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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2017)
Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Thursday, October 5, 2017 The Arizona Diamond- backs cele- brate after the Nation- al League wild-card playoff baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday, in Phoenix. BUCKS: Team riding momentum of two consecutive blowout victories Continued from 1B 15. The 6-foot, 175-pound back and his Cougars are the latest run-heavy offensive team for the Buckaroos to face, but unlike Redmond and Ridgeview, there is not trickery involved. “Watching fi lm, their offense isn’t tricky, they’re just going to line up and run it right at you,” Davis said. “Our front seven is going to be the determining factor. We’re going to have to bow our necks and see if we can force a couple of punts early because with an offense like theirs, the clock eats up pretty fast. So we better be get some stops and be really effi cient on the offensive side of the ball.” Pendleton will take the fi eld Friday night with some momentum as well off of two straight wins with an offense that has really found its groove. Senior quarter- back Nick Bower has been outstanding and effi cient ever since his four-interception game in the Week 1 loss to La Grande, completing 64 percent of his passes for 865 yards and 12 touchdowns to just three picks over the last four weeks. The ground game has been a big help for Bower, taking pressure off of him and opening up the fi eld for some big-time throws. Pendleton ran for a season-high 280 yards last week against Redmond and has piled up 422 in the last two weeks. A big reason for the success has been the improvement of the offensive line, which has impressed Davis and the rest of the coaches. “The o-line has improved dramatically from Week 1, Week 2,” he said, “and it tells me that the kids are putting in the work and the buy-in process is there. One thing I’ve noticed about this group, this team is they continue to get better each week and we haven’t had any letdowns.” The Buckaroos will need to fi nd a consistent balance on offense Friday if they want to have a chance against a Cougars defense that likes to run a Cover-0, stack the box and bring lots of pressure. Against Hermiston, the Cougars held the Bulldogs to 187 total yards in the game — 155 on the ground and 32 through the air. “I like our matchups this week,” Davis said. “We’re going to have to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands pretty quickly. We have to have a run game or we won’t be able to throw because they’ll be bringing six or seven guys at the QB all game long. It’s very, very important for us to stay balanced and important for me to be consistent in calling the run game as well.” Kick off is set for 7 p.m. at the Pendleton Round-Up arena. ———— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger. DAWGS: James aims to keep up clutch play Continued from B1 weapon the Bulldogs have not seen before: senior running back Conner Benz. Ridgeview’s sixth year head coach Andy Codding noted before the season even started that he is the best pure running back since the championship team. However, his efforts have done little as the Ravens are reeling from their 11th consec- utive loss a week ago. Benz does pose a threat to Hermiston’s line, as the Bull- dogs gave up 186 yards on 46 total carries against Hood River Valley last week. In fact, they have only held two teams to under 100 rushing yards this season, Lewiston (89) and Summit (64). Even though Hermiston came out victorious in both of those match ups, it will need to play disciplined football on both sides of the ball to keep its postseason hopes alive. Offensively, the Bulldogs have tightened up over the past few weeks and junior quarter- back Andrew James has had impressive outings both home and away. He led the team to a 34-14 victory over Summit on Sept. 22 after completing 17-of-20 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Last week, his numbers weren’t as high but they were just as accurate. He fi nished 10-of-11 for 200 yards and two scores. James hasn’t thrown an interception since the four he recorded in Hermiston’s season opener, and has been just as effective on the ground as well. In the Bulldogs’ Sept. 15 game against the Mountain View Cougars, James passed the 1,000-yard career rushing mark and earned his 10th career rushing touchdown. “Going through a game and not throwing any picks and making completions and moving the ball down the fi eld that’s huge for anyone’s confi - dence,” James said. “It’s great to know that we can do those things, and we can move the ball down the fi eld, and we can put over 30-points up.” James will have one of his favorite targets Friday in senior Dayshawn Neal, who has eclipsed 500 yards on the season and racked up six touchdowns on 36 receptions. And not only will James have his own feet to rely on but those of senior running backs Jonathan Hinkle and Peter Earl. The duo combined for a total of 435 yards and fi ve scores. The offensive effort from Hermiston has led to some big time plays, and big time wins. In the Bulldogs’ two league wins, they put up a combined 34 points, and held their opponents to only four touchdowns. The plan will remain the same this week, as Hermiston looks to distance itself from the compe- tition. “We’re just trying to keep our pace like we’ve been doing the past few weeks,” James said. “Our offense has been rolling the past couple of weeks and we’re just trying to keep that up-paced tempo and keep the ball moving up and down the fi eld.” A high score in favor of Hermiston is a reasonable assumption to make, as Ridgeview has given up 40 or more points in four out of fi ve games this season, and seven times last year. Kick off will be at 7 p.m. at Ridgeview High School. ——— Contact Alexis at aman- sanarez@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4542. Follow her on Twitter @almansanarez. