SPORTS
THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017
1B
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MLB
Track & Field State Championships
M’s blank Locals poised for medal haul
Athletics
Hermis-
ton’s Alexis
Mercado
takes the
baton from
teammate
Tyler Rohr-
man during
the Colum-
bia River
Conference
track-and-
fi eld cham-
pionships
at Herm-
iston High
School on
May 11.
The team
placedfi rst
with a time
of 44.88
seconds
to qualify
for the 5A
state cham-
pionships.
Bergman allows two hits,
pitches into eighth inning
By DAIMON EKLUND
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Christian Bergman pitched
into the eighth inning for the best start of
his career, Jean Segura extended his hitting
streak to 16 games with a two-run single
and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland
Athletics 4-0 on Wednesday
night.
Bergman (1-1) allowed
two hits after holding
Oakland
Oakland hitless until the
fi fth inning. He had a
career-high nine strikeouts
and tied James Paxton for
the most in a game by a
Mariners pitcher this year.
Seattle
His 7 1/3 innings were also
a personal best.
Nelson Cruz drove in
two runs for the Mariners,
who took two of three in the series against
Oakland.
Jesse Hahn (1-3) gave up four runs —
three earned — and fi ve hits in fi ve innings.
Oakland has lost fi ve of its last six games.
Bergman, who was making his 17th start
See MARINERS/2B
0
Staff photo by
Kathy Aney
4
Hermiston, Pilot Rock, Weston-McEwen enter with top-seeded athletes
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Chris-
tian Bergman throws against the Oak-
land Athletics during the second inning
of Wednesday’s game in Seattle.
HERMISTON — Numerous
local athletes will bring medals
away from the OSAA Track
and Field State Championships
held today though Saturday for
all classifi cations at Oregon
University’s Hayward Field,
and it is a near certainty that at
least a few of those are going to
be “gold.”
The OSAA doesn’t actually
award gold medals to its event
champions, but several locals
are poised to secure the equiv-
alent after a long season of hard
work.
The Hermiston Bulldogs
have half a dozen athletes that
will enter their preliminary heats
with top-fi ve rankings, and the
girls’ 4x100-meter relay team is
ranked No. 1.
Coming off a district meet in
which they dominated in team
points, the Lady Dawgs are
feeling bullish headed into the
state meet.
“We’re not overly confi dent,
we’re just ready to compete,”
said senior relay runner, sprinter
and hurdler Audrey Lincoln.
“At this point in time I think
it’s theirs to lose,” said Herm-
iston head coach Emilee Strot
prior to the team’s fi nal practice
in Hermiston on Wednesday.
Strot said she tried to keep
things loose and fun in practice
this week.
“I want them to go in and not
feel pressure,” she said. “I think
we’ve prepared them this season
enough to be mentally tough,
physically tough. They’ve put
the training in all year to do
great things and I think that will
happen.”
Many of the Bulldogs headed
to Eugene will be familiar with
the setting, but senior Ebony
Wilson said her second time
competing at state as a junior
felt the same as the fi rst.
“Every time I go at Hayward
it’s just like I’ve been there for
the fi rst time all over again.
It’s just so, butterfl ies in the
stomach. It’s so nerve-racking
but fun at the same time,” she
said. “It’s really fun to look out
into the stands and just hundreds
and thousands of people looking
at you. It’s just awesome.”
Wilson also runs on the
4x100 team and is one of the
Bulldogs taking high seeds into
her individual events. She is
seeded third in the 100-meter
dash, triple jump and long jump.
Sophomores Scout Reagan
and Madison Wilson are seeded
second in the 100 dash and 100
hurdles, respectively, senior
Stephanie Miears is third in
the shot put, senior Makayla
Akers is fourth in the javelin
and Reagan is also fourth in
the 200. For Hermiston’s boys,
Tyler Rohrman is seeded third
in the 110 hurdles, and Jackson
Mechado enters fourth in the
high jump.
Team points are awarded
to the top eight fi nishers, and
several more Bulldogs are well
within that range going in. One
of those is senior thrower Ismael
Arenas, who will be competing
in shot put and discus, where
he enters as the No. 7 seed. It’ll
be the fi rst state meet for the
Columbia River Conference’s
Male Field Athlete of the Year.
“Ever since my freshman
year my coach (David) Faee-
teete told me, ‘You know when
you’re a senior I want you to go
to state and make me famous
for training a short Mexican to
See TRACK /2B
HERMISTON
Lincoln fi nds perfect fi t with Pacifi c
Hermiston senior
signs with Boxers
track and fi eld
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
With top-10 Class 5A rank-
ings in all four of her events,
Hermiston senior track
and fi eld standout Audrey
Lincoln had no trouble
getting college programs
interested in offering her an
athletic scholarship.
