SPORTS
THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2018
SWEDEN AND
ENGLAND ADVANCE
TO QUARTERFINALS
2B
1B
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HERMISTON
Legion baseball
Hodgen
wins two
in Boise
Hermiston Legion
made its way to Tri
Cities on Fourth of July
East Oregonian
he wasn’t good.
“I used to be terrible at it, and I guess
this year I got good,” he said. “I used to
think it was all about shooting, but it’s all
mental. That’s the hardest part, you just
have to get your brain right.”
This season, Mabbot’s brain and shot
are right on target as he had the best finish
in the state tournament this past weekend.
Mabbot led Hermiston to its third consec-
utive state title with a second-place fin-
ish (99 points). He claimed the No. 2 spot
after a tie-breaking reverse run with New-
berg’s Ryan Kramer.
“It was some of the best I ever shot,”
Mabbot said. “I was really happy with it.
I don’t even know what else to say, it was
really fun.”
Also pitching into the three-peat was
Mitchell Pimentel, who placed third (98);
Tyler Pearson, who finished tied for sev-
enth place (97); and Kaden Smith, who
also finished in a three-way tie for 10th
place (96). Cole Smith, Tyson Stocker
Hodgen Distributing recorded a
pair of seventh inning rallies as it
won both games of a doubleheader
against the Idaho Cubs in Boise on
Tuesday, winning 10-9 and 6-4.
In the opener, Hodgen Distrib-
uting (18-8) trailed the Cubs 8-7 as
the visitors came to bat in the top
of the seventh inning. Chris Large
and Logan Weinke both reached
on consecutive Idaho errors and
Kyle Field drove them both in with
a double to center field to put Hod-
gen in front 9-8. Two batters later,
Cooper Roberts drove in an insur-
ance run with a sacrifice fly RBI to
right field that scored Field for a
10-8 lead.
Roberts’ RBI proved to be cru-
cial for Hodgen as the Cubs got
one run back in the bottom half of
the seventh before Field closed the
door for the final out.
In the second game, Hodgen
again trailed late in the game,
this time by a 4-3 deficit after five
innings. The rally got started in
the sixth inning with a RBI single
from Rudy Esparza to tie the game
at 4-4.
Then in the seventh, Ty Beers
and Large each reached base on
fielding errors and Weinke fol-
lowed with a sacrifice fly RBI to
left that scored Beers to put Hod-
gen in front 5-4. Three batters later,
Roberts hit a grounder to third but
the Cubs misplayed it for another
error that scored Large for a 6-4
Hodgen lead.
Large finished off the game
on the mound in the seventh with
two strikeouts to seal the win. He
allowed only two hits and one
unearned run over four innings
with six strikeouts to earn the win.
Ryan Stahl, Beers, Esparza and
Zander all tallied two hits apiece
on the day. Beers picked up a dou-
ble and a triple with three runs and
two RBI, Zander scored four runs,
walked twice and drove in one run,
Esparza drove in three runs and
Stahl doubled and scored a run.
Hodgen Distributing will start
play in the Spokane Tournament
on Thursday.
See HERMISTON/3B
See LEGION/3B
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The six members of the Hermiston trap shooting team that are going to the national championships pose in front of the Hermiston
Gun Club. Left to right: Tyson Stocker, Case Hiatt, Thomas Mabbott, Kaden Smith, Trevor Wilson and Blake Betz.
Gearing up for
the nationals
Three-time trap shooting
state champions now set
sights on national title
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
Staff Writer
ERMISTON — There’s a lot that
stands out when it comes to Herm-
iston’s Thomas Mabbot. He stands
a few inches taller than his trap shooting
teammates, his curly red hair can barely
be contained under a hat with the well-
known ‘H’ on the front and according
to him, he competes in one of the most
unique sports open to high schoolers.
“It’s truly unique,” Mabbot said when
asked to try and explain it to those who
aren’t familiar.
