B2
East Oregonian
Thursday, January 24, 2019
SPORTS
Staff photo by Annie Fowler/
Hermiston’s Sydney Stefani signed a letter of intent
Wednesday to play softball at Idaho State University.
Hermiston’s Stefani
headed to Idaho
State for softball
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
Sydney Stefani began
her career on the diamond
with the boys, playing Lit-
tle League baseball in
Ione.
She started playing
softball in the sixth grade,
and her game has blos-
somed from there.
The Hermiston senior
shortstop signed a letter
of intent Wednesday to
play Div. I softball at Idaho
State University.
“College softball is
something I have wanted to
do,” Stefani said. “Where I
was originally going to go
(Montana) didn’t work out,
but coach (Kate) Gree-
nough has a lot of connec-
tions and got me in with
Idaho State.”
Greenough played at
Utah State for Cindi Letts,
who now is the coach at
ISU.
“Sydney is a stud,”
Greenough said. “She
works so hard, and it’s nice
to see that hard work pay
off.”
Stefani, who moved to
Hermiston in the eighth
grade, is coming off a
spectacular junior year,
where she was named
co-MVP of the Colum-
bia River Conference with
Hood River Valley junior
outfielder Haylee Baker.
The Bulldogs finished
17-10 and reached the 5A
state quarterfinals, where
they lost 11-8 to Lebanon.
Stefani also was a Class
5A first-team all-state
selection as an infielder.
“As the season pro-
gressed, it was within
my reach,” Stefani said
of the CRC honor. “I was
shocked. They couldn’t
discredit one over the
other.”
Stefani hit .571 last sea-
son as the Bulldogs’ lead-
off hitter. She also had nine
RBIs, 13 runs scored, five
stolen bases, and let’s not
forget the six home runs.
“She’d run through a
wall for you,” Greenough
said. “Not only is she a
good athlete, but she’s a
team leader. She is a shin-
ing light, always ready to
do anything for her team-
mates. She is always up for
a challenge.”
That will come this
spring when the Bull-
dogs enter the Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference, where
the likes of Kamiakin
and Richland have domi-
nated the softball scene for
years.
“It will be great,” Gree-
nough said. “She will walk
into this conference and
be one of the best. But that
would be the same for any
conference.”
Stefani said she will
miss the CRC.
“The programs are so
tough,” she said. “Each
game we had to show up
and play our best game.
The bus rides were so
much fun. I’m going to
miss going to the The
Dalles and Hood River.
This could have been our
year.”
Stefani will be famil-
iar with some of the play-
ers in the MCC after play-
ing with the Washington
Angels club team the past
eight years. She will fin-
ish her last season with the
team this summer.
“I’m really privileged
to have awesome parents
(Dennis and Misti) who
made sure I had what I
needed for club, and they
got me to where I needed
to go,” she said.
Stefani didn’t start
playing softball until the
sixth grade, and still has
fond memories of playing
baseball.
“My last year, I played
on the John Day All-
Stars,” Stefani said. “My
team played Hermiston,
which had Andrew James,
Jordan Ramirez and Wyatt
Noland. I struck out Jor-
dan in that game. He still
denies it.”
Boys: Nixyaawii will have
its hands full with Kittitas
Continued from Page B1
Nixyaawii
(16-1),
ranked fifth in the Oregon
Class 1A coaches poll, is
led by 6-foot junior Mick
Schimmel, who is averag-
ing 19 points per game.
“He averaged more last
year, but we are more well-
rounded this year,” said
Rivera, whose team beat
Elgin 106-34 last Friday.
“Mick usually guards the
other team’s best player,
so I image that will be the
case Friday.”
That matchup would
have Schimmel guarding
6-1 senior Brock Ravet,
who has signed to play at
Gonzaga.
Ravet, who averages
more than 30 points per
game, had 30 points, 13
rebounds and eight assists
in Kittitas’ 77-52 victory
over Class 4A Kentlake
on Monday at the King
Showcase Basketball Invi-
tational at ShoWare Center
in Kent, Washington.
Ravet needs 89 points
to tie and 90 to surpass
the Washington scoring
record of 2,851 points,
held by Lance Den Boer.
“He is good, but they
are not a one-man show,”
Rivera said. “They are a
well-rounded team. We
are a good team. I’m hop-
ing our reputation is solid
enough for them.”
