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B1
ONE OF THE BOYS
Alyssa Luna
earns a starting
spot on Irrigon’s
baseball team
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
I
RRIGON — When high
school softball was canceled
in the spring of 2020 because
of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Irrigon’s Alyssa Luna shed a
few tears.
This spring, the Knights simply
did not have the numbers to fi eld a
softball team, but instead of feeling
sorry for herself, Luna reinvented
herself.
She joined the baseball team.
But it wasn’t a matter of asking
for a jersey and playing time.
“I wish it was that easy,” said
Luna, who is a catcher. “I joked with
my boyfriend (Ryan Hussey) that I
wanted to play. He said, ‘Why not?’
I told him I didn’t want to step on his
toes, but he encouraged me to do it.
The fi rst week was hard, but I’m glad
I stuck with it.”
Irrigon baseball coach Fredy Vera
said he told Luna he had to think
about it when she fi rst asked to play.
“She contacted me, and she talked
to the school,” Vera said. “I thought
on it a bit, and I thought if she is
comfortable, she could play. She’s a
really good athlete and a really good
student. Those are the kids you want
on your team.”
Getting her feet wet
The fi rst day Luna attended prac-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Irrigon’s Alyssa Luna poses for a portrait on the baseball diamond at Irrigon High School.
tice, Vera laid down the law with his
players.
“It was my fi rst day and I was
so nervous,” Luna said. “Fredy told
them if he heard anything of anyone
mistreating me that there would be
consequences. He was supportive of
me. He’s a fi rst-year coach and has a
girl on his team. He took a chance
on me.”
That’s not to say Luna hasn’t put
pressure on herself to be an asset to
the Knights.
“The fi rst week of practice I was
puking almost every day before
practice because I was so nervous,”
Luna said. “Once I got on the fi eld, I
felt so comfortable with all of them
and it made it more fun. It’s such a
diff erent environment than softball.
At the end of day, we have great
teamwork. I do not regret it.”
Vera already had his eye on a
couple of guys to play behind the
plate, but Luna was determined to
show what she could do.
GIRLS SOCCER
“Fredy asked if I played anywhere
else,” Luna said. “I said no. He told
me I might not get that spot. When
he told me that, it did not sit well with
me. That pushed me. I knew the posi-
tion. I told him he would be looking
at more players now.”
Learning the game
While Luna has played softball
for many years, baseball is a whole
other beast.
The fi eld is larger, the pitchers
throw harder, the ball is smaller,
and the distance from home plate to
second base is 43 feet farther than it
is in softball.
None of that deterred Luna.
“My uncle Leon (Luna) and his
friend Cougar Kroske have helped
me a lot,” Luna said. “They both
used to catch for Irrigon. I would
not be where I am today without
them. Before, I couldn’t get the ball
to second. Now I can get it there in
one hop. It’s intimidating sometimes,
I’m not going to lie.”
Hussey, who is a pitcher, has put
in the time to help Luna adjust to the
speed of pitches, and the diff erent
kinds of pitches coming from the
mound.
“It was rough at fi rst,” Luna said.
“Ryan had to stay and work with me.
Honestly, I wanted to play, I wanted
to do something I love, and I wanted
to compete with him, which makes
us both better athletes. He makes me
a better player. Now that I am getting
it, I am so excited for games.”
Her hard work is not lost on Vera.
“Honestly, I’m pretty surprised
by how much she has improved from
the start until now,” he said. “She has
transitioned pretty fast, which is a
good thing. The ball is coming in
a little faster and the bases are a lot
longer. She has a really good work
ethic and she is pretty vocal. She is
always talking. She is the loudest one
on the fi eld, which is a good thing.”
Even with all of her hard work,
Luna didn’t know if that would trans-
late into playing time.
“I was expecting to play JV or
cheering from the bench,” she said.
“When he told me I was starting
See Baseball, Page B2
BOYS SOCCER
Pendleton goalie wins top IMC honor Bucks have 5 players earn IMC honors
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton girls soccer team
went through some grow-
ing pains this spring, but the
Intermountain Conference
coaches saw a lot of promise
in the Bucks’ young players.
