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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2017)
Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Saturday, May 13, 2017 College baseball Ducks are bullish on deep offensive line group By RYAN THORBURN The Register-Guard Staff photo by Kathy Aney Pendleton’s Kalan McGlothan fist bumps with head coach Tim Cary after hitting a home run during the first inning of Friday’s game against Hermiston at Sunridge Middle School. SOFTBALL: McGlothans on fire Continued from 1B Fell wrapped up a perfect 16-0 career record against Hermiston. “It feels pretty good, and a little bittersweet the last time playing Hermiston,” Hergert said. “But after coming back from the loss at Hood River this week it felt good to get a win like this. We had a good week of practice and really focused down on our hitting and I think it showed.” “The girls came out focused and ready knew we needed to win this game to pick up the title and they got it done and played very well,” Pendleton coach Tim Cary said. “And that’s where we want to be going into the postseason, it’s all about getting hot at the right time and hopefully this is some indication of how the hitting will continue, we hope.” Hergert opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, when she crushed a two-run home run over the right field fence for a 2-0 lead. Then just two pitches later, Kalan McGlo- than followed with a solo home run as she crushed a fastball way over the fence in straightaway centerfield for a 3-0 lead. Parker and Fell both tallied RBI hits in the inning as well, and Pendleton held a 6-0 lead after one inning. “The bats were certainly hot today,” Cary said. “It was one of those days where every single batter no matter who it was got up there and hit the ball hard some place. Whether it was hard on the ground, hard line drive or over the fence, it was fun to see.” The scoring continued in the second for Pendleton, when Kalan McGlothan hit a seeing-eye single between third and shortstop and Alexi Brehaut reached on an error. It brought Rylee Gentner to the plate, who unloaded on a 2-2 pitch and smashed a three-run home run to right field. The Buckaroos poured it on in the third inning, scoring nine times on five hits. Kirah McGlothan started the run with one out as she hit a letter-high fast- ball out to center for a solo home run. Two batters later, Hergert followed with an RBI single and then scored on a towering two-run home run by Kalan McGlothan. “My goodness, I can remember two or three home run games but not this many,” Cary said of the home run barrage. “The girls just put the bat on the ball and really squared things up today. We’ve been focusing on hitting, and they were patient up there and it sure worked out and it was nice to see.” A Hermiston error and a three straight walks brought in a run and loaded the bases for the Bucks, as Kirah McGlothan came to the plate again. And not wanting to get beat by her older sister, Kirah unloaded the bases on the second pitch of the at-bat as she crushed another high fastball deep to center field for a grand slam, her second home run of the inning to put the Bucks up 18-0. “It’s never happened before so that was fun,” McGlothan said with a smile. “I didn’t want to let Kalan beat me, but I wasn’t trying to hit a home run. I was thinkining base hit scores a run and when it went over it was just a bonus.” Overshadowed by the Buckaroo bats was pitcher Lauren Richards, who allowed a mere two baserunners in five innings. Her only hit allowed was an infield single and she walked a batter in the third, while adding four strikeouts and eight groundball outs. For Hermiston, three different Bulldogs stepped in the pitching circle, as Julissa Almaguer, Janelle Almaguer and Bailey Noland all strug- gled to solve the Buckaroos lineup. “I guess the girls will take away that you can’t ever take a pitch off ... you can’t relax especially with a good team like Pendleton,” Herm- iston coach Kate Greenough said. “We try and rely on a big play to make a change in momentum but they weren’t quite happening. “The girls never gave up at least, they kept trying but it seemed like ‘gosh every- thing we try isn’t working,’ so that just means we need to make our toolbox a little bit deeper.” UP NEXT Pendleton will have a week off as it waits for its first round playoff opponent. Hermiston will be on the road for a play-in game on Friday. ———— R H E HHS 000 00 — 0 1 4 PHS 639 0X — 18 16 0 W — L. Richards, L — Ju. Almaguer. 