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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Prep Roundup Saturday, April 8, 2017 College Softball Knights Ducks are nation’s last undefeated team matches stymie Oregon record for best start Vikings In this March 11, 2017, pho- to, Oregon’s bench con- gratulates the Ducks’ Gwen Svekis, right foreground, as she reach- es home plate on a two-run home run in the fifth inning of an NCAA col- lege softball game against Idaho State, in Eugene, Ore. At 35-0, the Ducks have matched the NCAA record for the best start to a season and are the last undefeated team left in the country. By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press Irrigon’s Rice, Harrington combine for no-hitter to win EOL opener East Oregonian UMATILLA — Austin Rice and Brady Harrington combined for a no-hitter and then Harrington came in to pitch the final two innings of a combined shutout with Johnny Phillips in the night cap to sweep Umatilla 13-0 in five innings in both games on Friday. It was the Eastern Oregon League openers for both teams. Rice struck out 10 and walked two while taking a no-hitter through four before Harrington finished out the last frame in Game 1. Tanner Mills went 3 for 3 at the plate with five RBIs, and Rice scored four runs while going 2 for 3 with one RBI. Phillips gave Irrigon (9-0, 2-0 EOL) another strong start in Game 2 and allowed just two hits over three full innings while striking out six and walking one. Harrington allowed no hits and struck out four in two innings of relief. Rice had another big game at the plate going 2 for 3 with three runs and one RBI. UP NEXT Irrigon plays at Stanfield on Tuesday in a league game at 4 p.m. Umatilla (1-5-1, 0-2) plays at Pilot Rock in a non-league game Tuesday at 4 p.m. ——— Game 1 (5 innings) R H E IHS 243 40 — 13 8 2 UHS 000 00 — 0 0 6 A. Rice, B. Harrington (5). D. Soto, U. Garcia (3). W — Rice. L — Soto. Game 2 (5 innings) R H E IHS 461 11 — 13 6 0 UHS 000 00 — 0 2 6 J. Phillips, B. Harrington (4). C. Sampson, S. Cranston (2). W — Phillips. L — Samp- son. 2B — A. Rice. 3B — A. Rice. NYSSA 17-2, RIVER- SIDE 2-9 — At Boardman, the Riverside Pirates split a doubleheader with the Nyssa Bulldogs to open up league play on Friday, falling 17-2 in Game 1 before rebounding 9-2 in Game 2 for the Pirates’ first win of the season. Riverside (1-8, 1-1 EOL) was carried on offense by Aramis Corpus on offense, as he tallied four hits on the day with a double and a pair of RBIs. Along with Corpus in Game 2, Riverside’s Andrew Martinez and Andrew Sorenson each had two hits apiece. “It was fun to win again,” Riverside coach Clair Costello said. “I think they (Nyssa) took us for granted and we got a couple runs and kept the pedal down. It’s a big win, and in league is a big deal.” UP NEXT Riverside will host Vale on Friday for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. ——— Game 1 (5 innings) R H E NHS 153 80 — 17 8 2 RHS 000 11 — 2 5 13 (NHS) B. Thompson, E. Cleaver (5) and B. Cleaver. (RHS) A. Corpus, Martinez (4), Calvillo (4) and Bither. Game 2 (5 innings) R H E NHS 000 200 0 — 2 4 5 RHS 013 005 X — 9 9 2 (NHS) Gonzalez, E. Cleaver (4) and B. Cleaver. (RHS) Calvillo, Corpus (5) and Bither. 2B — A. Corpus (RHS). HR — Gonzalez (NHS). GOLF PENDLETON — High winds canceled at least two high school gold tournament on Friday. The Small School Invite at Pendleton Country Club made it just two holes into its round before play was called due to unsafe conditions. The Pendleton and Herm- iston girls made it further into their round at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, though. That round was called after 14 holes when a large tree was blown over holes No. 2 and 5. UP NEXT Pendleton’s boys will be at a tournament on Monday, and the girls will be at Pendleton Country Club on Thursday. Oregon softball coach Mike White laughs when asked about the Ducks’ secret to success. “That’s a good question. I wish I knew what it was because then I’d keep repeating it,” he said. Or perhaps he’s just not telling. At 35-0, the Ducks have matched the NCAA record for the best start to a season and are the last undefeated team left in the country. They’ve blasted well past last season’s school record-setting streak of 18 wins. White is as surprised as anyone. “Pleasantly