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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 13, 2017)
SPORTS TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON NBA Finals Warriors win NBA championship Game 6 Kevin Durant named Finals MVP By JANIE MCCAULEY Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — As the gold confetti fell and a fresh gray NBA champion cap sat a tad off-kilter on his head, Kevin Durant embraced mother Wanda. Then he moved across the podium and hugged Stephen Curry before accepting his shiny MVP trophy and hoisting it for everyone to see. From the Bay all the way to OKC. Durant capped his spectacular fi rst season with the Warriors by bringing home that coveted NBA championship he joined Golden State last July so determined to get, scoring 39 points in a fast-and- Cleveland Golden State 120 129 furious, Finals-clinching 129-120 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 on Monday night. “It’s just a great group of guys, great community, great arena, great fans,” Durant said. “I’m just so happy to be a part of it.” Stephen Curry added 34 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals as Golden State closed out its second title in three years after squandering a 3-1 lead a year ago to the Cavs to miss a repeat. That stung ever since, and even Durant understood, because he gave up the See NBA FINALS/3B Chichester, Naughton help late charge past La Grande for title East Oregonian AP Photo/Ben Margot Golden State Warriors players, coaches and owners hold up the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy after Game 5 of basket- ball’s NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cava- liers in Oakland, Calif., Monday, June 12, 2017. PENDLETON ‘He’s one of a kind’ Longtime Pend- leton baseball coach Mike Hodgen holds up a com- mem- orative Pendle- ton jersey at Bob White Ball- park on Saturday. Pend- leton honored Hodgen for his 40-plus years in coaching with a small ceremony prior to a game with San- dy in the Ashlee Hodgen Memorial Tourna- ment. Pendleton baseball honors longtime coach Mike Hodgen By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian On Saturday evening, Pend- leton/Hodgen Distributing was getting set to take on Sandy during Day 2 of the Ashlee Hodgen Memorial Baseball Tournament at Bob White Ballpark. It was a cool, breezy evening, resulting in more fans huddling in their respective cars along the hill- side than in the bleachers to take in the ballgame. But prior to the game around 6:15 p.m., everybody had a good reason to get out of their cars. Pendleton baseball had a surprise ceremony on the fi eld as it honored longtime coach Mike Hodgen for his 43 years of coaching high school baseball and dedication to the town. Hodgen’s family was on hand, as were numerous former Pendleton players spanning all four decades of Hodgen’s tenure. One of those former players was 2016 graduate and current Linfi eld College player Devon Roe, who called Hodgen “one of the best life mentors I’ve ever had.” “I think we all can agree Mike Hodgen is one of the most infl uential guys in our lives,” Roe said. “He taught me the most about baseball, but also taught me as much about life in general ... about being an adult, being a good guy, being as classy a person as you can be. “I doubt I ever see a better coach, honestly, he’s one-of-a- kind.” Hodgen, who started coaching prep baseball in 1972, was presented with a commemorative plaque by current Pendleton head coach T.J. Haguewood, as well as a commemorative framed No. 2 Pendleton jersey by 2016 Pend- leton alumnus Jack Peterson and 2017 alumnus Wyatt Morris. “Something like this to me and my family is pretty special,” Pendleton wins Ashlee Hodgen Tournament Staff photo by Eric Singer The commemorative plaque handed out to the champions of the Ashlee Hodgen Memorial Tournament did not have far to travel to its fi nal resting place on Sunday afternoon. The home Pendleton/Hodgen Distributing team put together a come-from-behind 8-6 win over La Grande to claim the champion- ship in the second annual tourna- ment at Bob White Ballpark. La Grande scored all six of its runs in the fi rst two innings and held a 6-4 lead after three full. But then Hodgen’s Gabe Umbarger and Daniel Naughton teamed up to throw fi ve hitless innings for the remainder of the game to keep Hodgen in the game. Naughton was especially dominant, as he struck out seven and allowed just two baserunners in four innings of relief. In the bottom of the fourth, Hodgen’s offense came through. With one on and two out, Quinn Doherty hit an