Soon at the Hermiston Gun Club, Mab-
bot was joined by five other teammates,
all of whom will be making this trip to the
first-ever trap shooting national champi-
onships. The USA High School Clay Tar-
get League will bring together over 2,000
H
student athletes to compete for the sport’s
highest honor. It’s been four years in the
making, but the growth of the trapshoot-
ing isn’t a surprise to Hermiston’s shoot-
ers, who have seen their league grow
since its start three years ago.
One of the biggest reasons for trap
shooting’s growth is its accessibility
to both boys and girls as well as young
adults with disabilities.
As the six teenagers are sprawled
across a bench with trap houses evenly
tucked away in the gravel behind them,
they echo that very message.
“Its not hard to get into and there’s lots
of people to help you,” one said across the
table.
“Anyone can do it,” another added.
“Even if you’ve never shot a gun
before,” Mabbot said, “you can come
out and start trap shooting. It’s not a hard
sport to get into.”
While some on Hermiston’s team have
been shooting longer than others, Mabbot
picked up the sport in seventh grade and
willfully admitted that up until this year,
OREGON STATE BASEBALL
Beavers’ trio take next step, ink professional deals
By BOB LUNDEBERG
Albany Democrat-Herald
Two of the greatest mid-
dle infielders in Oregon
State history reportedly
signed professional con-
tracts on Sunday.
Nick Madrigal, the 2017
Pac-12 player and defensive
player of the year, agreed
to a deal with the Chi-
cago White Sox. 2018 Pac-
12 defensive player of the
year Cadyn Grenier is now
a member of the Baltimore
Orioles organization.
The juniors helped lead
OSU to its third College
World Series title last week.
The Beavers finished the
season 55-12-1 overall after
taking two of three from
Arkansas in the CWS finals.
Monday afternoon, OSU Madrigal
Rasmussen
Gretler
announced that senior third
baseman Michael Gret- agreed to terms with the Mil- all in June’s Major League
ler signed with the Pitts- waukee Brewers last month. Baseball draft. He hit .367
burgh Pirates. Right-handed
Madrigal, a second base- this season with three home
pitcher Drew Rasmussen man, was taken fourth over- runs, 34 RBIs, 15 stolen
bases and 41 runs scored
despite missing 26 games
with a broken left wrist.
The 5-foot-8, 165-pound
Madrigal was also drafted
out of Elk Grove High (Cal-
ifornia) by the Cleveland
Indians in the 17th round but
turned down professional
baseball. Madrigal, a three-
year starter and career .361
hitter, reportedly agreed to a
full slot value signing bonus
of $6.4 million.
Prior to the Corvallis
Super Regional, Madrigal
said coming to OSU was
“the best decision of my
life.”
“Not only because of
baseball, but all the life les-
sons I’ve learned along the
way and the friendships I’ve
made,” he added. “I am very
thankful to be able to say I
came here and played for
this program. Looking back
on it now, I definitely think I
See OSU/3B
Sports shorts
European, South
American referees
picked for QFs
MOSCOW (AP) — FIFA has
picked European and South Amer-
ican referees to handle the World
Cup quarterfinals that feature only
teams from their regions.
The Uruguay vs. France game
will be refereed by Nestor Pitana
of Argentina on Friday in Nizhny
Novgorod. It will be his fourth
assignment, including the opening
game.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
Defending Champ sets
record with 74 hot dogs
NEW YORK (AP) — Joey “Jaws” Chest-
nut extended his reign as champion eater at the
Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating con-
test Wednesday, downing a record 74 wieners and
buns in 10 minutes to take home the coveted Mus-
tard Belt for the 11th time.
Miki Sudo held on to her title as the top wom-
en’s competitor at the annual Brooklyn eat-off,
chomping 37 franks and buns to take home the top
prize for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year.
Chestnut said he was “feeling good.”
1947 — Larry Doby becomes
the first black to play in the Amer-
ican League. He strikes out as a
pinch-hitter for the Cleveland Indi-
ans in a 6-5 loss to the Chicago
White Sox.
1968 — The Philadelphia 76ers
trade Wilt Chamberlain, basket-
ball’s greatest offensive player, to
the Los Angeles Lakers after they
are unable to sign him to a contract.
2003 — Serena Williams beats
sister Venus 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 for her
second straight Wimbledon title.
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