surprised,” he said. “It’s something you always hope that’s going to happen but you never know for sure until you get out there. We’ve been playing the game one game at a time, and it’s kind of evolved into a streak.” Oregon’s .356 collective batting average is ranked third among Divi- sion I teams, while the team’s 1.4 ERA is ranked fourth nationally. The team is anchored by a trio of young pitchers, right-handed sophomore Megan Kleist and right-handed freshmen Miranda Elish and Maggie Balint. Oregon is coming off a sweep of Arizona State last weekend before a pair of wins in a Tuesday double- header against Portland State. This weekend, the Ducks head to Los Angeles for a three-game series against UCLA, which set the record with 35 straight wins to open the season in 1999. The Ducks lost eight players — five starters — from last year’s team that won a fourth-straight Pac-12 title and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional before falling to the Bruins in three games. UCLA went on to play in the College World Series. White was named last season’s Pac-12 Coach of the Year while senior LHP Cheridan Hawkins was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year. Collin Andrew/The Register-Guard via AP White said he wasn’t quite sure what he’d have this season, but one of the most inspirational surprises has been right fielder Danica Mercado, a fifth-year senior outfielder who is batting .435 this season at the top of the lineup. “This year I think she’s a lot more comfortable, because she’s earned that starting spot. Now she’s just focused on doing her job for the team,” the coach said. “But she’s always been a leader, too. She’s very vocal, she’s 100 percent whether it’s on the field, in the classroom or in the weight room. That’s how she leads.” Mercado’s journey to this point has been rocky. Going into her sophomore season, she broke her leg while sliding during practice. The injury required a pair of surgeries and metal screws in her ankle, which was dislocated. Then before her junior season she broke her thumb, which also required surgery and set her back. She agrees with White that now that she’s locked into a starting role in right field, it’s made her more consistent. “I’ve been given more opportu- nities this year than I’ve ever had on this team. And I think that when you’re able to get comfortable, you’re able to really play to your full potential,” she said. “Me playing right field and getting comfortable out there, and then getting a lot of at-bats, not just pinch hit role, but getting consistent at-bats, I feel comfortable and I would expect to have success.” The Ducks are currently ranked No. 2 in the latest NFCA coaches’ poll. South Carolina set the overall NCAA record with 38-straight wins during the 1997 season. Arizona won 47 straight games over the 1996 and ‘97 seasons. Mercado said the Ducks aren’t paying attention to the outside noise like the ranking, the streak, or the hype. “Years in the past, I feel like we maybe have gotten wrapped up in the rankings and all that,” she said. “That’s really not what it’s about. It’s just about that one day — play your best that one day, that one pitch, that one game. The next thing you know you’re undefeated without even trying to be.” White expects the streak to end. They always do, after all. “We certainly have an extremely tough schedule the rest of the way with Arizona, UCLA, Washington, Florida State, just to name a few. That’s a real gauntlet,” the coach said. “But I kind of like it, too, because it’s progressively harder as we go along. ... As long as we don’t get beat up or wore down from it mentally, we should be in good position for the postseason.” Prep Basketball Porter leads the US over the world team at Hoop Summit By MALIKA ANDREWS Associated Press PORTLAND — Michael Porter Jr., who recently decommitted from Washington to verbally commit to Missouri, scored 19 points and the U.S. national junior select team beat the world team 98-87 in the 20th annual Nike Hoop Summit. Porter, the 2017 Naismith Trophy Player who is widely viewed as the top player in the 2017 class, saved his best and most exciting play for the last minute of the game, finishing back-to-back plays with one-handed slam dunks to seal the win for the United States. Jarred Vanderbilt also had 19 points