RBI double into See TOURNAMENT/2B MLB Mariners thump Twins Cruz drives in four, Haniger gets four hits By DAVE CAMPBELL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Nelson Cruz drove in four runs, Mitch Haniger had four hits, and the Seattle Mariners started a series against Minnesota with a football score for the second time in a week to beat the Twins 14-3 on Seattle Monday night. D a n n y Valencia and Mike Zunino hit back-to-back home runs in the Minnesota eighth inning, the fi fth such feat for the Mariners this season. Yovani Gallardo (3-6) sailed through six innings with the excess support, allowing three runs and seven hits. Twins rookie Adalberto Mejia (1-2) struggled from the start, allowing nine hits and nine runs and leaving with two outs in the fourth inning. The fi rst two batters in the lineup, Ben Gamel and Haniger, reached base and eventually scored all three times they faced Mejia. Cruz just missed a homer for the seventh straight game at Target Field, settling for an RBI double off the wall against Twins backup catcher Chris Gimenez in the mop-up ninth inning following See MARINERS/3B 14 3 Hodgen said on the fi eld, fi ghting back emotions. “It goes a long way and it will never be forgotten.” For much of the ceremony, Hodgen sat and leaned forward in a red lawn chair just behind home plate, surrounded by current Hodgen players, family, past players, as well as the players from the Sandy team. He listened intently and wiped away tears from his eyes as a few people gave speeches, including former Pend- leton superintendent Jon Peterson, and a few letters were read from Hodgen’s former colleagues such as current Oregon State University See HODGEN/2B Pendleton baseball coach Mike Hodgen embraces with 2017 Pendleton alumnus Nick Lani at Bob White Ballpark on Satur- day. Staff photo by Eric Singer Sports shorts Twins make HS shortstop No. 1 overall pick in MLB Draft SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — The Minnesota Twins selected California high school shortstop Royce Lewis with the No. 1 pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night. It was the third time the Twins led off the draft, and fi rst since they took hometown high school catcher Joe Mauer in 2001. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Lewis hit .377 with four homers and 25 stolen bases for JSerra Catholic Lewis High School, establishing himself as a top prospect with excellent speed and a solid bat. He played both shortstop and outfi eld in high school, but the Twins classifi ed him as a shortstop. “My body just went numb,” Lewis said during an interview with MLB Network. “It was an unbelievable feeling.” “I really can’t put into words how much this means to me and my family ... I’m going to have to pinch myself to make sure I’m living this. It’s a dream come true and I’m very thankful for the Mariners giving me this opportunity.“ — Evan White The University of Kentucky fi rst baseman was selected by Seattle with the 17th pick in the fi rst round of the MLB Draft on Monday. White hit .373 with 10 HR and 41 RBI in 53 games this season. Oregon State will face Cal State Fullerton to open CWS OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — No. 1 national seed Oregon State will play Cal State Fullerton in the College World Series opener on Saturday. Oregon State (54-4) will bring a 21-game win streak into the Bracket 1 afternoon game against Fullerton (39-22). The night game pits No. 4 seed LSU (48-17), a winner of 16 in a row, against Florida State (45-21). Bracket 2 games Sunday have No. 7 seed Louisville (52-10) playing Texas A&M (41-21) in the afternoon and No. 6 seed TCU (47-16) facing No. 3 seed Florida (47-18) at night. Five of the eight national seeds reached the CWS: No. 1 Oregon State, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 LSU, No. 6 TCU and No. 7 Louisville. The previous time so many national seeds made it to Omaha was 2011, when six advanced. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1935 — Jim Braddock scores a 15-round unanimous decision over Max Baer in New York to win the world heavy- weight title. 1997 — Chicago wins its fi fth NBA championship in the last seven years when Steve Kerr’s last-second shot sends the Bulls past the Utah Jazz 90-86 in Game 6. 2012 — Matt Cain pitches the 22nd perfect game in major league history and fi rst for San Francisco, striking out a career-high 14 batters and getting help from running catches by outfi elders Melky Cabrera and Gregor Blanco to beat the Houston Astros 10-0. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
