Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Thursday, August 31, 2017
MLB
Mariners swept by Orioles to end road trip
By DAVID GINSBURG
Associated Press
BALTIMORE — During
a seven-game winning
streak that’s turned around
their season, the Baltimore
Orioles have found all sorts
of ways to come out on top.
Their
latest
victory
featured an impressive
comeback, four home runs
and a very timely replay
challenge.
Welington Castillo went
4 for 4 with a homer and
three RBIs, Jonathan Schoop
singled in the go-ahead run
in the eighth inning and
Seattle
Baltimore
6
7
Baltimore beat the Seattle
Mariners 8-7 on Wednesday
for a three-game sweep.
Less than 24 hours after
subduing the Mariners
behind a sensational pitching
performance by Dylan
Bundy, the Orioles called
upon their power-laden
lineup to offset a poor start
by Ubaldo Jimenez.
Schoop, Trey Mancini
and Craig Gentry went deep
for the Orioles, whose seven-
game run is a season high.
In this one, Baltimore fell
behind 6-2 in the third inning
before coming back.
Mitch Haniger homered
and hit two doubles for
Seattle, which completed an
arduous 12-game East Coast
trip with five straight defeats.
After winning two of three in
Tampa Bay and Atlanta, the
Mariners went 1-2 at Yankee
Stadium and came up empty
against the sizzling Orioles.
While Baltimore has been
finding ways to win, the
Mariners are doing the exact
opposite.
“There’s been different
reasons for the losses,”
manager Scott Servais said.
“Some of it’s been lack of
offense. Today we had plenty
of offense. It’s been different
areas.”
After Baltimore went
up 7-6 in the sixth on a
bases loaded sacrifice fly by
Manny Machado, Seattle
pulled even in the eighth
when Haniger connected off
Brad Brach (4-4).
In the bottom half,
Castillo singled off Christian
Bergman (4-5) and went to
second base on a sacrifice
bunt before being replaced
by pinch-runner Caleb
Joseph. Tim Beckham then
hit a liner to short, and Joseph
was called out on the relay to
second. But a replay over-
turned the call, and Schoop
followed an intentional walk
to Machado with a single to
center off Marc Rzepczynski.
Zach Britton pitched the
ninth for his 13th save.
Mancini hit his 23rd
home run and Castillo
added an RBI double in the
second for a 2-0 lead, but
Seattle answered with a
six-run third that included a
two-run double by Haniger
and two-run singles by Mike
Zunino and Nelson Cruz, the
latter of which ricocheted off
second base.
Jimenez was charged with
all six runs, but Baltimore’s
robust offense eventually
took him off the hook.
Castillo homered with
a man on in the fourth and
Gentry followed with a drive
to right. Schoop tied it in
the fifth with his 30th home
run , and Seattle starter Ariel
Miranda faced one more
batter before being pulled.
It was the fifth time this
season that Miranda allowed
at least six runs.
HERMISTON: Game will be broadcast on 1360 KOHU BUCKS: Will
Continued from 1B
of Union this week, not play catch
up like it did in previous matchups.
“We want to play penalty free,
move the ball — running and
passing,” Faaeteete said. “Our
defense wants to tackle well, but
it’s game one and you expect
mistakes. You hope they don’t
happen, but they are going to
happen so it’ll be how fast our
guys rebound from that. I’m eager
to see our work ethic and bind to
the process.”
As inevitable as mistakes are,
especially with the pressures of the
first week of school and first game
jitters, Hermiston has the ability to
start its season on the right note if
the Bulldogs can contain some of
Unions top players.
All-league wide receivers
Darien Chase (junior) and Braedon
Ensley (senior) and defensive
backs Darien Chase (junior) and
Dustin Nettles (senior) return to
the Titans, who ended last season
4-5. In 2015, Union was not only
working with first-year head coach
Rory Rosenbach but it was had
to break in a new offensive unit.
Hermiston will test whether or not
Union’s learning curve has ended
at McKenzie Stadium Friday
evening.
Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. and
the game can be heard on 1360
KOHU or GoHermiston.com.
—————
Contact Alexis at aman-
sanarez@eastoregonian.com or
541-564-4542. Follow her on
Twitter at @almansanarez.
PENDLETON: Buckaroo Boosters paid for most of upgrades
Continued from 1B
can’t wait to play under the lights
on their home field.
“It’s awesome, it really is,”
Bower said of the facility. “The
field looks really great. We love
the Round-Up Grounds, no doubt
about it, but to have a place to call
ours and play night games before
the rodeo is a pretty good feeling
for us. We’re all ready to go.”
But perhaps the teams that are
most affected by the upgrades are
the boys and girls soccer teams,
who will now get to play all of their
home games on school grounds.
Previously, Pendleton played up at
the BMCC field or sometimes had
to relegate to a Pendleton park if
the BMCC field was taken.
