SPORTS
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018
1B
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Prep sports
MLB
Ichiro
back in
Seattle
Mariners legend
signs one-year
deal with team
Associated Press
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Pendleton pitcher Lauren Richards smiles at a comment from Coach Tim Cary during a scrimmage on Wednesday at Sunridge Middle
School. Pendleton begins its 2018 season on Mar. 13 with a road game at Hanford (WA).
Spring sports season is here
First contests are
just five days away
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Under an overcast sky on a cool
and breezy Wednesday afternoon,
the sounds of mitts popping and
aluminum bats cracking filled the
air at Steve Cary Softball Field in
Pendleton. The sights and sounds
were a welcomed change for this
reporter — because it means the
spring sports season is here.
Practices for all sports — soft-
ball, baseball, track and field,
tennis, and golf — officially began
on Feb. 26, and all teams have
roughly two weeks until games and
meets begin on Mar. 12 to whip
things into game shape.
Although practices began last
week, numerous teams are only
just getting up to full strength this
week with basketball playoffs
coming to an end. The Pendleton
softball team is one of those
teams with key contributors Kalan
McGlothan, Rylee Gentner and
Sami Spriet finally able to trade in
their basketball sneakers for cleats
to gear up for the Buckaroos’ first
game, which is only six days away.
High expectations surround
the Buckaroos this season. The
team has compiled a 49-10 overall
record and reached the Class 5A
state semifinals in each of the last
two seasons, losing each time to
the eventual state champion. And
while some big-name players have
graduated in that span — notably
Alexis Morrison, Payton Hergert,
Maddy Parker — the Buckaroos
return enough firepower that sets
them up for perhaps one last big
push at another state championship.
Leading the charge will be
two-time all-state pitcher in senior
Lauren Richards, with senior Alexi
Brehaut as a solid No. 2 and junior
catcher Kila Solomon making
up an excellent battery. At the
plate, McGlothan, Brehaut, Aspen
Garton and Gentner make up a
powerful middle of the order with
Kirah McGlothan and Richards
setting the table at the top.
The Bucks get started with
a road trip to Hanford (WA) on
Tuesday and begin league play at
The Dalles in mid-April as they set
their sights on another conference
championship and a trip to state in
June.
Here are some other teams and
storylines to watch for throughout
this spring season:
See SPRING/3B
Men’s College Basketball
Beavers outlast Huskies in overtime
By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Basketball Writer
LAS VEGAS — Oregon State
had a penchant for finding ways to
lose instead of win for most of the
regular season. If the opposing team
hit a big shot or one of the Beavers
missed a key free throw, they would
slump their shoulders and watch the
other team walk off with a victory.
With a chance to move on in the
Pac-12 tournament, Oregon State
found a way to make the big plays
down the stretch.
Drew Eubanks scored 19 points,
Stephen Thompson Jr. added 14 and
the Beavers outlasted Washington
69-66 in overtime on Wednesday
night in the opening round of the
tournament.
“We said at halftime: ‘Guys,
when we make mistakes and we
coach you and get after you, you
Pac-12 Tournament
Oregon State
Washington
69
66
can’t drop your chins,’” Oregon
State coach Wayne Tinkle said.
“That’s part of developing tough-
ness and maturity. And I thought
the second half we really did that.
That was the difference.”
Oregon State went up 66-64
in overtime on Tres Tinkle’s two
free throws and Washington tried
to set up a shot to tie, but David
Crisp threw the ball out of bounds.
Eubanks hit 1 of 2 free throws and
Crisp scored on a layup with 3.1
seconds left to pull the Huskies
within two.
Tinkle hit two more free throws
PEORIA, Ariz. — Ichiro
Suzuki’s wish was granted. He
is back in
the familiar
w h i t e
and
blue
jersey
of
the Seattle
Mariners.
“Even
in
the
offseason
when
I
Ichiro
would go
back
to
Japan, I always came back to
Seattle. This was my home ...
has always been my home,”
the 44-year-old outfielder said
through a translator Wednesday
after finalizing a $750,000,
one-year contract. “Somewhere
deep inside, I wanted to return
and wear this uniform again.”
