catches and led NFL with 14 TDs Continued from 1B feel loved and appreciated and valued,” Baldwin said. “When you put a number to it, honestly, it’s really not about the money, but the money does equate to respect and appreciation and love. It feels great, but at the same time nothing really changes. When we are on the football field we are still going to work because we have an ultimate goal to get to. It does feel good to have that behind me so we can focus on the field.” Baldwin was at the center of Seattle’s offensive progression in 2015. While the Seahawks will always be a run-first team, they discovered a quick passing game during the latter half of last season where Baldwin thrived. Baldwin finished the year with 78 catches and 14 touchdowns, tied for the NFL lead. Eleven of those 14 TDs came in the final six weeks, including a three-game span with eight TD catches. The success of last season seemed to validate what Baldwin claimed for years: that if given the opportunity, Seattle’s passing game could be among the best in the league. While the underlying expectation is that Baldwin needs to come close to replicating last year to avoid having it considered an anomaly, it may not happen simply because of Seattle’s offensive focus. “It is a mindset you have to have when you come to the Seattle Seahawks, when you come to any run-first offense you have to realize you are going to be called upon to block, more so than scoring touchdowns,” Baldwin said. To that point, Baldwin’s goal has become efficiency rather than raw numbers. He’ll never see anything close to the 193 targets Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown had last year, so Baldwin must make the most of the throws that come his way. Last year, Baldwin caught nearly 76 percent of the passes thrown in his direction. Even someone who has been around Baldwin for close to a decade can see the continuing evolution of his teammate both at Stanford and with the Seahawks. “I told him the other day he had a fantastic feel for the game. He is just a man among boys right now,” Richard Sherman said. “He knows his spots, he knows where he needs to be on the field, he knows when he needs to be there and he and Russell (Wilson) just have a great rapport going on right now. I think in terms of the skill set was the same, he’s still as fast, he’s still as explosive, but the feel wasn’t the same. He would be running into coverage sometimes, now he’s running into spots making sure he’s open. Russell is hitting him on time. He’s not juking and jiving, he’s making his one cut ... he’s more confident in what he’s doing.” SCOREBOARD Baseball MLB AMERICAN LEAGUE East Division W L Pct GB Toronto 71 54 .568 — Boston 71 54 .568 — Baltimore 69 56 .552 2 New York 64 61 .512 7 Tampa Bay 52 72 .419 18½ Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 72 52 .581 — Detroit 66 59 .528 6½ Kansas City 65 60 .520 7½ Chicago 60 64 .484 12 Minnesota 49 76 .392 23½ West Division W L Pct GB Texas 73 53 .579 — Seattle 67 58 .536 5½ Houston 65 61 .516 8 Oakland 54 72 .429 19 Los Angeles 52 73 .416 20½ ——— Tuesday’s Games Baltimore 8, Washington 1 Pittsburgh 7, Houston 1 Toronto 7, L.A. Angels 2 Boston 2, Tampa Bay 1 Cincinnati 3, Texas 0 Kansas City 1, Miami 0 Chicago White Sox 9, Philadelphia 1 Detroit 8, Minnesota 3 Oakland 9, Cleveland 1 