Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Timberwolves softball fades in season-opening twin bill
BMCC baseball gets
first win; Wyant paces
men’s hoops win
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — It only took
a few bad innings to spoil Blue
Mountain softball’s season-opener
on Saturday at Walla Walla
Community College.
The Timberwolves started strong
in each half of a non-league double-
header, but couldn’t hold off the
Warriors for losses of 16-8 and 11-6.
Blue Mountain (0-2) led off the
season by scoring three runs in the
top of the first inning as Walla Walla
(2-0) committed three errors in the
field and starting pitcher Rachel
Collins hit Sydney Saxton Siaki
with the bases loaded to push in the
first run.
Tiffany Becker then put the ball
in play and BMCC used aggressive
base-running to score two more on
the fielder’s choice.
Walla Walla scored in each of its
first three at-bats, but BMCC was
up 8-3 in the middle of the fourth
after solo home runs by Megan
Ulrey and Sarah Bonner and a
two-RBI double by Saxton Siaki.
But Walla Walla’s hitters
responded with 13 runs off 14 hits
in the next two innings to enact the
mercy rule at the end of the fifth.
Mac-Hi product Shannon Carter
was 3-for-4 for with three RBIs for
Walla Walla, and Mikayla Faulkner
was 4-for-5 with five RBIs.
The T-Wolves opened Game
2 with four straight hits, Tiffany
Becker hit a two-RBI double and
then scored on Brooke Kralman’s
single to make it 5-0.
It took Walla Walla two innings
to respond, but their eight-hit,
eight-run third was enough after
starting pitcher Anna Williams
settled in and didn’t allow another
run until the top of the seventh.
Ulrey went 3-for-4 to lead BMCC,
and Kralman finished 2-for-3.
Hailey Danly was 2-for-3 with
four RBIs for Walla Walla, Emily
Thornton was 3-for-4 and Mac-Hi
product Makayla Kelly added an
RBI and a run.
Next up for BMCC is a home
doubleheader against Mt. Hood on
Friday that starts at 3 p.m.
———
Game 1 (5 innings)
R H E
BMCC
302 30 —
8 6 8
WWCC
111 67 — 16 19 5
M. Ulrey, T. Becker (5) and S. Bonner. R. Collins and
A. Williams. W — R. Collins. L — T. Becker.
2B — S Saxton Siaki, A. Daubert (BMCC); M. Faulk-
ner 2, L. Parker, S. Carter (WWCC). HR — S. Bonner,
M. Ulrey (BMCC); H. Danly (WWCC).
Game 2
R H E
BMCC
500 000
1 — 6 10 3
WWCC
008 030
0 — 11 14 0
T. Snyder, A. Turner (6) and C. Ringnalda. A. Williams
and H. Danly. W — A. Williams. L — T. Snyder.
2B — L. Cagle, M. Ulrey, T. Becker (BMCC); M.
Faulkner, A. Williams, L. Parker, A. Hicks, M. Kelly
(WWCC). HR — H. Danly (WWCC).
BASEBALL
BLUE
MOUNTAIN
6,
COLUMBIA BASIN 3 — At
Pasco, the Timberwolves scored
three runs in the top of the first and
starting pitcher Gunnar Johnson
gave them five innings of scoreless
work on the mound as the team
picked up its first win of the season
in a non-league game on Sunday
that had originally been scheduled
for a doubleheader.
Andrew Hively was 2-for-5 with
two RBIs to lead BMCC (1-2), and
Cameron Sutton was 1-for-3 with
two runs and two RBIs.
Johnson allowed five hits, but
no runs on two walks and four
strikeouts, and Kaden Enriquez
slammed the door in the ninth with
two strikeouts for the save.
Blue Mountain’s next game
Friday at Walla Walla at 1 p.m.
———
R H E
BMCC
303 000 000 — 6 9 1
CBC
000 000 210 — 3 10 1
G. Johnson, C. Walker (6), K. Enriquez (9) and C.
Labbe. A. Willmon, C. Bradley (3), K. Strawn (4), H.
