SPORTS
6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021
Matsuyama
makes
golf
history
Bulldogs blow
with his victory at the Masters
past La Grande
BAKER FOOTBALL
■ 29-year-old is the first man from Japan to win one of golf’s major tournaments
By Corey Kirk
By Tim Reynolds
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
AP Sports Writer
Baker football coach Jason Ramos said the Bulldogs
had a good week of practice preparing for the season’s
fi nal game Friday, April 9 against league rival La Grande
at Community Stadium on the EOU campus.
But it didn’t look like it early.
Baker struggled in the fi rst half and trailed the Tigers
7-0 at halftime.
The Bulldogs proved their coach’s assessment of
practice accurate in the second half, though, dominating
La Grande and coming away with a 22-7 win that evened
Baker’s season record at 3-3 overall, 3-1 against league
opponents.
“We had a good week of practice. We really focused on
getting better at what we were doing,” Ramos said. “We
just did some fi ne tuning.”
The fi rst half was a mess of penalties and turnovers,
and both teams struggled to maintain any sort of mo-
mentum.
A Baker fumble, one of two fumbles and three total
turnovers, led to the game’s fi rst score, a 12-yard run
by quarterback Payton Cooper that gave La Grande a
7-0 lead in the second half. There the score remained at
halftime.
“We basically knew at that point that it was our own
miscues that kind of put us in that position, we fumbled
the ball in our own end there, and that’s how they
scored,” Ramos said. “We talked about how we can’t give
them opportunities because that’s what is going to keep
teams in a ballgame. We needed to clean it up and play
better.”
In the second half, the Bulldogs shined on the ground.
Junior running back Gauge Bloomer (season-high 190
yards on 22 carries) and senior quarterback Gabe Gam-
bleton (90 yards on 14 rushes) were dominant as Baker
outgained La Grande 272 yards to 58 on the ground.
Bloomer’s 6-yard run in the third quarter cut the
Tigers’ lead to 7-6.
Baker was even more dominant in the fi nal quarter,
with Gambleton accounting for all 16 of the Bulldogs’
points, scoring on 40-yard and 2-yard runs and then con-
verting the two-point conversion after both touchdowns.
While Baker was scoring 22 consecutive points, the
Bulldog defense was holding the Tigers at bay. La Grande
had just 121 total yards on 51 plays.
Ramos credits Baker’s offensive line for creating op-
portunities for Bloomer and Gambleton.
“We knew we could run on them,” Ramos said. “Our
upfront guys were awesome, our O-line guys took it upon
themselves to oppose their will so to speak.”
Although Baker loses 14 seniors, Ramos said he’s glad
the graduating class, after losing their normal fall season
in 2020 due to the pandemic, had a chance not only to
complete their high school careers, but to cap the season
with a win over a rival that had beaten the Bulldogs
seven straight times.
“It was a great win for our seniors going out, to be able
to go to La Grande and beat those guys, it’s never easy,”
Ramos said. “To have that as their fi nal game, knowing
that they hadn’t gotten that job done over the course of
their high school career, to be able to fi nish on that high
note — that was a good takeaway for them.”
With an unusual spring football season over, Ramos
said he and the rest of the coaching staff are eager to
work this summer to prepare Baker for a more normal
fall slate.
“We do a pretty good job at developing players,” Ramos
said. “Our younger kids developed and grew and got
valuable experience that they are going to bring back in
the fall.”
Ramos said he had a simple message for his players
after this unique experience: “Every moment and every
opportunity matters, because you just never know, and to
not take it for granted.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hideki
Matsuyama almost turned
down his fi rst chance to play
the Masters. It was a month
after a devastating earth-
quake and tsunami in Japan,
disasters that killed thou-
sands and destroyed much of
the region he called home in
March 2011.
He decided to play a month
later, only because he thought
it would lift spirits.
A decade later, he lifted his
country again — becoming
Japan’s fi rst man to win a
golf major. Matsuyama’s one-
shot victory over Will Zalato-
ris at Augusta National made
him the Masters champion,
easily the biggest moment for
the sport in his golf-crazed
homeland.
“I can’t say I’m the great-
est,” Matsuyama said.
“However, I’m the fi rst to win
a major, and if that’s the bar,
then I’ve set it.”
He was the greatest this
week at the Masters, bar
none.
History will say he won the
tournament on Sunday with
a fi nal-round 73, but really,
he won it on Saturday with a
blistering fi nish that put him
atop the leaderboard for good.
He went 6-under on a seven-
hole stretch of the back nine
in the third round, the deci-
sive spurt that nobody could
match. Even the fi nal margin
on Sunday was perhaps a bit
misleading; it only tightened
up when Matsuyama made
three bogeys in his fi nal four
holes, though the lead never
seemed threatened.
Matsuyama fi nished at
10-under, 278. Zalatoris was
at 9 under, Jordan Spieth and
Xander Schauffele were tied
for third at 7 under, and Jon
Rahm and Marc Leishman
tied for fi fth at 6 under. Justin
Rose, who jumped out in front
Thursday with a 65, fi nished
seventh, fi ve shots back.
