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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2017)
SPORTS WEEKEND, MAY 6-7, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON HERMISTON Bucks close in on playoffs Bulldogs hold off Eagles Hermis- ton’s Caden Schwirse fi elds a throw from teammate Jordan Ramirez as Lucas Viuh- kol, of Hood River, slides into second base during Friday’s game at the Armand Larive base- ball fi eld. Pendleton baseball and softball earned wins over The Dalles Staff photo by Kathy Aney East Oregonian THE DALLES — Daniel Naughton pitched a complete game and Wyatt Morris hit the cover off a ball for a home run as Pendleton baseball picked up a 5-1 win over The Dalles on Friday to strengthen its playoff bid. Morris’ homer went over the fence in left fi eld, over the street Baseball and fi nally settled on a neighboring lawn to knot the Pendleton score at a run each in the third inning. Naughton and Pendleton’s defense made sure The Dalles did no The Dalles more damage, and Morris brought in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning when he drew a bases-loaded walk. Naughton was in control all game, and retired the fi rst two Riverhawks of every inning except the sixth. He still opened that frame inducing a ground-out, and allowed just four hits while striking out seven and walking two. The Dalles’ run in the fi rst inning was unearned when the Bucks dropped a fl y ball with a runner on and two outs. “He did a good job of getting out in front the entire game,” said Pendleton coach T.J. Haguewood. “That’s what we expect out of our pitchers and he threw really well today, and The Dalles didn’t really hit him that hard, we made routine plays behind him.” Except for a couple instances Pendleton didn’t hit the ball that hard, either, and also totaled just four hits. The Bucks took a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh inning, then added some insurance when Austin Zaugg doubled and scored two batters later on a single by Naughton to make it 3-1. A wild pitch moved runners to 5 1 See BUCKS/2B Hermiston wins crucial game against league-leader Hood River By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian With a mere three games remaining in the regular season, the Hermiston baseball team gath- ered for Friday’s game needing all the wins it could get as it aims to earn a postseason berth. However, getting a win on Friday would not be easy as standing in H e r m i s t o n ’s Baseball way was the Columbia River Conference leader Hood Hood River River Eagles. Though, that did not intimidate the Bulldogs who had beaten Hermiston the Eagles in the teams last meeting on April 18. And just like the prior meeting, Hermiston was the team that came out on top on Friday as the Bulldogs came back from an two-run defi cit in the fi rst inning and held off the Eagles for a 5-4 victory on a blustery day at Armand Larive Middle School. “We’re ecstatic for the W,” Hermiston assistant coach John Christy said afterward. “I felt like we played loose and played our game rather than tighten up and let the moment take a hold of us. I feel like we did a good job of just being relaxed and coming back.” The Bulldogs (10-13, 4-6 CRC) rode a fantastic pitching perfor- 4 5 Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hermiston’s Jordan Ramirez rounds third base during Friday’s game against Hood River Valley at the Armand Larive baseball fi eld. mance by junior Lukas Tolan, who lasted six innings and struck out four while allowing nine hits and just three runs. He allowed two runs in the fi rst inning helped by a defensive error, and gave up one unearned run in the sixth, which bookended four innings of mastery. Tolan allowed fi ve hits in those innings, but stranded six runners to keep his team in the game. “I just knew I had to trust my defense and it would all work out,” Tolan said. “I knew I had to hang in there and they would make some plays of me.” “Lukas really pitched his butt off today,” Christy said of his pitcher. “The second inning on, he really focused on working down and letting his ball move and he settled right in there.” Though it was very early, perhaps the biggest moment of the game for Hermiston came in the bottom of the fi rst inning. Having surrendered the 2-0 lead in the top of the frame, the Bull- dogs managed to get a run back thanks to an RBI single up the middle by Wyatt Noland which helped the Bulldogs re-gain some momentum. “When I think about that fi rst inning, giving up two but getting one back was huge for us,” Christy said. The Bulldogs then tied the game in the second inning on an RBI groundout by Jordan Ramirez which scored Daniel Gossler from third base. As the game moved along, the high winds that rolled through the area continued to get stronger, with gusts of 20-25 miles-per- hour blowing straight out toward centerfi eld. Those winds made it tough on both defenses, especially for fl y balls and in the fourth inning it played into Hermiston’s favor. A fl y ball to center fi eld off