A8
LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Wallowa Valley All-Stars fi nish as runner-up
By JEFF BUDLONG
Wallowa County Chieftain
BURNS — The Wallowa
Valley All-Stars had a per-
formance to remember over
the Fourth of July Weekend.
It didn’t end in the title it
wanted, but did create mem-
ories that will not fade any
time soon for the players,
coaches or fans.
Competing against larger
towns with more players to
draw from, Wallowa Valley
earned runner-up honors at
the District 3 Little League
Tournament in Burns. The
All-Stars fi nished 3-2 fall-
ing to Hermiston 4-2 in the
championship game on Fri-
day, July 1.
The team, made up of 11-
and 12-year-olds from Enter-
prise, Joseph and Wallowa,
started strong posting a 15-3
win over Harney County and
a 13-3 victory over the Baker
Americans in fi ve innings.
The All-Stars would suf-
fer their fi rst setback in the
semifi nals as a 2-1 game in
the fi fth inning became a
9-1 loss, but Wallowa Val-
ley responded by cruising
in an elimination game 10-0
Contributed Photo
Back row, from left, coach Mike Beachy, Caleb Beachy, Tilden Botts, Quinn Staniford, Kooper
Grover, Kolton Butterfi eld, Blaine Fisher, Henry Frasch and coach Kalah Grover. Front row,
from left, manager Donnie Rynearson, Colton Castillja, Austin Butterfi eld, Caleb Taggart, Tyler
Rynearson, Brandon Yanke and Wade Williams.
SUMMER HOURS
10 AM - 8 PM WED, THURS, SUN
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in fi ve innings over Harney
County.
The victory set up a
championship
rematch
against Hermiston on Friday.
The game was tight through-
out as Hermiston was able to
pull out the 4-2 victory. Wal-
lowa Valley fell behind 2-0
in the fi rst inning and could
not complete the comeback.
“It was really close and it
was a matter of a couple of
passed balls and a couple of
runs,” Wallowa Valley coach
Donnie Rynearson said. “We
left runners in scoring posi-
tion and they are a good
team. The boys hung tough
with a bigger town. It could
have gone either way.”
Rynearson credited the
entire team for its eff ort in a
tournament Wallowa Valley
had not made a run like this
in for decades.
“It has been many years
since I can remember a team
having success like this in
this tournament,” he said.
“The diff erence in this team
was the pitching. We got
great pitching eff orts.”
Rynearson said the eff ort
of Tilden Botts against
Hermiston in the fi rst game,
Brandon Yanke against
Baker and Blaine Fisher
was impressive. Kolton But-
terfi eld pitched a complete
game against Harney County
and Kooper Grover was
strong against Hermiston.
“If you take those fi ve
kids, and you take out the
big inning against Herm-
iston in the fi fth inning of
the fi rst game , those boys
only allowed 11 runs in fi ve
games,” Rynearson said.
The Wallowa Valley
team was made up of Caleb
Beachy, Tilden Botts, Quinn
Staniford, Kooper Grover,
Kolton Butterfi eld, Blaine
Fisher, Henry Frasch, Colton
Castillja, Austin Butterfi eld,
Caleb Taggart, Tyler Rynear-
son, Brandon Yanke and
Wade Williams. Rynearson
was the manager and Kalah
Grover and Mike Beachy
were assistant coaches.
5 Outlaws earn all-state level honors
By RONALD BOND
For The Observer
LANE TANZEY e
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Sp
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ey tied for fifth plac
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sion
1A varsity boys divi ague State Tournament .
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School Clay et Le 50 in the first session,
score of
Tanzey had a perfect the second session. In fact,
in
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ith
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and followed w
in his first three runs tting
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Tanzey was pe
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udly
21 in the fin
Pro nsore d b y
ENTERPRISE — Five
members of the Wal-
lowa Valley softball team
received recognition at the
all-state level after helping
the Outlaws to a 20-win sea-
son and a spot in the Class
3A state quarterfi nals.
Leading the way in the
all-state awards was soph-
omore Sophie Moeller,
who was honored as a sec-
ond-team infi elder. Moeller,
the team’s primary leadoff
hitter, posted a .474 batting
average in league play with
a home run, 12 RBIs and 20
runs scored.
Making the third team
as an infi elder was Cooper
Nave. Nave, also a soph-
omore, hit .559 with three
home runs, 15 RBIs and 15
runs scored. She hit all three
of her home runs in league
play in one day during a
doubleheader sweep of
Nyssa.
Three additional players,
including two senior leaders
for Wallowa Valley, earned
honorable mention. Rilyn
Kirkland, the Outlaws’
catcher, hit .537 in league
and belted two home runs,
scored 20 times and tallied
25 RBIs.
Aimee Meyers, as an
infi elder, was also tabbed
honorable mention. In
league, the sophomore hit
.531 with 13 RBIs and 15
runs scored.
And in the pitcher’s
circle, senior Liz Row-
ley posted a strong season,
especially in league play.
Rowley fi nished league play
with a record of 6-1 and an
ERA of 1.44. She allowed
just 18 hits in 39 innings,
walked 15 batters and struck
out 61.
The fi ve players were
instrumental in the Outlaws
completed one of the best
seasons in the last decade.
Wallowa Valley posted
an overall record of 20-8,
including 10-2 in league
play, and won the program’s
fi rst playoff game since 2014
with a 9-7 opening-round
win over Dayton. The team
recorded eight shutouts and
half of its eight losses were
to the teams who met in the
3A state title game — Burns
and Yamhill Carlton.
Weed of month is yellow starthistle
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ENTERPRISE — As
part of the Wallowa County
Vegetation Department and
Weed Board’s ongoing edu-
cation eff orts, in conjunction
with Wallowa Resources,
the Chieftain features a nox-
ious weed each month that is
on the county’s list of nox-
ious and invasive weeds.
This month’s noxious
weed is yellow starthistle.
What: It is an annual
plant that typically grows
1 to 3 feet tall, has gray-
ish-green color leaves that
are up to 3 feet long at the
lower part of the plant and
much shorter at the upper
portion of the plant. It has
solitary, bright yellow fl ow-
ers with sharp spines that
show up from May to
October.
Where: Yellow starthis-
tle is found in rangeland,
pastures, waste areas and
along roadsides. It can grow
in various soil types. It is
typically found in dry, hot
climates on southern aspects
with well-drained soils. In
Wallowa County, it is abun-
Wallowa Resources/Contributed Photo
Yellow starthistle is one of the noxious weeds Wallowa County
is trying to eradicate.
dant in the Imnaha, Joseph
Creek, Grande Ronde and
Snake River Canyons and
smaller sites have been
found on the Zumwalt Prai-
rie and near Lostine.
Dangers: It is damag-
ing to grazing areas due to
the fact that it forms dense
infestations, depleting soil
moisture and reduces forage.
How you can help: If
you fi nd yellow starthis-
tle either on your property
or while out and about, take
note of the location. You can
contact our Wallowa Can-
yonlands Partnership Pro-
gram Manager Joe Sims at
541-426-8053 ext.61.