Jose Rodriguez, a senior boys
soccer player, says the team is
ecstatic to have a true home field
now.
“We used to play at BMCC and
it just didn’t feel like our field,” he
said. “Now we have a home field
and home turf. This is really nice,
and now we can play night games
and that’s a fun environment.”
The boys soccer team will
officially break in the facility on
Thursday night when it hosts
Milwaukie for the home opener.
Head boys soccer coach Jeremy
Talbot called it an honor to be the
first team to play there.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Spectators watch the Pendleton High School girls soccer team
put on a demonstration during the Fall Sports Preview on
Wednesday in Pendleton.
“This is by far the nicest field
we’ve played on in Pendleton,” he
said. “And we give a lot of thanks
to the booster club and the admin-
istration here at PHS because it’s
been many years in the works and
it’s so nice to see it’s become a
realization. This is awesome.”
As Talbot mentioned, the Buck-
aroo Boosters club are what made
the upgrades possible. The club
donated $250,000 to the school for
the purchase and installation of the
lights and the scoreboard, while the
school used remaining funds from
its new-school bond to purchase
and install the new track surface.
Booster president Kevin Porter
said that the club’s goal is always
to pick projects where as many
kids as possible can be affected,
rather than a select few, and the
field covered all the necessary
bases.
“When you encompass not only
high school sports but the utiliza-
tion of this facility for youth sports
and soccer, it made sense,” he said.
“This was a project near and dear
to our hearts as a group ... it was
an entire collection of people going
‘this is where we want to spend our
money’ and just look at this, it’s
phenomenal.
“I think this will help promote
school pride and school unity and
get people up here.”
And while the track will wait to
be utilized until the spring, assistant
track coach and head cross country
coach Nicole Stewart said that the
new track will help the Buckaroos
be more competitive this coming
season. The new surface has much
more cushion and give under the
feet, which will help runners stay
healthy and perform better.
“It gives pride to the kids,” she
said. “And for coaches, there’s less
concern about injuries now and
more focus on different workouts
that we don’t have to modify
anymore because of a facility that’s
safe for the kids.”
Porter and Pendleton athletic
director Troy Jerome both acknowl-
edged that next on the wish list is
some permanent bleacher seating
at the field, but they will all gladly
enjoy the sparkling facility as-is.
“Yeah we don’t have fancy
amenities like bleachers and press
boxes and stuff,” Porter said, “but
we’re taking babysteps.”
————
Contact Eric at esinger@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-
0839.
HEPPNER: Volleyball, cross country teams also got new gear
Continued from 1B
played somewhere else and this
puts it over the top.”
The jerseys are part of Nike’s
Vapor Untouchable template,
which is being used on the
field this fall by most NFL and
college football teams as well.
Grant recalled being blown away
when told of this, because at the
time only the Oregon Ducks and
Clemson Tigers had worn the
Vapor Untouchable template,
and now the small rural school
of Heppner would be in the same
gear.
“I was like ‘My team gets
this?,” he recalled, being in awe.
“And as a parent I knew this was
something that gets kids excited
and getting to watch the kids
reacting would be special.”
Along with the traditional
royal blue and white jerseys with
blue pants, the Mustangs will
now have a gold jersey with blue
numbers and a gray jersey with
blue numbers as well as gray,
white and gold pants.
Nike is also supplying the
team with the latest cleats and
gloves that create an image of
the updated Mustang logo when
placed together.
On the helmets, the Mustangs
will also be sporting one of two
updated logos: the letter ‘H’
inside a circle branding iron and
an image of a Mustang wrapping
from side-to-side on the helmets.
The ‘H’ logo also appears on the
chest of the jerseys.
“We’re going to be the envy of
Oregon and maybe the nation,”
Grant joked. “Not many schools
get to wear this nice of stuff and
we’re so thankful for it.”
The team will also wear a
decal on the back of the helmets
of a three-leafed clover the letters
‘BB’ inside it, honoring “Bad
Bob” Kilkenny and his Irish roots.
“The Heppner football uniform
was a special project for the Nike
design team to work on, meant to
honor Bob, his contributions to
the community and the Kilkenny
family,” Nike Creative Director
Todd Van Horne said in the
release. “We look forward to the
Mustangs taking to the field in
Nike’s latest football innovation
and wish them all the success
during the upcoming season.”
The Mustangs got their first
look at the uniforms in person
on Wednesday night, and senior
Beau Wolters, whose favorite
combination is the gray-on-blue,
said he is so thankful to have
grown up in a town that supports
him and his friends as much as the
town and people of Heppner do.
“We are super fortunate to
have sponsors like we do and to
get brand-new Nike gear,” he
said. “We had heard about them
and didn’t really know how they
were going to turn out. I honestly
love the feel of the new jerseys,
they are nice and snug and will fit
very well on our pads.
