SPORTS
TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2017
1B
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HERMISTON
College Baseball
Bulldogs moving north
In this Nov.
30, 2016
fi le photo,
Hermiston’s
Regan Mey-
ers attempts
to get a shot
as Hannah
Gilmore, of
Walla Walla,
provides
interference
during a
non-league
game at the
Dawghouse.
Beginning
in 2018-19,
Hermiston
and Walla
Walla will
be league
rivals in the
Mid-Colum-
bia Confer-
ence after
Hermiston’s
petition
to join the
WIAA was
approved on
Sunday.
Staff photo by Kathy
Aney
Hermiston to join WIAA for athletics, activities in 2018-19
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Adios, OSAA.
Hermiston
High
School’s
petition to leave the OSAA and
join the Washington Interscholastic
Activities Association was approved
by the WIAA’s executive board
at its meeting on Sunday, making
Hermiston the fi rst out-of-state full
member to join when it does so
for the 2018-19 school year. The
Bulldogs will be in the WIAA’s
3A classifi cation, the second
largest, and will compete in the
Mid-Columbia Conference with the
Tri-Cities schools such as Richland,
Southridge, Chiawana, Kamiakin,
Hanford, Pasco and Kennewick, as
well as Walla Walla High.
“This move to the WIAA is the
right thing for our students,” said
Hermiston High School Athletic
Director Larry Usher in a press
release. “Our situation will be
much improved in regards to travel
distance, lost instructional time, and
budgets.”
Travel distance and lost instruc-
tional time were the prime reasons
for Hermiston exploring member-
ship with the WIAA. The school fi rst
petitioned membership to the WIAA
in January as the OSAA’s proposed
reclassifi cation for 2018-22 time
block set the Bulldogs up in a league
with Portland and Bend-area schools
and an average round-trip travel
distance of more than 400 miles for
league games, which meant plenty
of missed class time for athletes.
Now, Hermiston’s average travel
to play conference games in the
Mid-Columbia will be just 80 miles
and almost no missed class time.
“The most impressive thing
about this,” Usher said, “is the
OSAA executive board and the
WIAA executive board, between the
two you have 26 adults that work
in the world of education that made
a decision that wasn’t easy and is
probably very controversial, but
they made a decision to improve the
See HERMISTON/2B
Beavers
advance
to super
regional
Oregon State lives
up to No. 1 seed
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
CORVALLIS — Michael
Gretler hit a three-run home
run in the third inning and
No. 1 national seed Oregon
State went onto to win the
Corvallis Regional with an
8-1 victory over Yale on
Sunday night.
It was the 19th straight
win for the Beavers (52-4),
who will face the winner of
the Clemson Regional.
“One of our goals was
to win the conference.
One of our goals was to
win our regional,” Oregon
State coach Pat Casey said.
“The next goal for us is to
get better the next couple
of days so we have a better
team next weekend.”
Alex Stiegler hit an RBI
double in the fi rst inning to
give Yale (34-18) the early
lead. Earlier in the day
Stiegler went 3-for-3 and
drove in fi ve runs to lead the
Bulldogs to a 9-5 victory
over Holy Cross and stay
alive in the double-elimina-
tion regional.
Steven Kwan scored on
Trevor Larnach’s fi elder’s
choice grounder in the
bottom of the fi rst to even
the score. Two Yale errors
allowed a pair of Oregon
State runs in the bottom of
the third inning before Gret-
ler’s home run. The Beavers
added two more runs in the
See BEAVERS/2B
College Softball
NHL Stanley Cup Final
Ducks ousted by Sooners
Predators even series with Penguins
Oregon’s record
season ends one
step short of fi nal
By CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY —
The Women’s College World
Series dream matchup is set.
Shay Knighten singled in
two runs in the fi fth inning
to help defending champion
Oklahoma beat Oregon 4-2 on
Sunday in the semifi nals.
The Sooners (59-9) will
play top-seeded Florida on
Monday night to start the best-
of-three championship series.
The teams have combined
to win the past four national
titles, but are meeting for the
fi rst time in the championship
series.
Oklahoma coach Patty
Gasso has great respect for
Florida’s program.
“They’re good, well-
coached, very complete team,”
she said. “Again, we’re going
Semifi nals
Oklahoma
Oregon
4
2
By TERESA M. WALKER
Associated Press
to have to play really, really
well, give all we’ve got, and
we’re looking forward to it.”
