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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2016)
SPORTS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON PENDLETON Bucks know Tigers well Staff photo by E.J.Harris Hermiston quarterback Andrew James scans the defense during a football practice on Wednesday, Aug. 24. James will make his fi rst varsity start against Union (WA) on Friday. Bulldogs open with big test After weeks of practice, Hermiston ready to hit other people By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian After months of summer workouts and two-plus weeks of practices, it’s offi cially game week for the Hermiston Bulldogs. The Bulldogs, recently Football ranked No. 10 in the Oregonian’s Class 5A preseason media poll, are preparing to open up the Union (WA) Hermiston Titans Bulldogs gates of Kennison Field (0-0) (0-0) on Friday night as they • Friday, 7 p.m. host the Union (WA) Titans for the season • at Kennison Field, opener. Hermiston head • Hermiston Radio: KOHU 1360 AM coach David Faaeteete said following Wednes- day’s practice that his team is champing at the bit to face off against someone other than themselves. See BULLDOGS/2B College Football Leidner leads Gophers against Beavers Oregon State takes on Minnesota By DAVE CAMPBELL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — The left foot is fully repaired and rehabilitated after playing through the pain last season, and Mitch Leidner has lost 20 pounds. Minnesota’s fi fth- year senior quarterback is primed for a strong fi nish. Bring on the season, and the opener against Oregon State tonight. “Defi nitely want to leave a legacy,” Leidner said, adding: “I know the rest of the seniors feel the same exact way.” See BEAVERS/2B In this Nov. 28, 2015 photo, Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leid- ner (7) plays against the Wisconsin in an NCAA college foot- ball game in Minneapolis. AP Photo/Jim Mone, File Pendleton’s Jamal Vann, 33, rumbles though the defensive line on Thurs- day, Aug. 25 during the Buck Bowl & BBQ in Pendleton. Bucks coach Erik Davis said getting the running game going early will be crucial to easing quarterback Nick Bower into his fi rst varsity start when Pend- leton opens the season at La Grande on Friday. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton expects tough opener against loaded La Grande By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian There are always unknowns headed into the fi rst week of the football season, but there should be few surprises when the Pendleton Buckaroos and La Grande Tigers kick off the season on Friday at Commu- nity Stadium in La Grande. It’s a rematch from Week 3 of the 2015 season, a nail- biter Pendleton hung on to win 25-24 when La Grande’s last-second Hail Mary went unanswered. The Tigers return a slew of players that will be looking to avenge what ended up as their only loss in the regular season, including junior quarterback Andrew Peasley and senior defensive end Connor Brandt, both of whom were named Greater Oregon League Players of the Year at the end of last See BUCKS/2B Pendleton La Grande Buckaroos Tigers (0-0) (0-0) • Friday, 7 p.m. • at Community Stadium, La Grande • Radio: KTIX 1240 AM MLB Hernandez can’t stop Mariners’ slide Seattle loses fifth game in a row By SCHUYLER DIXON Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas — Felix Hernandez surrendered a grand slam in his shortest outing of the season when the fading Seattle Mariners needed their ace to end a losing streak. Now they’ll go home looking to stay in the AL wild-card race after a three-game sweep by Texas essentially ended their hopes of winning the AL West. “We’ve just got to go out there and play with everybody and show people who we are,” Hernandez said after giving up Carlos Gomez’s grand slam in the Rangers’ 14-1 romp Wednesday. “We’ve got some good pitching here to win games. Just got to have fun.” The Mariners, losers of fi ve straight and now 11 1/2 behind the Rangers in the AL West, will be at least four games back in the wild card when they face the Los Angeles Angels on Friday to start a homestand that includes four more games with Texas. The Mariners went 1-6 on a trip that started at the Chicago White Sox after fi nishing a homestand with two straight losses to the AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez punches his glove after giving up a grand slam to Tex- as Rangers’ Carlos Gomez in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, in Arlington, Texas. Yankees. “We have bounced back Seattle all year,” manager Scott Servais said. “We need to pick it up, no doubt. It’s been a rough trip. Guys are down a little