2B — A. Brehaut, T. Fell, L. Richards (PHS). HR — P. Hergert, Ka. McGlothan 2, Ki. McGlothan 2, R. Gentner (PHS). ———— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger. JENSON: Has pitched in three no-hitters Continued from 1B dead-on,” Monkus said. “His curveball works really well and he’s been really efficient lately.” Stanfield’s game at Irrigon on April 25 was the game Jenson said made him feel fully re-acclimated. He started the game on the mound and threw a five-inning no-hitter against a dangerous Knights lineup, and added seven strikeouts and one walk. To make the day even better, Jenson also hit a home run. “It was definitely the game where I felt ‘OK, I’m back,” Jenson said. “It was unreal. The team was really, really happy for me and I was happy for myself.” It was actually the third no-hitter he had contributed to this season, as he and Dylan Grogan combined for a six inning no-no on April 7 in an 11-0 win against Burns and a five-inning no-no on May 12 in a 10-0 win over Vale. In the game against Burns, Jenson threw five innings of relief with a strikeout and three walks and against Vale he threw one inning of no-hit ball with three strikeouts. But the one versus Irrigon was more mean- ingful, he felt, because it was a game that he started and finished all by himself. With Jenson’s return and the way that he has performed this season, it’s not hard for Tigers fans to be excited about a possible state championship Staff photo by Kathy Aney Stanfield’s Klay Jenson has demonstrated his talent this season on the mound, in the outfield and in the batters box. repeat. He gives Stanfield a formidable pitching rotation along with Dylan Grogan, Brody Woods and Tony Flores — any of which could be considered the ace at this point. And with the pitch count rules in effect this year, having a fourth dominant arm could be a huge advantage for the Tigers. “It’s a good problem to have,” Stanfield coach Brad Rogers said with a smile. Jenson has also parlayed his success into a college baseball scholarship, as he has committed to join his teammate Flores at Blue Mountain Community College starting in the fall. He will compete immedi- ately to find a niche in the Timberwolves pitching staff. “It’s been super exciting,” Jenson said of his senior season. “Just knowing that I get to play with Tony (Flores) next year is awesome.” But until then, Jenson is hungry for another state championship ring now, and is determined to do anything he can — on the field, this time — to help the Tigers achieve that. He’s thankful to have one state championship ring in his possession, but he wants to add another that he’ll feel he actually earned. “Last year was awesome,” he said, “but this year would be a little bit more meaningful to me because I actually did it, I wasn’t just a support.” ———— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger. EUGENE — Royce Freeman understands the risks of returning for his senior season at Oregon instead of starting an NFL career in the fall. But the Ducks’ star running back also knows this could be a rewarding season behind Mario Cris- tobal’s bullish offensive line. “Big ups to the O-line,” Freeman said during spring practice. “I’ve seen tremen- dous improvement with them. I feel like coach Cris- tobal helped so much with that. The way he coaches and instructs in meetings is just a new vibe and a new mentality for everybody on offense.” Oregon’s offensive line already had strong chemistry with four freshmen starting together last season. Now standout Tyrell Crosby is set to return for his senior season after missing the bulk of the 2016 schedule with a foot injury. The competition during fall camp will be heightened as Cristobal — the former Alabama assistant coach Willie Taggart lured away from SEC country with the co-offensive coordinator title — sorts out his best starting combination. Taggart is implementing his “Gulf Coast” spread offense from South Florida. Last season the Bulls were fourth nationally in scoring (43.8 ppg), fifth in rushing (285.3 ypg) and 11th in total yards (511.5 ypg). The Ducks finished 27th in scoring (35.4 ppg), 27th in rushing (226.4 ypg) and 15th in total yards (491.7 ypg) during a 4-8 finish that led to the firing of coach Mark Helfrich and his assistants. “We grew so much as a whole unit,” center Jake Hanson said after the spring game. “Obviously there’s some growing pains when you’re coming in with a new coaching staff and everything. We already had good camaraderie with each other with four of us starting 10 or more games last year and having Tyrell back. “We had a good base to start with, but coach Cristobal has done a great job this spring. We’ve come a long way and we have a lot to build on going into the fall.” Three of Hanson’s class- mates — left tackle Brady Aiello, left guard Shane Lemieux and right tackle Calvin Throckmorton — also started last year, along with senior right guard Cameron Hunt. A mix of veterans (Doug Brenner, Jake Pisarcik, Evan Voeller) and young players (Jacob Capra, Zach Okun, Logan Bathke) add quality depth. Projected depth chart: LT — Brady Aiello, George Moore, Logan Bathke; LG — Shane Lemieux, Jake Pisarcik, Evan Voeller; C — Jake Hanson, Zach Okun, Doug Brenner; RG — Tyrell Crosby or Calvin Throckmorton, Doug Brenner, Valentino Daltoso; RT — Calvin Throck- morton or Tyrell Crosby, Jacob Capra, Sam Poutasi. Hermiston’s Jordan Ramirez looks to throw the ball to first