SPORTS
Wallowa County Chieftain
A10
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
BASEBALL
SOFTBALL
Eagles fall to Vale in rematch
Outlaws tripped up
in district title game
By RONALD BOND
For the Wallowa County
Chieftain
BURNS — The Wal-
lowa Valley baseball team
didn’t have the fortune it did
when it played Vale a month
ago. Now, the Eagles have a
fi rst-round playoff matchup
against the top team in 3A.
Vale took the lead for good
with a four-run third inning,
then held on when the Eagles
rallied in the seventh to grab
a 5-4 win in the early game
of the Special District 2 tour-
nament Friday, May 20, in
Burns.
Vale went on to face —
and eventually lose to —
Burns 12-2 in the champi-
onship game, and will travel
in the fi rst round of the state
playoff s May 25.
Wallowa Valley scored
twice in the third — including
on an RBI single by Maclane
Melville — to take a 2-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long,
as the Vikings scored four
times in the home half of the
third and took the lead for
good on Kade Kurata’s two-
run triple, which made it 3-2.
Kurata later scored on a sac-
rifi ce fl y.
Jackson Decker got a run
back for Wallowa Valley on
an error in the fourth, but the
Eagles gave a run back on a
Kurata sacrifi ce fl y in the fi fth.
Wallowa Valley had a last
chance in the seventh when
Jaxon Grover reached on a
one-out error, stole second,
and scored on a two-out error,
but the Eagles couldn’t push
the tying run across.
Grover was a tough-luck
loser on the mound, allowing
four earned runs on fi ve hits in
six innings, walking one and
striking out three.
Wallowa Valley (14-11
overall), the No. 16 seed in
the playoff s, makes a trip
across the state to face top-
seed Cascade Christian in the
fi rst round May 25 in Med-
ford. First pitch is slated for
3:30 p.m.
A lockdown performance
by Drew Beachy and timely
hitting was enough to propel
the Wallowa Valley baseball
team into the Special District
5 semifi nal and lock up a state
playoff berth.
Beachy struck out 12 bat-
ters and allowed just one hit
over 6⅓ innings as the Eagles
took down Irrigon at home
Tuesday, May 17, 2-0.
Beachy walked three, hit
a batter and only allowed
a fi rst-inning single to Irri-
gon’s Spencer Stewart. He
struck out at least two batters
in four innings, with the two
biggest ones coming in the
fourth inning as he worked
out of a jam. A walk and an
error put two with nobody
out before Beachy recorded
back-to-back strikeouts to
help stall the rally. A walk
loaded the bases, but he
forced a ground ball to get
out of the inning unscathed.
The Knights’ only other
serious off ensive threat came
in the seventh, with a one-out
single and a walk by relief
pitcher Grover opening the
door for Irrigon. But Grover
came back to strike out the
next two batters to end the
game.
Melville provided all
the off ense Wallowa Valley
needed in the fi rst, with an
RBI single scoring Grover —
who was hit by a pitch, stole
second and moved to third on
a wild pitch — for a 1-0 lead.
Grover helped add some
insurance in the third when he
hit a one-out triple and scored
on a Spencer Decker sacrifi ce
fl y for the fi nal margin.
He and Melville both fi n-
ished with two hits, while the
rest of the team went a com-
bined 1-for-16.
Boyd Davis was a tough-
luck loser on the hill for Irri-
gon, allowing two-runs on
fi ve hits with one walk and 12
strikeouts in six innings.
Knapp:
Continued from Page A9
by 0.08 of a second and Hep-
pner by 0.18 of a second.
By that point, the Outlaws
were already assured second
place — it was just a matter
of how close they would end
up to state champion Ban-
don. The Tigers fi nished with
56 points, just seven ahead
of Enterprise, while the wild
fi nish in the 4x400 resulted
in Heppner, Weston-McE-
wen and Sheridan all tying
for third with 31 points.
Enterprise’s
runner-up
was its highest fi nish since
placing second four years in
a row from 2011-14.