French (6), C. Doughty (8) and C. White. W — John-
son. L — Willmon. S — Enriquez.
2B — T. Spivey, T. Heiman, C. Sutton (BMCC); M.
Wyatt (CBC). HR — I. Hatch (CBC).
MEN’S BASKETBALL
BLUE
MOUNTAIN
93,
WENATCHEE VALLEY 82 —
At Pendleton, Lucas Wyant scored
27 points and the Timberwolves
outlasted the Knights in a game that
featured 25 three-pointers between
the NWAC-East foes on Saturday at
Mosby Court.
Wyant hit four for BMCC’s 12
treys, and was 10-of-15 from the
field while added three assists.
Blue Mountain (5-20, 3-12
East) had 25 assists as a team, and
Anthony Landeros tied Riley Brown
for a team-high with five each.
Jamal Logan added 15 points, six
rebounds and four assists, and Blue
Mountain shot 52.4 percent from the
field for the game while winning the
battle on the boards 42-28.
Avery Ames scored 22 points on
9-of-13 shooting to lead Wenatchee
Valley (9-17, 5-9).
Next up for BMCC is its season
finale on Wednesday when the
T-Wolves host Spokane at 8 p.m.
———
WVC
40 42 — 82
BMCC
47 46 — 93
WENATCHEE VALLEY — A. Ames 22, J. Martin 18,
T. Shurtiff 15, B. Widner 10, J. Armitstead 9, C. Bell 6,
C. Williams 2, C. Dowdy.
BLUE MOUNTAIN — L. Wyant 27, J. Logan 15, D.
Davis 14, J. Mathews 14, I. Harris 9, L. Hawkins 5, A.
Landeros 5, R. Brown 4, J. Cook, J. Kasiorek.
3-pointers — WVC 13; BMCC 12. Free throws —
WVC 5-9; BMCC 15-19. Fouls — WVC 19; BMCC 13.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
WENATCHEE VALLEY 65,
BLUE MOUNTAIN 44 — At
Pendleton, Whitney Shapp came
off the bench to score a game-high
21 points to go with 11 rebounds
and lead the Knights over the
Timberwolves in an NWAC-East
game on Saturday at Mosby Court.
Shapp was 5-of-7 beyond the
three-point arc, and the Wenatchee
Valley (9-16, 4-10 East) bench
actually outscored its starters 44-21.
Akira McGee paced Blue
Mountain (3-19, 1-14) with 18
points on 7-of-12 shooting, but the
Timberwolves were dominated on
the glass 55-29.
Blue Mountain will host
Spokane for its season finale on
Wednesday at 6 p.m.
———
WVC
16 14 13 22 — 65
BMCC
6 8 16 14 — 44
WENATCHEE VALLEY — W. Shapp 21, D. Villareal
10, M. Faulkner 10, T. Swan 9, M. Malchi 8, T. Farmer
3, K. Nordstrom 3, A. Ingraham 1, K. Malchi, M.
Teriipaia.
BLUE MOUNTAIN — A. McGee 18, M. Bisbee 7, S.
Wammock 6, M. Slater 6, B. Haringa 3, S. Schmeck-
peper 2, E. Ramsey 2, M. Boyer, K. Munoz.
3-pointers — WVC 7; BMCC 3. Free throws — WVC
12-24; BMCC 11-20. Fouls — WVC 16; BMCC 20.
Fouled out — T. Swan (WVC).
BASKETBALL: Arlington returns to final bracket after 30-year hiatus
Continued from 1B
but we’re not satisfied.”
The Eagles won’t be
satisfied until they hold up
that state championship
trophy, and should be better
prepared for the final push
than previous season’s team
that finished in second and
third.
“We haven’t been in close
games but I think our league
has proven to be pretty
tough, so we’ve been tested,”
said Maddern. “We haven’t
really had the end of game
situations, for sure, but a lot
of these girls were in those
situations last year so I think
just with our experience from
last year coming in this year
it’s not as big of a worry.”