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin DBACKS: Goldschmidt’s home run snapped a 0-for-17 slump Continued from 1B “That’s one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of, if not the best,” Goldschmidt said. Arizona moved on to a best-of- fi ve Division Series against the NL West champion Dodgers, a team the Diamondbacks beat the last six times they played. Game 1 is Friday night in Los Angeles. “It’s what we’ve done the whole year: We respond,” Bradley said. “This group is special and I’m just happy to be moving on.” Arizona became the fi rst team with four triples in a postseason game since the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) twice hit fi ve during the fi rst World Series back in 1903 against Pittsburgh. It was that kind of crazy night in the desert as the two NL West foes slugged it out. Daniel Descalso also homered for the Diamondbacks, and Ketel Marte tripled twice. “We know how tough these guys are. We play ‘em all the time,” Goldschmidt said. “Every time we scored, we just said, ‘We’ve got to get more, we’ve got to get more.’” Bradley, a spirited setup man who was recruited to play quarterback at Oklahoma, went 1 for 4 at the plate this season to raise his career batting average to .098. With two outs in the seventh, he drove a 3-1 pitch from Pat Neshek to deep left-center to give Arizona an 8-5 cushion. It was his fi rst extra-base in the majors and the fi rst triple by a reliever in postseason history. Already a fan favorite for his bushy beard and high-energy work in the late innings, Bradley regrouped from the two solo homers he gave up to get the fi nal two outs of the eighth with the Diamondbacks clinging to a one-run lead. Fernando Rodney allowed a run in the ninth before closing it out as Arizona won in its fi rst playoff game since 2011. Jake Lamb tied a Diamondbacks postseason record with four hits, all singles, and scored three times. Jonathan Lucroy doubled twice, scored two runs and drove in one for the Rockies in their fi rst playoff appearance since 2009. Marte, who came to Arizona with pitcher Taijuan Walker from Seattle for Jean Segura in an offseason deal, became the fi rst player to triple twice in a postseason game since Mariano Duncan did it for Philadelphia against Atlanta in the 1993 NL Championship Series. Goldschmidt, in an 0-for-17 slump to end the regular season, hit the fi rst pitch he saw from ineffective starter Jon Gray into the left-fi eld seats for a three-run shot. Greinke blanked the Rockies on one hit through three innings but never made it through the fourth. Colorado, known for its power at the plate, got back into it with small ball — fi ve hits, four of them singles. Lucroy’s two-out RBI double followed by pinch- hitter Alexi Amarista’s run-scoring single made it 6-4, and Greinke was fi nished. He allowed four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Left-hander Robbie Ray, a 15-game winner during the regular season, came on for his fi rst relief appearance in three years and threw two shutout innings before giving up a leadoff double to Lucroy just below the home run line in straightaway center in the seventh. Lucroy went to third on a wild pitch before Ray fanned Ian Desmond. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo replaced Ray with another lefty, ex-Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa, to face NL batting champion Charlie Blackmon, who put down a bunt that brought Lucroy home and cut the lead 6-5. The 25-year-old Gray was 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in his previous fi ve starts, but the Diamondbacks were up 3-0 on him before a good share of the 48,803 in the stands settled into their seats. He lasted just 1 1/3 innings. PIGSKIN PICKERS Week 5 Overall: Last Week: Hermiston at Ridgeview Mt. View at Pendleton WMHS at Stanfi eld Riverside at Umatilla Miami at FSU WSU at Oregon Boise State at BYU Seahawks at Rams Chiefs at Texans Vikings at Bears Ron Gibbs Eric Singer Zachary Orem Mike Appleton Jodi Bloomberg Clint Shoemake John Airoldi Weston Putman Brandon Case Alexis Mansanarez 34-6 9-1 Hermiston Mt. View WMHS Umatilla Miami WSU Boise State Rams Chiefs Vikings 33-7 10-0 Hermiston Mt. View Stanfi eld Umatilla Miami WSU Boise State Rams Chiefs Vikings 32-8 10-0 Hermiston Mt. View WMHS Umatilla Miami WSU Boise State Rams Texans Vikings 30-10 7-3 Hermiston Mt. View WMHS Umatilla Miami WSU Boise State Rams Texans Vikings 30-10 8-2 Hermiston Mt. View WMHS Umatilla Miami WSU Boise State Rams Chiefs Bears 30-10 8-2 Hermiston Mt. View Stanfi eld Umatilla Miami WSU Boise State Rams Chiefs Vikings 30-10 9-1 Hermiston Mt. View Stanfi eld Umatilla Miami WSU Boise State Rams Chiefs Bears 28-12 7-3 Hermiston Pendleton WMHS Riverside Florida State WSU Boise State Seahawks Chiefs Vikings 25-15 8-2 Ridgeview Pendleton Stanfi eld Umatilla Miami Oregon Boise State Seahawks Chiefs Vikings 23-17 7-3 Hermiston Mt. View Stanfi eld Riverside Florida State WSU BYU Seahawks Chiefs Vikings ROGERS TOYOTA 4 SEASON’S PAINT CO. ELMER’S IRRIGATION SHERRELL CHEVROLET ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR J ODI B LOOMBERG M IKE A PPLETON B RANDON C ASE C LINT S HOEMAKE J OHN A IROLDI NW METAL FABRICATORS EASTERN OREGON HEATING & AIR EAST OREGONIAN HERMISTON HERALD IS ROOTING FOR MID COLUMBIA PRODUCERS, INC. E RIC S INGER W ESTON P UTMAN IS ROOTING FOR Z ACHARY O REM IS ROOTING FOR A LEXIS M ANSANAREZ IS ROOTING FOR IS ROOTING FOR R ON G IBBS
