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SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2018
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2B
1B
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ALL-EO SOFTBALL TEAM
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
RICHARDS
By The Numbers
232
Strikeouts
(school record)
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton senior pitcher Lauren Richards has been named as the All-EO softball player of the year.
171 1/3
‘She refuses to lose’
Innings
pitched
26
Pendleton’s Lauren Richards is the 2018 All-EO Player of the Year
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
B
efore Lauren Richards’ senior sea-
son even started, the talented Pendle-
ton pitcher had already accomplished
quite a bit on the softball diamond.
The Buckaroo had all-conference
awards, all-state selections, school records
and conference championships in her back
pocket, and was on the radar of college
coaches from across the country. The only
thing missing from Richards’ trophy case
was the ultimate accomplishment in high
school sports — a state championship.
She and the Buckaroos had come very
close three times previous in her career, but
missed out each time.
For the intense competitor in Richards,
being championship-less was frustrating.
The thought fueled her late-night sessions
in the hitting cages with her father, Steve,
and it stayed with her during games and
workouts for summer travel ball. So much
so that Richards made a change to her rou-
tine over the winter. She decided to give up
playing basketball during the winter season
and instead joined Pendleton’s swim team
along with junior second baseman Aspen
Garton with the goal of being better pre-
pared for softball season.
“I heard how good of a workout it
(swimming) is, so I tried to talk Aspen into
it,” Richards said. “We about died at a cou-
See ALL-EO/3B
Pitching wins
(school record)
.461
Batting average
(third on team)
37
RBI
(second on team)
2018 ALL-EO SOFTBALL FIRST TEAM
P
P
Lauren Richards
Pendleton, sr.
Stats: 26-2 record
1.42 ERA, 232 K;
.461 avg., 37 RBI
IF
Aspen Garton
Pendleton, jr.
Stats: .438 avg.,
6 HR, 39 RBI, 29
runs scored
P
Alyssa Ray
Echo, sr.
Stats: 11-5 record
2.41 ERA, 138 K,
95 2/3 innings.
IF
C
Ayana Aguilar
Pilot Rock, soph.
Stats: 14-3 re-
cord, 2.90 ERA,
86 2/3 IP, 108 K
IF
Sydney Stefani
Hermiston, jr.
Stats: .571 avg.,
6 HR, 23 RBI, 39
runs, 12 2B
C
Bailee Noland
Hermiston, soph.
Stats: .430 avg., 8
HR, 39 RBI, 7 2B,
24 runs, 1.275 OPS
Kila Solomon
Pendleton, jr.
Stats: .408 avg.,
7 HR, 33 RBI,
1.166 OPS
OF
Sara Weinke
Pilot Rock, sr.
Stats: .662 avg.,
6 HR, 56 RBI, 14
2B, 9 3B, 41 runs
Kayla Deist
Pilot Rock, sr.
Stats: .492 avg.,
3 HR, 30 RBI, 37
runs, 5 2B
IF
OF
Kirah McGlothan
Pendleton, jr.
Stats: .341 avg.,
.521 OBP, 10 2B,
45 runs, 17 HBP
Alexi Brehaut
Pendleton, sr.
Stats: .531 avg.,
7 HR, 35 RBI, 9
2B, 31 runs
OF
Daisy Maddox
Hermiston, soph.
Stats: .360 avg.,
3 HR, 11 RBI, 18
runs, 1.002 OPS
IF
Kalan McGlothan
Pendleton, sr.
Stats: .464 avg.,
10 HR, 36 RBI, 35
runs scored
UT
Kendra Hart
Echo/Stanfield, so.
Stats: .500 avg.,
20 XBH, 29 RBI,
51 runs
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
OSU offense keeps humming
Beavers one win away
from CWS Final after a
12-2 win over Miss. St.
By ERIC OLSON
Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — It has been
decades since an offense at the
College World Series has been as
prolific as Oregon State’s.
The good times — and the runs
— kept rolling for the Beavers in
a 12-2 win over Mississippi State
on Friday. Oregon State used a
five-run second inning to build a
big lead, batted around twice and
never were threatened thanks to
Brandon Eisert’s season-long 5 1/3
innings of one-hit shutout relief.
Oregon State joined 1995 Cal
State Fullerton as the only teams in
CWS history to score 11 or more
runs in three consecutive games.
The Beavers’ 43 runs is the highest
total by a team through four games
since 2001.
“When you’re swinging the bat
well, you have a lot of confidence
going up and down the lineup,”
coach Pat Casey said. “We’ve got
a team approach to swinging. I
think they have a lot of trust in one
another. I’ve been through spells
during the year when we haven’t
swung the bat well. They’re swing-
ing it well at the right time. Cer-
tainly it’s something I’m excited
about.”
The Beavers (51-11-1) have
staved off elimination three times
since losing their CWS opener to
North Carolina last Saturday. They
beat Washington, North Carolina
and now Mississippi State. Another
win over the Bulldogs (39-18) on
Saturday would send Oregon State
to the best-of-three CWS finals for
the first time since 2007.
The Bulldogs, trying to return
to the CWS finals for the first time
since 2013, are not in unfamiliar
territory. They were down to their
last strike in regionals before beat-
See OSU/3B
AP Photo/Nati Harnik
Oregon State’s Kyle Nobach (28) is greeted at the dugout after he
scored against Mississippi State on a one-run single by Michael
Gretler in the second inning of an NCAA College World Series
baseball game in Omaha, Neb., Friday.