Junior Lindsey Pasena
Little Sky was named the
IMC Goalie of the Year.
“That was a huge honor for
her,” Pendleton coach Kiana
Rickman said. “I know she
was really excited. She saved
our butts in a lot of games.”
So phomor e H a d ley
Brown was named a first-
team midfi elder, while junior
forward Reilly Lovercheck
earned second-team honors.
Freshman Hailey Schmidt
was named to the honorable
mention team as a defender.
“Hadley had one goal for
us, but she was a huge leader
on the fi eld,” Rickman said.
“She was the little engine in
the middle of the fi eld.”
Lovercheck was the
Bucks’ top goal scorer,
including a hat trick against
Hood River.
The Bucks finished the
PENDLETON — The
Intermountain Conference
coaches selected five Pend-
leton players to the all-con-
ference team, led by senior
defender Michael Flores.
Freshman forward Rene
Ortega was named to the
second team, along with
senior defender Johann
Velera-Vega.
Honor able me nt ion
honors went to senior
midfielders Gabe Rodri-
guez and Jon Moreno.
“It’s nice they are recog-
nized by the coaches in the
league,” Pendleton coach
Alex Erazo said of his
players.
Ortega led the Bucks
(2-5-1) with seven goals
on the season.
“Rarely do you see a
freshman start, let alone
lead the team in scoring,”
Erazo said. “He has had to
help lead the program as
a freshman. He definitely
rose to the occasion and
helped us.”
Marques Montanez of
Ridgeview was named
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton goalkeeper Lindsey Pasena Little Sky reaches to
block a shot on goal during the second half against the Ea-
gles. The Hood River Valley Eagles defeated the Pendleton
Buckaroos 5-3 at Pendleton High School on March 30, 2021.
season 1-9
overall, with
their lone win
a 6-0 victory
over Crook
Cou nt y.
Seven of their
losses were
Pasena-
by three goals
Littlesky
or less.
Hood River Valley senior
midf ielder Mira Olson
was named IMC Player of the
Brown
Lovercheck
Year along with Redmond
junior for ward Dagne
Harris.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton’s Michael Flores (14) gains control of the ball
during the fi rst half against the Panthers. The Pendleton
Buckaroos defeated the Redmond Panthers 3-1 at Pendle-
ton High School on March 18, 2021.
Player of the Year, while
Ridgeview’s Jimmy Kim
was named Coach of the
Year. Hood River Valley’s
A nd rew Mond ragon
was named Goalie of the
Year.
SPORTS SHORT
MLB: 9 teams reach 85% vaccination rate
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Major League
Baseball says nine teams have
had 85% of players, coaches and
others with Tier 1 access receive
their fi nal dose of the coronavirus
vaccine, allowing those clubs to
ease some health and safety proto-
cols.
Four of those teams have
already begun relaxing some
protocols after 85% or more of
Tier 1 individuals reached full
vaccination, meaning they are at
least two weeks removed from
their fi nal vaccine dose. Another
five teams have surpassed the
85% threshold for vaccine injec-
tions within the past two weeks
and can ease standards once that
waiting period passes
The league also said in a state-
ment Friday that 81% of Tier
1 individuals are considered
partially or fully vaccinated.
The statement did not say
which teams had cleared the
85% threshold, but the New York
Yankees and Detroit Tigers are
among them. Both clubs have
eased protocols, and when they
played Friday night, it was the fi rst
time this season neither team had
to wear facemasks in the dugout.
MLB said it found four new
positive tests this week (two
major league players, two alter-
nate site players) out of 11,547
tests conducted. So far this season,
there have been 43 total positives
out of 135,317 tests, a 0.03% posi-
tive rate. Twenty teams have had
at least one person test positive
during monitoring testing.
New York Yankees man-
ager Aaron Boone greets
DJ LeMahieu (26) at the
dugout steps as LeMahieu
scored on a bases-loaded
walk during the eighth
inning of an interleague
baseball game against the
Atlanta Braves on Tuesday,
April 20, 2021, at Yankee
Stadium in New York.
Kathy Willens/Associated Press
Flores
Valera-Vega