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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2018)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Staff photo by E.J. Harris Hermiston’s Dayshawn Neal charges onto the field carrying a Hermiston flag followed by his teammates before the start of the Bulldogs’38-35 win against Churchill in the 5A state championship in Hillsboro on November 25, 2017. New league, new rivals Hermiston looking ahead to new rivals in the Mid-Columbia Conference By BRETT KANE East Oregonian H ermiston High School will be seen as the rookies this upcoming athletic year. This year is their first as a member of the Wash- ington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) after leaving the OSAA earlier this summer. With that comes a major cultural overhaul within the local athlet- ics community. Their longstanding rivalry with Pend- leton High School will be no more. In fact, Hermiston isn’t set to face any Oregon schools at all during their upcoming season. The Bulldogs will open their football season on Fri- day, August 31, against Pasco, which shares the same mascot, marking their first-ever WIAA event. Still, potential new rivals are under consideration. “Rivalries are born from competition,” said Herm- iston athletics director Larry Usher. “It’ll take a few years to decide. We’re now in the Mid-Columbia Con- ference — the most competitive conference in the state of Washington. The coaches and kids are well aware that things just got real tough.” Usher says that Richland and Chiawana are shaping up to be their fiercest competitors. Last year alone, the Photo by Patrick Hagerty, courtesy the Tri-City Herald Photo courtesy the Tri-City Herald Pisco’s Isaiah Gonzalez points to his fans after de- feating Tahoma’s Austin Michalski in their 4A 113 lb. State Wrestling championship match Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Tacoma, Wash. Chiawana’s Summer Yates (10) heads the ball during a Mid-Columbia Conference high school girls soccer game against Richland last season. Yates scored 3 goals before the half. Richland Bombers took home the state championship in football and baseball, and the Pasco Bulldogs took home the title in boys’ soccer. Chiawana is the newest high school in the Tri-Cities, opening its doors in Ken- newick in 2009, but they’ve already claimed state titles in football in 2014 and girls’ bowling in 2016. The schools that populate the Mid-Columbia Con- ference also dwarf the schools that Hermiston used to face in population. While Pendleton has a student body of 805, Kennewick, the smallest in the conference, practically doubles that with 1702. Hermiston comes in with an enrollment of 1,607, while Chiawana is the See RIVALS/3B Reddick’s homer helps Astros hold off M’s By TODD MILLES Associated Press SEATTLE — Josh Reddick homered to give Houston the lead and the Astros held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 Tuesday night. Reddick’s tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning put the Astros ahead 2-1, and Yuli Gurriel added an RBI single in the sixth for a two-run lead. Seattle pulled to 3-2 in the eighth inning on Ben Gamel’s RBI single to right field, but stranded the tying run at third base after pinch hitter Nelson Cruz and Dee Gordon struck out against Roberto Osuna to end the inning. Hector Rondon earned his 14th save with a spotless ninth inning as Houston snapped a five-game skid against Seattle and remained tied with Oakland atop the AL West standings. MLB Astros Mariners 3 2 Rookie left-hander Framber Valdez (1-0), who came up from Triple-A Fresno earlier in the day, won in his big-league debut, toss- ing four-plus innings of one-run ball in relief of Brad Peacock. Both teams used Tuesday as a “bullpen” day, although the Mar- iners were originally scheduled to start Mike Leake, who was scratched two hours before the game with an illness. Reliever Nick Vincent made his first career start, tossing two scoreless innings. Houston took a 1-0 lead on Car- los Correa’s sacrifice fly off Ross Detwiler (0-1) in the third inning. The Mariners tied it when Mitch Haniger scored on Mat Stas- si’s passed ball after Kyle Seager struck out in the third. Reddick lifted Detwiler’s 86 mph changeup deep into the right- field bleachers in the fouth to put the Astros ahead. Seattle turned a franchise-re- cord six double plays in the game. ROSTER RESHUFFLING Astros: To make room for Val- dez, LHP Cionel Perez was sent to See MARINERS/3B Sports shorts Oregon to open 2022 season with Georgia ATLANTA (AP) — Oregon and Georgia will meet for only the sec- ond time when the schools play in the 2022 season opener at Mer- cedes-Benz Stadium. The teams will play in the annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff game on Sept. 3, 2022. Oregon will become the second Pac-12 team to play in the game. Washington will play Auburn on Sept. 1 in this year’s opener. Georgia beat Oregon 27-16 in Athens in 1977. THIS DATE IN SPORTS Storm’s Stewart AP Player of the Year NEW YORK (AP) — Bre- anna Stewart has taken her game to a new level this year to lead Seattle to the top spot in the league. Her efforts earned her Asso- ciated Press WNBA Player of the Year honors on Tuesday. Stewart averaged 21.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and shot 52.9 per- cent from the field this season to help the Storm earn a bye until the semifinals of the playoffs. She received 12 of the 14 votes with Liz Cambage earning the other two. “To be recognized as the best player is where I want to be and I want to continue to get bet- ter,” Stewart said in a phone interview. “The biggest change I made besides improving on the court was preparing myself off the court. Make myself strong and take care of my body nutritionally.” 1950 — Althea Gibson becomes the first black tennis player to be accepted in competition for the national championship. 1961 — Roger Maris becomes the first player to hit his 50th homer in August. 1965 — In the third inning of a game against Los Angeles, pitcher Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants hits catcher John Roseboro of the Dodgers in the head with his bat. A 14-minute brawl ensues and Roseboro suffers cuts on the head. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
