Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 15, 2017
SMITH: Ready to head off to Saint Martin’s University in fall
Continued from 1B
All-EO First Team*
what.”
While the statistics and
individual accolades look
good, those are not what
defi ned Caden Smith as a
player this past season. He
was still the same high-level
threat, perhaps better, at
scoring the basketball or
dishing the basketball in
many different ways and he
was still a solid defender.
But the part of his game that
he really elevated was his
leadership.
With the Buckaroos
losing their leaders James
Bradt and Kai Quinn to
graduation, there was a large
void to fi ll for this season’s
Buckaroos, and Smith was
the obvious choice as the
team’s best player. But he
had to learn how to become
a leader for a team, though
teammate and fellow senior
Wyatt Morris said the Bucks
knew he could do it.
“I mean he’s always been
a leader, really,” Morris
said. “He’s just fun to be
around, always positive. On
the court, he’s such a good
player and makes everyone
better. I think he knew he
had to step up and he did.”
The Buckaroos journey
got off to a bit of a rocky
start, sitting at 3-4 and
heading towards league
play. But then they caught
fi re and won their fi nal 11
straight games to clinch
the league title and a home
playoff game for the second
straight year. It was nearly
deja vu for Pendleton, who
started the 2015-16 season
4-6 before winning 11 of
its last 12 to win the league
title and clinch a home
playoff spot.
However last season,
Pendleton dropped that
home playoff game 64-49
to Springfi eld. This season,
Pendleton outlasted
Corvallis in double overtime
to advance. Smith said that
the Buckaroos getting over
the metaphorical hump this
season was due to their
work ethic.
“I just think we were
more gritty this year,” Smith
* Also includes Caden Smith
Xavier Rambo
Hermiston, G, sr.
17.7 points, 4.9
rebounds, 2.2
assists, All-state
honorable mention
Dylan Grogan
Stanfi eld, F, sr.
1st team all-
state, unanimous
1st team 2A
all-tournament
Logan Grieb
Heppner, G, sr.
17 points, 7
rebounds, 4 as-
sists, 3 steals,
CBC Player of
Year
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Pendleton’s Caden Smith eyes the basket before a free
throw attempt Friday in a 5A state championship quar-
terfi nal game against Corvallis at Warberg Court.
said, “not letting the little
things get to us and playing
each game, taking each
game one step at a time
and just working our way
to where we want to get
to. And I feel like we did a
really good job of that this
year.”
But of course another
reason was Smith’s lead-
ership. Both a vocal leader
and a leader-by-example,
the Buckaroos, especially
the more inexperienced
varsity players, saw how
Smith handled himself on
the practice court and the
extra work in the weight
room. The Bucks learned
how to handle themselves
during the big moments of
the game.
And in the game against
Corvallis, it paid off for all
parties and gave Smith his
proudest moment of the
season. In the last minute of
the fi rst overtime session,
Smith fouled out and the
Bucks had to play the
fi nal fi ve minutes of the
game without their go-to
guy. But the team did not
fl inch. They kept fi ghting
and clawing with Smith
screaming and cheering
from the bench and pulled
out the victory.
“I was so happy for
my guys,” Smith said.
“It’s a moment I’ll always
remember for sure.”
Later at the state
tournament, Smith nearly
single-handily took down
the state runner-up Churchill
in the quarterfi nals and then
rallied the team to earn a
pair of wins in the tourna-
ment, which a Pendleton
team had not accomplished
since the 1990s. During
the three-game run at the
state tournament, Smith
continued his excellence by
averaging 18.6 points, fi ve
rebounds and 3.6 assists per
game.
“I really wouldn’t trade
it for the world, putting
on a Pendleton uniform
Chance Flores
Hermiston, G, sr.
17.1 points,
5.7 rebounds,
3.2 assits, 3.5
steals, 46% FG
Wyatt Morris Shaw Broncheau
Pendleton, G, sr. WMHS, G, sr.
7 points, 4
16 points,
6.4 assists,
rebounds,
4 rebounds,
47% FG,
3 steals
38% 3 FG
Hayden White
Irrigon, P, sr.
14 points,
8 rebounds,
1st team all-
EOL
Ryan Bailey
Stanfi eld, G, sr.
2nd team
all-CBC, 2nd
team all-2A
tournament
Austin Rice
Irrigon, G, sr.