But when it came time to
realize her childhood dream
of competing in a college
sport, Lincoln chose Pacifi c
University because it would
provide her the best fi t
academically.
“I want to be a mathematics
major,” she said Wednesday
after signing a National Letter
of Intent to join the Boxers
track and fi eld program in the
fall. “I’ve always liked math,
and it wasn’t until the last
year that I saw it as a possible
career. … Academically
Pacifi c really pulled me in.”
Hermiston track and fi eld
coach Emilee Strot said
Lincoln had plenty of options.
“There’s been a lot of
schools contacting me about
Audrey, and anytime she
does some research or talks to
the coach, she’ll always come
back and I can tell in her
voice that Pacifi c was still her
No. 1,” she said. “So I knew,
and I knew she knew, and we
needed to make it work.”
Since it is an NCAA Divi-
sion III university, Pacifi c by
rule does not offer athletic
scholarships, but Hermiston’s
Class of 2017 valedictorian,
Lincoln will have no trouble
getting fi nancial assistance.
“Because of my grades
they were able to give me a
pretty big scholarship,” she
said. “Since they aren’t there
on (athletic) scholarships,
everyone that competes is there
because they love the sport.”
Lincoln said becoming a
collegiate athlete was some-
thing she identifi ed as a goal
early on, and she’ll compete
in her fi nal high school meet
this week at the state cham-
pionships in Eugene where
she’ll be representing Herm-
iston in the 400-meter dash,
300 hurdles and both relays.
She believes Pacifi c
will be a great fi t for her as
an athlete as well, and was
impressed with head coach
Matt Lydum when she went
for a campus visit.
“He was just nice, just
friendly, like it kind of felt
like I was already family the
second I met him,” she said.
“I went there and visited it,
and you just knew that was
where you wanted to be.”
“I can tell why they
clicked,” Strot said of
Lydum. “What a great guy,
and I know she’ll be really
successful over there. …
Academically I think it’s a
perfect place for her, and then
it worked out that they have
a growing track program.
They’re looking for some
sprinters, so she’s just going
to fi t in really well.”
Contributed photo courtesy of Hermsiton Athletics
Hermiston senior Audrey Lincoln, left, signs a National
Letter of Intent to compete in track and fi eld at Pacifi c
University as Hermiston track and fi eld coach Emilee
Strot watches on Wednesday during a ceremony at
Hermiston High School.
Sports shorts
Pirates RHP Taillon battling cancer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tests on tissue
removed from Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher
Jameson Taillon last week confi rmed he is
dealing with testicular cancer.
Pirates trainer Todd Tomczyk said
Wednesday that Taillon will be
re-evaluated next week before
deciding the next course of
treatment.
The 25-year-old Taillon
complained of groin discomfort
earlier this month and later
Taillon
discovered an abnormality after
going on the disabled list May 6.
He had tissue surgically removed on May 8.
Taillon, who is 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA in
six starts for the Pirates, has been cleared to
play catch and do light cardio but remains out
indefi nitely pending the outcome of further
test results.
“All we are asking from
the court is that this type
of behavior, that can
and does cause serious
injury to our team and
those that love it, not be
allowed in San Antonio.“
— Alfonso Kennard Jr.
Lead attorney in a lawsuit nam-
ing Zaza Pachulia and the Gold-
en State Warriors as defendants,
and brought by lifelong Spurs
fans alleging the center’s actions
against Kawhi Leonard in Game
1 “devastated the quality of the
Spurs’ chances of being competi-
tive” and diminished the value of
the tickets purchased.
Baylor hit with another lawsuit
against football program
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A new federal
lawsuit against Baylor University alleges
football players routinely recorded gang rapes
and staged dogfi ghts in a program
that fostered sexual violence.
A former Baylor volleyball
player identifi ed only as Jane
Doe fi led the lawsuit Tuesday. It
alleges she was gang raped by
four or more players in 2012.
She says the players later harassed her and her
family until she left school the next year. The
lawsuit doesn’t identify any players.
The woman says she confi ded in her
coach, who contacted Baylor’s football coach
and athletic director at the time, but nothing
happened.
More than a dozen women have now sued
Baylor, alleging offi cials for years mishandled
or ignored sex assault allegations.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1920 — Man o’ War, ridden
by Clarence Kummer, wins the
Preakness Stakes by 1 lengths
over Upset.
1990 — Edmonton’s Jari
Kurri becomes the leading
goal scorer in Stanley Cup
history when he scores his 90th
postseason goal in the fi rst
period of Game 2 of the fi nals
against Boston. Kurri adds two
more goals as the Oilers beat
the Bruins 7-2.
2004 — Randy Johnson
becomes the oldest pitcher in
major league history to throw
a perfect game, retiring all
27 hitters to lead the Arizona
Diamondbacks over the
Atlanta Braves 2-0.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com