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.