10 points,
4 rebounds,
1st team all-
EOL
every night with all the fan
support behind us all the
love we get every night,”
Smith said. “It was such an
honor to play with all the
guys that were on my team,
it went by super fast to say
the least but it was the best
experience I’ve had by far
playing basketball.”
Since that fi nal game
on Mar. 10, Smith took
some time off to relax and
recover from a long, hard
season, but has since gotten
Contributed
photo courtesy
of Jordan
Mittelsdorf
River Conference play.
Locked in a scoreless
Game 1, Hermiston (6-9,
0-2 CRC) was unable to get
anything going against Hood
River (10-5, 2-0) starter
Connor Coerper and managed
just two hits in the game.
The Eagles fi nally broke
the tie in the bottom of the
sixth when Trevor Lariza
doubled and then Lucas
Viuhkola singled to drive in
pinch runner Jacob Smith.
Slade Gritz gave the Bull-
dogs hope with a two-out
single in the seventh, but a
fl y out ended the game.
Hood River jumped on the
Bulldogs early in Game 2 and
led 10-1 after two innings.
———
Game 1
R H E
HHS
000 000
0 — 0 2 2
HRV
000 001 X — 1 6 0
W — C. Coerper. L — L. Tolan.
2B — T. Lariza (HRV).
STANFIELD
18-12,
NYSSA 0-2 — At Stanfi eld,
the Tigers got a pair of
runaway wins on Friday and
scored 30 runs off 18 hits
against the Bulldogs to stay
unbeaten in Eastern Oregon
League play.
Game 1 saw everybody
getting in on the offense for
Stanfi eld (11-1, 5-0 EOL)
with 14 hits to go around.
Dylan Grogan was 2 for 2
with three runs, Klay Jenson
was 2 for 3 with two runs,
Brody Woods and Ryan
Bailey each hit 2 for 4 with
two RBI, Shayne Keltz was
1 for 1 with two RBI, and
Thyler Monkus, Adrian
Renner and Tony Flores
each had three RBI.
Woods pitched four
complete innings for the
win and gave up no runs on
two hits with nine strikeouts
and four walks.
Jenson took the mound to
start Game 2 and overcame
some early control issues to
last fi ve complete with nine
strikeouts and three walks. He
allowed both runs on three hits.
Nyssa took a 1-0 lead in
the top of the fi rst inning
after a walk put a runner
on and wild pitches helped
bring him around.
Stanfi eld got it back and
then some in the bottom of
the frame, which started
with back-to-back walks
followed by back-to-back
errors to make it 3-1.
Hunter Barnes went 2 for
3 with three RBI to lead Stan-
fi eld at the plate, and Bailey
and Flores each drove in two.
———
Game 2 (6 innings)
R H E
NHS
101 000 —
2 3 6
SHS
311 007 — 12 4 2
W — K. Jenson. L — A. Gonzalez.
3B — T. Flores (SHS).
SOFTBALL
IRRIGON 6-0, ECHO
5-4 — At Irrigon, the
Knights and Tigers split a
Special District 1 double-
header on Friday as errors
continued to plague Irrigon.
The Knights (10-5, 2-1
SD1) were able to avoid paying
for their mistakes in Game 1
thanks to a clutch pinch hit by
Karrizma Luna in the bottom
of the seventh inning.
With two outs and two
on, Luna snuck a single
Mick Schimmel
Nixyaawii, G, fr.
20 points, 7
rebounds,
OOL Player
of the Year
Ethan Reger
WMHS, F, sr.
16 points,
10.5 re-
bounds, 1st
team all-CBC
All-EO Third Team
River-
side’s
Skylar
Wightman
(7) comes
in to score
after
hitting a
home run
against
Uma-
tilla on
Friday in
a league
softball
game in
Board-
man.
Continued from 1B
BASEBALL
HOOD RIVER 1-14,
HERMISTON 0-10 — At
Hood River, the Bulldogs
nearly came back but
couldn’t avoid the sweep
on Friday to open Columbia
Johnny Stuvland
Pendleton, P, sr.
9 points, 6 re-
bounds, 2 blocks,
54% FG, 1st
team all-CRC
All-EO Second Team
Seth Cranston
Umatilla, F, jr.
7.9 points,
4.5 rebounds,
2.5 steals,
41% FG
Bryson Pierce Chris Weinke Jose Garcia
Pilot Rock, F, jr. Pilot Rock, G, jr. Stanfi eld, P, sr.
