East Oregonian : E.O., May 11, 2017, Page 1B, Image 9

SPORTS
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017
HERMISTON
PENDLETON
T-Wolves
split with
Chukars
1B
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Bulldogs go big on Day 1
Herm-
iston’s
Makayla
Akers
com-
petes
in the
javelin
at the
Colum-
bia River
Confer-
ence
district
track
meet on
Wednes-
day in
Herm-
iston.
Akers
won the
district
title
with a
throw of
123-feet,
9-inches.
Treasure Valley steals
Game 2 in extras
East Oregonian
The Blue Mountain softball
team continued to show a lot of
heart on Wednesday afternoon
as the Timberwolves split a
doubleheader with Treasure
Valley.
The
Timberwolves
Softball
won
the
opener
8-6
in comeback
fashion,
but Treasure Valley
the Chukars
outlasted the
Timberwolves
in Game 2 to
win 7-5 in nine
Blue Mountain
innings.
In Game 1,
BMCC (15-29,
11-19
East)
erased a 6-2
defi cit in the sixth inning to steal
the win. Three straight walks set
the table for an RBI groundout
by Miah Slater to cut the lead to
6-3, and two batters later Sydney
Saxton Siaki made it a 6-5 game
with a two-RBI double.
Next up, Lauren Cagle lined
an RBI single to the outfi eld to
bring home Saxton Siaki to tie
the game at 6-6. But the tie did
not last long, as the very next
batter Sarah Bonner launched
her team-leading 14th home run
of the season, a two-run shot, to
put BMCC on top.
In Game 2, an RBI double by
Megan Ulrey scored Bonner to
tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom
of the fourth. But that would be
the last run scored until extra
innings in the top of the eighth,
when TVCC (23-19, 18-12)
took a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the frame,
BMCC kept the game going
with a sacrifi ce fl y to left by
Bonner to bring home Saxton
Siaki to tie it at 3-3. Then in the
ninth, Treasure Valley tallied
fi ve hits and four runs to jump
See BMCC/2B
6-7
Staff photo
by E.J. Harris
8-5
Pend-
leton’s
Johnny
Stuvland
com-
petes in
the long
jump
at the
Colum-
bia River
Confer-
ence
district
track
meet on
Wednes-
day in
Hermis-
ton.
Hermiston claims six district titles as
the boys, girls teams take early leads
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
For most of his senior season, Herm-
iston’s Vaemu Ena treated long jump as a
fun diversion.
He discovered what he could do
when he really put all of his effort into
his leaps on Wednesday, the fi rst day of
the Columbia River Conference track
and fi eld championships at Hermiston’s
Kennison Field.
After entering as the seventh-seeded
jumper, Ena walked away a district
champion with a personal-record distance
of 20 feet, 5.75 inches.
Ena hit the mark on his last attempt in
the fi nals to push him past Hood River’s
Jonah Tactay who had just taken the lead
with 20-4.5.
“I was very inconsistent, then all of
a sudden today magic happened,” said
Ena. “I honestly think it’s just because I
warmed up really well today and usually
I don’t take it as serious because it’s long
jump and I’ve never been good at it. But
I actually took it seriously today for this
districts, and I think that’s why.”
He posted the highest mark in prelim-
inaries at 20-2.75 with his fi rst attempt,
then left the jumping area and headed to
the track where he won his heat and was
second overall in the 100-meter prelims
with a time of 11.64 seconds, then
returned to fi nish the long jump.
“It was a good day, now I’m excited
for tomorrow,” he said.
Ena’s winning jump elicited one of the
biggest crowd reactions of the afternoon,
and Hermiston throws coach David
Faaeteete (Ena’s football coach) let out
the loudest of the cheers from his nearby
vantage point.
Faaeteete had plenty to celebrate on
Tuesday as Hermiston throwers also had
See DISTRICTS/2B
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
MLB
Ruiz helps M’s get fourth straight win with sweep of Phillies
Seattle
Mariners’
Carlos
Ruiz
hits a
three-run
double
off Phil-
adelphia
Phillies
relief
pitcher
Joaquin
Benoit
during
the sev-
enth in-
ning of a
baseball
game,
Wednes-
day, May
10, 2017,
in Phila-
delphia.
Seattle
won 11-6.
AP Photo/Matt
Slocum
Seattle catcher gets clutch
hit to beat his old team
By ROB MAADDI
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Just like the
old days, Carlos Ruiz soaked in the
adoring cheers after another clutch hit.
It didn’t matter he was a visiting
player.
