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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2018)
SPORTS MOMENTS: Next prep season starts in 12 weeks Saturday, June 9, 2018 ace Levi Thieme, lost only three games in 2018 — including the 7-1 loss in the final round, breaking a 15-game win streak. The girls were shut out for the first time all season, dropping the title game 10-0, but closed out the season 23-4. Continued from 1B Instead, Hermiston will move into a league with WIAA’s Class 4A foot- ball champions, Richland, and 3A playoff contender Kamiakin. And the Bulldogs also won the final rivalry matchup with Pendleton to continue the decade-plus of domi- nance after getting pushed around by the Buckaroos for more than half a century. “We did have a good year,” Herm- iston athletic director Larry Usher said. “I know there are some other pro- grams that probably had some higher expectations and would have liked to have done a lot better but overall, it was a good year and you say it was a good year mainly because you won a state championship in football, which is kind of the crown jewel.” LOCALS ON THE LINKS Staff photo by Kathy Aney BUCKS SOFTBALL, PIRATES SOCCER DOMINATE TO WIN TITLES Bryson Pierce (30), of Pilot Rock, goes to the hoop during the dis- trict championship game against Stanfield on February 17. There was no stopping the River- side boys soccer team in the fall. The Pirates went unbeaten with a 17-0-1 overall record and defeated Catlin Gabel 4-1 to win the 3A/2A/1A state championship for the second time in school history. They also scored dou- ble-digit goals in five separate games, shut out their opponents nine times and ended the season with 100 more goals scored (116) than goals allowed (16). Then just last week, the Pendleton softball team capped off its own dom- inant season on the softball diamond by defeating Putnam 7-0 to win its third state championship in school his- tory. With a lineup boasting firepower at every spot the Buckaroos scored the third-most runs in the state (313) and with starting pitcher Lauren Richards and a solid defense they allowed only 2.3 runs per game. Oh, and they had a 22-game win streak as well. Weston-McEwen’s Jacob Speed had an incredible performance in Eugene as he brought back four state championship medals in all four of the events he competed in — the 100- meter dash, 200 meters, 400 meters and 4x100 relay. Also winning gold in 1A-3A schools was Helix’s Hannah Christman in the 1A girls 800 meters, Weston-McEwen’s Katie Vescio won the 2A girls 800 meters and Umatilla’s Patty Burres in the 3A girls 400 meters On the final day of state competi- tion, Hermiston’s Tyler Rohrman won gold in the 5A boys 110-meter hurdles with a new state meet record of 14.09 seconds. And Pendleton’s Emanuela Casadei — a foreign exchange student from Italy — recorded a personal best in the 5A girls javelin throw, a mark of 145 feet, 4 inches, which was at least six inches better than the rest of the field. HAPPENINGS AT HAYWARD FIELD The 2018 OSAA state track and field championships marked the last time high schools would get to com- pete at the Historic Hayward Field as its been known for decades. With a construction for a remodel in the works to prepare for the 2021 World Championships, prep standouts got one last chance at make their mark on the legendary grounds. The local ath- letes did not disappoint. ROCKETS DOUBLE THREAT AT STATE In the 2A/1A softball and base- ball state championships, teams, fans and practically all of Pilot Rock made the four-hour drive west to watch the Rockets in both games. The softball team made its fourth straight finals appearance — an unprecedented feat for the 2A level — and the boys made their first since 2000. However both had to settle for silver medals, which is still a tremendous accomplishment. The Rocket baseball team, behind On the golf course this year, Riley Lankford of Pilot Rock won his fourth consecutive district golf title for the Nixyaawii boys golf team. Lank- ford finished the two-day tournament shooting 152 — carding a 77 on Day 1 and a 75 on Day 2. He followed that with a career-best third-place finish at state with a 36-hole score of 142. On the girls side, the Heppner Mus- tangs set a school record at districts after finishing with a 720, good for the district team championship. The girls team finished state in sec- ond place with a 36-hole score of 737. The Mustang boys followed with a trip to state, their second-ever appear- ance, and placed fourth (712). STREAKS COME TO AN END... Perhaps the No. 2 moment of the year for Hermiston athletics, behind the football state title, is the softball