SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017
PENDLETON
Rodeo
Londo
wins in
Eugene
1B
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Hodgen runs away with win
Pendleton ball club
beats Australian team
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
Pendleton native
takes saddle
bronc riding title
East Oregonian
EUGENE — Pendleton
native Ben Londo earned a big
payday with some help from an
old friend on Monday night at
the Eugene Pro Rodeo.
The last of 20 saddle bronc
riders to take the arena during
the three-day rodeo, Londo
scored 82 points on Scarface
from Four Star Rodeo to take
home the winner’s check of
$1,906 from Silverado Arena.
He bumped Johnny Espeland
of
Tygh
Valley from
the
top
spot, and he
had to settle
for second
and $1,462
with
an
81.5 that he
also scored
on Scarface
d u r i n g Londo
Saturday’s
performance. Brady Nicholes
scored 81 on Black Star on
Sunday for third and $1,080.
It wasn’t the fi rst time Londo
has ridden Scarface, who aver-
aged 75.4 points coming into the
event.
“It’s been a long time,”
Londo said told the Eugene
Register-Guard. “He reared out
of there and takes a little bit to
get started, but gosh, when he
gets going, he’s a pretty nice
horse.”
Eugene was the fourth
Cowboy Christmas rodeo for
the 33-year-old Londo, who
resides in San Luis Obispo,
California, after competing in
Prescott, Arizona, Oakley City,
Utah, and Folsom, California.
He was second after two
rides at Folsom, and confi rmed
he is the new record holder for
pancake eating at a local diner
— “10, but they were big ones,”
he told the Register-Guard.
He planned to compete at the
St. Paul and Molalla rodeos on
Tuesday.
Staff photo by Matt Entrup
It was an Independence Day runaway
victory for Hodgen Distributing on
Tuesday, as the Pendleton ball club stole
six bases and scored eight runs off wild
pitches and passed balls to beat Australia
Varsity 20-10 in fi ve innings.
Tyler Chichester pitched the fi rst
three innings and picked up the win. He
allowed two unearned runs in the fi rst
inning, but Hodgen jumped out in front
3-2 in the bottom of the inning and never
trailed again.
Their opponent was a touring team
made up of player from Australia and
Guam, and was on its way to a tourna-
ment in Boise as it hits the middle stretch
of a month-long tour through the west.
“It’s a lot of fun playing against
them,” said Hodgen’s Justin Duso, who
pitched an inning of relief and batted
2 for 3 with an RBI. “We’re starting
to come together (as a team), and we
defi nitely showed up to play today.”
For Australia’s players, the loss will
surely not take away from their experi-
ence this summer.
With about 20 games under their
belt following tournaments in Eureka,
California and Portland, the players
said they were coming straight from
their highlight of the trip so far — a
whitewater rafting trip on the Deschutes
River.
“Defi nitely whitewater rafting, it was
a lot of fun,” said Kenji McCarthy, 18,
of his favorite part of their trip. “We got
to push people out of the boat, and just
being able to see all that nature.”
For Sam Collier, 17, seeing the city
of Portland was another key moment —
“It was pretty chill,” he said.
Both players agreed that getting to
experience the American style of base-
ball has been something they’ve been
enjoying the entire time.
“Our style is more aggressive, we
have more banter,” said Collier of the
game-play in his native Australia. “Here
they just want you to get along with the
game.”
McCarthy, from Guam, said he’s
used to a more relaxed approach on the
diamond.
“They’re a lot more quick on and off
the fi eld, more like what you see on TV.
“We’re very far from everything,
so it’s hard to get people to come out
there,” he said of his island homeland.
“So we’re just playing for fun. These
(American) guys are playing to get
Hodgen’s Daniel Naughton slides into second base as a fi elder for Australia Varsity leaps to try
to catch the high throw from the plate on Tuesday in Pendleton.
