Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian PENDLETON Tuesday, April 11, 2017 Golf Instead of folding, Garcia fights back to win Masters Pendleton foursome wins Reggie Brown Memorial Sergio Garcia, of Spain, reacts at the green jacket cere- mony after the Masters golf tourna- ment Sun- day, April 9, 2017, in Augusta, Ga. By JIM LITKE Associated Press East Oregonian Golfers gathered to compete and raise money for a good cause at the annual Reggie Brown Memorial Fundraiser on April 8-9 at Pendleton Country Club. The Pendleton team of Joe Reyes, Heather Reyes, JJ Spriet and Phil Combs won low gross honors with a 36-hole score of 203. The two days of competition were split between best ball and scramble formats. Taking low net with a score of 178.5 was the team of Portland’s Jason Erwin and Pendleton’s Foster Odom, Earl Storey and Greg Smith. The Reggie Brown Memorial typically raises more than $10,000 a year for Friends of Pendleton Golf, which focuses on programs for local youth golfers. The next PCC event is its annual Member for a Day celebration on Sunday, April 30. The club invites non-members to enjoy all the benefits of membership at no cost. Guests will enjoy free golf, range, and a lesson, a Taylormade golf club fitting and a relaxing setting after their round. Although free, reservations are neces- sary and can be made by calling Pendleton Country Club at (541) 443-8874. ——— Saturday (Best two balls) 1, Joe Reyes/JJ Spriet/Heather Reyes/Phil Combs, 140 2, Haley Greb/Dede Greb/Andy Munsey/Bill Weissenfluh, 147 Sunday (Scramble) 1, Russ Heimark/Eric Snively/Vic Roshak/KC Smith, 61 2, Matt Corley/Darren Pahl/Brian Currin/Carl Peterson, 62 AUGUSTA, Ga. — No one had played more majors with less to show for it. Sergio Garcia had plenty of reasons to believe it would go on that way forever. He was already two shots behind Justin Rose with just six holes left when his hooked tee shot at No. 13 crossed the creek and settled beneath an azalea bush. Suddenly, this Masters took on a sad, if familiar cast. Another bad break. Another alibi for losing. Like the 70 previous times he’d come to a major with high hopes, another one of golf’s biggest events appeared destined to slip from his grip. Instead of folding up this time, Garcia decided to fight back. “I knew I was playing well,” he said, the green jacket draped across the Spaniard’s slim shoulders. “I was very calm, much calmer than yesterday, much calmer than I’ve felt probably in any major cham- AP Photo/ David J. Phillip pionship on Sunday.” An improbable par at the 13th provided the impetus for an unexpected charge. Garcia and Rose had been butting heads since they were teenage stars in Europe some 20 years ago, and after the Spaniard pulled even with an eagle two holes later, this duel was extended to a playoff. Both missed short birdie putts to win in regulation and returned to the 18th tee for the first extra hole. This time, the Englishman blinked first. “Any time one of those guys gets that huge monkey off their back, I think it makes it a poignant major championship,” Rose said afterward. He could afford to be gracious, of course, having won a major at the U.S. Open in 2013. But there were questions about the mutual respect between the long-time rivals. Not since 1998 have the last two players on the course gone to the 18th tied for the lead. When they embraced at the last hole, Rose patted Garcia’s chest, calling attention to the heart some doubted would ever be stout enough to win the big one. “It’s always a nice to be a part of history,” Rose added a moment later. “I would have liked to be the right part of it, but nevertheless I hope it’s a good one.” Garcia became the third Spaniard to earn a green jacket, winning on what would have been the 60th birthday of the late Seve Ballesteros. And it was Jose Maria Olazabal, who won the Masters in 1994 and 1999, who sent him a text on the eve of the Masters telling Garcia to believe and “to not let things get to me like I’ve done in the past.” He didn’t. “Obviously this is something I wanted to do for a long time but, you know, it never felt like a horror movie,” Garcia said. “It felt like a little bit of a drama maybe, but obviously with a happy ending.” MARINERS: Segura leaves game with strained hamstring Continued from 1B development things over the last year or so we’ve seen him do,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said of Paxton. Nelson Cruz finally broke through with a two-run single in the fifth