For many of the Golden
Eagles it will be their second
or third trip to Baker City
for the final bracket, but it
will be the first for junior
Milan Schimmel, who added
10 points on Saturday and
re-joined her childhood team-
mates this season after playing
her first two years of high
school ball in New Mexico.
“It’s actually an amazing
thing because a couple
years back we used to play
together all the time and win
a bunch of tournaments,” she
said. “And now that we’re all
grown up and we’re playing
together again it’s just an
amazing thing to feel and
experience because we just
hadn’t played together for
so long, and so it makes the
feeling great.
“Right now we’re playing
really well together, and now
we have another week to
prepare for state. We know
what’s coming at us because
our coach is great at preparing
us for what’s coming.”
Although New Hope may
not have given Nixyaawii
a chance to work on its
late-game composure, the
Warriors did throw a new
defense at the Eagles to try
to slow down Stewart and
Schimmel.
“They ran a Triangle 2
with Mary and Milan, and
we had a little bit of trouble
understanding what it was
and how to execute, but we
came out in the second half
and did a better job of that,
so again just different things
we see that’s only going to
help us when we get down
to Baker,” Maddern said.
“We have so many offensive
weapons, and I think we find
different ways to win and
take care of business, but it all
starts on the defensive side. If
we can play well defensively
for three more games, I like
our chances.”
Nixyaawii will see a
league foe in the quarterfinals
as it runs up against Powder
Valley for the fourth time this
season. Nixyaawii is the only
1A team that has beaten the
Badgers, but has done so at an
average of 21 points. They’ll
tip off at Baker High School
on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
———
NHC
6 10
8 10 — 34
NCS
21 10 16 10 — 57
NEW HOPE CHRISTIAN — K. Lyon 11,
R. McKinney 8, K. McKinney 6, A. Sedano
4, T. Danner 4, M. Stanton 1, B. Liu, K.
Kashishian, J, Kashishian, N. Crandall.
NIXYAAWII — M. Stewart 20, K. Melton
17, M. Schimmel 10, E. Looney 4, S.
Fuentes 2, T. Broncheau 2, T. Melton 2, S.
Fitzpatrick, A. Tonasket, S. Patrick, E. Butler,
K. Mountainchief,
3-pointers — NHC 3; NCS 0. Free throws
— NHC 9-15; NCS 3-4. Fouls — NHC 7;
NCS 12.
Staff photo by Matt Entrup
Pilot Rock’s Rachel Willingham (3) defends against
Grant Union’s Hailie Wright as the Rockets’ Sara Wein-
ke watches during their 2A girls basketball state play-
off game on Saturday in Pilot Rock.
Staff photos by Matt Entrup
RIGHT: Nixyaawii’s Kaitlynn Melton works with her back to the hoop against New
Hope Christian’s Teagan Danner on Saturday in Pendleton. RIGHT: Nixyaawii’s Mary
Stewart drives for a layup against New Hope Christian on Saturday in Pendleton.
GRANT UNION 49,
PILOT ROCK 42 — At Pilot
Rock, the No. 6 seed Rockets
suffered a gut-wrenching loss
to end their season in the first
round of the state playoffs on
Saturday.
Facing an 11th-seeded
Grant Union squad that was
dialed in from the opening
tip, Pilot Rock found itself
struggling to keep pace
before a surge at the end of
the third quarter gave the
teams a virtual reset headed
into the final stanza.
A five-point flurry from
Kayla Deist capped a 14-6
run by the Rockets after
halftime and made the score
34-33 going into the fourth
quarter. But the Rockets
(18-5) could never pull even,
and were dealt an additional
blow when Deist’s right knee
gave out and she crumpled to
the floor with 20 seconds left
after making contact with a
Grant Union (15-6) defender.
She would have to be helped
off the court and was in a
wheelchair after the game.
