A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2022
SPORTS
BAKER SOFTBALL
Six Bulldogs picked for GOL all-league teams
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
Six Baker softball players have been
recognized by the Greater Oregon
League and given placement on the 2022
all-league teams.
The Bulldogs advanced to the Class 4A
playoffs for the first time since 2018, los-
ing a first-round game to Marist Catholic
of Eugene, which advanced to the state
championship game.
Coaches from GOL teams, Baker, La
Grande, Ontario and Mac-Hi, chose the
all-league players.
“Coaches get together and look at
the girls’ statistics for the season,” Baker
coach Sonny Gulick said. “We take field-
ing, pitching, catching, and hitting all
into account.”
Besides statistical values, “attitude
and work ethic can also play a part in
the decision,” Gulick said. “We discuss
what girls have done for their team and
which girls performed the best during
the season.”
Baker had three players on the GOL
first team:
• Junior Kaycee Cuzick as utility player.
• Junior Makayla Rabourne as an out-
fielder.
Check the June 11 issue for
Baker baseball all-stars
Nine Baker baseball players earned
Greater Oregon League honors for the
2022 season.
See the Saturday, June 11, issue of the
Baker City Herald for a list of the Bulldogs
who were named to all-league teams.
• Freshman Brooklyn Rayl as an in-
fielder.
“It is nice to see the girls get recog-
nized for their hard work,” Gulick said.
“Kaycee led us in batting average and
Brooklyn in hits.”
Baker’s second-team picks:
• Cuzick as a pitcher.
• Junior Kaci Anderson as catcher.
• Junior Kiley Jo Aldrich as an in-
fielder.
• Senior Emrie Osborn as an outfielder.
“Having so many ladies selected is a
credit to the team,” Gulick said. “I am re-
ally looking forward to next year.”
Five of the six Bulldogs who earned all-
league honors will be eligible to play next
spring, as Osborn was the lone senior.
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Kaci Anderson swings at a pitch during the Bulldogs’ 5-0 win over Heppner/Ione on April 25, 2022, at the
Sports Complex.
La Grande rolls to state baseball title
OSAA honors
Baker coach and
BHS graduate
BY RONALD BOND
For The Observer
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
The Oregon School Activi-
ties Association (OSAA) hon-
ored two Baker City men, one
current and one former, for
their efforts promoting sports
both locally and statewide.
Jason Edwards, an assistant
football coach at Baker High
School, received an assistant
coach of the year award.
And Brad Garrett, a 1981
BHS graduate who has
worked for the OSAA since
2001, was given the Marv
Heater Distinguished Ser-
vice Award.
Both were honored during
the OSAA’s annual awards
ceremony May 21 at the Uni-
versity of Oregon.
Jason Edwards
BHS head football coach
Jason Ramos expressed grati-
tude for Edwards’ support.
“Coach Edwards brought
a background of knowledge
and experience that made
him an excellent fit for our
program,” Ramos said. “He
instantly made connections
and built relationships with
all of our student athletes. He
has a real passion for making
himself available for kids to
improve themselves.”
Brad Garrett
Garrett, an assistant ex-
ecutive director for OSAA,
which is based in Wilsonville,
received the Marv Heater
Distinguished Service Award,
which is not given every year.
The award honors Heater,
a linchpin for the Oregon
Athletic Coaches Association
(OACA), initially hosting it
from his own basement. After
Heater was succeeded by Rob
Younger in 2010, the award
was established to commem-
orate his life dedication Ore-
gon high school athletics.
Garrett oversaw the state’s
cross-country, football,
wrestling, track and speech
and debate programs this
school year.
“Brad’s impacts on high
school activities in Oregon,
and nationally, have been tre-
mendous,” OSAA Executive
Director Peter Weber said
during the awards ceremony.
“Simply put, he’s a leader who
gets the job done every time.”
Garrett served as national
chair for the National Federa-
tion of State High School As-
sociations.
In an interview, Weber
talked about his 20-year as-
sociation with Garrett, and
the crucial role Garrett played
as OSAA helped schools and
athletes navigate the chal-
lenges of the pandemic.
Jeremy Lanthorn/Contributed Photo
Brad Garrett was awarded the
Marv Heater Distinguished
Service Award by the OSAA on
May 21, 2022.
“We all worked together
to work with the state to get
activities back and running,”
Weber said.
Garrett reflected on his 21
years with OSAA.