N.Y. Yankees 5, Seattle 1 Wednesday’s Games Houston (McHugh 7-10) at Pittsburgh (Cole 7-8), 9:35 a.m. Cleveland (Bauer 9-5) at Oakland (Grave- man 9-8), 12:35 p.m. N.Y. Yankees (Tanaka 10-4) at Seattle (Iwakuma 14-8), 12:40 p.m. Baltimore (Miley 7-10) at Washington (Roark 13-6), 4:05 p.m. L.A. Angels (Shoemaker 7-13) at Toronto (Estrada 7-5), 4:07 p.m. Boston (Porcello 17-3) at Tampa Bay (Andriese 6-5), 4:10 p.m. Kansas City (Gee 5-6) at Miami (Fernan- dez 12-7), 4:10 p.m. Texas (Darvish 4-3) at Cincinnati (Adleman 2-1), 4:10 p.m. Detroit (Boyd 4-2) at Minnesota (Duffey 8-9), 5:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Eickhoff 8-12) at Chicago White Sox (Shields 5-15), 5:10 p.m. NATIONAL LEAGUE East Division W L Pct GB Washington 73 52 .584 — Miami 65 60 .520 8 New York 63 62 .504 10 Philadelphia 58 68 .460 15½ Atlanta 46 80 .365 27½ Central Division W L Pct GB Chicago 79 45 .637 — St. Louis 66 58 .532 13 Pittsburgh 63 60 .512 15½ Milwaukee 55 70 .440 24½ Cincinnati 54 71 .432 25½ West Division W L Pct GB Los Angeles 70 55 .560 — San Francisco 68 57 .544 2 Colorado 60 66 .476 10½ San Diego 53 73 .421 17½ Arizona 52 74 .413 18½ ——— Tuesday’s Games Baltimore 8, Washington 1 Pittsburgh 7, Houston 1 Cincinnati 3, Texas 0 Kansas City 1, Miami 0 Chicago White Sox 9, Philadelphia 1 Milwaukee 6, Colorado 4 N.Y. Mets 7, St. Louis 4 Atlanta 7, Arizona 4 Chicago Cubs 5, San Diego 3 L.A. Dodgers 9, San Francisco 4 Wednesday’s Games Houston (McHugh 7-10) at Pittsburgh (Cole 7-8), 9:35 a.m. Colorado (Anderson 4-4) at Milwaukee (Davies 9-6), 11:10 a.m. Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 11-7) at San Diego (Clemens 2-2), 12:40 p.m. Baltimore (Miley 7-10) at Washington (Roark 13-6), 4:05 p.m. Kansas City (Gee 5-6) at Miami (Fernan- dez 12-7), 4:10 p.m. Texas (Darvish 4-3) at Cincinnati (Adleman 2-1), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Eickhoff 8-12) at Chicago White Sox (Shields 5-15), 5:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (deGrom 7-6) at St. Louis (Martinez 11-7), 5:15 p.m. Atlanta (Teheran 3-9) at Arizona (Greinke 11-4), 6:40 p.m. San Francisco (Cueto 14-3) at L.A. Dodg- ers (Hill 9-3), 7:10 p.m. Wild Card Standings AMERICAN LEAGUE W L Pct. Toronto 71 54 .568 Boston 71 54 .568 Baltimore 69 56 .552 Seattle 67 58 .536 Detroit 66 59 .528 Kansas City 65 60 .520 Houston 65 61 .516 New York 64 61 .512 NATIONAL LEAGUE W San Francisco 68 St. Louis 66 Miami 65 Pittsburgh 63 New York 63 L 57 58 60 60 62 GB +2 +2 — 2 3 4 4½ 5 Pct. GB .544 +1.5 .532 — .520 1½ .512 2½ .504 3½ MiLB NORTHWEST LEAGUE North Division W L Pct. Everett (Mariners) 19 7 .731 Vancouver (Blue Jays) 10 16 .385 Tri-City (Padres) 10 16 .385 Spokane (Rangers) 9 17 .346 South Division W L Pct. Eugene (Cubs) 18 8 .692 Hillsboro (Dbacks) 16 10 .615 Salem-Keizer (Giants) 11 15 .423 Boise (Rockies) 11 15 .423 ——— Tuesday’s Games Boise 3, Vancouver 2, 10 innings GB — 9 9 10 GB — 2 7 7 Everett 3, Eugene 1 Hillsboro 8, Spokane 1 Tri-City 13, Salem-Keizer 1 Wednesday’s Games Boise at Vancouver, 1:05 p.m. Spokane at Hillsboro, 1:10 p.m. Everett at Eugene, 7:05 p.m. Salem-Keizer at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m. Colorado 11 3 Real Salt Lake 11 8 Sporting KC 11 11 Los Angeles 9 4 Portland 8 10 San Jose 7 7 Seattle 9 12 Vancouver 8 12 Houston 5 10 Little League World Series At South Williamsport, Pa. (TV: ESPN) Double Elimination Tuesday’s Games Consolation: Tokyo 6, San Antonio 1 San Nicolas, Mexico 7, Vancouver, B.C. 1, Vancouver eliminated Johnston, Iowa 3, Warwick, R.I. 2, War- wick eliminated Sydney 2, Willemstad, Curacao 1, Willem- stad eliminated Goodlettsville, Tenn. 4, Chula Vista, Calif. 