SPORTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017
1B
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PILOT ROCK
Prep Roundup
Mustangs ground Rockets
Heppner drops fi rst
set, rallies to win
fi fth straight match
Pendleton drops
match to La Grande
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK — After
Heppner upset top-ranked Culver
on Tuesday night to earn a tie
for fi rst place atop the Columbia
Basin Conference standings, the
Mustangs were
confi dent
Volleyball feeling
in themselves.
Perhaps,
a
little too confi -
dent.
Heppner
On Thursday
night, Heppner
traveled north
to take on Pilot
Rock and looked
Pilot Rock
all out of sorts
on both offense
and defense in
the fi rst set as the
Rockets handed
them a 25-8 loss. However after
that set, the Mustangs settled down,
got back to playing their style and
breezed through the next three sets
25-21, 25-14, 25-15 to defeat Pilot
Rock 3-1.
“They had a tough match with
Culver ... and we talked this week
is you can relish in those moments
but you have to move forward.
And I think the fi rst set was a
reality of ‘Oh I really have to move
forward,’” Heppner coach Mindy
Wilson said. “It was good for them,
a humbling experience that made
them work in the last three games.
The girls knew they were going to
have to dig deep and Pilot Rock
was going to push them to do the
little things and they did.”
Heppner (15-5 overall, 5-1 CBC)
took the fi rst point of the match
on a block by Morgan Correa and
trailed 3-2 early. Pilot Rock (13-8,
2-4) overwhelmed the Mustangs in
the rest of the set, as Grace Austin
smacked three kills and served two
aces and Abby Rigby smacked two
kills with three aces as the Rockets
went on a 17-2 run quickly after.
However, Heppner was able to
regroup in the huddle after the set
was over with the help of a short
East Oregonian
3
LA GRANDE — The Pend-
leton volleyball team stepped
away from its league schedule
on Thursday
Volleyball night to take
on La Grande
for the second
time
this
Pendleton
season.
But
the
Tigers were
wanting some
revenge, with
the Buckaroos
La Grande
winning 3-0
in Pendleton
on Sept. 7,
and this time
handed the Buckaroos a 3-0
loss, 25-23, 25-14, 25-14. After
Pendleton’s unbeaten start, the
Buckaroos (10-4 overall, 5-1
CRC) now fall to 3-4 in their
past seven games.
“We fell apart fundamen-
tally tonight,” Pendleton coach
Amanda Lapp said. “(We
were) making adjustments too
late and playing tense ... We’re
going to work hard tomorrow
and Monday to get back into
our groove and solidify what
we’ve been working toward all
season.”
Maureen Davies was the
team’s leader in kills for
the match with eight, and
Elisabeth House followed
with four. Aspen Garton had
a team-high six digs as she
again moved from her spot as
a defensive specialist to libero
on Thursday night and played
well, Lapp said.
Pendleton will next travel
back to Hood River next week
to take on the Eagles (10-6,
5-1) for the rubber match of the
three-game series on Tuesday
evening.
0
1
See MUSTANGS/3B
Bucks
falter on
the road
3
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pilot Rock’s Grace Austin tips the ball into the block from Heppner’s Jenna McCollough in the Mus-
tangs’ 3-1 win against the Rockets on Thursday in Pilot Rock.
See PREP ROUNDUP/3B
MLB Playoffs
Altuve hits 3 homers as Astros thump Red Sox
By KRISTIE RIEKEN &
TOM WITHERS
Associated Press
HOUSTON — Jose
Altuve had just arrived
in the Astros dugout after
launching his third home run
of the game when George
Springer grabbed his right
biceps and examined it, as if
searching for an explanation
for his teammate’s extraordi-
nary pop.
“He makes sure he stays
on top of his gym routine,
whatever it is,” Springer said.
“The dude is just a joke.”
The
major
league
batting champion put on
an unprecedented show of
power Thursday as Houston
roughed up Chris Sale and
the Boston Red Sox 8-2 in
Game 1 of the AL Division
Series.
ALDS - Game 1
Boston
Houston
2
8
Buoyed by chants of
“MVP” in each trip to the
plate, the 5-foot 6-inch
Altuve hit solo homers in
the fi rst and fi fth innings off
Sale. He connected again
in the seventh off reliever
Austin Maddox to give
Houston a quick boost in the
best-of-fi ve series.
