E AST O REGONIAN
FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2019
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @EOSPORTS |
FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS
A9
Pendleton 10U softball defends state title
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
PORTLAND — Before Pend-
leton’s 10U Little League All-Star
softball team hit the fi eld on Tues-
day to defend its state title, it knew
one player stood in their way.
Hope Ashbrook.
The South Beaverton Fury
pitcher had just taken Pendleton
down earlier in the week, hurling 17
strikeouts for a 10-1 victory in pool
play. But the All-Stars knew what to
expect from them on Tuesday, when
they played the Fury once again in
a championship contest in Portland.
The All-Stars would end up
making a critical fourth-inning rally
to take South Beaverton down 9-7,
successfully defending its 10U state
title on Tuesday.
“She’s probably the fastest
pitcher we’ve faced so far this sea-
son,” Pendleton coach Jason Van-
Nice said of Ashbrook. “She domi-
nated. They were a little intimidated
by (Ashbrook). We knew we’d have
to face her again if we made the
fi nals. We had to come out fi red up.”
And they did just that.
Katelyn Boatman and Kelsi Pri-
mus got Pendleton on the board with
RBI singles in the top of the fi rst.
“Those singles really helped our
dugout realize that we had a shot
against this team if we came out
ready to play,” VanNice said.
South Beaverton returned to
knot the score at 4-4 in the bottom
of the third with a three-RBI single,
but Pendleton wouldn’t stay down
for long.
In the top of the fourth, Bri-
anna Medrano sent a 2-2 pitch
towards second base, driving in a
pair of runs. Primus followed with
her game’s second RBI single, and
scored on a wild pitch two at-bats
later. The comeback put the All-
Stars up 8-4.
“(South Beaverton) played as
expected — we just eliminated our
mistakes,” VanNice said. “They
were ready for us. We came out
a little more aggressive. We were
good at getting runners on base, and
when we do that, we cause problems
See Softball, Page A10
AP Photo/Sean Meagher
Portland Timbers’ Zarek Valentin,
left, and Orlando City’s Robinho
vie for control of the ball during
the fi rst half of Thursday’s MLS soc-
cer game in Portland.
Timbers
tie Orlando
City 1-1
MLS
Portland
Orlando City
1
1
By ANDY BUHLER
Associated Press
Photo courtesy of Hermiston Little League
The Hermiston 9-10-11 Little League team opens state play against Southeast Portland on July 20 in Klamath Falls. The team includes:
front row (from left) Cougar Philippi and Hunter Link. Middle row: Brocc Haagenson, Ruben Mendez, Brody Woodard, Quinn Warner,
Camden Venoy, Lane Simmons, Ryder Wilson, Evan Hays, Carter Waelty, Barrett Stanek and Wyatt Larson. Back row: coaches Blake
Philippi, Justin Simmons and Kirby Warner.
Hermiston Little League
opens state play Saturday
Hermiston will play
Southeast Portland
in its fi rst game
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Hermiston coach
Justin Simmons said it has been dif-
fi cult to keep his Little League team
engaged this past month in waiting for
the 9-10-11-year-old state tournament,
but with its fi rst game approaching Sat-
urday, the team is ready to go.
“It was hard to take that much time
off,” said Simmons, whose team won
the District 3 title June 26 with a 4-1 win
over Pendleton. “We would go hard for
two or three days, then let them have a
four-day weekend to let them be kids in
the summer.”
Hermiston will open play at 9:30 a.m.
Saturday against Southeast Portland in
Klamath Falls.
Other fi rst-round games include Lake
Oswego vs. Hollywood-Rose City, Bend
North vs. Sprague, and host Klamath
Falls vs. Grants Pass National.
The opening ceremonies are at 5 p.m.
today.
The Hermiston team has been
together for two years and Simmons said
team chemistry is one of its strengths.
“They are really tight and they gen-
uinely care about each other,” Simmons
said. “They care about baseball and
doing Hermiston proud.”
There are no super stars on the Herm-
iston team, according to Simmons. In
fact, not one player has a home run to
his credit.
“We have a bunch of utility players,”
Simmons said. “They can play any-
where, and they all are a vital part of our
team.”
Like most baseball coaches, announc-
ing a starter was not something Sim-
mons was ready to do just yet.
“We have four guys, that if they are
on the hill, we have our best games. Our
horse on the mound is Ryder Wilson. In
big games, if Ryder pitches well for us,
we have a bit more of an edge.”
Though the tournament is for 9-11
year olds, the Hermiston team has no
9-year-olds on its roster.
“We rely on our 11-year-olds to set
the pace,” Simmons said. “They take the
lead and the rest of the team follows.”
Simmons, a graduate of Hermiston
High School, shares coaching duties
with Blake Philippi, a graduate of Riv-
erside High School, and Kirby Warner,
who graduated from Crook County.
“They are good friends,” Simmons
said. “Kirby and I played baseball
together at Lane Community College.
It’s awesome to have a group of coaches
who care about the team and the game
as much as I do.”
PORTLAND — Jeremy Ebo-
bisse scored on a header in the
83rd minute soon after subbing in
to give the Portland Timbers a 1-1
tie with Orlando City on Thurs-
day night.
Jorge Moreira crossed from the
right wing to Sebastian Blanco,
who lowered to fl ick a header
behind him to the open Ebobisse.
The Timbers (7-8-5) are
unbeaten in their last four regu-
lar season games. They outshot
Orlando (7-9-6) 26-2.
Santiago Patino scored for
Orlando off of a defl ection in
the box from Moreira in the 44th
minute. Moreira intended to clear
a cross out of the box, but it went
right to Patino’s feet in the middle
of the box.
The Timbers played short-
handed in the back. Marco Farfan
was injured in a 2-2 draw with
Colorado on Saturday, a game in
which center back Julio Cascante
was given a one-game suspension
for a red card. Outside back Jorge
Villafana also is working his way
back from injury.
Orlando City goalkeeper Brian
Rowe fi nished with three saves.
In a crowded box, Blanco got off
a left-footed shot on the ground in
the 17th minute, but missed wide
right. In the 37th minute, Blanco
headed Diego Valeri’s cross from
the left wing, and though it got
past Rowe’s outstretched arms,
it hit the crossbar and bounced
close enough for Rowe to corral.
Rowe blocked another shot on
goal in the 43rd, a near-post low
line drive by Brian Fernandez.
SPORTS SHORTS
FIFA claims progress in letting
women attend games in Iran
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA says Iran’s soc-
cer federation supports letting women attend
2022 World Cup qualifying games of its
men’s national team, though government
approval is still needed.
FIFA is working with Iranian authorities
to overcome a ban on women entering stadi-
ums for men’s games since the 1979 Islamic
revolution.
Some women were allowed to watch the
Asian Champions League fi nal in Tehran
last November when FIFA President Gianni
Infantino also attended.
FIFA wants the issue resolved before Oct.
10 when Iran — the top-ranked team in Asia
— hosts its fi rst home World Cup qualifi er
against Cambodia. The next is March 26
against Hong Kong.
Soccer’s world body says Iran federation
president Mehdi Taj has replied to Infantino
saying “the matter has been taken up directly
with the minister of sports and youth.”
French
President
Emmanuel Macron,
right, and FIFA Pres-
ident Gianni Infanti-
no, left, congratulate
United States’ Me-
gan Rapinoe, center,
after the Women’s
World Cup fi nal soc-
cer match between
U.S. and The Nether-
lands at the Stade de
Lyon in Decines, out-
side Lyon, France, on
July 7, 2019.
AP Photo/Alessandra
Tarantino, File