MLB
Kansas City
Royals’ Mike
Moustakas
is greeted at
home by Eric
Hosmer after
driving him in
with a home
run hit on a
pitch from Se-
attle Mariners’
Felix Hernan-
dez during the
fourth inning
of a baseball
game, Tues-
day, July 4,
2017, in Seat-
tle. Mariners
catcher Carlos
Ruiz kneels on
the ground.
Royals keep rolling, knock off M’s
Hernandez battered for
third loss of season
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Whit Merrifi eld hit the fi rst
pitch of the game from Felix Hernandez
for his seventh home run, Mike Moustakas
added his 24th homer of the season, and the
Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners
7-3 on Tuesday for their fi fth win in six
games.
Kansas City knocked around Hernandez
(3-3) for fi ve earned runs in six innings.
Merrifi eld set the tone jumping on an 89 mph
pitch in the middle of the plate and clearing
See HODGEN/3B
the wall in left-center. The
Royals scored three times
in the fourth inning thanks
to Moustakas’ two-run Kansas City
shot and a two-out error by
second baseman Robinson
Cano that allowed Brandon
Moss to score. Salvador
Perez had a two-run double
Seattle
and the fi ve earned runs
were the most allowed
by Hernandez in his eight
starts this season.
Kansas City starter
Danny Duffy (5-4) returned after spending a
month on the disabled list and allowed just
two fi rst-inning runs.
7
3
AP Photo/John Fro-
schauer
See MARINERS/3B
Sports shorts
Chestnut breaks hot dog record
NEW YORK (AP) — Joey “Jaws” Chestnut
has broken his own record to extend his reign as
chowing champion at the annual July Fourth hot dog
eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in New York.
The San Jose, California-based competitor
logged a 10th win by downing 72
hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes
Tuesday. He beat Carmen Cincotti
(sihn-CAH’-tee), who ate 60.
Chestnut set the previous record
at 70 last year.
Miki Sudo (MIHK’-ee
Chestnut
SOO’-doh) has notched her fourth
win in the women’s division. The
Las Vegas woman ate 41 hot dogs and buns,
besting Michelle Lesco’s 32.
Police say fi ve people were taken into
custody after trying to disrupt the event. The
people appeared to be attempting to unfold a
black banner in the crowd before police stopped
them and took them away.
“We can’t wait to
someday hang his
jersey in the rafters. He
is, without a doubt, one
of the greatest players
in the history of the
franchise.“
— Pat Riley
Miami Heat President in a state-
ment announcing Chris Bosh has
been offi cially waived 18 months
after blood-clot issues halted
his career. A one-time deal has
allowed the Heat to remove Bosh
from the salary cap permanently
while allowing Bosh the option of
someday returning to his career.
Who wants to be a millionaire?
Not students in this school
BOSTON (AP) — A high school mascot
controversy is brewing in Massachusetts, and
it has nothing to do with Native
American-themed nicknames.
Students at Lenox Memorial
Middle and High School voted
by a 2-to-1 margin at the end
of the school year to retire their
Millionaires mascot. They say
it’s divisive, leads to bullying by rivals and
doesn’t refl ect the community’s economics.
The nickname was coined in the 1950s and
refers to wealthy out-of-towners with second
homes in town.
The school vote has sparked debate in town
and online. And now the mascot question is
included in a townwide survey.
School committee member Francie Sorren-
tino considers herself working class and has no
problem being called a Millionaire.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1947 — Larry Doby
becomes the fi rst black player
in the American League. He
strikes out as a pinch-hitter for
the Cleveland Indians in a 6-5
loss to the Chicago White Sox.
1968 — Australia’s Rod
Laver wins the fi rst open
Wimbledon tennis champion-
ship, defeating countryman
Tony Roche 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Laver
becomes the fi rst player since
Fred Perry (1934-36) to win the
men’s title three straight times.
1997 — Martina Hingis,
16, becomes the youngest
Wimbledon champion since
1887. Hingis rallies for a
2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over
Jana Novotna.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com