Paige Parker (26-5) earned
the win and Paige Lowary got
the save against Oregon.
The Ducks would have
needed to beat Oklahoma
twice on Sunday, and for a
while, it looked like they might
at least force a second game.
Danica Mercado’s two-run
homer in the top of the fi fth
put the Ducks (54-8) up 2-0.
Oregon’s Megan Kleist
(21-4), who earned a win and
a save in elimination games
Saturday, took a shutout into
the fi fth against Oklahoma
before unraveling.
Oklahoma got its rally
started when Lea Wodach
reached on an error. She
bunted, and though the ball
See DUCKS/2B
Rinne stops 23 of 24
shots to boost Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Frederick
Gaudreau sure is doing his best to earn
his own locker with the Nashville
Predators with a
Game 4 Stanley Cup Final
debut for the ages.
An undrafted
free agent playing
Pittsburgh
just his sixth
postseason game,
Gaudreau scored
the
go-ahead
goal 3:45 into the
second period and
Nashville
Pekka Rinne made
23 often-spectac-
ular saves as the
Predators beat the
Penguins 4-1 on Monday night to
even the series at 2-2.
It’s now a best-of-three sprint to
the Stanley Cup, and Nashville is
riding a wave of momentum after
outscoring the defending champions
9-2 in the Games 3 and 4 of their
1
4
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Nashville Predators right wing Craig Smith, center, celebrates a goal
by teammate Calle Jarnkrok, not shown, as Pittsburgh goalie Matt
Murray, bottom, falls on the ice during the fi rst period in Game 4 of
the Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 5, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn.
Final debut.
Gaudreau, a 24-year-old rookie,
only has a chair in the Predators’
locker room, but he now is the second
player in NHL history to score his fi rst
three career goals in a Stanley Cup
Final, joining Johnny Harms with
See STANLEY CUP/2B
Sports shorts
Seahawks add veteran to QB depth
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seahawks’
search for some depth at quarterback has led
them to journeyman Austin Davis.
Seattle released Jake Heaps to make room on
the roster for Davis, who was signed Monday
after spending time with the Rams,
Browns and Broncos.
The 28-year-old Davis will be
added to the backup competition
with Trevone Boykin, last year’s
No. 2 behind starter Russell
Wilson.
Davis is in his sixth NFL
Davis
season after entering the league
as an undrafted free agent out of
Southern Mississippi in 2012.
Davis has appeared in 13 regular-season
games with the Rams and Browns, including 10
starts. He has gone 236-for-378 for 2,548 yards
with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He
spent part of last season with Denver.
“Not at all, man. I’m
happy ... I just retired.
I don’t want to be
bothering anybody. I’m
like that. One of these
days I’ll show up. I just
want to give the guys
their space.“
— David Ortiz
Former Boston Red Sox slugger
spoke to reporters on Monday
night about if he’s had any
regrets about retiring and his
decision to not visit Fenway Park
yet this season.
Oklahoma outlasts Florida in
College World Series
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shay Knight-
en’s three-run homer off Kelly Barnhill in the
top of the 17th inning gave Oklahoma a 7-5
victory over Florida in Game 1 of the
championship series on Monday.
The matchup between programs
that have split the past four national
titles was the longest championship
series game in NCAA history. It
lasted 5 1/2 hours, and all four
pitchers threw more than 100 pitches.
Oklahoma (60-9) can clinch a repeat
Tuesday in Game 2 of the best-of-three series.
Paige Lowary (16-3) got the start, was
replaced, then re-entered to claim the win.
Barnhill (26-4), USA Softball’s National
Collegiate Player of the Year, took the loss for
Florida (58-9). She pitched nine innings and
struck out 13. Delanie Gourley struck out 13 in
eight innings of relief.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1999 — Andre Agassi
rallies to win the French Open
and become the fi fth man to
complete a career Grand Slam.
After losing the fi rst two sets,
Agassi surges back to beat
Andrei Medvedev 1-6, 2-6,
6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
2015
—
American
Pharoah leads all the way
to win the Belmont Stakes
by 5 1/2 lengths, becoming
the fi rst horse in 37 years to
sweep the Kentucky Derby,
Preakness and Belmont
Stakes. The bay colt, trained
by Bob Baffert and ridden by
Victor Espinoza, is the 12th
horse and fi rst since in 1978
to win the Triple Crown.
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