team’s 5-4 win over Pendleton on May 15. The win, which came on a walk-off single from Bailee Noland, snapped a 24-game losing streak for the Bulldogs against the rival Bucka- roos which dated back to May 8, 2012. But that wasn’t the only notable streak to come to an end. The Nixy- aawii girls basketball team’s incredible two-year run ended in the 1A cham- pionship game with a loss to Country Christian, ending the Golden Eagles’ 56-game win streak. Pilot Rock boys basketball ended a nine-year drought by winning the district championship, and a five-year drought of missing the playoffs. And Pendleton’s boys bas- ketball team’s three-year reign as con- ference champs ended with Hermiston bringing home the trophy. ...AND STREAK STAYS ALIVE It is no stretch to say that the Hep- pner football program is one of the best and most consistent in the state. This past fall, the Mustangs went 6-4 overall to win the conference champi- onship and secure a spot in the play- offs for the 21st consecutive season, which ties them with 6A school Jesuit for the state record. East Oregonian Page 3B BASEBALL: Hermiston hangs on to beat La Grande Continued from 1B offense is coming along but my defense I need to get back into more and get my double play stuff. And a little pitch- ing, too.” The tournament, now in its third year, serves as a fund- raiser for the Ashlee Hodgen Memorial Scholarship, cre- ated in Ashlee’s honor after her sudden passing at the age of 24 in July of 2015. Ash- lee, the daughter of long- time Pendleton assistant base- ball coach Mike Hodgen, was a staple around Bob White Field throughout her lifetime as a fan of Pendleton base- ball and helper to Mike with groundskeeping work. “It’s all for Ashley and it’s the real reason why we’re here,” Hodgen head coach Wes Armstrong said. “Just to support her memory and allow kids to come out and play ball and have a good time.” Hodgen Distributing (1-0) played its best for Ash- lee against Baker on Friday, as the team tallied 16 hits to score the 14 runs to pick up the win. Quinn Doherty and Zander had a team-best three hits each, with Zander scoring twice and driving in two runs and Doherty scoring two runs. Zander had a RBI double that was part of a nine-run fourth inning for Hodgen, where 14 batters recorded an at-bat. Curtis Simons, Ty Beers and Kyle Field each had two hits in the game as well. “Good approaches at the plate,” Armstrong said. “We moved runners and guys were productive.” Chris Large, fresh off of a solid junior campaign with the Buckaroos, pitched three innings of one-hit, one-run baseball and notched four strikeouts to earn the win. Zander pitched two solid innings of relief and struck out three. Both pitchers com- manded the strike zone well with more than 67 percent strikes thrown on their com- bined 90 pitches, a comfort- ing sight to Armstrong and the Hodgen coaching staff. “It’s the first time we’ve had a live game in two weeks and some of the younger play- ers, they haven’t played in like three weeks,” Armstrong said, “so seeing our pitchers being able to come out here and pitch the way they did without facing live batters for a few weeks, it’s promising.” The tournament runs through the weekend, with the championship game at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at Bob White Field. Hodgen returns to the field on Saturday at noon to face Redmond, and then will play Mead (WA) at 5 p.m. ———— R H E BAK 010 01 — 2 4 1 HDG 410 9X — 14 16 4 (B) C. Lay, W. Robertson (4) Hester (4) and M. VanArsdall. (H) C. Large, T. Zander (4) and R. Esparza. W — Large, L — Lay. 2B — C. Large, C. Simons, R. Stahl, T. Zander (HDG). HERMISTON 13, LA GRANDE 12 — At Pend- leton, the Hermiston Legion baseball team started its run at the Ashlee Hodgen Memo- rial Tournament with a thrill- ing 13-12 win over La Grande at the BMCC baseball field on Friday. Landon Jones led Herm- iston’s offense, going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored. His two-run double in the fifth inning tied the game at 7-7 and he then had a RBI single in the sixth to boost Hermiston to a 11-7 lead. Jordan Ramirez, Wyatt Noland and Sergio Rosales each had two hits for Hermis- ton (1-6). Hermiston has two tour- nament games on Saturday now, first against The Dalles at 9 a.m. at the BMCC field and then against Pasco at 2:30 p.m. at Pendleton’s Bob White Field. ———— R H E LAG 302 020 5 — 12 8 6 HRM 202 054 X — 13 12 0 (L) B. Kincade, No. 17 (5). (H) R. Edmiston, E. Randolph (3) and W. Noland; W. Noland (5), J. Ramirez (7) and T. Wagner. 2B — L. Jones, G. Hunter (HRM); 3B — P. Cooper (LAG). CONGRATULATIONS Pendleton High School Girls Softball State 5A Champions!!
