SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
BAKER VOLLEYBALL PLAYS HOST TO POWDER VALLEY
Badgers sweep Baker
to remain unbeaten
■ Powder Valley improves to 8-0 with win in the Baker gym
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Less than 24 hours
removed from taking the La
Grande Tigers to fi ve sets,
the Baker volleyball team
fell to Class 1A powerhouse
Powder Valley in three sets
on Wednesday, March 31, at
the Baker gym.
The undefeated Badgers (8-
0) also swept Baker (3-7) in a
season-opening match March
4 at North Powder.
“Tonight our performance
was much better than it was
at Powder,” Baker coach Ali
Abrego said. “I defi nitely
think the La Grande game
tired us out a little bit. I’m
defi nitely proud of them push-
ing through being tired.”
Powder Valley fi nished
second at the Class 1A state
tournament in 2018 and
2019, losing both champion-
ship matches to St. Paul. The
Badgers avenged that loss by
beating the Buckaroos in three
sets on March 12 at St. Paul.
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Lacy Churchfi eld, No. 9, battles above the net with Powder Valley’s Brooke Al-
len while Baker teammates Hailey Zikmund and Jozie Ramos, background, look on.
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Baker senior Hailey Zikmund, right, tries to get a spike
errors, so I just hounded
past the block of Powder Valley senior Belle Blair during
that at them,” she said. “The
a nonleague match Wednesday, March 31, at Baker High. fact that we beat ourselves
if they got a big swing, we
were able to adjust quicker
than we did the fi rst time
with too many errors that’s around and with a young
Powder Valley has lost
Badgers won the set, 25-21. just a tough pill to swallow
team what you want to focus
just three sets since, and the
Powder Valley won the
sometimes.”
on is learning how to play
Badgers took a command-
second set in more dominant
Baker played better in the in those situations,” Abrego
ing lead early in the fi rst set fashion, 25-14.
fi nal set, but Powder Valley said.
Wednesday against Baker.
Abrego said the Bulldogs prevailed 25-23.
Baker played its fi nal
The Bulldogs rallied,
struggled with mistakes in
Abrego was pleased with
home match Friday, April 2,
though, forging a 19-19 tie.
the second set.
the Bulldogs’ improved play. against Vale, then traveled
But Baker couldn’t main-
“Communication errors,
“In the fi rst and third
to Nyssa on Saturday.
tain the momentum, and the transition errors, serving
sets when things got tough,
Baker concludes its season
BAKER BOYS SOCCER
on Monday, April 5, at Burns.
Abrego said she will
emphasize the positive parts
of the loss to Powder Valley
in preparing for the season’s
fi nal stretch.
“It’s hard to lose but we
can’t have peaks or val-
leys, we have to have hills,”
Abrego said on Wednesday.
“Really focusing on the good
things we did tonight, and
carrying those over.”
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL OPENING DAY
La Grande Tigers blank Bulldogs Mariners rally to
By Corey Kirk
nip Giants in 10
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
The Baker boys soccer
team, missing four starters
and playing for the second
day in a row, lost 8-0 to
La Grande on Wednesday,
March 31, at the Baker
Sports Complex.
With the Bulldogs coming
off a 3-0 home loss to River-
side on Tuesday, Baker coach
Victor Benites had to shuffl e
his lineup to account for the
missing starters.
“Just kept putting in play-
ers that I thought would be
good,” Benites said.
Junior Dysan Robb suf-
fered a concussion, freshman
Giacomo Rigueiro is out with
an ankle injury, junior Wyatt
Hawkins has been battling
an ankle injury all season,
and senior Clayton Dennis
was dealing with a nagging
hip injury.
On Wednesday, La Grande
scored in the 14th, 25th and
26th minutes to lead 3-0 at
halftime.
Benites said the Bulldogs
struggled to communicate
with each other, and to con-
trol the ball.
“I just told them to work
together, they can do it, you
just had to keep communicat-
ing,” Benites said.
La Grande kept up the
By Tim Booth
AP Sports Writer
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Diego Quintela, center, in black, competes for control of the ball against La
Grande’s John Remily during a Wednesday, March 31, match at the Sports Complex.
pandemic-shortened season
Friday, April 2, by playing
host to Four Rivers, Idaho.
Baker beat Four Rivers 6-1
on March 16.
— Victor Benites, Baker boys
Benites said he was proud
soccer coach, whose team
of
his relatively inexperi-
has just two seniors
enced team, with only two
seniors.
offensive pressure in the sec-
“I think we did really well
ond half, scoring four more
having all of those young
goals in the fi rst 15 minutes. players,” Benites said.
After the Tigers scored
See the Tuesday, April 6, is-
again at the 28th minute, the sue of the Baker City Herald
match was halted due to the for a recap of the Bulldogs’
mercy rule.
fi nal match against Four
Baker (2-6), concluded its
Rivers.
“I think we did really well
having all of those young
players.”

SEATTLE — After 550 days without fans in atten-
dance, the Seattle Mariners treated those who stuck
around late into the night to one of the more unlikely
comebacks seen on opening day.
Jake Fraley walked with the bases loaded in the 10th
inning to score Evan White with the winning run, and
Seattle rallied from a fi ve-run defi cit to beat the San Fran-
cisco Giants 8-7 on Thursday, April 1.
A wild opening night concluded with a massive come-
back by the Mariners, who scored six runs in the eighth to
take a 7-6 lead, only to lose it on pinch-hitter Alex Dicker-
son’s solo homer in the ninth.
According to Sportradar, the Mariners were the 16th
team to rally from a defi cit of fi ve or more runs on opening
day and win, dating to 1906. The Royals became the 15th
earlier in the day when they came back against Texas.
THANK YOU