By that point in the game
it had become a little too late
for the Rockets to complete
the comeback as Grant
Union had hit a pair of free
throws to make it a three-
score game. The Rockets
had pulled within five after
Sara Weinke sank a free
throw with 56 seconds left,
but Grant Union was able to
run 20 seconds off the clock
before the Rockets could pick
up the two fouls they needed
to put them in the bonus.
“They (Grant Union)
outplayed us tonight, offense
and defense,” said Pilot Rock
coach Butch Wilson. “We
had a chance to pull it out
at the end, but really they
outplayed us all night. They
were the better team tonight.”
The Prospectors opened
the game on fire as Kaylee
Wright and Mariah Moulton
each sank a pair of three-
pointers and Madi McKrola
added a pair from inside
the arc to take a 16-9 lead.
Wright finished with a game-
high 17 points.
“They were hot to start the
Staff photo by Matt Entrup
Pilot Rock’s Sara Weinke (20) and Bekah Roe battle for a
loose ball with Grant Union’s Trinity Hutchison while the
Rockets’ Kayla Deist (10) watches during their 2A girls
basketball state playoff game on Saturday in Pilot Rock.
game from anywhere they
shot,” Wilson said. “We made
a lot of adjustments through
the game and nothing really
changed. Grant Union just
played really well tonight.”
Grant Union led 28-19 at
halftime, and Deist had nine
of her team-high 14 points
in the second half to lead the
comeback attempt.
Bekah Roe added 13
points for Pilot Rock. She
is one of three seniors that
played their final game for
the Rockets on Saturday
along with Jacey Wilson and
Rachel Willingham.
“It’s just a heart-breaker,”
Wilson said. “It’s a tough
way to end on your home
floor, but they got a home
(playoff) game and that’s
more than most teams in the
state got. I’m proud of them.”
Grant Union will play No.
3 Kennedy in the quarterfinals
at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at
Pendleton Convention Center.
———
GUHS
16 12
6 15 — 49
PRHS
9 10 14
9 — 42
GRANT UNION — K. Wright 17, M.
Moulton 11, M. McKrola 8, H. Wright 8, T.
Hutchison 5, J. Rude, W. McClellon.
PILOT ROCK — K. Deist 14, B. Roe 13, S.
Weinke 7, J. Wilson 5, R. Willingham 3, R.
Oates, B. Howland, G. Austin, K. Evans.
3-pointers — GUHS 6; PRHS 3. Free
throws — GUHS 1-6; PRHS 7-10. Fouls —
GUHS ; PRHS 13.
WESTON-MCEWEN
42, FAITH BIBLE 29 — At
Hillsboro, the No. 13 seed
TigerScots turned the No. 4
seed Falcons’ strength into
a weakness on Saturday to
punch their ticket to the final
state bracket.
Interim head coach Jeff
Griggs said the team had
prepared all week to stop
Faith Bible’s 6-foot-1 twins
Katie and Sarah Fajer, and
were able to execute their
game plan from the start. The
sisters still combined for 25
points, but with only two other
players contributing buckets it
was not nearly enough.
“That strength made them
a little predictable,” Griggs
said. “I have two sisters on my
roster they probably didn’t
know about, and I changed
up my rotation and I think
caught them by surprise.”
Senior Sarah Finifrock and
junior Alyssa Finifrock drew
primary defensive duties
against the Fajer girls, and
Griggs said Sara Von Borstel
and Bailey Hillmick also were
key to the defensive stand.
The teams were knotted at
10-all after the first quarter,
but Weston-McEwen (17-8)
was able to create a little
breathing room going into
the locker room at halftime
up 21-15. Chelsea Quaempts
did most of her scoring in the
first half, and finished with
a game-high 16 points and
three assists.
“I think the girls were
really believing,” Griggs said
of the halftime energy. “They
just kept bringing it in the
second half.
“They outworked their
opponent in almost every
aspect of the game.”
