SPORTS
WEEKEND, MAY 13-14, 2017
1B
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PENDLETON
Bucks make Dawgs pay
Pendleton takes
advantage of errors
to beat Hermiston
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
In a game with major
playoff implications for
both teams, the Pendleton
Buckaroos proved they were
ready for the postseason as
they seized on early errors
by the Hermiston Bulldogs
to lead wire to wire and win
the season series between the
cross-county rivals.
The Bulldogs needed
Baseball
Hermiston
Pendleton
3
13
a win Friday to keep their
season going, but had three
errors in the fi rst and third
innings that led to four runs
by the Buckaroos.
The Bulldogs would
eventually get three of those
back, but Pendleton added
nine more to win 13-3 in six
innings and secure second
place in the Columbia River
Conference.
Wyatt Morris gave the
Bucks another solid start on
the mound, and also hit a solo
home run to lead off a six-run
sixth that brought on the run
rule.
“We did what was neces-
sary to keep their backs
against the wall and we just
kept putting pressure on
them,” said Pendleton coach
T.J. Haguewood. “It was
good to see the guys got hits
when we needed to and we
made them pay.”
Hermiston’s
troubles
didn’t start right away, but
after two uneventful outs to
begin the bottom of the fi rst
inning things started to go
See BASEBALL/2B
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton’s Daniel Naughton connects for a two-run RBI double in the Bucks’ 13-3
win against the Hermiston Bulldogs on Friday in Pendleton.
STANFIELD
PENDLETON
Adding to the arsenal
Klay Jenson
makes Tigers
even more
dangerous
“It’s a great feeling just being able to help the team
out when they need it and trying to be the
guy and step up when needed.”
— Klay Jenson,
Stanfi eld/Echo baseball senior
Pendleton belts six home
runs to clinch CRC title
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
hile the Stanfi eld/
Echo baseball team
put together its run to
the Class 3A state championship
in 2016, the team managed
to do so without an important
piece.
That missing piece was
Klay Jenson, who was forced
to watch his team’s incredible
season from the dugout as he
recovered from a devastating
knee injury suffered during
football season. Described as
the team’s ‘hype guy’ by several
teammates, Jenson still played
an important role by trying to
keep positive energy fl owing in
the dugout during games and
practices. It wasn’t the role he
had envisioned for his junior
season, after carving out time
as a regular for the Tigers as a
sophomore, but it was a role he
accepted.
“It was hard, defi nitely, to
just sit and watch,” Jenson
recalled. “But just going out
there and still being able to
support them was something
that was a big key for me.”
Now in his senior season,
Jenson is no longer a casual
bystander at Stanfi eld baseball
games. The 5-foot-7, 155-pound
athlete is fully healthy again
and playing a much larger
role for Stanfi eld, and is also a
big reason why the Tigers are
perhaps an even better team in
2017.
Jenson has started all 20
games for the Tigers this season,
where he has either manned a
spot in the outfi eld or toed the
pitching rubber. At the plate,
Jenson has hit for a .285 average
with 24 RBI and a team-high
two home runs. He’s scored
22 runs and has a .432 on-base
percentage from his No. 7 spot
in the lineup.
“He gives us a lot more
Buckaroos
clobber
Bulldogs
The stage was set for the Pendleton
softball team on Friday afternoon.
A win over Hermiston would keep
the Columbia River Conference crown
in Pendleton for yet another year, while a
loss would mean a shared title with Hood
River Valley. But being that the game was
against the Buckaroos’
rivals, they didn’t want
Softball
to just win the game, they
wanted to make a state-
ment in doing so.
Hermiston
And boy, did the Buck-
aroos do just that.
