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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2017)
SPORTS FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS MLB Prep Sports Valencia, Miranda lift Mariners OSAA goes with six Seattle Mariners’ Ben Gamel is forced at second, but Los Ange- les Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons bobbles the throw and can’t turn the double play, leaving Mariners’ Robinson Cano safe at fi rst in the fi rst inning of a base- ball game, Thursday, May 4, 2017, in Seattle. Districting Committee elects to keep current sports model By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian AP Photo/Ted S. Warren Seattle tags recently called up pitcher for six runs in four innings By JIM HOEHN Associated Press SEATTLE — Danny Valencia homered and had four hits, Ariel Miranda pitched seven strong innings and the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-3 on Thursday night. Miranda (3-2) settled in after a rocky second inning, giving up two runs, seven hits and a walk while striking out fi ve for the game. Valencia hit a solo shot in the seventh and had three RBIs. Ben Gamel had three hits and two walks, scored three times and drove in two runs for Seattle, which built a 6-2 lead in four innings against Alex Meyer (0-1). Meyer, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Salt Los Angeles Lake, was tagged for six runs, eight hits, three walks and a hit batter. Seattle pounded out 16 hits in the game and took the lead with a three-run third. Gamel walked to open the inning and came around on two-out singles by Kyle Seager and Valencia. Guillermo Heredia followed with a blooped two-run double down the right fi eld line. The Mariners added two more in the fourth on a single by Jean Segura, an RBI double by Gamel 3 and a single by Nelson Cruz. Juan Graterol’s two-run single put Seattle the Angels up 2-1 in the second after the Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the fi rst when Cruz extending his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI double. TRAINER’S ROOM Angels: CF Mike Trout, who had played in all 29 games so far, was not in the lineup. Manager Mike Scioscia said Trout’s hamstring has been a little tight. “If it was a playoff game, he’d be playing,” said Scioscia, adding that Trout was available to pinch-hit. ... RHP Ricky 11 Nolasco, who had some cramping in his calf during a 73-pitch start on Wednesday, is not expected to miss his rotation turn. Mariners: RHP Hisashi Iwakuma is expected to make his next sched- uled start after being struck in the left knee with a liner Wednesday. ... RHP Felix Hernandez (right shoulder infl ammation) and OF Mitch Haniger (strained right oblique) both are making progress, but there is no defi nite return date for either. UP NEXT Mariners: RHP Yovani Gallardo (1-3, 5.08) opens the three-game series at Safeco Field on Friday against Texas, for whom he pitched in 2015. WILSONVILLE — The Oregon School Activities Associa- tion announced on Thursday it will go forward as a six-classifi cation entity, based on the show of support for maintaining the status quo from a majority of the state’s athletic directors. The choice between fi ve and six classifi cations boiled down to which would create the most competitive balance, and since more athletic directors believed it would be the current six-class system, the OSAA let democracy rule. “After lengthy discussion and review last Monday, the (Classifi cation and Districting Committee) believes the time has come to narrow their approach to one classifi cation system as there is plenty of work still to be done with cutoff points, league alignments and school placements prior to the group fi nalizing their recommendations to the Executive Board and Delegate Assembly,” the OSAA said in its most current update following an April 24 public meeting in Sunriver, the eighth of the process to determine high school classifi cations for the 2018-22 block. During that meeting each clas- sifi cation presented its vote from private meetings held the previous night, and the 6A model won by a total count of 94-88. (Class 1A did See OSAA/2B PENDLETON Timberwolf pair matriculates to larger programs BMCC athletes sign to continue athletic careers East Oregonian Two years ago, Jordan Mix and Sydney Saxton Siaki came to Blue Mountain Community College ready to start their collegiate careers. Now after two successful seasons in their respective sports, both athletes have earned the chance to move on. On April 27, Mix signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball at Montana State University-Billings and Saxton Siaki signed to continue her softball career at Ottawa University in Surprise, Arizona. Mix, a Kennewick, Wash- ington native, was a two-year starter at outside