E AST O REGONIAN
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2019
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A LOOK BACK
B1
Hodgen
Distributing
drops season
opener to
La Grande
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Pendleton’s 17U
legion season opener Friday was a battle
that ended in narrow defeat.
Hodgen Distributing kicked off their
summer ball program with a heartbreak-
ing 6-5 loss to the visiting La Grande
Legacy Legends. Pendleton got big hits
from Curtis Simons and Pilot Rock’s
Logan Weinke, but the effort fell short.
“That’s baseball,” Hodgen Distrib-
uting head coach Wes Armstrong said.
“The ball falls a couple of different ways,
and it’s a different game. La Grande has
a great program.”
The game was part of a weekend-long
Ashlee Hodgen Memorial Tournament,
which also welcomes teams from Herm-
iston, Meridian, Pasco, Clark County,
Baker City, and Vancouver. The tourna-
ment, now in its fourth year, was named
after Ashlee Hodgen, daughter of assis-
tant coach Mike Hodgen, who died in
2015.
Pendleton will play two more games
today to close out the tournament — one
against Hammertime from Hockinson,
Wash., at 12:30 p.m., and another against
Hermiston at 8 p.m. Both will be at Bob
White Field.
“So far, so good,” tournament director
See Hodgen, Page B4
Staff photo by E.J. Harris, File
Pendleton catcher Justin Duso and pitcher Chris Large confer at the mound in during a game against Roseburg on March 25,
2019, in Pendleton.
Bucks coaches and players
refl ect on their historic season
By JANIE MCCAULEY
Associated Press
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — What started in uncertainty
ended in history.
Pendleton’s varsity baseball team recently
closed the best season it has had in 27 years. In
their debut year with the Intermountain Conference, the
Bucks were named the league champions before battling
their way through the 5A playoffs, which came to an end
in Keizer in a state title game against the top-ranked Cen-
tral Panthers.
Although the Bucks fell 11-4, it marked Pendleton’s
fi rst championship showing since 1992, when they lost to
See Bucks, Page B4
Leonard,
Raptors
move within
victory of fi rst
championship
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Pendleton’s Quinn Doherty (7) fi elds a throw from pitcher
Cooper Roberts (15) to put out a Southridge runner during a
game on April 11, 2019, at Bob White Field.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kawhi Leon-
ard’s hot hand is sending the Raptors
home to Toronto on the cusp of a star-
tling upset for Canada.
Leonard outdueled the Splash Broth-
ers for 36 points and 12 rebounds, and
the Raptors moved within a victory of the
franchise’s fi rst championship by win-
ning a second straight game on Golden
State’s home fl oor, beating the Warriors
105-92 on Friday night for a 3-1 lead in
the NBA Finals.
Klay Thompson made a strong return
after missing Game 3 with a strained left
hamstring and scored 28 points with six
3-pointers in what might have been the
fi nal game after 47 seasons at Oracle
See NBA, Page B4
SPORTS SHORTS
Patriots unveil Super Bowl LIII ring, largest in history
FanDuel will donate every
goal scored by team USA
New England Patriots players,
coaches, team executives and foot-
ball staff received their Super Bowl
LIII championship rings on Thurs-
day at a private party at owner Robert
Kraft’s home. It is the largest Super
Bowl ring in history, according to
Jostens, which crafted the 10-carat
gold piece for the team’s sixth cham-
pionship. It features on average 422
diamonds and 20 blue sapphires for a
total 9.85-carat hunk of jewelry.
— Wire services
NEW YORK (AP) — The Wom-
en’s World Cup kicks off Friday, and
FanDuel is going all in to celebrate
this year’s tournament and the big-
gest international sporting event of the
summer. The company announced Fri-
day that for the fi rst time it is offering a
range of fantasy contests for the Wom-
en’s World Cup. FanDuel will also con-
tribute $1,000 to the Women’s Sports
Foundation (WSF) for every goal Team
USA scores during the tournament, in
addition to a $10,000 initial donation.