“Every day is a battle out
here, sports are such a part of
the fabric of society, as staff
members we have opportu-
nities to deal with all kinds of
scenarios at a really basic, hu-
man level,” he said. “Over the
last 21 years I would certainly
consider it a success on the
number of those interactions
that were super positive.”
He touched on the consis-
tent changes he saw in sports,
noting how much football
particularly has had to adjust.
“From 2008 we saw safety
changes on a state and na-
tional level, concussions
changed everything for the
high school realm,” Garrett
said. “We had to find ways
to make the game as safe as
possible.”
Garrett also talked about
the challenge of school athlet-
ics competing with the grow-
ing popularity of club sports.
“One of the biggest chal-
lenges moving forward is
maintaining the balances be-
tween athletes and coaches
that have become more ex-
acerbated,” Garrett said. “As
club athletics have become
more popular over time, we’re
fighting to keep educational
based athletics viable and part
of the fabric moving forward.”
KEIZER — The La Grande
Tigers are back on top of the
Class 4A baseball world.
And they used a punish-
ing offensive attack and a
lockdown pitching effort to
get there.
“It was pretty great, to be
honest,” Jarett Armsrong said.
“It felt like it was deserved in
a way because of last year get-
ting so close. It was a big sigh
of relief for the whole team to
finally get that work in and get
the result you wanted.”
Nick Bornstedt and Arm-
strong both had three RBIs,
Jace Schow outpitched both of
Hidden Valley’s aces, and the
Tigers (28-1 overall) rolled to
a 10-1 victory Tuesday, June 7,
at Volcanoes Stadium to claim
their third OSAA state title. La
Grande claimed its other state
titles in 2007 and 2017.
“Phenomenal. Fantastic
team win,” head coach Parker
McKinley said. “They were
ready to go. We knew we
needed to get right after their
starting pitcher. … Kids had
some great approaches.”
Schow, who also hom-
ered in the win, tamed the
high-powered Mustang of-
fense, striking out 11 and
allowing just one run on six
hits. The lone run he surren-
dered scored on a balk in the
second inning.
“That’s a really, really good
lineup, a strong-hitting lineup
that he pitched against,”
McKinley said. “He pitched
beautifully. He executed his
pitchers, hit his spots.”
Schow, who said having
the early lead helped drop his
stress, said he found success
in knowing his defense would
make plays behind him. He
pounded the strike zone,
deftly mixing up his fastball
and changeup.
“I was trying to get them
to put the ball in play and
throw strikes,” he said. “I was
keeping them off balance by
throwing my changeup and
(making them hit) it to my
defense.”
The Tigers’ offense, mean-
while, scored early and often
against Hidden Valley aces
Isaac Hill and Nate Vidlak.
Hill started, but lasted just
five batters, leaving with what
McKinley said appeared to
be an issue with his throwing
arm.
“Isaac, hopefully, was not
(out with) anything serious,
but his arm was bothering
him,” the coach said.
Hill walked the first two
batters he faced, then after
two strikeouts surrendered
a two-out, two-run single to
Nick Bornstedt for an early
2-0 lead.
“I think that definitely set
the tone,” Bornstedt said. “It
was really kind of what got us
going. I feel like it was a spark.
The rest of the team rallied
behind me after that. A credit
“Eventually the dam broke,”
Bornstedt said. “As a team we
were putting a lot of pressure
on them the whole game.”
La Grande loaded the bases
with one out, and Cesar Ro-
driguez walked to force in a
run for a 5-1 lead. On the next
pitch, Braden Carson hit a two-
run single to center, and three
pitches later, Armstrong hit a
two-run double to chase Vid-
lak from the game and push
the lead to 9-1.
“We just put everything to-
gether, didn’t let up on the gas,
and I would say just tied some
runs together that needed to
happen,” Armstrong said of
Suzanne Collman/Contributed Photo the fifth-inning barrage. “It
La Grande’s Braden Carson (16) celebrates after scoring during the Ti-
was momentum building, one
gers’ 10-1 win over Hidden Valley in the OSAA Class 4A state champion- piece at a time.”
Schow iced the win with
ship game on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 in Keizer. La Grande finished the
a solo home run to lead off
season with a 28-1 record en route to the program’s third state title.
the sixth.
against Vidlak on a Bornstedt
to the first two guys that got
“The game is so much about
RBI single and an Armstrong momentum,” McKinley said.
walked, too, just to be on and
sacrifice fly in the fourth, then “When you get it going in
be in that situation for me.”
The Tigers added single
delivered the knockout blow in your direction special things
runs in the third and fourth
the fifth.
can happen.”
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