the bat of Joel Mendez should have been the Bulldogs’ third out, but the wind kept pushing it further toward the fence which twisted Hood River’s centerfi elder around and caused him to drop the catch, giving Hermiston new life. That brought Jordan Ramirez to the plate with two outs and runners on second and third with only one thing on his mind. “If the pitcher throws me a fast- ball down the pipe, I’m hitting it to the outfi eld,” Ramirez recalled See BULLDOGS/2B Prep Roundup Locals looking to strike in Round 2 at district golf tournament Greb second in girls’ fi eld, boys tightly packed after 18 East Oregonian REDMOND — Haley Greb is six strokes off the lead after the fi rst round of the Special District 2 tournament on Friday at Eagle Crest Resort. Summit’s Olivia Loberg came out hot and was three under through fi ve holes. She fi nished one-under with a 71. Greb was second and fi nished with her second birdie of the round for 77. She also chipped in for a birdie on No. 9. Pendleton coach Terry Prouse said Greb wasn’t happy with her iron play and spent some time after the round working on them. “She hit a lot of balls and we worked on some things,” Prouse said, “so hopefully she’ll be able to come out and do something tomorrow.” Crater’s Haley Brown was third with 80. Pendleton was third as a team with 375, and Summit leads with 351 with Bend in second with 361. “I thought considering the course the kids managed pretty well today,” Prouse said. Hermiston is in fourth with 393 and is led by Sonja Peterson with 94. The Pendleton boys were tied for third with The Dalles after 18 holes and shot 345 as a team. As in the girls’ tournament, Summit leads with a score of 323. Marist Catholic is second is the 342, Thurston is fi fth with 351 and Hermiston is sixth with 355. Pendleton’s top shooter was Jared Geier with 81 that puts him in sixth, but just two strokes off the lead. Ridgeview’s Isaac Buerger and Summit’s Eric Wasserman had 79, and three players shot 80. Pendleton’s Brayden Pulver and Nathan Som are also in the title hunt with 83 and 84, respectively. Hermiston’s Jared Thacker was just six back with an 85 to lead the Bulldogs, Anders Lind shot an 86 and Kayden Mecham had an 88. The fi nal round is today. ——— Special District 2 State Qualifi er at Eagle Crest Resort, Redmond Team Leaders GIRLS See PREPS/2B Sports shorts Cutler retires from NFL, moves into broadcast booth with FOX NEW YORK (AP) — Another former NFL quarterback is headed to the broadcast booth as Jay Cutler joins Fox. Cutler was hired Friday by the network as an analyst to work on its No. 2 NFL team with Kevin Burkhardt and Charles Davis. Last month, CBS replaced Phil Simms as its top game analyst with Tony Romo. Unlike Romo, who would have been in demand to play Cutler quarterback had he chosen not to leave the fi eld, Cutler drew little interest as a free agent. So, at age 34, he heads to the booth. Cutler spent the last eight seasons as a Chicago Bear after breaking into the NFL with Denver. He was 68-71 as a starter with a career passer rating of 85.7, 208 touchdowns and 146 interceptions. “That mega fi ght really hurt boxing … But I think if you have a Mexican fi ghter in the ring especially two Mexican fi ghters you’re guaranteed fi reworks.“ — Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Former middleweight champion on boxing’s fallout from the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao blockbuster fi ght ended with boos. The sport is back on an upswing, though, and Alvarez’s fi ght against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday will be in front of what’s expected to be the largest indoor crowd for a bout in Las Vegas. Golf gets a makeover with the inaugural GolfSixes (AP) — Walk-out music. Pyrotechnics. A long-drive competition. Shot clocks. Mic’d-up players. Golf gets another makeover this weekend when the European Tour rolls out its latest attempt at innovation, the inaugural GolfSixes tournament at the Centurion Club in St Albans, southern England. Played over two days, GolfSixes is a six-hole match play event featuring two-man teams from 16 different countries competing for a prize fund of 1 million euros ($1.1 million). “It’s an innovative way to get young kids to play, bring it out of the old age a bit and into the new age,” England player Andy Sullivan said. “It’s based around being more fun, more relaxed, but still being competitive.” THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1895 — African American jockey James “Soup” Perkins guides Halma to a wire-to- wire victory in the Kentucky Derby. The 15-year-old joins fellow African American jockey Alonzo Clayton as the youngest jockey to ride a Derby winner. 1973 — The New England Whalers beat the Winnipeg Jets 9-6 to win the fi rst World Hockey Associa- tion championship. 2011 — James Hylton, at age 76, becomes the oldest driver to make the fi eld in NASCAR’s top three series by qualifying for the Nationwide event at Darlington Raceway. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