16 points,
6 rebounds,
2 steals,
1.5 assists
back into the groove of
his normal workouts on
the court and in the weight
room. He is counting down
the days until he moves
up north to continue his
basketball career in college
at Saint Martin’s University
in Lacey, Washington.
As a soon-to-be
freshman, he’ll likely go
back to being a follower
rather than a leader on the
court for the Saints, but it
doesn’t mean he won’t work
PREPS: Riverside softball, Stanfi eld baseball earn sweeps
but Rigby got her payback
in the 400 which she won
ahead of Zacarias with a
time of 1:01.50.
Riverside’s Faith Rosen
won the 100 hurdles in
17.47 ahead of Umatilla’s
Nancy Ortiz (17.72), and
Ortiz also placed second in
the 300 hurdles (52.30).
Mac-Hi’s Bianca Garcia
won in javelin with a throw
of 122-8 taht was more than
enough to outdistance Umatil-
la’s Aleesha Watson (121-6)
and
Weston-McEwen’s
Maddi Muilenburg (115-4).
We s t o n - M c E w e n ’s
Bryce Thul tied for the win
in long jump with South
Wasco’s Ana Popchok with
a leap of 15-1.
Other notable fi nishes for
girls were Umatilla’s Maria
Moreno-Mendez with a new
personal record of 32-10 to
place second in shot put, and
Irrigon’s Alexus Williams
with a PR of 12:27.84 for
second in the 3,000.
Back in boys’ action,
Weston-McEwen’s Jacob
Speed had a PR to win the
400 meters in 52.06, and
was second in both the 100
and 200 to Lyle/Wishram’s
Brandon Montoya.
Heppner’s Derek Howard
won shot put with 45-11, and
Umatilla’s Alec Williams was
second with a PR of 43-9.5.
Mac-Hi’s Landon Warne
just missed a 150-foot discus
through last week, but nearly
got it this week with a 149-07
PR to win that event, and
Hermiston’s Carson Wrathall
had a PR in pole vault to win
with height of 11-6.
Pilot Rock’s Devin
Hasher set his highest mark
of the season to win high
jump at 6-1, and Irrigon’s
Justin Iveson continued his
dominance in triple jump
with a winning leap of 41-1.
Arlington’s Ben Evans had
a season-best throw of 153-1
to place second in javelin.
Kaden Webb
Umatilla, G, sr.
16.7 points,
5.5 assists, 3.2
rebounds, 2.8
steals, EOL
Player of the Year
down the fi rst-base line to
plate the winning runs.
Echo (5-5, 1-1) had
taken a 5-4 lead in the top
of the seventh when Kenzie
Gonzales hit a single to
center and Monique Montoya
scored from second base.
Gilman started in the circle
and had six strikeouts before
leaving after being hit by a
line drive back up the middle
in the third inning. She was
not seriously injured, but Mya
Chapman took her spot on the
rubber and fi nished out the
game of the win. Jada Burns
went 3 for 3 at the plate.
Chapman got the start in
Game 2, and pitched well,
but couldn’t get any support
as errors led to all three Echo
runs in the fi rst inning and
Cougars starter Alyssa Ray
pitched a three-hit shutout.
RIVERSIDE
27-25,
UMATILLA 2-0 — At
Boardman, Skylar Wight-
man’s threw a no-hitter in
the pitching circle and hit
a home run with eight total
RBIs to help her Riverside
Pirates sweep Umatilla
27-2 and 25-0 in an Eastern
Oregon League double-
header on Friday afternoon.
Wightman got the win for
Riverside (10-3, 2-1 EOL)
in Game 2 after striking
out 10 Vikings (1-9, 0-3) as
well. The junior also threw
two innings in Game 1 with
four strikeouts, but Bianca
Avalos got the win with fi ve
strikeouts in three innings.
Also doing damage at
the plate for Riverside was
Alexis Villegas (3 for 3,
double, 3RBI), Emily Kirby
(three hits, fi ve RBI, triple,
double) and Sadie Hasbell
collected three hits. Jocelyn
Rodriguez and Lizette
Sanchez also collected their
fi rst career varsity hits.
———
Game 1
R H E
UHS
000 11 —
2 1 9
RHS
11130 3X — 27 11 3
WP — B. Avalos.