and Troy Brown Jr., who signed a national letter of intent to play at Oregon, also got cheers from the crowd at the Moda Center and finished with five points. Germany’s Isaiah Hartenstein, son of former Oregon basketball player Florian Hartenstein and a projected 2017 NBA draft pick, was Billy Gates/The Oregonian via AP/The Oregonian via AP Team USA’s Michael Porter Jr. dunks during the first half of the Nike Hoop Summit basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, April 7, 2017. the biggest name on the world’s roster and had 10 points. Kostja Mushidi, projected to be a second round 2017 draft pick, led the world team with 14 points. The annual Hoop Summit compe- tition features the best 19-and-under players in the world. NBA players like Serge Ibaka (2008), Tony Parker (2000), Kryie Irving (2010) and Kevin Love (2007) all played in the Hoop Summit in past years, making it a wildly popular event for NBA scouts and media members looking to familiarize themselves with up-and- coming young talent. Unlike the 2016 competition where the U.S. team dominated for 101-67 victory, Friday’s game stayed close throughout, despite both teams struggling with turnovers. The United States closed the first half with an alley-oop from Collin Sexton to MJ Walker for a 10-point halftime lead. The world team didn’t allow the United States a basket for the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and was able to close the gap to four- points off of a breakaway lay-up from Iowa State commit Lindell Wigginton, but that is as close as they would get. MLB Maybin, Calhoun drive Angels to 5-1 victory over Mariners By GREG BEACHAM Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. — Cameron Maybin and Kole Calhoun homered, and Jesse Chavez pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Mike Trout drove in the first run amid numerous “M-V-P!” chants as the Angels snapped a four-game skid in home openers. Nelson Cruz drove in the only run for the Mariners, who dropped to 1-4 on their season- opening road trip. Yovani Gallardo (0-1) yielded eight hits and three runs over five innings in his debut for Seattle. Maybin put his first homer for the Angels into the elevated right-field stands in the sixth inning. Calhoun added a two-run shot in the seventh, also AP Photo/Jae C. Hong Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino goes after a wild pitch his first of the season. by Yovani Gallardo to Los Angeles Angels’ C.J. Cron during the Maybin, who also made third inning of a baseball game Friday, April 7, 2017, in Ana- a sweet sliding catch early in the game, is the heim, Calif. Angels’ latest attempt to get stability in left field, where a series of strug- gling veterans have spent the past three seasons. Trout was serenaded by his fans in his first home game since winning his second AL MVP award in three seasons, and he drove in the Angels’ first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Los Angeles added another in the third when Kyle Seager bobbled Albert Pujols’ bases-loaded grounder, which could have been converted into an easy inning-ending double play. The Angels chose Chavez (1-0) to be their fifth starter after a long career spent mostly as a reliever, and the native of nearby Fontana looked sharp for 5 2/3 innings. He had retired 11 straight before the Mariners chased him with three straight singles in the sixth, but Jose Alvarez struck out Seager to end it. Danny Espinosa made his home debut at second base for the Angels, going 1 for 3 with a walk. Espinosa, acquired from Washington in December, grew up a few miles away in Santa Ana, California, and went to countless Angels games with his father, a season-ticket holder. TRAINER’S ROOM Angels: RHP Garrett Richards went on the 10-day disabled list with an injured right biceps, but the team is hoping the problem isn’t serious. Richards left his first start of the season in the fifth inning with pain in his throwing arm. He made just six starts last season before getting shut down with a partially torn elbow ligament. UP NEXT Mariners: Felix Hernandez (0-1, 3.60) pitched only five innings on opening day, striking out six at Houston. Angels: Ricky Nolasco (0-1, 4.76 ERA) returns from a middling start on opening day. He got a win over Seattle for the first time in his career last season.