after tagging out Pendleton’s Austin Zaugg in the Bull- dogs’ 13-3 loss to the Bucks on Friday in Pendleton. Staff photo by E.J. Harris BASEBALL: Season ends for HHS Continued from 1B awry. A booted grounder put Pendleton’s Shaw Jerome on base, and he advanced to second when pitcher Lukas Tolan’s third straight pick-off attempt got past first baseman Kaden Cald- well. Nick Bower was grazed by a pitch to put two on, and then Daniel Naughton made the Bulldogs pay for their mistakes when he sliced a double to the corner in right field to make it 2-0. He finished the game 3 for 3 with five RBI. “He’s getting hot right at the right time, and throughout the year he’s gotten guys in,” Haguewood said, “but it was good to see today another guy step up.” Pendleton added to its lead in the third inning with two more runs that scored after another throwing error. Bower hit a one-out single on a hard grounder that got through the left side, then Naughton walked to put runners on first and second. A hard grounder to third base by Ryan Russell could have been just the thing Hermiston needed to get out of the inning with no damage done, but Bower slid in front of Kody Moss as he threw to first and the ball skipped to the fence allowing Bower and Naughton to come around to make it 4-0. “We just wanted to keep the hype up and get a lot of hits,” said Naughton. “The whole hometown crowd is here, so you’ve got to put out for that. We wanted to get as many runs as we could. … I think that’s what helped us the most, was just staying energized.” Morris only allowed one hit in the first four innings, and finished with one earned run allowed three hits. He retired the Bulldogs in order before the Bucks came up to pad their lead with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. “You’ve just got to know the batters, know what pitches to throw, study that batters,” Morris said of the familiar opponent. “I would say everything was working.” “Wyatt has always been Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton’s Shaw Jerome is congratulated by his teammates after scoring in the Bucks’ 13-3 win against the Hermiston Bulldogs on Friday in Pendleton. our kind of go-to because he’s one of the most effective starters for us because he keeps a low pitch count, he goes deep into games, and he works very quick. He’s ahead of hitters 0-2, 1-2, consistently,” Haguewood said. “His last three stars have just been excellent, so he’s peaking at the right time. And he’s swinging the bat really well.” Nick Lani and Morris singled on hard-hit balls to the outfield to lead off the bottom of the fourth, then Jerome loaded the bags with a bloop that found a safe spot to land down the third- base line. A sacrifice fly by Bower then a two-RBI single to center by Naughton made it a 7-0 game. Hermiston finally put some pressure on the Bucks in the fifth when it loaded the bases with no outs, and was rewarded with two runs off an error, then made it a 7-3 game in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Tolan. But when Morris crushed a 2-0 fastball over the fence in center field for his second home run of the season to lead off the sixth it spelled the beginning of the end for the Bulldogs. An error put Bower on base with one out, and he stole second then went to third on a passed ball before scoring a single by Naughton. Russell and Jared Beveridge walked to load the bases, then Herm- iston got the second out on a pop-up. The Bulldogs never got the third, and Justin Duso was hit by a pitch to push the score to 10-3, then Lani drove in two more a line drive to left field. Morris walked to load the bases back up, and the game-ending run scored fittingly on an error on a grounder by Caleb Cary. “It’s a game you look back — good pitching, timely hitting, good defense, that’s tough to beat,” Hawkins said. “Better team won today.” The win gives the Bucks a home game in the OSAA play-in round, a game that will be played next Friday against the No. 5 team from the Northwest Oregon Conference, which will be either Milwaukie or Sandy. “You’ve got to bump the level up,” Morris said. “Practice is going to be more intense, because this next game is going to be really intense.” The loss ends the season for Hermiston, which seemed like a premature finish for the only CRC team to have beaten league champs Hood River — not once but twice. “I’m sad for the four seniors, but it was all or nothing coming in and I wish it was a lot closer a game,” Hawkins said. “Not the way that we wanted to end. “I hope we learned that we can compete with some pretty good teams … we’ve played some quality teams and we’ve competed with them. … To compete like we did and put ourselves in the position, I’ve got to say the guys worked pretty hard to do that.” ——— (6 innings) R H E HHS 000 021 — 3 3 5 PHS 202 306 — 13 11 2 L. Tolan, J. Ramirez (6) and S. Gritz. W. Morris, D. Naughton (6) and R. Russell. W — Morris. L — Naughton. 2B — D. Naughton (PHS). HR — W. Morris (PHS).
