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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2017)
SPORTS TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS College Baseball Beavers are back after last year’s snub Oregon State gets No. 1 seed, opens against Holy Cross Associated Press Godofredo Vasquez/The Gazette Times via AP, File In this April 8, 2016, fi le photo, Oregon State coach Pat Casey, center, dis- agrees with a call during the third inning against Central Arkansas in Cor- vallis, Ore. Oregon State is the No. 1 national seed for the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. His team went 49-4 and set a Pac-12 record with 27 conference wins. MLB Gaviglio gets fi rst win for M’s CORVALLIS — The Beavers are back with a vengeance. Disappointed by last season’s postseason snub, Oregon State made it a goal to return this season. And they did it in decisively, capturing the No. 1 national seed. “It was much easier, I can tell you that,” coach Pat Casey said after the brackets were revealed. It was already announced Sunday night that the Beavers would host, and on Monday morning they learned their seeding and regional oppo- nents. Oregon State will host Corvallis Regional Friday, June 2 At Goss Stadium #1 Oregon State vs. #4 Holy Cross, 8 p.m. (ESPNU) #3 Yale vs. #2 Nebraska, 1 p.m. (ESPN3) fourth-seeded Holy Cross at Goss Stadium on Friday night, following a game between No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Yale. “All the returners wanted to guarantee that wasn’t gonna happen again,” sophomore pitcher Drew Rasmussen said about the team’s resolve following the snub. “At practice and in the weight room and in the classroom, everywhere we pushed a little bit more, a little bit harder every single day to insure that we wouldn’t have that same feeling again.” It’s been a record-setting season for the Beavers, who are 49-4 and ranked No. 1 in the nation. Oregon State has the fewest losses since Texas went to the postseason at 53-4 in 1982, according to Associated Press and NCAA research. Oregon State went 27-3 in Pac-12 play, surpassing Arizona State’s record of 26 league wins set in 1981. Along the way, Casey surpassed the 1,000 win milestone. OSAA Baseball & Softball State Playoffs Pendleton travels in semis Pendleton High School softball players celebrate after winning Friday’s state playoff game against Hood River at Steve Cary Field. Pend- leton won 4-2 to reach the 5A state semifi nals for the fourth season in a row. The Buckaroos play their fi rst road game of the 2017 postseason today at Marist Catholic in Eugene . Seattle bullpen holds off Colorado By MICHAEL KELLY Associated Press DENVER — Sam Gaviglio’s expe- rience in the minor leagues helped him get his fi rst win in the majors. Gaviglio pitched into the sixth inning to get his fi rst career victory, and the Seattle Mariners used six relievers to beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5 on Monday. He was making his third start and fourth appearance after beginning the year with Triple-A Tacoma in the Pacifi c Coast League. His time there helped Seattle him in the thin air at Colorado. “It’s like pitching in a PCL game,” he said. “A lot of high-al- titude parks.” Colorado Danny Valencia had three hits and Kyle Seager had a key double to help Gavi- glio (1-1) get the milestone. The rookie allowed fi ve runs on six hits and left after two singles to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. Both runners scored, but the bullpen blanked the hot-hitting Rockies from there. “It’s fi ve innings in Coors Field,” manager Scott Servais said. “We’ll take it.” See BEAVERS/2B Staff photo by Kathy Aney 3A Semifi nals 6 5 See MARINERS/2B AP Photo/David Zalubowski Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Sam Gaviglio delivers to Colorado Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon in the fi rst inning of an interleague base- ball game Monday in Denver. #4 St. Pilot Rock, Stanfi eld host games today East Oregonian Playing on the road in the playoffs isn’t something the No. 3 Pendleton Buckaroos have a lot of experience with going into today’s Class 5A OSAA softball state semifi nals. Excluding state championships, which are played on a neutral fi eld at Oregon State University in Corvallis, the Buckaroos had been the benefactor of eight straight home postseason games thanks to their high seeds and a little good fortune as the brackets played out, but will see that streak end at No. 2 Marist Catholic with fi rst pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the radio in Pendleton by ESPN The Ticket 1240 AM. Meanwhile back in Umatilla County, two local teams will be starting their semifi nals games at the same time. Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii, the 2A/1A softball defending state champion and No. 2 seed, will host No. 3 Union/Cove in a rematch of last season’s title game. In baseball, No. 1 Stanfi eld/ Echo will continue its 3A title defense against No. 4 St. Mary’s (Medford). Here’s a quick look at each match-up: No. 3 PENDLETON (25-4) at No. 2 MARIST CATHOLIC (25-3) — At Eugene, the last time the Bucks traveled prior to the championship round was 2014 when they went to Hood River for a 3-2 win. Historically the Bucks have performed well on the road in the playoffs, and the last time Pend- leton ended its season with a road loss was the 2008 quarterfi nals. They’ve gone 3-0 in playoff oppo- nents’ parks since then. Pendleton will be looking to extend the streak in a game that will most assuredly come down to defense and pitching, and could end up going to the fi rst team able to score a run. With just 51 runs allowed on the season, Pendleton’s 1.76 runs Mary’s #1 Stanfi eld Crusaders Tigers (24-4) (24-2) • Today, 5 p.m. • at Madigan Field, Stanfi eld allowed per game is challenged only by Marist Catholic’s 62 runs and 2.21 per game. Both teams have allowed two runs total in the fi rst two rounds, but the Spartans have put up 15 on offense to Pendleton’s eight. No. 3 UNION/COVE (20-4) at No. 2 PILOT ROCK/NIXY- AAWII (24-5) — At Pilot Rock, a rematch of the 2016 championship, the Bobcats and Rockets will meet for the sixth time this season in a series Union holds the edge 3-2. The last time they met was in the district championship at Union, which the Bobcats won 3-2. The Rockets’ higher OSAA ranking brings the series back to Pilot Rock for the only game that matters, and the Rockets swept both games when the teams played at Pilot Rock Elementary on May 12 4-3 and 8-6. Both teams are healthy and cruising through the fi rst two rounds with run-rule wins in fi ve innings. See PLAYOFFS/2B 5A Semifi nals Pendleton #2 Marist Buckaroos Spartans (25-4) (25-3) • Today, 5 p.m. • at Marist Catholic, Eugene • Radio: 1240 AM #3 2A/1A Semifi nals Union #2 Pilot Rock Bobcats Rockets (20-4) (24-5) • Today, 5 p.m. • at Pilot Rock Elementary #3 Sports shorts Penguins go up in Stanley Cup Sato makes history at Indy 500 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — At the end of 500 miles around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was a former Formula One driver who took the checkered fl ag. He even drove for Andretti Autosport. It just wasn’t Fernando Alonso. Takuma Sato became the fi rst Japanese winner of the India- napolis 500 on Sunday when the former Formula One driver denied Helio Castroneves a record-tying fourth victory in the closing laps. “It was a tough, tough race. Sato Helio really drives well,” said Sato. “It was a fantastic race, hopefully the crowd enjoyed it.” Sato’s victory gave owner MichaelAndretti a second consecutive win in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” An Andretti driver has now won the 500 three times in the last four years. “He was the best of all time. And I am glad to add to the legacy of it. And I want to keep adding.“ — Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing driver on winning the Coca-Cola 600 in the iconic black No. 3 Chevrolet made famous by racing great Dale Earn- hardt, who was killed on the track 16 years ago. It was the fi rst Cup Series win for Dillon, the grandson of Richard Childress. PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jake Guentzel broke a 37-minute shot drought to score the winning goal in the fi nal minutes as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. The Penguins jumped out to a 3-0 fi rst-period lead on goals by Evgeni Malkin, Conor Sheary and then Nick Bonino, when the puck went in off Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm. The defending Cup champions then didn’t have a shot for exactly 37 minutes as the Predators roared back to tie the score at 3. Nashville got goals from Ryan Ellis, Colton Sissons and Frederick Gaudreau as it dominated Pittsburgh in the second period and most of the third. A waved-off goal by P.K. Subban in the fi rst period on a coach’s challenge loomed large when Guentzel beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne with 3:17 left in the third. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1911 — Ray Harroun wins the fi rst Indianapolis 500 in 6 hours, 42 minutes, 8 seconds with an average speed of 74.59 mph. 1955 — Bob Sweikert, an Indianapolis native, wins the Indianapolis 500. Bill Vukovich, seeking his third consecutive victory, is killed in a four-car crash on the 56th lap. 2009 — Travis Tucker hits an RBI single with one out in the top of the 25th inning to give Texas a 3-2 victory over Boston College in the longest baseball game in NCAA history. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
