Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2017)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Prep Roundup HERMISTON Rodriguez takes his talents to Walla Walla Pirates Hermiston soccer star signs to play at Walla Walla CC By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Dozens of students and faculty gathered in the Hermiston High School commons following school on Tuesday to support a fellow Bulldog and chow down on some free cake. All eyes were on senior Freddy Rodriguez, as the soccer star signed on with Walla Walla Community College to continue his athletic and academic career. Rodriguez spent nearly every moment of Staff photo by Eric Singer the approximately 30 minute party with a Hermiston senior Freddy Rodriguez, left, signs his big grin on his face. National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Walla Wal- “It’s honestly a great feeling,” Rodri- la Community College on Tuesday at Hermiston High guez said Tuesday. “It’s good to know School, while Walla Walla coach Ben Rotert looks on. you’re wanted and it feels good to be playing at the next level with friends and teammates, and they’ll all just build on you and you’ll build on them.” Rodriguez departs Hermiston as a four-year letterwinner at the varsity level, a four-year staple on the all-league teams, and a two-year team captain. Rodriguez capped his career with 24 goals and 12 assists this season — both team highs — plus a fi rst team all-state selection in Class 5A as Hermiston went 12-4-1 overall and advanced to the state quarterfi nals for the second straight year. Walla Walla head coach Ben Rotert was in attendance for Rodriguez’s signing on Tuesday, and said that he’s had his eye on Rodriguez since the 2015 high school season. “I came out to a match and his move- ment on and off the ball, the work rate he See RODRIGUEZ/2B PENDLETON Buckaroos take down Tigers Stuvland’s big board helps Pendleton hold on for win Pend- leton’s Johnny Stuvland shoots the ball guarded by La Grande’s John Schiller in the Bucks’ 63-59 win against the Tigers on Tuesday in Pendle- ton. By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian In a game featuring two of the top scoring threats in their classifi - cations, an offensive rebound may just have been the play of the game for the Pendleton Buckaroos on Boys Hoops Tuesday night at Warberg Court. With 30 La Grande seconds left in their non-league game against 4A No. 2 La Grande, Bucks senior Johnny Stuvland Pendleton wedged himself between a pair of Tigers and ripped away the rebound from teammate Shaw Jerome’s errant free throw, then kicked it out to Caden Smith on the perimeter. Smith was fouled and hit both of his free throws for a seven-point cushion and what would be Pend- leton’s fi nal points in a 63-59 win. “Johnny had a huge rebound there at the end in that free throw situation,” said Pendleton coach Kyle Tedder. Stuvland had three of his four rebounds on offense and also came up with big stops on the defensive end with three blocks. “I have a pretty big match-up during practice every day (team- mate Jake Szumski) so I’m used to getting hammered,” said Stuvland, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second half while playing most of the way with three fouls. “Johnny was big,” Tedder said. “He got three quick fouls early, and it’s hard to keep him in the game, but I think it’s him maturing a little bit from a junior to a senior. I left him in the game a little bit and gave him a chance and I thought he did a good job, and I thought we fi nished the game well.” La Grande (14-2) might have had a chance to tie when Jerome was called for a fl agrant foul with .8 of a second left, but Andrew Staff photo by E.J. Harris 59 halt losing streak Riverside earns fi rst league win East Oregonian BOARDMAN — The River- side Pirates’ seven game losing streak came to a screeching halt on Tuesday night, as the Pirates took Boys Hoops care of the Vale Vikings 52-35 in an Eastern Oregon League match-up at Vale Riverside High School. “We played a lot better, we played with some urgency Riverside for the fi rst time in a while,” Riverside coach Clair Costello said. “It was a good game and a good win.” Eon Castillo and Felix See PREPS/2B 35 52 MLB Mariners to retire No. 11 Hall of Famer or not, Edgar Martinez gets ultimate team honor 63 By TIM BOOTH Associated Press Peasley missed the front end of his trip to the free throw line and the Bucks wisely gave the Tigers plenty of room for a game-ending three-point attempt. Smith scored 22 points to lead Pendleton (5-4) and Peasley scored a game-high 25 for La Grande, which was coming off a win over Pendleton’s conference rival Hermiston on Monday. “It gives us a huge confi dence boost,” said Jerome, who scored all 10 of his points after halftime and also had three assists. “We just beat one of the best teams at the 4A level who just beat Hermiston, who’s up there, so it was a great, great confi dence builder for us.” It was another hot night for Bucks shooters and 5A No. 18 Pendleton fi nished 23 for 48 (47.9 percent) while La Grande wasn’t far behind at 20 for 46 (43.5 percent). Smith scored 15 of his points in the fi rst half, and drained a deep 3-pointer near the end of the fi rst half that put Pendleton up for good 31-29. That was where they went into the locker rooms at the break with Pendleton carrying momentum after a 7-2 run. The Bucks opened the third See BUCKAROOS/2B SEATTLE — As Edgar Marti- nez’s candidacy for the baseball Hall of Fame began gaining more traction, the Seattle Mariners ownership started discussions of whether it was time to consider giving Martinez the ultimate honor from the franchise. When Martinez made a signifi cant jump in the Hall of Fame voting this year, trending toward potential induction, it became an easy decision to decide it was time to retire Martinez’s No. 11. Seattle team President Kevin Mather announced Tuesday that Martinez’s number will be retired on Aug. 12 as part of a weekend celebration. He will become just the second player in club history to have his number retired, joining Ken Griffey Jr., whose No. 24 was retired by the club last year after Griffey’s Hall of Fame induction. See MARTINEZ/2B Sports shorts Serena advances to 10th straight Grand Slam semis at Aussie Open MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Serena Williams reached her 10th consecutive Grand Slam semifi nal, and kept her bid alive for a record 23rd major title, with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Johanna Konta at the Australian Open on Wednesday. Her opponent in the semifi nals, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who beat fi fth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, had a much longer wait to get back to this stage at a major Williams nearly 18 years. It’s the second time in the last two years that three women in their 30s have reached the semifi nals at a major: Venus Williams, 36, Serena Williams, 35, and Lucic- Baroni, 34. Serena also reached the semifi nals at the 2015 U.S. Open, alongside 30-somethings Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci. “I don’t know, I’m going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options, to consider health and family and things like that ... I think that’s, in my point of my career and my age, that’s the prudent and smart thing to do.“ — Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback in a radio appearance with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, wouldn’t commit to playing a 14th NFL season, and hinted that he is considering retirement. Michigan fi rst school to pay three assistants $1 million ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is committed to paying three of Jim Harbaugh’s assistants $1 million each per year. Defensive coordinator Don Brown and offensive coordi- nator Tim Drevno have been retained with contracts worth more than $10 million combined over the next fi ve years. Passing coordinator Pep Hamilton was lured away from the Cleveland Browns with a $4.25 million, four-year deal. Brown’s contract calls for him to make $1 million annually in the fi rst four years and $1.4 million in 2021. Drevno’s deal is worth $1 million each year plus a $150,000 signing bonus this month. Hamilton’s salary will be $1 million in the fi rst three years before getting a bump to $1.25 million in 2020. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1924 — The fi rst Winter Olympics are held in Cham- onix, France. 1960 — Wilt Cham- berlain of the Philadelphia Warriors sets a record for rookies with 58 points in a 127-117 triumph over the Detroit Pistons. Chamberlain also grabs 42 rebounds. 1998 — John Elway and the Denver Broncos win a Super Bowl for themselves and the AFC, by beating the Green Bay Packers 31-24. Terrell Davis, selected the MVP, rushes for 157 yards scores on three 1-yard touch- down runs, including the winner with 1:45 left. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
