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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2018)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON Prep Roundup ‘A good day for softball’ Thieme Pend- leton’s Kila Sol- oman gives Coach Tim Cary a fistbump at third base after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of Tues- day’s game against La Grande. Staff photo by Kathy Aney homers, leads Rockets to win Thieme’s grand slam highlights 16-run inning East Oregonian PILOT ROCK — Levi Thieme had a standout game on Tuesday as he recorded three hits, a grand slam home run and six total RBI to lead Baseball the Rockets to a 20-9 victory over the visiting Heppner H e p p n e r Mustangs. Both teams were held scoreless in the first inning, but Pilot Rock then Heppner struck first with seven runs in the top of the second, highlighted by a three-run home run off the bat of Beau Wolters. The Mustangs’ pitching was no match for the Rockets’ offense in the second though, as Pilot Rock (3-0) answered with a whopping 16-run inning — 14 of which came with two outs. In the frame, 20 batters came to the plate, with the Rockets working six walks and earning nine hits. Levi Thieme headlined the inning with his grand slam late in the inning to make it a 15-7 game. Chris Weinke also homered in the game for the Rockets, hitting a two-run shot to center in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 20-9 game, enabling the 10-run rule to end the game. In all, five Rockets had multi-hit games and Thieme and Ty Dick led the way with three apiece. Dick also added five RBI and Chris Weinke had four. Payton Lehman led the See PREP ROUNDUP/3B 9 20 Pendleton cranks three home runs, scores 12 in home-opening win By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Pendleton softball players slap the batting helmet of Aspen Garton at home plate after she hit a home run early in Tuesday’s game against La Grande. Softball PENDLETON — After starting the season with two games on the road, the Pendleton softball team was happy to finally play in front of its home crowd on its home Steve Cary Field on Tuesday against La Grande. It was a perfect day for the Buck- aroos’ home opener, too, as the clouds gave way to show a bright sunshine and a rich, blue sky. And as good as the Buckaroos felt being home, they played just as good, too. Pendleton cranked out six extra-base hits, 11 hits total and 12 runs as it thumped La Grande 12-2 in a non-league contest. “Home opener is a great day,” said Pendleton second baseman Staff photo by Kathy Aney La Grande Pendleton 2 12 Aspen Garton. “It’s warm outside, the first day of spring, just a good day for softball.” Garton finished the day as the Buckaroos’ top hitter, going 2 for 3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI. Her first was of the two-run variety, a sky-high blast over the right-center field fence in the first inning and the second was a solo blast that she sent over the left field fence in the second inning. “I guess it was my turn today,” Garton joked. See PENDLETON/2B Pro Basketball Rockets snap Trail Blazers’ win streak By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press PORTLAND — James Harden scored 42 points and the Houston Rockets snapped the Portland Trail Blazers’ 13-game winning streak with a 115-111 victory on Tuesday night. Portland’s winning streak was tied for the second-longest in fran- chise history. The team also won 13 consecutive games in 2007. Chris Paul added 22 points for the Rockets, who have won six straight and 23 of their last 24 and have the best record in the NBA. Al-Farouq Aminu had 22 points, NBA Houston Portland 115 111 including six 3-pointers, for Port- land. The Blazers had also won nine straight at the Moda Center. Harden and Trevor Ariza each hit 3-pointers to stretch Houston’s lead to 110-102. Harden added another 3-pointer with 1:55 left and it seemed Portland was out of it. But the Blazers rallied with a 9-0 run, capped by CJ McCollum’s floater with 28 seconds left to pull within 113-111. Paul went to the line with 1.3 seconds left and made both shots. After a timeout, Lillard tried a 3-pointer but it missed. Jusuf Nurkic finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, while Lillard had 20 points. Neither Lillard nor backcourt mate McCo- llum hit a 3-pointer in the game. Aminu had four 3-pointers in the opening quarter and finished with 16 points to lead all scorers. Harden had 14 for the Rockets, who trailed 31-27 going into the second. See BLAZERS/2B AP Photo/Steve Dykes Houston Rockets guard James Harden drives to the basket on Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic during Tuesday’s game in Portland. Harden scored a game-high 42 points in the win. Sports shorts Dodgers’ Turner to avoid wrist surgery, still out indefinitely GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Los Angeles third baseman Justin Turner’s broken left wrist is expected to heal without surgery, according to Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts. Turner was hurt Monday when hit by a pitch from Oakland’s Kendall Graveman. Turner arrived at the Dodgers spring training facility with a cast over his wrist Tuesday morning and was scheduled to see a hand specialist for an estimate of the Turner time he could miss. Turner hit .322 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs last year and was a first-time All-Star. He had 14 RBIs in the postseason. The Dodgers appear poised to move Logan Forsythe from second base to third in Turner’s absence and have Enrique Hernandez and Chase Utley share time at second. “There are some people that are cut from a different cloth and built from different things and I think I’m one of those people. I look forward to showing people that you can come back better from things. ... I look forward to coming back better than ever. — Richard Sherman The newest San Francisco 49er said in his introductory press conference Tuesday. Sherman was released from the Seattle Seahawks on Mar. 10. NCAA women’s tournament attendance highest since 2008 NEW YORK (AP) — Attendance for the first two rounds of the women’s NCAA Tournament is the highest in a decade, with an average of 5,067 fans taking in the first 48 games. Defending champion South Carolina led the way with 11,085 fans in the Gamecocks’ opening-round win. SEC rival Mississippi State followed with 10,211 in the opener on its home court. NCAA basketball officials are hoping for more strong numbers at the regionals this weekend in Albany, New York; Kansas City, Missouri; Spokane, Washington; and Lexington, Kentucky. Albany has already sold nearly 7,600 tickets. Last season’s regionals were at a 20-year low for attendance. The Final Four is in Columbus, Ohio. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1893 — The first women’s collegiate basketball game is played at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. In this game, each basket is worth 1 point and the freshman class beats the sophomore class 5-4. The game takes place behind locked doors and men are prohibited from watching. 2008 — For the first time, four NCAA men’s basketball tournament first-round games at the same site on the same day are being classified as upsets. Two No. 12 seeds Western Kentucky and Villa- nova, and No. 13s San Diego and Siena win first-round games in Tampa, Fla. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