“I’m very excited to see what’s
in store.”
But as Grant pointed out
on Wednesday, the Mustangs
football team is not the only ones
affected, as the other teams such
as volleyball, girls basketball
and cross country received new
uniforms and equipment from
Nike as well. And as a school
administrator as well as a parent
to athletes (Grant’s son, Kellen,
plays football and his daughter,
Sophie, is on the volleyball
team), Grant feels blessed that the
student-athletes were treated so
well.
“Being able to just also provide
opportunities for all kids on all
sports was special,” Grant said.
“All kids in Heppner got a new
pair of shoes; not one person had
to buy cross country shoes, or
volleyball shoes or football cleats
and that’s really special.”
The jerseys will be unveiled
to the public at Heppner’s home
opener on Friday when the
Mustangs host St. Paul at Les
Payne Field. The Kilkenny family
will be on hand for the game, and
then will join fellow supporters at
Bucknum’s Tavern following the
game.
Grant said that Heppner will
wear the familiar all-royal blue
look for Friday’s game and will
always wear white on the road,
but after that they’ll “see how
much fun we can have.”
“We’ll live it up and enjoy
the privilege we’ve been given,”
Grant said, “and we’ll wear these
with pride and dignity.”
————
Contact Eric at esinger@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-
0839. Follow him on Twitter @
ByEricSinger.
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
PREP FOOTBALL
Friday
Hermiston at Union (WA), 4:30 p.m.
La Grande at Pendleton, 7 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Dayton-Waitsburg (WA),
7 p.m.
Umatilla at Union, 7 p.m.
Irrigon vs. Amity (at Hood River), 7
p.m.
Grant Union at Weston-McEwen, 7
p.m.
Stanfield at Enterprise, 7 p.m.
St. Paul at Heppner, 7 p.m.
Elgin at Pilot Rock, 7 p.m.
Echo vs. Arlington (at Condon), 7 p.m.
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Thursday
Union at Weston-McEwen, 4 p.m.
Stanfield at Helix, 4 p.m.
Mac-Hi at Helix, 5:30 p.m.
Hermiston (JV) at Irrigon, 7 p.m.
Friday
Pendleton, Hermiston at Mountain
View Invite, 8 a.m.
Imbler at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m.
Stanfield at Echo, 4 p.m.
Umatilla at Union, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Weston-McEwen, Pilot Rock at Hep-
pner Tournament, 9 a.m.
PREP BOYS SOCCER
Thursday
Milwaukie at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
Friday
La Grande at Hermiston, 4:30 p.m.
Oregon Episcopal at Umatilla, 4:30
p.m.
Saturday
Oregon Episcopal at Riverside, 1 p.m.
PREP GIRLS SOCCER
Wednesday
La Grande at Hermiston, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday
Pendleton at Milwaukie, 6 p.m.
Friday
Mac-Hi at Walla Walla (WA), 4 p.m.
Saturday
Umatilla at Pendleton, Noon
Riverside at Stevenson (WA), 1 p.m.
PREP CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday
Hermiston, Umatilla, Heppner at
Ultimook Nike Invitational, 8 a.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Friday
Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon,
7 p.m.
Saturday
Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech, 5 p.m.
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
Friday
Eastern Oregon at Whitman, 4 p.m.
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wednesday’s Games
Cleveland 2, N.Y. Yankees 1, 1st game
Baltimore 8, Seattle 7
Detroit 6, Colorado 2
Cleveland 9, N.Y. Yankees 4, 2nd game
Boston 7, Toronto 1
Texas 8, Houston 1
Minnesota 11, Chicago White Sox 1
Tampa Bay 5, Kansas City 3
Oakland at L.A. Angels, 10:07 p.m.
Thursday’s Games
Chicago White Sox (Gonzalez 7-10) at
Minnesota (Colon 6-10), 10:10 a.m.
Texas (Hamels 9-2) vs Houston
(McHugh 2-2) at St. Petersburg, Fla.,
10:10 a.m.
Boston (Rodriguez 4-4) at N.Y. Yankees
(Sabathia 10-5), 4:05 p.m.
Toronto (Estrada 6-8) at Baltimore
(Hellickson 8-7), 4:05 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wednesday’s Games
Atlanta 9, Philadelphia 1, 1st game
Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 5
Detroit 6, Colorado 2
Atlanta 5, Philadelphia 2, 2nd game
Washington 4, Miami 0
N.Y. Mets 2, Cincinnati 0
Chicago Cubs 17, Pittsburgh 3
San Diego 5, San Francisco 0
Arizona 6, L.A. Dodgers 4
Thursday’s Games
N.Y. Mets (deGrom 14-7) at Cincinnati
(Stephenson 2-4), 9:35 a.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Maeda 12-5) at Arizona
(Greinke 15-6), 12:40 p.m.
