A6 — BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2021
SPORTS
Braves win fi rst
Philomath ends Baker’s season World Series
 Senior-led
Warriors sweep
since
1995
Bulldogs in
BAKER VOLLEYBALL
playoff match
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Even as the Baker vol-
leyball team’s breakthrough
season was slouching toward
its end Tuesday night, Nov. 2
in the Baker gym, coach Ali
Abrego had a glimpse of the
Bulldogs’ future.
And she only had to look
across the net.
There, a senior-laden
Philomath team was about
to conclude a 3-0 sweep of
Baker in a Class 4A quarter-
fi nal playoff match.
But even as Abrego and
the Bulldogs lament the
conclusion of a season where
they compiled a 16-7 record,
claimed the Greater Oregon
League title and advanced
to the fi nal eight, they know
that next year they will
have the experience that
the Warriors brought to the
Baker gym.
The Bulldogs had only one
senior — co-captain Lacy
Churchfi eld.
“She’ll be a hard one to
replace,” Abrego said after
Philomath had fi nished
its 26-24, 25-13, 25-18 win
before a large crowd in the
BHS gym. “We have a lot of
room for growth.”
Abrego said Baker’s rela-
tive lack of playoff experi-
ence — only Churchfi eld
and junior Jozie Ramos were
on the roster of the 2019
team that lost a fi rst-round
playoff match at Junction
City — showed early against
Philomath.
Ashlynn Barron, one of
the Warriors’ senior lead-
ers, had three strong serves,
one of them an ace, to give
Philomath a quick 3-0 lead in
the fi rst set.
The Warriors extended
the lead to 7-3, led by three
kills from another senior,
Sage Kramer, whose power-
ful swings tested Baker’s de-
fense throughout the match.
Philomath extended
its lead to 10-5, but after
Abrego called a timeout, the
Bulldogs rallied.
Consecutive kills from Ra-
mos and fellow junior Rylee
Elms cut the lead to 10-7.
After a Philomath
timeout the Warriors forged
ahead 19-15, but Baker
responded with kills from
junior Makenzie Flanagan
and Churchfi eld to cut the
lead to 19-18.
The latter part of the set
was tense, with ties at 21, 22
and 23.
A Philomath hitting error
gave Baker a set point at
24-23, but the Warriors then
scored three straight, includ-
ing a kill by Kramer, to take
the set, 26-24.
Abrego said she was grati-
fi ed to see her young team
shrug off the diffi cult start
and quickly adjust to the
Warriors’ high level of play.
“It was stage fright,
almost,” she said. “But I felt
really good about how we
came back from a defi cit
instead of just rolling over.”
Philomath dominated the
second set, leading 10-3 early.
Abrego called timeout
with the Warriors leading
16-5, and although Baker had
a mini rally to get within 10
points at 23-13, Philomath
fi nished off the set.
The fi nal set was much
more competitive, with ties at
3, 6 and 8.
After Philomath led 15-12,
Ramos served an ace to get
Baker to within 17-16.
Flanagan had a kill to
cut the lead to 18-17, but the
Bulldogs would get no closer.
By BEN WALKER
AP Baseball Writer
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker senior Lacy Churchfi eld, foreground, and junior
Rylee Elms during Baker’s playoff match against
Philomath on Tuesday, Nov. 2 in the Baker gym.
Philomath scored seven
of the last eight points to
end the match and advance
to a semifi nal match Friday
night, Nov. 5 at Corvallis
High School.
Abrego said Baker
showed its mettle with
its performance in the
third set.
“It was good to see them
come back in the third set
and compete,” she said.
Looking ahead to 2022,
Abrego is excited about Bak-
er’s potential. In addition to
its core of junior leaders and
sophomore libero Ryann
Paulsen, the Bulldogs had
three freshmen play against
Philomath — Ashlyn
Dalton, Sofi a Hanson and
Taylor Churchfi eld.
“We had a lot of potential
coming into this season,”
Abrego said. “With a young
team you either rise to the
occasion or you don’t, and I
think we did a really good job
representing our league and
getting to the top eight.”
Abrego believes the loss
to a veteran team such as
Philomath could be an experi-
ence that Bulldogs look back
on, in future seasons, as an
important stop, albeit a disap-
pointing one, on the progres-
sion of the program.
“It’s a reference point,
something we can refl ect
back on,” Abrego said.
HOUSTON — Most of
the season, it just seemed
this wasn’t their year.
They dropped their fi rst
four games, and soon injuries
piled up. They lost their most
dynamic player before the
All-Star break. They were
stuck below .500 in August.
Yet out of nowhere, sud-
denly, these Atlanta Braves
transformed themselves and
took off.
Jorge Soler, Freddie Free-
man and the Braves breezed
to their fi rst World Series
championship since 1995,
hammering the Houston
Astros 7-0 on Tuesday night,
Nov. 2 in Game 6. Max Fried
threw six dominant innings
in a signature pitching per-
formance to close it out.
“We hit every pothole, ev-
ery bump you could possibly
hit this year,” Freeman said.
“Injuries, every single kind
of thing that could happen,
that could go wrong went
wrong, and we overcame
every single one of those
things.”
How proud Hank Aaron
would’ve been.
Even so, Atlanta’s trou-
bles never fully went away.
General manager Alex
Anthopoulos, the architect
of the Braves’ midseason
turnaround, missed this
crowning achievement
after testing positive for
COVID-19. He was back
home for the clincher.
Soler, a July acquisition
who tested positive for the
coronavirus in the playoffs,
backed Fried early with a
monster three-run shot for
his third homer against the
Astros.
Freeman hit an RBI
double and then punctuated
the romp with a solo home
run in the seventh that
made it 7-0.
By then, it was a total
team effort. Ailing star Ron-
ald Acuña Jr., the dynamo
of Atlanta’s future, bounded
from the dugout to join the
celebration for Freeman, the
longtime face of the fran-
chise.
When Yuli Gurriel
grounded out to end it, Free-
man caught the throw at
fi rst base, put the ball in his
pocket, and the party was on
for manager Brian Snitker’s
club.
A full hour after the
game, hundreds of Braves
fans packed behind the
team’s third base dugout
kept doing the chop and
chant, causing loud echoes to
bounce around the ballpark.
About 700 miles away at
suburban Truist Park, thou-
sands of fans poured into the
Braves’ home to holler.
A mere afterthought in
the summer heat among the
land of the Giants, White Sox
and Dodgers, but magnifi -
cent in the Fall Classic.
“This is the toughest team
I’ve ever been a part of,” said
shortstop Dansby Swanson,
who also homered.
Soler tapped his heart
twice before beginning his
home run trot after connect-
ing off rookie Luis Garcia in
the third inning, sending the
ball fl ying completely out
of Minute Maid Park and
clinching the Series MVP
award.
By the end, nothing could
stop them. Not a broken leg
sustained by starter Charlie
Morton in the World Series
opener. Not a big blown lead
in Game 5.
SNOW TIRES
are cheaper
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker juniors Rylee Elms, front, and Jozie Ramos go up for a block attempt against
Philomath during a playoff match Tuesday, Nov. 2 in the Baker gym.
2nd Place Winner:
Austin Carlson, Pendleton
HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST
than a wreck
BRAGGIN'
RIGHTS
HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST
1st Place Winner:
John and William Smith, Echo
3rd Place Winner:
Chris Draper, Baker City
Come and see us or call to schedule an appointment
Lew Brothers Tire Service
Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of their
big capture and congratulations to our winners —
You’ve certainly earned Braggin’ Rights!
541-523-3679
210 Bridge St. Baker City, OR