SPORTS
WEEKEND, APRIL 29-30, 2017
1B
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HERMISTON
Wyatt No-
land, of Herm-
iston, slides
into third as
Pendleton
third base-
man Jared
Beveridge
fi elds the
ball during
Friday’s
Columbia
River Confer-
ence game
at Armand
Larive Middle
School. No-
land made it
safely to base.
Split rivalry
Baseball
Bucks, Dawgs each win one
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Pendleton
5-10
Hermiston
10-8
Any time Pendleton and Hermiston teams meet
up for a sporting event, it is sure to be an action-
packed clash between the geographic rivals.
Friday’s battle on the baseball diamond between
the Bulldogs and Buckaroos was just that, as both
See BASEBALL/2B
Staff photo by
Kathy Aney
IRRIGON
HERMISTON
Knights without a castle
Bucks
take two
from
Bulldogs
Irrigon track teams
don’t let adversity
hold them back
“We have
probably some
of the worst
conditions of
any team in the
state, at least
at our level
or above, for
anybody to have
to deal with.”
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
A
big yellow bus pulls up
outside Irrigon High
School, spurring a swarm
of eager bodies into motion.
Though much smaller than
the mass exodus that occurs with
the fi nal bell each afternoon,
it’s still an impressive sight as
youngsters emerge from all
corners of the sports facility
that sits behind the school and
funnel toward the bus’s open and
waiting side door.
It’s time for the Knights track
and fi eld team to go to practice.
One look at the gravely track,
lumpy jumping runway and
weather-worn pads is all it takes
to understand why second-year
Irrigon track and fi eld coach
Ken Thompson doesn’t exactly
consider anything that occurs on
campus as a proper practice.
“We have probably some of
the worst conditions of any team
in the state, at least at our level
or above, for anybody to have to
deal with,” he said.
So twice a week he loads his
entire team on a bus and heads
for a nearby facility at either
Riverside or Umatilla High
Schools, where they are able to
graciously get in about an hour
of work once the home team is
fi nished.
Thompson, who’s admittedly
unpolished in even the basics of
the sport he’s coaching, said with
the challenges his athletes face
— Ken Thompson,
Irrigon track caoch
Pendleton keeps
pace in CRC
title race
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Pendleton softball team kept
pace in the Columbia River
Conference title hunt with a
pair of wins over Hermiston on
Friday.
The Buckaroos, which
are tied with
Hood River
Softball
for fi rst with
fi ve games left
in the regular
Pendleton
season, came
out
hitting
the
ball
consistently
for a 13-4 win
in
Friday’s
Hermiston
opener, then
scored a pair
of runs in the
fi rst
inning
and held on behind a strong
defensive performance to win
3-0 in Game 2.
Lauren Richards earned
both wins in the circle, but
wasn’t her typical dominant
self as the Bulldogs’ smart plate
approaches forced Pendleton’s
defenders to make plays in the
fi eld.
They failed to do that in the
Bulldogs’ four-run third inning
in Game 1, but the offense was
clicking and Pendleton still led
6-4 coming into the dugout.
See BUCKS/2B
13-3
4-0
See KNIGHTS/2B
Staff photos by Kathy Aney
NFL Draft
MAIN PHOTO: An Irrigon
High School long jumper
sprints down a runway con-
structed from an old potato
conveyor belt Wednesday be-
fore boarding a bus and trav-
eling to Umatilla for the main
practice. The jumpers use the
runway for warmups only.
BOTTOM LEFT: Irrigon hur-
dler Jose Romero warms
up Wednesday by stepping
over hurdles placed on
the grass rather than the
school’s gravel track.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Cynthia
Nava carries her shot put as
the Irrigon track team un-
loads from the bus Wednes-
day at Umatilla High School.
Seahawks fi nally
make a pick! PAGE 3B
DT Malik McDowell, Mich. St.
Sports shorts
Kenseth wins pole at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Matt Kenseth
won the pole position for Sunday’s Monster
Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond
International Raceway.
The 2003 series champion needed only four laps
in three rounds of qualifying Friday,
outrunning fi nal-round qualifi ers
like Joey Logano, who was fastest in
each of the fi rst two rounds, and Dale
Earnhardt Jr., who made it to the fi nal
round, but will start 12th.
“I don’t get a lot of poles so
Kenseth
any time I get a pole, it’s pretty
special,” Kenseth said.
The pole was just the 19th for Kenseth, who
will make his 623rd career start this weekend,
and his second at Richmond. He and teammates
Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and rookie Daniel
Suarez will be trying to give Joe Gibbs Racing
its fi rst victory of the season at a track where
they have been dominant in recent years.
“I just feel like if you’ve
got a taco, you can’t go
wrong. … I can’t wait
to get out there and try
all the different tacos. I
heard this is the place to
be for tacos, so I can’t
wait to try some.“
— Taco Charlton
Dallas Cowboys fi rst-round draft
choice on his new city. Charlton, a
defensive end from Michigan whose
given name is Vidauntae, has al-
ready heard from companies about
endorsement deals. Restaraunt
chain Taco Bueno issued a statement
welcoming him to Texas on Friday.
PGA penalizes slow players
AVONDALE, La. (AP) — The fi rst
team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years has
produced the fi rst penalty for slow
play since 1995.
PGA Tour offi cials say Miguel
Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell
were penalized one shot on the 14th
hole of the opening round at the
Zurich Classic for their second bad
time. They opened with a 74 in foursomes.
They were on the clock when Carballo went
over his allotted time on the 12th hole. Then,
Campbell had a bad time on the 14th hole.
Typically, a player receives a warning
after the fi rst bad time and a one-shot penalty
after his second. Because they were a team
in foursomes, however, rules specify that a
“player” includes his partners.
Until Thursday, the last time a PGA Tour player
was penalized one shot for pace of play was Glen
Day in the third round of the 1995 Honda Classic.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1986 — Roger Clemens set a
major league record by striking out
20 batters as the Boston Red Sox
defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-1.
1998 — For the fi rst time in the
124-year history of the Kentucky
Derby, a redraw is ordered during
the post position draw. Churchill
Downs offi cials allowed ESPN to
control the announcing of the draw.
Commentator Chris Lincoln called
the No. 15 pill twice while picking
the draft order for post positions.
2010 — The NCAA’s Board
of Directors approve a 68-team
format for the men’s basketball
tournament beginning next season.
It’s the fi rst expansion since 2001
when the tourney went from 64 to
65 teams.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com