Ortswam, while playing
a key role as part of the win-
ning relay team, also helped
bring in points elsewhere
for the Outlaws, both indi-
vidually and in relays. He
took second in the fi nals of
the 400 with a time of 51.99
— one day after posting the
fastest time of 51.42 in the
preliminaries, and added an
BURNS — The Wal-
lowa Valley softball team
got to the Special Dis-
trict 2 title game and had
its chances in a rematch
against
regular-season
champion Burns.
But as it did in the
fi rst matchup of the year
between the teams, the
Hilanders’ pitching ruled
the day, as Burns edged the
Outlaws, 2-0, in the cham-
pionship game of the SD2
tournament Friday, May 20.
The loss snapped an
11-game winning streak by
the Outlaws, and was the
fi rst time this season Wal-
lowa Valley had been shut-
out in a contest. The team
entered averaging 10.3 runs
per game.
It was the seventh shut-
out for Burns, which enters
the state playoff s on a
26-game winning streak.
Wallowa Valley was
limited to three runs in two
losses to Burns last month.
In Friday’s rematch, it was
held to just two Liz Row-
ley singles and a double by
Rilyn Kirkland. The Out-
laws also had two batters
reach via walk, but struck
out 18 times.
The tough game at the
plate off set a strong eff ort
by Rowley in the circle to
keep Wallowa Valley in the
contest. The senior pitched
all six innings, allowing
just two runs — one earned
— on fi ve hits. She walked
fi ve, but struck out seven.
The Outlaws got into the
championship game with a
win over Vale earlier Fri-
day, topping the Vikings,
10-4, for their third win
against Vale on the season.
Kirkland, Rowley and
Cooper Nave helped power
the off ense in the win. Kirk-
land had a double and triple
among three hits and fi n-
ished with four RBIs, while
Nave and Rowley both
drove in two runs. Kirk-
land also scored twice in the
win, as did Sophie Moeller.
Rowley also pitched
a complete game against
the Vikings, allowing two
earned runs on four hits,
walking fi ve and striking
out eight in seven innings.
Wallowa Valley (19-7
overall) begins the 3A state
playoff s at home May 25 as
the No. 8 seed, and will host
No. 9 Dayton. First pitch
is at 4 p.m., with the win-
ner either traveling to face
No. 1 Yamhill-Carlton or
hosting No. 16 Creswell on
May 27.
GOLF
Jennings, Homan
compete at state golf
By RONALD BOND
For the Wallowa County
Chieftain
Tom Nordtvedt/Contributed Photo
From left, Levi Ortswam, Weston Wolfe, Zac Knapp, Andrew Nordtvedt celebrate Enterprise’s
victory in the 4x400 relay at the state track and fi eld meet.
eight-place time of 24.93 in
the 200. He also ran on the
sixth-place 4x100 relay team
with Nordtvedt, Ransom
Peters and Cory Walker, as
the tandem turned in a time
of 46.36.
Peters was sixth individu-
ally in the 100 in 11.76, and
seventh in the 200 in 24.28,
and Wolfe placed seventh in
the 300 hurdles in 44.38. He
also just missed the top eight
in the triple jump, where he
came in 10th.
Joseph:
Continued from Page A9
was one of four attempts that
surpassed his previous per-
sonal best of 42-5, and one
of two eff orts that saw him
jump better than 43 feet. His
individual title was the fi rst
for the Joseph boys in an
OSAA state track meet since
Tyler Homan took the 300-
meter hurdles in 2019.
Add in a second-place
fi nish from Menton on
Thursday in the 3,000, when
he posted a personal best of
9:01.68, and the Eagles had
an early lead that they didn’t
relinquish until late Friday
night. Joseph held the lead
through 14 of 17 scored
events, and wasn’t surpassed
until the Adrian combination
of Jace and Conley Martin
took fi rst and second in the
200 to move the Antelopes
into the top spot. Powder
Valley slid into second fol-
lowing the 300 hurdles.