Ruiz hit a three-run double against
his old team, Robinson Cano and
Danny Valencia homered and the
Seattle Mariners beat the Philadelphia
Phillies 11-6 Wednesday.
Ruiz earned another standing
ovation a day after he returned and
was honored with a video tribute that
highlighted his career with the Phil-
lies. The former All-Star catcher was
3 for 30 this season before clearing
the bases with a liner off the left-fi eld
wall in the seventh inning.
“I kind of feel like my legs were
Seattle
Philadelphia
11
6
not on the ground, it was real special,”
Ruiz said. “That was huge for my
team and also to see the ovation from
the fans, their support, and I said
thank you to them, because they were
real good to me when I was here, and
I’m so happy that they do that.”
Tony Zych (2-0) tossed a scoreless
inning after Yovani Gallardo allowed
three runs and four hits in fi ve innings.
Robinson Cano led off the seventh
with a single off Joaquin Benoit (0-2).
After Kyle Seager walked, Danny
Valencia lined an RBI double to right
to give the Mariners a 4-3 lead. Guill-
ermo Heredia fl ied out and Jarrod
Dyson was intentionally walked,
setting the stage for Ruiz.
His liner, which missed being a
grand slam by a few feet, extended
Seattle’s lead to 7-3. Fans chanted
“Choooch!” and cheered the same
way they did for Chase Utley when he
hit two homers against the Phillies in
his return to Philadelphia last August.
Ruiz caught the fi nal out of the
2008 World Series and spent his entire
career in Philadelphia before a trade to
the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer.
“That was really special to come to
Philadelphia and get the ovation the
fans gave to me,” he said.
Cano drove one out to the opposite
fi eld in left for a 3-0 lead in the third.
Valencia connected in the eighth.
STREAKING
Seattle has now won four straight
and six of seven to even its record
(17-17) for the fi rst time since the
opener.
UP NEXT
Mariners: RHP Chase De Jong
(0-2, 6.75 ERA) pitches Thursday at
Toronto in the opener of a four-game
series. RHP Marco Estrada (1-2, 3.14)
goes for the Blue Jays.
Sports shorts
Ritchie’s goal sends Anaheim to
Western Conference fi nals
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Nick Ritchie
scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third
period, and the Anaheim Ducks ended their
streak of fi ve straight Game 7 losses with a 2-1
victory over the Edmonton Oilers
on Wednesday night, advancing to
the Western Conference fi nals for
the second time in three years.
Andrew Cogliano scored the
tying goal midway through the
second period for the Ducks, who
Ritchie
had blown a 3-2 series lead and
lost a Game 7 on home ice in four
consecutive seasons.
After a rally from an early defi cit and a strong
defensive performance to back John Gibson’s 23
saves, the Ducks ended their ignominious streak.
Anaheim will host Nashville in Game 1 of
the conference fi nals Friday night.
“They just always fi nd
a way to respond the
right way to any of
the challenges or the
adversities that this
league throws at us, and
they did it again tonight.
I think these guys are at
their best when the stakes
are high.“
— Mike Sullivan
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach
after his team beat the Washington
Capitals 2-0 in Game 7 of their
second round playoff game on
Wednesday. The defending Stanley
Cup champions will face Ottawa in
the Eastern Conference fi nals.
Seahawks sign veteran DE,
release eight others
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seahawks
have signed veteran defensive end David Bass
as Seattle continues to look for options on the
defensive front.
Seattle announced the signing
of Bass on Tuesday, along with
the release of eight players,
ahead of this weekend’s rookie
minicamp.
Bass spent the past two seasons with
Tennessee. He started seven games during the
2015 seasons with the Titans and had a career-
high 36 tackles, but had more of a reserve role
last season. Bass spent his fi rst two seasons in
the league with Chicago.
Among those released by Seattle was
cornerback Perrish Cox, running back George
Famer and kicker John Lunsford, leaving the
Seahawks with Blair Walsh as the only kicker
on the roster.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1918 — Exterminator, a
30-1 long shot ridden by Willie
Knapp, loses the lead but
regains it to win the Kentucky
Derby by one length.
1992 — The Portland Trail
Blazers win the highest-scoring
playoff game in NBA history,
153-151 in double OT against
the Phoenix Suns in the Western
Conference semifi nals.
2016 — Max Scherzer
strikes out 20 batters,
matching the MLB record
for a nine-inning game as
he pitches Washington past
Detroit 3-2. He joins Roger
Clemens, Kerry Wood and
Randy Johnson as the only
pitchers to reach the record.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com