“It’s thrilling to think that
there are a lot of youngsters
in Japan watching today,”
Matsuyama said. “Hopefully
in fi ve, 10 years, when they
get a little older, hopefully
some of them will be compet-
ing on the world stage. But
I still have a lot of years left,
so they are going to have to
compete against me still.”
Message to those kids:
Good luck. Matsuyama is
only 29.
He moved from No. 25 to
DUCKS
Continued from Page 5A
Gabe Matthews tied it with a sacrifi ce fl y in
the fourth.
Oregon State (21-10, 7-5 Pac-12) broke
through in a three-run seventh as Wade Meck-
ler hit an RBI single, Preston Jones followed by
reaching on a fi elder’s choice RBI sacrifi ce bunt
and Ober capped the frame with another RBI
single.
Everything turned for the Ducks (19-7, 6-3
Pac-12) in the eighth inning.
Isaac Ayon entered with runners on second
and third and nobody out and got back-to-back
strikeouts and a groundout to end the top half
of the inning.
Meanwhile, OSU bullpen’s imploded for the
third time in as many days.
Anthony Hall and Kenyon Yovan drew back-
to-back, one-out walks off Jack Washburn. Joey
Mundt came in and gave up an RBI single to
Aaron Zavala, struck out Josh Kasevich, walked
Gabe Matthews to load the bases, then walked
Sam Novitske on four pitches to make it 4-3.
Closer Jake Mulholland came in and got ahead
of pinch hitter Tyler Ganus before plunking the
freshman to force in the tying run.
It was the fi rst hit batter by Mulholland this
season.
UO’s Hunter Breault worked around a one-
out double and two in scoring position with two
outs in the top of the 10th and was relieved by
Decker Stedman in the 11th.
PROFESSIONAL SOCCER
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images-TNS
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan celebrates on the 18th
green after winning the Masters at Augusta National
Golf Club on Sunday, April 11 in Augusta, Ga.
No. 14 in the world rankings,
and will be welcomed back to
Augusta National for Masters
week for the rest of his life —
one of the many perks that
come once someone claims a
green jacket.
“I think it’s really good for
the game of golf globally,” Spi-
eth said. “He’s a great young
player who inevitably was
going to win major champion-
ships, in my opinion.”
It turned out to be a
Masters fi nish like none
other, capping a week that
was memorable for who was
there, who wasn’t there for
long and who couldn’t be
there at all.
Lee Elder — the fi rst
Black player in the Masters
when he broke the tourna-
ment’s color barrier in 1975
— joined Jack Nicklaus and
Gary Player for the ceremo-
nial tournament-opening tee
shots on Thursday morning.
By the time nightfall arrived
Friday, defending champion
Dustin Johnson was done
after missing the cut by
two strokes. And fi ve-time
Masters winner Tiger Woods
wasn’t at Augusta National
to play or even take part in
the Champions dinner, his
recovery from a car crash in
Los Angeles ongoing at his
Florida home.
Woods wasn’t seen. Not
long after Matsuyama won,
he was heard, or at least read.
“Making Japan proud
Hideki,” Woods wrote on
Twitter. “Congratulations on
such a huge accomplishment
for you and your country. This
historical (at) The Masters
win will impact the entire golf
world.”
He’s not wrong.
Japan is already set to
play host to the Olympics
this summer, delayed a year
because of the coronavirus
and still a thorny subject for
many in that country who
wonder if the Tokyo Games
should be held at all.
The golf event at those
Olympics is scheduled for the
Kasumigaseki Country Club,
the place where Matsuyama
won as an amateur to secure
that fi rst trip to Augusta
National in 2011 — where
he visited Butler Cabin to
receive the prize as the low
amateur that week.
We’re now offering home remodels through the
winter months as we’re fully licensed and bonded.
541-519-5268
stone.elitesprinklernland@gmail.com
CCB#231936 LCB# 9809
Text
us your tire photo
541-519-8878
we will text back
with a quote for
new tires!
Portland Thorns win before
first crowd since March 2020
The game was part of the National
Women’s Soccer League preseason Challenge
PORTLAND — Rocky Rodriquez and Tyler Cup tournament, which opened Friday. In
Lussi scored and the Portland Thorns wel-
the earlier match Friday, the Houston Dash
comed their fans to Providence Park for the
played at home to a scoreless draw with the
fi rst time in 545 days with a 2-1 victory over
Chicago Red Stars.
Kansas City on Friday night.
KC NWSL was founded in the offseason
It was the fi rst professional sporting event after the Utah Royals disbanded. Utah’s play-
in Oregon to have fans in attendance since
ers were moved to the new team.
the Portland Trail Blazers on March 10, 2020.
Rocky Rodriguez scored in the eighth min-
State offi cials are allowing outdoor venues to ute to give the Thorns the early lead before
host events at 25% capacity, but fans are still Lussi’s goal in the 58th. Veteran Amy Rodri-
not allowed at indoor arenas.
guez scored the fi rst goal for KC in the 60th.
By Anne M. Peterson
AP Sports Writer
Lew Brothers Tire Service
541-523-3679
210 Bridge St. Baker City, OR