Pendleton belted six
home runs and collected
16 hits as they clobbered
the Bulldogs 18-0 in the
Pendleton
regular season fi nale at
Steve Cary Field. Senior
Payton Hergert was all
smiles after the game, and
she had good reason to be. Hergert went
2 for 4 with a home run as she and fellow
seniors Maddy Parker and Tatum Fell
W
0
18
See SOFTBALL/2B
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Stanfi eld’s Klay Jenson has demonstrated his talent this season on the mound, in the out-
fi eld and in the batter’s box.
depth into our batting lineup,”
teammate Brody Woods said.
“Last year I think we topped off
a little, the bottom guys would
hit but have some games where
they’re not super consistent.
And this year we’re just solid
overall and it helps out a whole
lot because they make contact
and we’re scoring throughout
the whole lineup.”
But where Jenson has made
his biggest contributions of late
is as a pitcher. Aside from his
one-inning, two-run and four-
walk outing against Tri-Cities
Prep (WA) in the season opener,
Jenson has been lights out.
Spanning seven appearances
and 23 innings, the left-hander
has allowed a mere one earned
run and six hits to go with 31
strikeouts.
“It’s a great feeling just being
able to help the team out when
they need it and trying to be the
guy and step up when needed,”
Jenson said. “I’m just there in
the outfi eld and I got their back,
and then if pitching I’m going to
try and throw strikes and know
my defense has my back.”
Thyler Monkus, Stanfi eld’s
primary catcher, said that
Jenson’s success on the mound
comes down to a simple
approach to each hitter.
“He’s been really focused
on fi rst pitch strikes and once
he gets that down, he’s pretty
See JENSON/2B
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Pendleton’s Lauren Richards pitches
during the fi rst inning of Friday’s game
against Hermiston at Steve Cary Field.
Sports shorts
WNBA fi nding new ways to
try and grow off the court
Brady picked for Madden 18 cover
(AP) — To the joy of 9-year-old Jack
Brady, the fi ve-time Super Bowl champion
Tom Brady will be the cover athlete for
Madden 18 , following his Patriots teammate
and buddy Rob Gronkowski.
Gronkowski’s absence for half of the
2016 season could have given
his quarterback pause about
accepting the cover role. After all,
there’s talk of a Madden Curse.
While pointing out that he
works extra hard to keep fi t —
how many NFL players are in as
Brady
good or better shape at age 39 as
they were a decade ago? — Brady
acknowledges that he’s heard about the curse.
“I am not sure it’s supposedly that there is
a curse, I think there is a curse,” he said. “I’ve
been able to overcome a lot of things in my
life, and now we’ve really got to step up our
game.”
“The opportunity is
narrowing. We’d just
like him to have success
somewhere. We’re not
going to be there.“
— Phil Jackson
New York Knicks team president
reiterating his belief that 32-year-
old star Carmelo Anthony should
waive his no-trade clause and
accept a deal to a team in posi-
tion to contend for an NBA title.
NEW YORK (AP) — Coming off one of the
most successful seasons in WNBA history on
and off the court, the league has found
ways to try to bring in new fans.
Whether streaming games on
Twitter, partnering with FanDuel
to offer daily fantasy sports or just
having more games on television, the
WNBA is growing.
“I think the WNBA is doing a
great job using multiple platforms to broaden
their audience,” ESPN broadcaster Rebecca
Lobo said. “I see fi rsthand how my own kids
consume sports, and streaming is the primary
option for them.”
This year’s changes come after the WNBA
had its highest attendance in fi ve seasons,
record marks for WNBA digital, social media
and retail and double-digit growth in television
viewership on ESPN.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1958 — Stan Musial gets
his 3,000th hit with a pinch-
double off Chicago’s Moe
Drabowsky at Wrigley Field.
2005 — Tiger Woods
misses the cut at the Byron
Nelson Championship to end
his record of 142 consecutive
cuts made over seven years.
2007 — Rafael Nadal
becomes the fi rst player to
win the Rome Masters three
consecutive times by beating
Fernando Gonzalez of Chile
6-2, 6-2. The victory extends
his winning streak on clay to
77 matches, breaking John
McEnroe’s record for most
consecutive wins on one
surface.
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sports@eastoregonian.com