Philadelphia (Lively 1-5) at Miami
(Despaigne 0-1), 4:10 p.m.
Atlanta (Newcomb 2-7) at Chicago
Cubs (Hendricks 5-4), 5:05 p.m.
Washington (Gonzalez 13-5) at Milwau-
kee (Davies 15-7), 5:10 p.m.
St. Louis (Wacha 9-7) at San Francisco
(Bumgarner 3-6), 7:15 p.m.
MiLB
NORTHWEST LEAGUE
Wednesday’s Games
Vancouver 5, Boise 2
Spokane 10, Salem-Keizer 5
Eugene 12, Everett 0
Hillsboro 2, Tri-City 0
Thursday’s Games
No games scheduled
Basketball
WNBA
Wednesday’s Games
Minnesota 80, Indiana 69
Dallas 99, Chicago 96
Friday’s Games
Seattle at Washington, 4 p.m. (NBATV)
San Antonio at New York, 4:30 p.m.
Chicago at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Connecticut at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Football
NFL Preseason
Thursday
Cincinnati at Indianapolis, 4 p.m.
Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets, 4 p.m.
Jacksonville at Atlanta, 4 p.m.
Detroit at Bufalo, 4 p.m.
L.A. Rams at Green Bay, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at New England, 4:30 p.m.
Washington at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Carolina, 4:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Dallas at Houston, 5 p.m.
Miami at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Baltimore at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
Tennessee at Kansas City, 5:30 p.m.
Arizona at Denver, 6 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at San Francisco, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Oakland, 7 p.m. (NFL Net)
rotate three new
running backs
Continued from 1B
Week 1 in each of the last two years
and in six of the past seven seasons.
The Bucks are 6-0 in those previous
meetings, most recently defeating
the Tigers 48-28 last season in La
Grande.
“We don’t have any (new) film
on them, they don’t have any film
on us, so we’re just going to go play
a fun Friday night football game,”
Davis said. “We know who their
guys are and have a pretty good
idea of what their schemes may be.”
Davis added that the main key
and objective for the Buckaroos
defense Friday is to contain La
Grande’s standout QB Andrew
Peasley, who committed to play
football at Utah State over the
summer. The 6-foot-2 QB is a
two-time Greater Oregon League
Offensive Player of the Year has
more than 4,000 passing yards and
900 rushing yards with and 68 total
touchdowns in two seasons as a
starter.
La Grande went 4-6 overall
last season and tied for the GOL
championship before getting beat
by eventual state champion North
Bend 69-13 in the 4A first round.
The Tigers averaged 33.2 points per
game and allowed 35.6 per game
last year.
“All we can control is what we
do,” Davis said, “so we’re going to
prepare right and put effort into it
and hopefully that equals a win.”
Here are some things to watch
for in Week 1:
BETTER BOWER: Nick
Bower had a solid season in his first
year as the starter at QB for Pend-
leton in 2016, earning honorable
mention all-league honors.
And with that year under his belt
as well as a summer of hard work,
Davis says that Bower will be even
better this year.
“He’s matured almost leaps and
bounds,” he said. “He was a great
QB last year, but you also saw some
growing pains you’d expect from a
QB. He’s just taken control of the
team now, a leader on and off the
field.
“What I’ve seen is he and the
receivers are on the same page
already, and that comes with expe-
rience.”
YOUNG BUCKS RUNNING
WILD: For the past two seasons,
running back was a rotation for
the Buckaroos between the likes
of Deven Page, Gabe Walker and
Jamaal Vann. But after losing all
three to graduation, three more
Buckaroos will step in to carry the
load.
Juniors Aiden Patterson (5-11,
170), Shawn Yeager (5-10, 145) and
Kirk Liscom (5-9, 160) will be the
Buckaroo backs this season, trying
to help take pressure off Bower and
the passing game.
“They’re all hard-nosed running
kids,” Davis said. “They maybe
lack overall footspeed, but what
I’m asking them to do is go get 4-5
(yards) and each has the ability to
do that.”
HOME FIELD ADVAN-
TAGE: Friday’s game will be the
Bucks’ first under the brand-new
lights at the Pendleton High athletic
field. Pendleton has played at the
field sparingly over the years, only
when needed prior to the Round-Up,
but always had to play the games in
afternoon to avoid the darkness.
Now Pendleton has a true home
field and the Bucks are ready to
defend it Friday.
“There’s definitely a buzz,”
Davis said of the field. “There’s a
buzz around the program and the
community and we’re just excited
to have a place to play. It’s a little
old-school seating, have to bring
a lawn chair and blanket, but it’s
still Friday night football no matter
where you sit.”
————
Contact Eric at esinger@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-
0839. Follow him on Twitter @
ByEricSinger.