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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2018)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Prep Roundup Bulldogs grind out victory Hermiston begins season with win East Oregonian By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian HERMISTON — Last year, the then-mostly freshman Hermiston softball squad was nervous when they took the diamond for the first time. The Bulldogs were up against a tough Softball senior cast in Ridgeview and dropped the game Ridgeview 14-3. This year, the now-sea- s o n e d B u l l d o g s ’ Hermiston team entered its season o p e n e r with new found confidence and were looking for revenge against the defending Intermountain Conference champions. “Last year we went in nervous and the girls kind of took it personal this year like, ‘Wow that really happened,’ and this time they came out ready to fight,” head coach Kate Greenough said. The 5-3 win over Ridgeview on Tuesday was thanks in part to the defensive efforts of Sydney Stefani and the pitching of the Almaguer sisters, senior Julissa and sophomore Janelle. In the top of the sixth, Janelle Almaguer replaced Julissa Almaguer in the circle. Ridgeview scored all three of their runs in the top of the previous inning to take a 3-2 advantage but Hermiston’s offense brought See BULLDOGS/3B Bucks thump Hanford RICHLAND, Washington — The Pendleton softball team began its 2018 season on Tuesday mashing Softball by 14 hits to score 15 runs for a 15-1 victory Pendleton over the Hanford Falcons. Pend - leton’s Hanford (WA) offense took a while to get heated up, as it held a slim 2-1 lead after three full innings. However in the fourth inning the Buckaroos thumped the Falcons for eight runs and added five more in the fifth to make enact the 10-run rule. Lauren Richards, Kalan McGlothan and Kila Solomon each had three hits apiece for the Buckaroos (1-0), including McGlothan with a double, Richards with a triple and Solomon with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Alexi Brehaut had two hits, none bigger than her three-run home run in the fifth inning. Richards got the start at pitcher, throwing all five innings with nine strikeouts, allowing five hits, two walks and one run. ———— 15 3 1 5 Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hermiston’s Sydney Stefani watches the ball after smashing a double during Tuesday’s game against Rid- geview at Rocky Height Elementary School. PENDLETON Buckaroos drop doubleheader to Southridge Pend- leton’s Shaw Jerome bunts the ball in the Bucks’ 13-1 loss to South- ridge in the first game of a double header on Tues- day in Pendle- ton. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pitching and defensive miscues pile up gainst a talented Suns team By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian The energy was high in the Pend- leton dugout at Bob White Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon. After weeks of hitting indoors off of tees and pitching machines, and working at fielding drill after fielding drill, the Buckaroos were ready to get their doubleheader with the Southridge (WA) Suns going. It was a warm, overcast day as the first pitch of the day was thrown from the right arm of senior Daniel Naughton to the defending Wash- ington Class 3A state runner-up Southridge. At the end of the day, however, all of the high energy had been completely zapped out of the Bucks, as they stumbled against the Suns and dropped both games by 13-1 and 13-0 scores. “We were ready to compete against a good squad in Southridge,” Pendleton coach TJ Haguewood said. “We want to try to compete with the best and obviously today we didn’t.” It certainly was not the type of Baseball Southridge (WA) Pendleton 13-13 1-0 games that the Buckaroos wanted as their first impression for the 2018 season. The offense put up just one run on seven hits with 11 total base- runners. The defense kicked around a whopping nine fielding errors. And seven pitchers combined to walk 20 Southridge batters and throw 298 pitches. Comparatively, Southridge compiled 26 runs on 18 hits on offense, it’s pitchers walked only two Buckaroo batters, and the defense had only one error. “I thought at times the pitchers threw pretty well and the fielders didn’t help them, and then at times the pitchers didn’t help our fielders,” Haguewood said. “It was the perfect storm for them.” Naughton had the most notable performance for the Buckaroos on Tuesday, as the Gonzaga University signee had two hits on the day, including an RBI single in Game 1 See BUCKAROOS/3B R H E PHS 101 85 — 15 14 1 HHS 100 00 — 1 5 0 (PHS) L. Richards and K. Solomon. (HHS) A. Polster, S. Evans (4) and L. Roe. W — L. Richards, L — A. Polster. 2B — Ka. McGlothan, K. Solomon (PHS). 3B — L. Richards (PHS). HR — K. Solomon, A. Brehaut (PHS). RIVERSIDE 29, STEVENSON (WA) 1 — At Riverside, the home Pirates brought the bats out in their season opener by piling up a whopping 29 runs to defeat Stevenson (WA) on Tuesday. Skylar Wightman had a big day with 12 strikeouts pitching, while going 2 for 2 at the plate with six RBI. Megan Hegar went 4 for 4 batting with five RBI, while Abby Hernnadez and Lily Rockwell each scored four runs apiece. ———— R H E SHS 000 10 — 1 1 1 RHS 997 4X — 29 11 1 W — S. Wightman, L — Pennie S. MAC-HI 13, HEPPNER 2 — At Heppner, the Mac-Hi Pioneers slugged 14 hits for 13 runs to defeat the Heppner Mustangs on Tuesday in the season-opener for both teams. Rachael Lyon led the Pioneers with three hits from the leadoff spot while adding four RBI. Graci Bullock and Ashlyn Marly each smacked home runs for the Pioneers, too. In the pitching circle, Sydney Earls and McKenna Stallings combined for 14 strikeouts and only three hits allowed in seven innings. For the Mustangs (0-1), See PREP ROUNDUP/2B Sports shorts NFL promotes Maryann Turcke to chief operating officer NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has promoted Maryann Turcke to chief operating officer, making her the highest-ranking woman at the league offices. Turcke has overseen NFL Network in the last year. She replaces Tod Leiweke, who has left the league after three years in the job. Turcke will lead the marketing, communications, human resources, Turcke international and events and technology departments. Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday she has “distinguished herself by leading NFL Network to a record-setting year.” Goodell says more changes at NFL head- quarters are coming. Recently, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones criticized the quality of leadership at the New York offices. “I think Jordy is a really good player, and you certainly don’t want to let him walk out the door. But this is a big puzzle, and there’s kind of limitations. You can’t keep everybody. As we went through this, we thought this was in our best interest. The best interest for our team moving forward.” — Brian Gutekunst Green Bay Packers GM after the team released veteran WR Jordy Nelson on Tuesday. Nelson, who turns 33 in May, was scheduled to earn $10.25 million this season. Pac-12 taskforce recommends ending of one-and-done (AP) — A Pac-12 taskforce on reforming college basketball is recommending an end to the NBA’s one-and-done rule, allowing players to return to school even after they are drafted, and that the NCAA facilitate access to agents for high school players. The Pac-12 announced the recommendations from its task force on Tuesday and its report has been sent to the NCAA’s commission on college basketball, headed by former Secretary of State and Stanford University Provost Condoleezza Rice. The recommendations made by the task- force hit on the major issues identified by the NCAA as areas where reform is needed in the wake of a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1981 — A date which defines March Madness. The second round of the the men’s NCAA basketall tournament features three upsets decided in the late seconds. Saint Joseph’s stuns No. 1 ranked DePaul 49-48 on John Smith’s layup with two seconds left. Arkansas knocks off Louisville 74-73 on U.S. Reed’s half-court shot that beat the buzzer. Moments later, Rolando Blackman of Kansas State hits a fadeaway shot from the corner with two seconds left for 50-48 win over No. 2-ranked Oregon State. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com