inning to give Seattle the lead and Mitch Haniger followed an inning later with a two-out RBI single. Seattle was 8 for 57 through the first seven games and 1 of 8 on Monday with runners in scoring position before Cruz lined Charlie Morton’s pitch into center field. Morton (0-1) allowed three runs and seven hits and struck out six. He escaped jams in the third and fourth innings before Cruz came through for Seattle in the fifth. Not all went well on opening day for Seattle. Shortstop Jean Segura left the game after the bottom of the third inning after straining his right hamstring. It first bothered Segura early in the game and appeared to be aggravated by diving back to first base trying to avoid the tag after Houston first baseman Yuli Gurriel caught a line drive. Segura was replaced by Taylor Motter. Servais said the team hoped to have a better idea the severity of the injury on Tuesday. “It’s very mild. Fingers crossed he’ll be OK tomorrow or the next day,” Servais said. BULLDOGS: Freshman hurler pitches to contact, defense backs her up in Game 2 Continued from 1B Central Catholic (4-6) started chipping away and threatened in the seventh. Back-to-back singles plated a run for the Rams to make it 6-3 and then another single brought the go-ahead run to the plate with only one out. However, freshman pitcher Janelle Almaguer slammed the door shut with two straight fly outs to pick up the one-inning save. Julissa Almaguer started that game in the circle and gave up 10 hits, three runs and one walk with five strike- outs in six-plus innings. Then in Game 2, Hermiston struck first again as Sydney Stefani led off the game with a single, advanced around the bases and came across to score on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead. Central Catholic took its first lead of the afternoon in the third inning behind a two-out, three-run home run that was blasted to straightaway center field by Kimberly Pulido off of Bulldog pitcher Janelle Alma- guer to put the Rams up 3-1. The home run was an impressive one, as Pulido’s shot was hit directly into the wind stream that was traveling straight towards home plate. The wind affected plenty of fly balls in the game, mostly turning hard-hit balls into infield fly outs for both sides. But from Almaguer, that was all the offense the Rams would get. The freshman righty thrower was very impressive in the game, allowing six hits and one walk with one strikeout, mostly pitching to contact and getting 12 of the 21 outs via ground balls. “Her giving up the homer was kind of a bummer, but her fight the rest of the game was huge,” Greenough said. “Even right after, she went after the next batter and got out of the inning. She didn’t give up there, which is some- times rare for a freshman and I commend her for that.” Hermiston finally got an offensive rally going in the sixth inning, when Julissa Almaguer led off with a walk and then stole second base with ease. Two batters later, Ashley Cameron hit a towering fly ball into left field that got pushed around by the wind and fell in behind the left fielder for a double, scoring Almaguer to tie the game. Then Janelle Alma- guer put the Bulldogs on top with a hard-hit double over the left fielder’s head to bring in Cameron. Almaguer then scored from second on a throwing error from Central Catholic for the game’s final run. Before that sixth inning, Hermiston had just four hits in the four previous innings, though one Bulldog said that being the third time through the lineup they were finally seeing the pitches better. “I feel like we were seeing the pitches more and placing the ball where we needed to be,” said Cameron, who finished the day with three hits, three runs scored and three RBI. “We kept fighting in that game just trying to come back and finally got some hits when we needed them.” UP NEXT Hermiston hosts La Grande today for a non-league doubleheader that begins at 3 p.m. ——— Game 1 R H E CCH 020 100 1 — 4 11 2 HHS 402 000 X — 6 6 0 WP — Ju. Almaguer, LP — M. McDonald. 2B — K. Pulido (CCH); S. Stefani, E. Jones (HHS). 3B — K. Smith (HHS). Game 2 R H E CCH 003 000 0 — 3 6 1 HHS 100 103 X — 5 7 0 WP — Ja. Almaguer, LP — K. Pulido. 