FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT
A5
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021
PREP CROSS-
COUNTRY
Sisters is OSAA
Team of the Month
The Sisters boys
cross-country team was
named the Class 4A Team
of the Month for Febru-
ary by the Oregon School
Activities Association on
Tuesday.
The honored teams in
each of the classifications
are recognized for their
performance, dedication
in the classroom and ser-
vice to the community.
Outlaws cross-country
coach Josh Nordell said
that his squad checked all
the boxes. Sisters finished
second at the 4A state
cross-country meet in
2019 and returned most
of its varsity runners for
the upcoming season —
including reigning state
champion John Peckman
and third-place finisher
Will Thorsett.
While having team-
wide success in the
classroom, much of the
cross-country team is
also heavily involved as
mentors in Sisters High
School’s life skills pro-
grams as well as Project
Unify, a team-based pro-
gram through the Special
Olympics.
“That’s a pretty big
honor for our little school
out here,” Nordell said.
The Outlaws are the
second Central Oregon
team to receive the honor
this year. The Bend High
softball team was the
6A Team of the Month
in October for its various
team activities — writ-
ing a book, snowman
contest, various athletic
challenges — while high
school athletics were
limited.
— Bulletin staff report
WOMEN’S PAC-12
HOOPS TOURNEY
Beavs beat Cal,
next face Ducks
Oregon State survived
several nervous moments
by game No. 12-seeded
California before even-
tually putting away the
Bears in a 71-63 first-
round win Wednesday
afternoon at the Pac-12
women’s basketball tour-
nament in Las Vegas.
The fifth-seeded Bea-
vers (10-6) advance to the
quarterfinal round, where
they’ll face No. 4 Oregon
at 11 a.m. Thursday. It is
the first time OSU and
Oregon have played in a
Pac-12 women’s tourna-
ment game.
Taylor Jones had 17
points and 13 rebounds
as four Beavers scored in
double figures. The Bea-
vers shot 51% from the
floor, yet needed most of
40 minutes to put away
the scrappy Bears (1-16).
Talia von Oelhoffen
led OSU’s scorers with ca-
reer-high 20 points, while
Aleah Goodman scored
12 points and Sasha Go-
forth 11.
Leilani McIntosh led
California with 14 points.
The Bears shot 40% (26
of 65) from the floor, and
out-rebounded Oregon
State 39-33.
Oregon State led 39-27
at halftime, after pulling
away from the Bears early
in the second quarter. The
Beavers trailed 13-10 late
in the first quarter, then
tore off on a 20-4 run to
take a 13-point lead with
4:44 left before halftime.
California gave the
Beavers a scare early in
the third quarter, as the
Bears scored the first
nine points to trim the
deficit to three. But OSU
regrouped, as Jones
and Goforth scored four
points each during a 11-2
run to put the Beavers up
50-38.
— The Oregonian
bendbulletin.com/sports
PREP SPORTS
Livestreaming the only way to watch most events
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
If a volleyball match is played, but no
one is around to see it, did it actually
happen?
Tuesday night La Pine was gearing
up for its first volleyball match of the
season against Harrisburg. Like most
other high school competitions so far
in this “fall” season, spectators were not
allowed and the only way to view was
through a livestream from the National
Federation of State High School Asso-
ciations Network (www.nfhsnetwork.
com).
The Hawks fell in straight sets to the
Eagles (25-19, 25-17, 25-18) in their first
match of the year. But no one outside of
the teams who were there got to see it.
Instead of a view of the volleyball
match through the automated cam-
eras that track the action by follow-
ing the ball, those who tuned into the
stream were welcomed with a video of a remain in either the high or extreme
speaker hanging from rafters.
risk tiers. Livestreams through nfhsnet-
Unsure of what caused the camera to
work.com are available for many Cen-
malfunction, La Pine athletic director
tral Oregon high school events.