Coach Ravet said he
watched film of Nixy-
aawii, and that they will
have their hands full.
“The Schimmel kid
looks solid,” Ravet said.
“They look good. It will be
fun to see different faces
and a different style of
game. You have to adjust
to the speed of their game,
their kids and the offici-
ating. It’s a late start, but
it’s like a district or state
game. I hope I feel the
same way after the game.”
The game will have a
shot clock, which Nixy-
aawii is not used to play-
ing with, but Rivera
welcomes.
“There is entertain-
ment value to be had,”
Rivera said. “It will be a
good small-school basket-
ball game.”
Pendleton’s Blake Davis drives Hood River Valley’s Preston Armstrong into the mat during their 145-pound match of the
Bucks’ 72-6 win over the Eagles on Wednesday in Pendleton.
Bucks: Make quick work of HRV in IMC match
Continued from Page B1
Senior Alex Rendon
made quick work of Jayton
Munzer at 126, registering a
pin in 1:06.
Chris Chambers needed
just 46 seconds to pin Skyler
Munce at 132, and after Dan-
ner Hamilton picked up a
forfeit at 138, the Bucks had
a commanding 36-0 lead.
HRV’s Preston Arm-
strong made Blake Davis put
in a full 6 minutes in their
145-pound match.
Davis led 5-3 after the
first period, then gave up
a point on an illegal hold
to make it 5-4. He quickly
got his points back with a
2-point near fall, and another
takedown with 17 seconds
left for a 9-5 lead.
Davis led 13-6 late in
the match, but an escape by
Armstrong with 7 seconds
remaining left Davis with a
13-7 victory.
Shawn Yeager (152),
Aiden Patterson (160), and
Isaac Urbina (170) all fol-
lowed with pins for a 57-0
lead with four matches
remaining.
At 182, HRV’s Beto Rojas
had a 4-2 lead over Ian Ban-
nister midway through the
second round, but an escape
and a takedown by Bannis-
ter in the final 54 seconds
of the round gave him a 5-4
lead.
Bannister
recorded
another takedown, and Rojas
an escape for a 7-5 victory
for Bannister.
A HRV forfeit at 195, and
Henderson’s victory at 220,
put the Bucks out front 72-0.
The Eagles got their only
win of the night at 285, as
Cody Durham pinned Tra-
vis McGee in 1:48 of the first
round.
“We are excited to have
that happen,” Phillips said
of his team’s convincing vic-
tory. “We got some quick
pins from our kids. We
didn’t let them hang around.
We took the doubt out.”
The Bucks will wrestle at
the Rex Putnam Tournament
on Saturday.
Match Scores
Team scores — Pendleton 72, Hood
River Valley 6. 106 — Collin Primus (P)
won by forfeit. 113 — Kellen Hanson (P)
p. Miles Lee, 1:27. 120 — Caleb Temper
(P) won by forfeit. 126 — Alex Rendon
(P) p. Jayton Munzer, 1:06. 132 — Chris
Chambers (P) p. Skyler Munce, :46. 138
— Danner Hamilton (P) won by forfeit.
145 — Blake Davis (P) d. Preston Arm-
strong, 13-7. 152 — Shawn Yeager (P)
p. Tristan Keely, 5:15. 160 — Aiden Pat-
terson (P) p. Javier Galvez, 1:00. 170 —
Isaac Urbina (P) p. Tim Fletcher, :53. 182
— Ian Bannister (P) de. Beto Rojas, 7-5.
195 — Kirk Liscom (P) won by forfeit. 220
— Aiden Henderson (P) p. Joe Kahler,
:40. 285 — Cody Durham (HRV) p. Travis
McGee, 1:48.
BMCC: Women take home first conference win
Continued from Page B1
game right out the gate.
Walla Walla put the first half
away at 65-25.
And Blue Mountain’s
deficit only increased from
that point.
The Timberwolves were
held scoreless for the first
four minutes of the sec-
ond half, while Walla Walla
took a 13-point run. The
Warriors led by 61 points
with 9:41 left to play.
A 3-pointer from Bryson
Wolters at 1:25 narrowed
the gap to 58 points to finish
the scoring.