2B — A. Cameron 2, Ja. Almaguer (HHS). HR — K. Pulido (CCH). ——— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger. PREPS: Pilot Rock comes from behind in doubleheader with Weston-McEwen Continued from 1B as the Pioneers crossed the 20-run threshold for the second and third times this season. The Pioneers busted out the bats and scored a combined 42 runs with 43 hits on its way to a double- header sweep of the Tigers with wins of 21-11 and 21-8 to open Greater Oregon League play. The Pioneers busted out the bats and scored a combined 42 runs with 43 hits on its way to a double- header sweep of the Tigers with wins of 21-11 and 21-8 to open Greater Oregon League play. Mac-Hi (9-1, 2-0 GOL) had big contributions from nearly every player in its lineup, though Micha Fortune and Mallory Copeland continued to shine brightest. From the leadoff spot, Fortune went a combined 7 for 9 with a home run, a triple, nine runs scored and seven RBI. Copeland went 8 for 11 with a home run, her sixth of the year, and eight RBI. Brooke Smiley and Kaitlyn Slusarenko both had six hits on the day, while Slusarenko added seven runs scored and. ——— Game 1 R H E MHS 105 431 7 — 21 21 1 OHS 210 110 3 — 8 17 6 (MHS) M. Copeland, S. Earls (3) and G. Bullock. (OHS) L. Navaroth. WP — S. Earls, LP — L. Navaroth. 2B — K. Slusarenko 2, B. Smiley, S. Earls, A. Marly (MHS); E. Turner (OHS). HR — M. Fortune (MHS). Game 2 R H E MHS 161 115 6 — 21 22 7 OHS 001 523 0 — 11 10 8 (MHS) M. Stallings, G. Bullock (4), Sydney Earls (5) and M. Copeland. (OHS) E. Turner, L. Navaroth (6). WP — M. Stallings, LP — E. Turner. 2B — B. Smiley, M. Copeland, S. Richwine (MHS); L. Navaroth, A. Hernandez, M. Florez (OHS). 3B — M. Fortune (MHS); C. Turner (OHS). HR — M. Copeland (MHS). BASEBALL PILOT ROCK 6-6, WESTON-MCEWEN 5-4 — At Athena, the TigerScots and Rockets played a pair of nail-biters on Saturday afternoon, with Pilot Rock pulling out 6-5 and 6-4 victories to begin Special District 6 play. In Game 1, Levi Thieme and Braydon Postma had back-to-back singles for Pilot Rock (3-4, 2-0) in the seventh and then Tracker Denny brought in both with a double to center field to give Pilot Rock a 6-5 lead. Postma then shut the door on the mound in the bottom of the frame to give the Rockets the win. In Game 2, Pilot Rock came from behind again with two runs in the bottom of the third inning on a single by Denny for a 5-4 lead. Pilot Rock added an insurance run in the fourth on a steal of home by Cody Hill. Denny finished the game 4 for 7 at the plate for Pilot Rock with five RBI, while Joe St. Pierre added three hits and two runs scored. ——— Game 1 R H E PR 101 011 2 — 6 11 1 W-M 002 300 0 — 5 11 2 (PR) L. Thieme, B. Postma (7). (W-M) T. Hendley, H. Sater (4). WP — B. Postma, LP — H. Sater. 2B — L. Thieme, Bautista (PR). Game 2 R H E W-M 013 000 0 — 4 7 0 PR 032 100 X — 6 4 1 (W-M) B. Speed, B. Dearing (4). (PR) C. Weinke, B. Postma (6). WP — C. Weinke, LP — B. Speed. 2B — B. Speed (W-M). SHERMAN 15-23, HEPPNER 0-4 — At Sherman, the Huskies showed why they are one of the top teams in Class 2A/1A, pelting Heppner pitching for 38 runs and 26 hits in a doubleheader sweep on Saturday afternoon. On the other side, Heppner (1-7, 0-2 SD6) managed just nine hits on the day, with Coby Dougherty (2 for 5), Tyler Carter (2 for 3, RBI, double) and Wyatt Steagall (2 for 3, run) led Heppner’s offense. ——— Game 1 R H E HHS 000 00 — 0 4 5 SHS 067 2X — 15 12 0 (HHS) K. Smith, K. Gibbs (3), W. Steagall (4). (SHS) Troutman, C. Homer (5). WP — Troutman, LP — Smith. 2B — Justesen, Winslow, Moe, Martin, Fields 2, Jones (SHS). Game 2 R H E HHS 040 00 — 4 5 3 SHS 734 9X — 23 14 0 (HHS) W. Steagall, T. Jaca (2), Z. Glover (4), K. Wilkins (4). (SHS) Justesen, Martin (2), Shandy (4), Winslow (4). WP — Just- esen, LP — W. Steagall. 2B — T. Carter (HHS); Winslow 2, Trout- man, Fields, Homer (SHS). ONTARIO 12-11, MAC-HI 1-1 — At Ontario, the Tigers swept the Mac-Hi Pioneers with scores of 12-1 and 11-1 to begin Greater Oregon League play on Saturday afternoon. Mac-Hi (3-5, 0-2 GOL) scored the first run of the day in Game 1 when Jesus Vela connected on a RBI double to left field to bring home Jesse Jones and a 1-0 lead. However Mac-Hi had just one hit for the final four innings as Ontario coasted to the win. ——— Game 1 R H E MHS 100 00 — 1 3 0 OHS 281 1X — 12 9 0 (MHS) J. Jones, A. Martinez (2). (OHS) J. Navarette. WP — Navarette, LP — Jones. 