2, 7 innings, Chula Vista eliminated Wednesday’s Games San Nicolas, Mexico vs. Sydney, 10 a.m. Johnston, Iowa vs. Goodlettsville, Tenn., 12 p.m. Aguadulce, Panama vs. Seoul, South Korea, 2:30 p.m. Endwell, N.Y. vs. Bowling Green, Ky., 4:30 p.m. Soccer MLS EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts NYC FC 11 7 8 41 Toronto FC 11 7 7 40 New York 10 9 7 37 Philadelphia 9 9 7 34 Montreal 8 7 9 33 D.C. United 6 8 10 28 Orlando City 5 6 13 28 New England 6 11 8 26 Columbus 4 8 11 23 Chicago 5 11 7 22 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts FC Dallas 13 7 6 45 GF 44 37 45 43 38 26 38 29 31 25 GA 43 26 35 40 37 30 41 46 38 32 GF GA 39 34 10 7 5 11 8 10 3 6 9 43 40 38 38 32 31 30 30 24 27 37 32 38 37 26 29 34 27 20 36 30 24 39 27 31 43 30 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Today’s Games D.C. United at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Orlando City, 4:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Seattle at Houston, 6 p.m. New England at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Friday’s Game Colorado at Real Salt Lake, 5 p.m. Saturday’s Games Chicago at D.C. United, 4 p.m. Sporting Kansas City at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Montreal at Toronto FC, 4:30 p.m. San Jose at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Houston, 6 p.m. Vancouver at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s Games New England at New York, 11:30 a.m. Seattle at Portland, 2 p.m. New York City FC at Orlando City, 4 p.m. Basketball WNBA EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB New York 18 8 .692 — Atlanta 13 12 .520 4½ Indiana 12 12 .500 5 Chicago 11 13 .458 6 Washington 9 15 .375 8 Connecticut 8 16 .333 9 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L Pct GB x-Los Angeles 21 3 .875 — x-Minnesota 21 4 .840 ½ Phoenix 10 14 .417 11 Seattle 9 15 .375 12 Dallas 9 16 .360 12½ San Antonio 5 18 .217 15½ x-clinched a playoff spot ——— NOTE: OLYMPIC Break season resumes August 26 Motorsports NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule Sun., Aug. 28 — Pure Michigan 400, Brooklyn, Mich., 11 a.m. (TV: NBCSN) Sun., Sept. 4 — Bojangles’ Southern 500, Darlington, S.C., 3 p.m. (TV: NBC) Points Leaders Through Aug. 21 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Brad Keselowski 3. Kurt Busch 4. Carl Edwards 5. Joey Logano 6. Kyle Busch 7. Denny Hamlin 8. Martin Truex Jr 9. Jimmie Johnson 10. Matt Kenseth 11. Austin Dillon 12. Chase Elliott 13. Jamie McMurray 14. Ryan Newman 15. Trevor Bayne 16. Kyle Larson 17. Kasey Kahne 18. AJ Allmendinger 19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 20. Ryan Blaney 21. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 22. Greg Biffle 23. Danica Patrick 24. Paul Menard 25. Clint Bowyer 26. Aric Almirola 27. Tony Stewart 28. Casey Mears 29. Landon Cassill 30. Chris Buescher 762 735 692 689 684 674 659 630 612 604 596 588 583 576 541 537 537 518 514 508 461 441 432 431 407 406 400 375 355 328