Menton followed his sec-
ond-place performance in
the 3,000 with another PR
By RONALD BOND
For the Wallowa County
Chieftain
Tom Nordtvedt/Contributed Photo
BANKS — Enterprise’s
Dylan Jennings wrapped up
his prep golf career by plac-
ing 21st at the 3A/2A/1A
state golf tournament Mon-
day and Tuesday, May 16
and 17, at Banks, while
Wallowa/Joseph’s Chase
Homan fi nished his career
tied for 23rd.
Jennings fi nished with
a two-day score of 179,
which was 35-over par on
the par-72 Quail Valley
Golf Course, while Homan
shot a 183.
Jennings opened the
tournament with a round
of 85 on May 16. A birdie
on the front nine helped
him make the turn at just
5-over, and he added a 44
on the back nine, including
a birdie on the par-5 17th.
Both his birdies came on
par-5s, and he fi nished the
fi rst round tied for 18th.
The second day was
rougher for Jennings, as he
Freshman:
Joseph’s Jett Leavitt runs during the 1,500-meter race at the state track meet.
Continued from Page A9
in the 1,500 Friday, where
he also placed second with
a time of 4:08.14, topping
his prior personal best by 5.7
seconds.
Ferguson had a personal
record by 5 feet in taking
fi fth in the javelin with a
heave of 156-1, and also was
fi fth in the discus with a best
throw of 12-6. He, Nelson,
Gavin Russell and Dylan
Rogers were seventh in the
boys 4x100 relay in a time of
47.10. Jett Leavitt rounded
out the Eagles’ scoring by
adding an eight-place fi nish
in the boys 1,500 in 4:25.09.
Adrian pulled away late
to fi nish with 74 points in
claiming the boys team title,
while Powder Valley, behind
a win from Kaden Krieger
in the 300 hurdles, fi nished
with 52.5 points to just edge
Joseph for second place.
Just one athlete, Basey
Dawson, competed for the
Joseph girls, but didn’t place
in the high jump. Damas-
cus Christian amassed 105.5
points to run away with the
girls state title.
Building Healthy Families wants
to recognize Karen Patton for her
commitment and dedication to the schools,
students and families of Wallowa County.
Congratulations on your retirement and
THANK YOU for all you have done for our
community.
ZAC KNAPP
OF
THE
high
p on an impressive
Zac Knapp put a wra multiple state titles last
ning
school career by win ate track meet in Eugene. The
st
2A
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th
at
1,500
weekend
p honors in the boys 0 relay.
to
ok
to
or
ni
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4x40
Enterp
a leg of the winning
and 3,000, and ran ed EHS to a second-place finish.
The victories help
KAREN
PATTON
udly
Pro onsore d b y
p
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Building Healthy Families
541-426-9411
oregonbhf.org
James also chipped in
an eighth-place fi nish in the
100 in 13.62.
The 4x100 relay team of
James, Althea Komiskey,
Maddie Nordtvedt and Lan-
nie Stonebrink placed fi fth
in 53.20, and Alisha Mel-
ville, Jada Gray, Nordtvedt
and James came in fourth
shot a 94. That included a
49 on the front nine, though
he recovered to fi nish with
a 45 on the back nine.
Homan had a similar
display, shooting 87 on the
fi rst day and 96 in the fi nal
round. He fi nished tied for
22nd after the fi rst round,
and shot his best on the fi rst
nine holes, as he reached
the midway-point of the
opening round with a 42,
one that saw him par fi ve
holes, and added a 45 on
the back nine.
Like Jennings, Homan
shot a 49 on the front nine
May 17, but he fi nished the
round strong with back-to-
back pars on the 17th and
18th holes to shoot 47 on
the back nine.
The individual state
champion was Brock Drury
of St. Mary’s, who shot an
even-par 144, including a
68 in the opening round.
The team champion was
Oregon Episcopal, with a
two-day team score of 615,
which bested St. Mary’s by
14 strokes.
in the 4x400 in 4:26.05.
The strong fi nish for
Enterprise — the Outlaws
scored 15 points in their
fi nal two events — boosted
the team score to 20 points
and moved them into a tie
for 13th.
Gray and Madison
Wigen just missed get-
ting into scoring range,
with Gray taking 10th in
the 300 hurdle prelims, and
Wigen coming in 11th in the
high jump.