bit and right- fully so. Off day tomorrow, we’ll come back and bring the energy that we need to have to get out and play.” Rougned Odor followed his game-ending shot Tuesday night with two more homers Wednesday, giving him a team-leading 27 for the season. Odor tied a career high with fi ve RBIs and Adrian Beltre and Ryan Rua also 1 homered as the Rangers tied their Texas season high with fi ve homers. T e x a s (80-54) moved a season-high 26 games over .500 with a fi fth straight win going into a three-game home series against second-place Houston. The Rangers matched the 1999 and 2012 Texas teams as the fastest to reach 80 wins. “So far the body of work speaks for itself,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said. “We still have some work to do.” Martin Perez (9-10) pitched six shutout innings 14 despite giving up seven hits and three walks. Kyle Seager hit his 25th homer for Seattle in the eighth against Tony Barnette. Hernandez (9-5) matched a season high by allowing six runs, coming out after four innings in his fi rst loss since May 27. He was trying to fi nish 5-0 in August. Gomez hit a soaring fl y ball about a dozen rows above the 14-foot wall in left fi eld for his second grand slam this season and a 6-0 lead in the fourth. The other slam also was against Seattle on July 17 when he was still with Astros. Odor had a two-run shot for a 10-0 lead in the seventh and a three-run homer in the eighth. On Tuesday, his two-run homer in the ninth gave Texas an 8-7 win. Beltre’s 25th homer of the season was a two-run shot in the fi fth. CAMINERO EJECTION Seattle reliever Arquim- edes Caminero was ejected after hitting Texas’ Elvis Andrus with a pitch in the seventh. Caminero hit Andrus in the ribs with a high 98 mph fastball two batters after allowing Odor’s two-run homer. In the second inning, Andrus ran into Mariners fi rst baseman Dae-Ho Lee while running out a groundball. Andrus tried to apologize, but Lee, who had three hits, didn’t look pleased. Sports shorts Cramping Raonic loses to qualifi er PED Three cleared by NFL NEW YORK (AP) — The cramping became so debilitating, Milos Raonic said, he couldn’t grip his racket properly. The Wimbledon runner-up just last month, and seeded No. 5 at the U.S. Open, FACES Raonic began to feel pain near his left wrist midway through the second set of what would become a stunning 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 second-round loss to 120th-ranked American qualifi er Ryan Harrison on Wednesday. Eventually, the problem spread to Raonic’s right forearm. Then Raonic both thighs. Then his left hip fl exor. Afterward, his back seized up when he tried to sling his equipment bag over a shoulder. No way to try to win a tennis match. Or to serve: That’s normally his most effective stroke, yet he double-faulted 15 times. “It was just catching me all over,” Raonic said. “I started getting small (cramps) where I couldn’t hold the racket.” NEW YORK (AP) — NFL stars James Harrison, Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers can start the regular season without having the specter of a league investigation over whether they used perfor- mance-enhancing drugs hanging over their heads. The NFL cleared all three players on Wednesday, saying there was “no credible evidence” the players were guilty of any of the claims made in a documentary by Al-Jazeera America in January. An NFL statement said “the investigation involved witness interviews, a review of relevant records and other materials, electronic research, and laboratory analysis and review.” The league threatened Harrison, Matthews, Peppers and free agent Mike Neal with indefi nite suspensions if they did not meet with investigators. “You’ve got to love preseason football to be out there on a night like tonight.“ — Dirk Koetter Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach after his team lost to Washington 20-13 in front of about 5,000 fans in both team’s preseason fi nale on Wednesday. The game had been moved up 24 hours due to Tropical Storm Hermine and a heavy rain fell throughout the game. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1975 — Tom Seaver strikes out Manny Sanguillen in the seventh inning to become the fi rst pitcher to strike out 200 or more batters in eight consec- utive seasons. Seaver records 10 strikeouts in the Mets’ 3-0 triumph over Pittsburgh. 1984 — Willie Totten of Mississippi Valley State passes for a Division I-AA record 536 yards and nine touchdowns in a 86-0 rout of Kentucky State. Jerry Rice catches 17 passes for 294 yards and fi ve touchdowns and breaks his own Division I-AA record for receiving yards. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