“As soon as I cross the
white line, I feel the same
size as everyone else,”
Altuve said.
It was just the 10th time
a player hit three homers in
a postseason game, and fi rst
since Pablo Sandoval for the
Giants in the 2012 World
Series opener against Detroit.
Babe Ruth did it twice.
“I told him the last time
I’ve seen three home runs in
a game was Pablo Sandoval
and I gave up two of them, so
I’m glad there’s somebody
new that’s done it,” winning
pitcher Justin Verlander said.
Altuve became the fi rst
Astros player to hit three
homers in one game since
2007, when Carlos Lee
did it in the regular season.
He seemed as surprised as
anyone else that he was now
in a category with the Sultan
of Swat, Reggie Jackson and
Albert Pujols.
“I hit one and I was like:
‘Wow,’” he said. “And the
second one is like: ‘Wow,
what’s going on here?”
And his thoughts after the
third?
“I got to wake up,” he
said, fl ashing a huge grin.
After he fi nished talking
to Springer following his
third shot, Altuve’s team-
mates goaded him into
exiting the dugout for a
curtain call. And as he tipped
his hat to the crowd, one fan
near the dugout held a sign
that proclaimed in blue block
letters: “That Kid Can Hit.”
Verlander pitched six
effective
innings
and
improved to 6-0 since
Houston got him in late trade
with Detroit. He is 5-0 with
a 2.24 ERA in nine career
starts in the division series.
Sale, the major league
strikeout leader, was tagged
for seven runs in fi ve-plus
innings of his postseason
debut.
Game 2 is Friday, with
See PLAYOFFS/2B
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) cel-
ebrates his fi rst inning home run with teammate Evan
Gattis (11) in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Boston
Red Sox on Thursday in Houston.
Sports shorts
Ovechkin records hat trick as
Capitals beat Sens 5-4 in shootout
Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick in a 6:33 span
in the third period and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored
the shootout winner in the Washington Capitals’
5-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday
night in the season opener for both
teams.
Ovechkin scored twice in a
1:23 span to tie it early in the third
period.
Cody Ceci turned the puck over
down low, allowing Kuznetsov to
fi nd Ovechkin for a shot he roofed
Ovechkin
past Anderson. Then, the Senators
were unable to clear the puck and
the same line was able to move the puck quickly
to allow Ovechkin to score.
Ottawa regained the lead 1:17 later when
Stone tipped in Dion Phaneuf’s shot.
Ovechkin tied it again with 9:12 left in the
period.
Blackhawks pound Penguins
10-1 in season opener
“They don’t want to be
denied what they feel is
theirs right now. There’s
no fl inch in these guys, I
can tell you that.”
— Dave Doeren
North Carolina State head coach
after his No. 24 Wolfpack’s 39-
25 victory over the No. 17 Louis-
ville Cardinals on Thursday night.
Nyheim Hines ran for two touch-
downs and Ryan Finley threw for
another to aid in the upset.
CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Saad scored
three times in his return to Chicago and Ryan
Hartman had a goal and four assists, helping the
Blackhawks pound the Pittsburgh Penguins 10-1
on Thursday night.
Nick Schmaltz added two
goals and an assist as Chicago
kicked off its season in style with
a runaway victory against the
two-time defending Stanley Cup
champions. Patrick Kane also
had a goal and three assists in the Blackhawks’
highest scoring game since Oct. 12, 1988.
Pittsburgh was coming off a 5-4 overtime loss
to St. Louis in its season opener on Wednesday.
Antti Niemi was pulled after allowing four goals
on 13 shots in his Penguins debut.
Richard Panik, Patrick Sharp and Brent
Seabrook also scored for Chicago, and Corey
Crawford made 28 saves.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1985 — San Francisco’s
Joe Montana passes for 429
yards and fi ve touchdowns
and sets an NFL record with
57 passes attempted and no
interceptions in a 38-17 win
over the Atlanta Falcons.
1993 — Michael Jordan
announces his retirement
after nine seasons in the
NBA.
2013 — Tiger Woods
beats Richard Sterne, 1 up,
to give the Americans the
18 points they need to win
the Presidents Cup for the
fi fth straight time. It’s the
third straight Presidents
Cup that Woods wins the
cup-clinching match.
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