2B — R. Esparza, J. Vela (MHS); E. Garcia (OHS). Game 2 R H E MHS 010 00 — 1 4 1 OHS 002 63 — 11 15 0 (MHS) J. Jones, J. Vela (1), K. Smith (5). (OHS) S. Forsyth. WP — S. Forsyth, LP — J. Vela. 2B — K. Smith (MHS); E. Garcia, J. Nava- rette, J. Wilson, Z. Forsyth. TENNIS HELIX 2, RIVERSIDE 2 — At Boardman, the Helix Grizzlies battled the 20-plus mile-per-hour winds for matches on Saturday, as they fell to the Sherman Huskies 2-1 and split with Riverside 2-2. Against Riverside, the Pirates and Grizzlies split the boys singles matches with Riverside’s Austin Thompson beating Eric Jones at No. 1 by a 8-2 score and then Helix’s Cody Dunn beat Brandon Juarez 8-1. In the lone girls singles match, Helix’s Lynne Roberts beat Veronica Rodriguez 8-0. And in girls doubles action, Kyla Roberts and Elis- abeth fell to Zulema Gayton and Tonya Mendoza 8-3. FROM FRIDAY BASEBALL STANFIELD 11-15, BURNS 0-5 — At Burns, Stanfield got its league season started the right way, sweeping Burns with wins of 11-0 and 15-5 on Friday afternoon. In Game 1, Stanfield’s (8-1, 2-0 EOL) offense collected 15 hits as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Dylan Grogan and Klay Jenson were lights out on the mound, throwing a combined six-inning no-hitter. Grogan struck out three in one inning, and Jenson struck out one and walked three in five innings. In Game 2 it was more of the same for the offense as Stanfield scored nine of its 15 runs in the top of the first inning. For the day, Grogan was the team’s leading hitter with four hits, four runs and three RBI. Thyler Monkus added a team-high six runs scored and Tony Flores added three hits, two doubles and a team- high five RBI. ——— Game 1 R H E SHS 302 015 — 11 15 1 BHS 000 000 — 0 0 5 (SHS) D. Grogan, K. Jenson (2) and T. Monkus. (BHS) Case, Tiller (6). WP — K. Jenson, LP — Case. 2B — B. Woods, H. Barnes, T. Flores (SHS). Game 2 R H E SHS 900 120 3 — 15 11 2 BHS 130 100 0 — 5 4 2 (SHS) T. Flores, H. Barnes (3), R. Bailey (7) and T. Monkus. (BHS) Goss, Nyburg (1), Zamora (6). WP — T. Flores, LP — Goss. 2B — R. Bailey, T. Flores, D. Grogan (SHS). BLAZERS: Close regular season Wednesday against New Orleans Continued from 1B gap to 98-97 with 12 seconds to go. The Spurs threw an inbound out of bounds to give the ball back to Portland, and Vonleh’s layup fell amid the scramble under the basket. Vonleh finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Blazers, who became playoff-bound on Russell Westbrook’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Denver, will open the playoffs against the defending conference cham- pion Warriors. The Spurs were assured of finishing second in the standings to Golden State. San Antonio will have home-court advantage for its first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, who clinched the seventh seed on Friday. Terry Stotts said before the game he met with McCo- llum and Lillard on Monday morning and convinced them to take a night off. “We talked with Dame and CJ about what was best for the team. I was more concerned about CJ because he’s played every game this season. That’s quite an accomplishment,” Stotts said. Lillard set a franchise record with 59 points on Saturday night in a 101-86 victory over the Utah Jazz. He matched his career high with nine 3-pointers. Portland was also without reserve guard Allen Crabbe, who missed a second game with a sore left foot. Spurs coach Gregg Popo- vich played his regulars as expected, after he was disap- pointed by their performance in 98-87 loss Saturday night at home against the Los Angeles Clippers. San Antonio saw the return of guard Danny Green, who had missed seven games with a left quad contusion. Center Meyers Leonard made all three of his 3-point attempts in the first quarter and the Blazers held a 31-28 lead. Leonard had 13 points in the first period alone. Portland rookie Layman drew cheers from the Moda Center crowd with an emphatic dunk that put the Blazers up 47-40 as the first half drew to a close. San Antonio led 76-71 going into the fourth. TIP-INS Spurs: It was just the third trip back to Portland for LaMarcus Aldridge, who spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Blazers before going to San Antonio as a free agent prior to last season. Trail Blazers: Lillard said the Blazers are going into the playoffs to “shock the world.” Told of the statement, Popovich said “Heck yeah! That’s the way he should be thinking.” UP NEXT. Trail Blazers: Portland hosts the New Orleans Peli- cans in the regular-season finale on Wednesday. AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer Portland Trail Blazers guard Shabazz Napier, third left, jumps onto forward Noah Vonleh, center, with forward Jake Layman (10) in front of San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes (11) after Vonleh hit the game winning shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland on Monday.