Sarah Finifrock finished
with 11 points and seven
rebounds, Alyssa Finifrock
also had seven boards to go
with four points, and Hill-
mick grabbed six rebounds.
Ali Schroeder scored her
only four points of the game
at key spots early in the third
quarter, and Griggs said the
TigerScots’ depth started to
pay off in the second half as
fatigue seemed to take a toll
on Faith Bible (25-2).
A suddenly hostile envi-
ronment also didn’t help the
Falcons’ attempts to close the
gap in the second half.
“Our fans traveled well,
they were there in numbers,”
Griggs said. “Not quite as
big as the home crowd, but
possibly as loud. They helped
us bring it home in the third
quarter and that really meant
a lot to the girls to have that
type of support.”
The win brings the Tiger-
Scots back to Pendleton for the
state quarterfinals on Thursday.
They’ll face No. 5 seed Imbler
at 1:30 p.m. at Pendleton
Convention Center. The teams
split their non-league match-ups
this season, with each winning
on its home court.
———
W-M
10 11 10 11 — 42
FB
10 5
7
7 — 29
WESTON-MCEWEN — C. Quaempts 16,
S. Finifrock 11, K. Vescio 7, A. Schroeder
4, A. Finifrock 4, M. Muilenburg, S. Von
Borstel, B. Hillmick, A. Coffman.
FAITH BIBLE — K. Fajer 13, S. Fajer 12,
A. Poetter 2, J. Irving 2, K. Hergert, A.
Wagnon, M. Dutro.
3-pointers — W-M 2; FB 1. Free throws —
W-M 6-9; FB 6-15. Fouls — W-M 13, FB 11.
Fouled out — S. Fajer (FB).
ARLINGTON
54,
NORTH LAKE 43 — At
Silver Lake, the No. 12 seed
Arlington Honkers ended the
three-decade drought of final
bracket appearances with an
upset of the No. 5 Cowboys
on Saturday in the second
round of the 1A state playoffs.
Megan Hauner poured in
26 points and Joely Patnode
added another 16 to clinch the
Honkers’ first trip to the tour-
nament’s final site since their
championship season of 1987.
After North Lake (19-4)
knotted the score a 3-3,
Arlington (21-6) took control
and held onto the lead for the
rest of the game.
“We ran the ball,”
Arlington coach Joe Patnode
said. “They were bigger than
us and they wanted to control
the tempo. They just didn’t
want to run and we did.”
Patnode said it took an
entire team effort to force the
Cowboys into the up-and-down
style of game the Honkers are
comfortable in, and the key to
that was disciplined defense
and rebounding.
“Our 2-3 defense shut their
girls down inside, and they
had some poor shooting from
the outside,” he said. “We
stayed in the paint as much as
we could and boxed out.”
Emily Kirby added nine
points for Arlington, and
North Lake was paced by
Kendra Murphy’s 21 points.
The game got heated in the
second half as fouls started to
accumulate on both sides. By
the end of the game six players
(four Honkers) had fouled out,
and the teams combined to
shoot 64 free throws.
Patnode said the team
had about 50 fans make the
five-hour trip to Silver Lake,
and is hopeful for even more
when Arlington makes its
return to Baker City against
No. 4 Damascus Christian on
Thursday at 3:15 p.m.
———
AHS
13 14 14 13 — 54
NL
11 8 14 10 — 43
ARLINGTON — M. Hauner 26, J. Patnode
16, E, Kirby 9, S. Grady 4, S. Collins 2, H. Da-
vidson 1, R. McClure, K. McClure, A. Galvin.
NORTH LAKE — K. Murphy 21, R. Hand 10,
R. Baker 8, C. Nelson 2, V. Wilson, J. House.
3-pointers — AHS 6; NL 1. Free throws —
AHS 18-34; NL 17-30. Fouls — AHS 20; NL
18. Fouled out — S. Collins, R. McClure,
M. Hauner, H. Davidson (AHS); R. Baker, V.
Wilson (NL).