2B — A. Villegas, E. Kirby (RHS). HR —
S. Wightman (RHS).
Game 2
R H E
UHS
000 00 —
0 0 6
RHS
1203 10X — 25 13 0
WP — S. Wightman, LP — C. Alvarez.
2B — M. Hagar (RHS). 3B — E. Kirby (RHS).
TENNIS
W E S TO N - M C E W E N
9, RIVERSIDE 3 — At
Boardman, the Weston-McEwen
TigerScots boys and girls tennis
teams made easy work of the
Riverside Pirates on Friday, as
the boys compiled a 5-1 record
while the girls went 4-2.
“I’m so proud of how the
players persevered and played
so well in not so perfect condi-
tions,”
Weston-McEwen
coach Troy Olson said.
Weston-McEwen’s lone
loss in the girls matches came
at No. 3 singles where Krysta
Calvert fell to Riverside in a
tiebreaker 8-6. In the fi ve
other girls matches, Weston-
McEwen won 31 of the 40
games that were played.
On the boys side,
Riverside won the No. 1
singles match when Austin
Thompson beat Ryan
Schmidtgall in a close 6-4
match. But then Weston-
McEwen rolled again,
winning 30 of the 48 games.
UP NEXT
Weston-McEwen heads
to Mac-Hi on Tuesday at 4
p.m., while Riverside will
go to Mac-Hi on Monday.
———
Singles (Girls)
Johanna Albert (W) def. Veronica
Rodriguez 6-1
Emmaline Irvine (W) def. Belinda Lomas (7-5)
Krysta Calvert (W) lost 8-6
Singles (Boys)
Austin Thompson (R) def. Ryan Schmidt-
gall 6-4
Kellen Fairchild (W) def. Donovan
Carmack 8-3
Curtis Papineau (W) def. Brandon
Juarez 6-3
Doubles (Girls)
Bagdon/Swafford (W) def. Mendoza/
Gaytan 6-2
McIntyre/Ford (W) def. Ramos/Gonzalez 6-0
Olson/Davis (W) def. Aldrich/Sepulda 6-1
Doubles (Boys)
Shafer/Froese (W) def. Bedollo/Altam-
arino 8-2
Davison/Papineau (W) def. Cambero/
Reyes 8-2
Shaw/McDonough (R) def. Bryan/
Mann 8-5
13 points, 4.5 2nd team
all-CBC
rebounds,
3 steals,
3 assists
out like one.
“I know that I cannot
take any time off because
there’s so many good
players at that level there’s
no breathing room for rest,”
Smith said. “You have to
always stay at it but that’s
okay because it’s what I
love to do.”
—————
Contact Eric at esinger@
eastoregonian.com or
541-966-0839. Follow him
on Twitter @ByEricSinger.
MARINERS:
Cruz smashes
fi rst home run
of season in
fourth inning
Continued from 1B
but out three and walking none.
Marc Rzepczynski retired the
last two batters in the eighth
and Edwin Diaz pitched the
ninth, stranding the tying run at
third for his second save.
Nelson Cruz put the Mari-
ners up 1-0 with two outs in the
fourth, lining a 3-2 pitch over
the wall in center for his fi rst
homer of the season and 800th
career RBI.
Seattle then loaded the bases
on two singles and a walk, but
starter Martin Perez escaped by
striking out Mike Zunino.
Texas, which had managed
just one hit through the fi rst
fi ve innings, tied it in the sixth.
Jurickson Profar singled to
open the inning, advanced on
a bunt single by Carlos Gomez
and moved to third when
Shin-Soo Choo bounced into
a double play. Nomar Mazara
followed with an RBI single up
the middle.
Perez allowed a walk and
single to open the sixth, but
Leclerc relieved and struck out
Taylor Motter, Danny Valencia
and Zunino.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: SS Jean Segura,
on the 10-day DL (strained
right hamstring), is improving.
“He’s feeling better. He has
not gotten out on the fi eld or
anything like that,” manager
Scott Servais said. “He’s doing
the strengthening exercises and
stuff, I have not seen him run or
got any update on that today.”
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Andrew
Cashner, who opened the
season on the 10-day DL (right
biceps soreness) is likely to be
activated and start Saturday.
“We feel like he’s healthy, we
feel like he’s ready,” manager
Jeff Banister said.
Mariners: RHP James
Paxton (1-0, 0.00 ERA) has
not allowed a run in 13 innings
in his fi rst two starts. He has
struck out 13 and walked three.