Mehki Foreman sunk a
game-high 25 points and
shot 8 of 9 from the field to
lead Blue Mountain. Dante
Clayton and Hayden Hib-
bard-Brooks each added
11. Damen Thacker had
23 points, including four
3-pointers for the Warriors.
The Timberwolves (2-8,
2-4 NWAC) travel to Big
Bend on Saturday.
Womens’ Box Score
Blue Mountain 25 18 13 15 — 71
Walla Walla 18 19 13 8 — 58
BLUE MOUNTAIN — Broncheau 17, Ger-
linger 15, Wheeler 14, Morrison 13,
Munoz 5, Lee 5, Hill 2
WALLA WALLA — Cheney 15, Gunter
13, Liefke 10, Golenor 7, Genzer 5, Die-
tritch-Denton 4, Stoddard 2, Wilwand 2
Mens’ Box Score
Walla Walla 65 59 — 124
Blue Mountain 25 41 — 66
WALLA WALLA — Thacker 23, How-
ard 20, Hardin 19, Villarreal 16, Smith 14,
Albright 8, Young 7, Clarke 5, Anderson
4, Gallegos 3, Costello 3, Clark 2
BLUE MOUNTAIN — Foreman 25, Clay-
ton 11, Hibbard-Brooks 11, Hillard 8,
Hardman 6, Wolters 3, Garza 2
SCOREBOARD
Portland at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Washington at Orlando, 4 p.m.
Miami at Cleveland, 4:30 p.m.
New York at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Chicago, 5 p.m.
Sacramento at Memphis, 5 p.m.
Toronto at Houston, 5 p.m.
Charlotte at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m.
Detroit at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Utah, 6 p.m.
Phoenix at Denver, 6 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
San Antonio at New Orleans, 3 p.m.
Indiana at Memphis, 5 p.m.
Golden State at Boston, 5:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Denver, 6 p.m.
Atlanta at Portland, 7 p.m.
LOCAL SLATE
THURSDAY, JAN. 24
Boys Basketball
Umatilla at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Umatilla at Irrigon, 6 p.m.
Boys Wrestling
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Girls Wrestling
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 25
Stanfield at Heppner, 6 p.m.
Enterprise at Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m.
Echo at Horizon Christian, 6:30 p.m.
Pendleton at The Dalles, 6:30 p.m.
Hanford at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Ione at Dufur, 7:30 p.m.
Helix at Joseph, 7:30 p.m.
Grant Union at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m.
Riverside at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii vs. Kittitas (at Hermiston),
8:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Hanford at Hermiston, 5:30 p.m.
Dufur at Ione, 6 p.m.
Helix at Joseph, 6 p.m.
Grant Union at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m.
Riverside at Umatilla, 6 p.m.
The Dalles at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
Stanfield at Heppner, 7:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m.
Boys Wrestling
Mac-Hi/Weston-McEwen at Ontario,
1 p.m.
Girls Wrestling
Riverside at Hood River Valley, 12 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 26
Boys Basketball
Baker at Mac-Hi, 3 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Stanfield, 4 p.m.
Heppner at Grant Union, 4 p.m.
Echo at Sherman, 5:30 p.m.
Elgin at Helix, 5:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Wallowa, 5:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Richland, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Echo at Sherman, 4 p.m.
Elgin at Helix, 4 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Wallowa, 4 p.m.
Baker at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Stanfield, 5:30 p.m.
Heppner at Grant Union, 5:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Richland, 5:45 p.m.
Men’s Basketball
Blue Mountain at Big Bend, 4 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Blue Mountain at Big Bend, 2 p.m.
Girls Wrestling
Riverside at Hood River Valley, 12 p.m.
NFL
CONFERENCE
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday, Jan. 20
NFC
L.A. Rams 26, New Orleans 23, (OT)
AFC
New England 37, Kansas City 31, (OT)
PRO BOWL
Sunday, Jan. 27, at Orlando, Fla.
AFC vs. NFC, noon (ABC/ESPN)
SUPER BOWL
Sunday, Feb. 3, at Atlanta
New England vs. L.A. Rams,
3:30 p.m. (CBS)
NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE
AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File
In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018, file photo, Seattle Mariners’
Ichiro Suzuki, of Japan, smiles during warm ups before a
baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim,
Calif. Suzuki agreed to a minor-league deal with the Mari-
ners paving the way for the 45-year-old to play in Seattle’s
season-opening series in Japan. Suzuki’s agent, John Boggs,
confirmed the agreement on Wednesday.
NBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
Toronto
Philadelphia
Boston
Brooklyn
New York
Southeast
Charlotte
Miami
Washington
Orlando
Atlanta
Central
Milwaukee
Indiana
Detroit
Chicago
Cleveland
W
36
32
30
26
10
W
23
22
20
20
15
W
34
32
21
11
9
L
14
17
18
23
36
L
24
24
26
28
32
L
12
15
26
37
40
Pct
.720
.653
.625
.531
.217
Pct
.489
.478
.435
.417
.319
Pct
.739
.681
.447
.229
.184
GB
—
3½
5
9½
24
GB
—
½
2½
3½
8
GB
—
2½
13½
24
26½
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest
Houston
San Antonio
New Orleans
Dallas
W
27
27
22
21
L
20
22
26
26
Pct
.574
.551
.458
.447
GB
—
1
5½
6
Memphis
19 29 .396 8½
Northwest
W
L
Pct GB
Denver
31 14 .689
—
Oklahoma City 29 18
.617
3
Portland
29 20 .592
4
Utah
26 22 .542 6½
Minnesota
23 24 .489
9
Pacific
W
L
Pct GB
Golden State
33 14 .702
—
L.A. Clippers
26 22 .542 7½
L.A. Lakers
25 23 .521 8½
Sacramento
24 24 .500 9½
Phoenix
11 38 .224
23
———
Wednesday’s Games
Indiana 110, Toronto 106
Boston 123, Cleveland 103
Brooklyn 114, Orlando 110
Houston 114, New York 110
L.A. Clippers 111, Miami 99
Atlanta 121, Chicago 101
Charlotte 118, Memphis 107
Detroit 98, New Orleans 94
Philadelphia 122, San Antonio 120
Thursday’s Games
Golden State at Washington, 5 p.m.
New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m.
Atlantic
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Tampa Bay
49 37 10 2 76 199 140
Toronto
49 30 17 2 62 174 140
Montreal
51 28 18 5 61 154 149
Boston
49 27 17 5 59 143 128
Buffalo
48 24 18 6 54 140 144
Florida
48 20 20 8 48 152 170
Detroit
51 19 25 7 45 145 172
Ottawa
50 19 26 5 43 156 187
Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA
N.Y. Islanders 49 29 15 5 63 147 122
Washington 50 27 17 6 60 171 162
Columbus
48 28 17 3 59 154 146
Pittsburgh
48 26 16 6 58 169 146
Carolina
49 23 20 6 52 135 147
N.Y. Rangers 48 21 20 7 49 139 164
Philadelphia 48 19 23 6 44 139 169
New Jersey
48 18 23 7 43 140 164
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Winnipeg
48 31 15 2 64 167 134
Nashville
52 30 18 4 64 161 135
Minnesota 50 26 21 3 55 142 142
Dallas
49 24 21 4 52 126 128
Colorado
50 22 20 8 52 169 162
St. Louis
49 22 22 5 49 139 149
Chicago
51 18 24 9 45 156 190
Pacific
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Calgary
51 33 13 5 71 190 145
San Jose
52 29 16 7 65 187 167
Vegas
52 29 19 4 62 157 140
Vancouver 50 23 21 6 52 145 156
Anaheim
51 21 21 9 51 120 153
Arizona
50 23 23 4 50 132 142
Edmonton 50 23 24 3 49 144 163
Los Angeles 50 20 26 4 44 114 150
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for
overtime loss. Top three teams in each
division and two wild cards per confer-
ence advance to playoffs.
Wednesday’s Games
Montreal 2, Arizona 1
Toronto 6, Washington 3
Minnesota 5, Colorado 2
Nashville 2, Vegas 1
St. Louis 5, Anaheim 1
Saturday’s Games
Central All-Stars vs Pacific All-Stars:
Central vs. Pacific at San Jose, Calif.,
5:15 p.m.
Metropolitan All-Stars vs Atlantic
All-Stars: Metropolitan vs. Atlantic
at San Jose, Calif., 6:15 p.m.
All-Star Game Final: TBD vs. TBD
at San Jose, Calif., 7:15 p.m.