hitter in the Photo courtesy of BMCC Athletics Photo courtesy of BMCC Athletics Blue Mountain Community College sophomore Jor- dan Mix signs a National Letter of Intent with Montana State University-Billings volleyball while head BMCC coach Jessica Humphreys watches during a signing ceremony on April 27 in Pendleton. Blue Mountain sophomore Sydney Saxton Siaki signs a National Letter of Intent with Ottawa University while head BMCC softball coach Steve Richards watch- es during a signing ceremony on April 27 in Pendleton. Timberwolves lineup and a key part of the team’s NWAC Championship run in 2015. She capped her career in 2016 with a All-East Region First Team selection after “Being away from home has helped me realize how important family is,” Mix said in a school press release. “I’m going to miss the close- ness I had with my team.” registering a team-high 233 kills. At MSU-Billings, she will study health and human performance as she pursues her goal of becoming a phys- ical therapist. On the softball diamond, Saxton Siaki has developed into one of the Timberwolves top offensive players during her career. The Irvine, California native is currently hitting for a .449 average, second-best on the team, and leads the team with 17 doubles while playing solid defense in the outfi eld as well. She is happy to fi nd a new home closer to home, but she is grateful for her experience at BMCC and in Eastern Oregon. “I’ve learned who I am — I fi nally grew up,” Saxton Siaki said. “I got used to who I am and fi nally accepted me for me.” She will be a part of history when she plays at Ottawa as well, as she will be playing on Ottawa’s inaugural season as a softball program. Saxton Siaki will continue her studies in education at Ottawa as she aims to become a speech pathologist. “Sydney became a real team leader here at BMCC,” softball coach Steve Richards said. “She leads by example — she puts in the work every day, and plays the game hard and plays the game honest.” Sports shorts Spurs’ Parker out for playoffs SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker will miss the rest of the playoffs after rupturing the quadriceps tendon in his left leg in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifi nals against the Houston Rockets. Parker will need season-ending surgery, meaning the Spurs will have to go through the rest of the postseason without their veteran fl oor leader. He was injured with 8:34 to play in Wednesday night’s game and the Spurs went on to win and tie the series at one game Parker apiece. While the 34-year-old Parker is not the dynamic playmaker he was in his younger days, he has still been hugely important to what the team does. After the Spurs were blown out in Game 1, Parker responded with 18 points in 25 minutes before getting injured. “He’s a larger than life character and generating a ton of attention. The shoes are nothing special and grossly overpriced, but I suspect that’s intentional. In the context of building a brand — his brand — it’s working.“ — Jason Stein CEO of New York-based ad agency Laundry Service on LaVar Ball, who unveiled the ZO2 shoe line that he designed for his son Lonzo on Thursday with the main pair listed at $495. Religious headgear approved by basketball’s governing body DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —Basketball enthusiasts around the world said a decision to allow players to wear religious headgear in competition will encourage more people to play the sport because it gives participants the right to practice their faith and focus on playing ball. The unanimous vote Thursday by international basketball’s governing body, known as FIBA, allows female players to wear hijabs and male players to wear turbans and yarmulkes following a ban initially imposed for safety reasons 20 years ago. In 2014, FIBA allowed a two-year testing phase for head coverings. “I think we came out in a good place, at the right place,” said USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley, who is on the FIBA executive committee. “I think it’s a good step for FIBA to put this issue kind of behind it and go from there.” THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1934 — Cavalcade wins the Kentucky Derby by more than three lengths over Discovery. It’s his third victory in a span of less than two weeks. 1973 — Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, wins the Kentucky Derby with a record time of 1:59.2. Secretariat beats Sham by 2 lengths and goes on to win the Triple Crown. 1993 — Canisius beats Niagara 11-1 in softball to set an NCAA Division I record with 34 straight wins. 1999 — Colorado becomes the fi rst team in 35 years and the third this century to score in every inning in a 13-6 win over the Chicago Cubs. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