Almost six years away,
Suzuki returned to help patch an
injury-depleted outfield on the
team he played for from 2001-
12. The 10-time All-Star can
earn an additional $1.25 million
in performance bonuses based
on plate appearances: $200,000
each for 150 and each additional
50 through 350, and $250,000 for
400.
Suzuki earned the 2001 AL
Rookie of the Year and MVP,
with the Mariners and won a
pair of AL batting titles. He was
traded to the New York Yankees
midway through 2012, played
parts of three seasons with the
Yankees, then spent three seasons
with Miami.
He has a .312 average and
3,080 hits, not including the
1,278 hits he amassed in nine
See MARINERS/2B
with 2.5 seconds left and Crisp got
a good look at a tying 3-pointer, but
it caromed off the back of the rim.
Oregon State (16-15) moves
on to face No. 2 seed Southern
California in the quarterfinals on
Thursday.
“It’s definitely a great feeling so
far,” Thompson said. “We know we
have a lot of work to do in order
to accomplish what we want to
accomplish.”
Matisse Thybulle had 19 points
and Noah Dickerson 15 points as
Washington (20-12) saw its slim
NCAA Tournament hopes all but
disappear.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to
Oregon State,” Washington coach
Mike Hopkins said. “I mean, they
battled, they made the plays down
the stretch that you had to make.
Oregon
State’s
Drew
Eubanks,
right,
dunks
against
Washing-
ton’s Noah
Dickerson
during
overtime in
an NCAA
college
basketball
game in
the first
round of
the Pac-12
men’s tour-
nament
Wednes-
day, March
7, 2018, in
Las Vegas.
Oregon
State won
69-66 in
overtime.
AP Photo/Isaac
Brekken
See BEAVERS/2B
Sports shorts
Harvick docked playoff points
for car violations from Vegas win
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Harvick
has been stripped of the playoff points he earned
for winning at Las Vegas because of violations
discovered on his Ford.
NASCAR ruled Wednesday
that Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas
Racing team violated the rule
requiring rear window support
braces holding the rear window
glass rigid, as well as a rule
requiring the right side rocker
Harvick
panel extension to be aluminum.
The penalty is the loss of the
seven playoff points Harvick earned for winning
Sunday’s race and both stages. It was Harvick’s
second consecutive win of the season.
Harvick was also docked 20 points. Crew
chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000, and
car chief Robert Smith was suspended two races.
“We all hope for that
Sunday afternoon pairing
alongside all us young
guys. We want that chance
to be able to battle it out
with him on Sunday. I
know he wants that, too, to
show us what he’s done to
other people. Even if it’s not
2000 Tiger, it’s still Tiger on
a Sunday .“
— Jordan Spieth
The pro golfer is excited to play
with Tiger Woods again beginning
Thursday in the Valspar Champion-
ship in Florida. The last tournament
both played in together was the 2015
Phoenix Open before Woods’ injuries.
MLBPA’s free-agent training
camp to close Friday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — The spring
training workout facility created for free agents
by the players’ association, will close Friday
after three weeks.
Major League Baseball
Players Association executive
director Tony Clark announced
the decision Wednesday after
meeting with New York Mets
players as part of his tour of the 30 team
camps.
With dozens of free agents unsigned as
spring training began, the camp opened Feb.
13 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton and
workouts started the next day. Forty-one
players have attended, and Mike Napoli,
Adam Lind, Tyler Clippard, Lucas Duda,
Alejandro De Aza, Carlos Torres and Tommy
Layne left after agreeing to contracts.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1971 — Joe Frazier wins
the world heavyweight title
with a unanimous 15-round
decision over Muhammad Ali.
1997 — In the World
Indoor Championship in
Paris, Kevin Little becomes
the first white American
sprinter in 41 years to win a
major international competi-
tion, matching the U.S. 200
record of 20.40 seconds.
2004 — Air Force
punctuates a record-setting
season when it moved into
The Associated Press men’s
basketball Top 25 for the
first time in the program’s
48-year history.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com