Aaron Flack said he believes the camera
Elsewhere in Central Oregon athlet-
ics, Grace Toney scored
was bumped by some-
“We hadn’t been on
three goals and assisted
thing prior to the match.
on another in the Bend
The camera was function-
High girls soccer team’s
ing properly shortly after it our home field since
5-2 win over Redmond in
was installed. He also said Oct. 30 (of 2019). It
both teams’ season opener
that the outdoor cameras
was a nice welcome on Tuesday at Bend’s 15th
functioned properly for
Street Field.
the Hawks’ soccer match
back for us.”
Lilianuna Lucas and
on Monday.
Jordan Welsh scored the
Flack said that he was
— Gavin Meyers, Bend
other two goals for the
told by the NFHS Net-
girls soccer coach
Lava Bears. All five of the
work that the camera
goals came off of assists, and Katelyn
will be back in operation in time for La
Jolley led the team with two assists.
Pine’s next match against Trinity Lu-
“We hadn’t been on our home field
theran on Thursday.
since Oct. 30 (of 2019),” said Bend coach
For the time being, spectators are not
Gavin Meyers. “It was a nice welcome
allowed to attend high school athletic
back for us.”
contests while Central Oregon counties
Junior Isabelle Ludi and sophomore
Natalie Lockey scored goals for Ma-
dras in the team’s 2-2 tie against Molalla
Tuesday evening.
Mountain View boys soccer defeated
Redmond 6-1 in the teams’ season
opener on Tuesday. Kade Ahern led the
way with two goals, and Owen Behnke,
Parker Harrison, Angel Rosalas and
Aiden Willis each added a goal. Shae
Sanchez broke the scoring drought for
the Panthers.
Hood River Valley got the best of
Redmond on the volleyball court Tues-
day night, winning 3-1. The Panthers
lone win came in the second set, which
they won 25-13 before losing the third
set and then narrowly losing the decisive
fourth set. The Eagles won 25-13, 13-25,
25-17, 25-23. Redmond next plays host
to Summit on Thursday evening.
Reporter: 541-383-0307,
brathbone@bendbulletin.com
MLB
FINDING
HIS
GROOVE
Yusei Kikuchi faces his most
important season yet for Mariners
BY TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
I
t feels very much like Yusei Kikuchi just
arrived in the majors after his highly
anticipated move from Japan.
Yet, the left-hander is already about to start
his third season with the Seattle Mariners
Charlie Riedel/AP photo
Seattle Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi throws during the second inning of the team’s spring training baseball game
against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday in Peoria, Arizona.
and easily his most important to date.
“I feel that he’s kind of got his arms around where
he’s at as a pitcher and hopefully it starts playing out
on the field more consistently,” manager Scott Ser-
vais said. “We’ve seen it. We’ve seen it in flashes, we
just haven’t seen consistent stretches of it.”
Kikuchi got in his first work of spring training
Tuesday, throwing two innings, allowing one hit,
one run and striking out three against the Cleveland
Indians. His plan is to build up to five or six innings
prior to the start of the season, when Kikuchi seems
likely to fit into the six-man rotation behind staff ace
Marco Gonzales. And when the season begins, so
will the analysis of how and whether the Mariners
will move forward with Kikuchi.
Kikuchi’s contract is structured so that he and the
Mainers will have to make major decisions follow-
“It’s obviously a big year contract-wise
personally, but I’m more focused on how big of a
year it is for our team. This year and next year.”
— Yusei Kikuchi, Seattle Mariners pitcher,
through an interpreter
ing the conclusion of the 2021 season. Seattle holds
a club option on Kikuchi to be exercised within
three days of the conclusion of the World Series.
This isn’t just a one-year option, but a commitment
for four years that would keep Kikuchi tied to the
Mariners through the 2025 season.
That option would cost Seattle $66 million over
the life of the deal.
Should the Mariners decline the four-year option,
Kikuchi has control over his future. He could exer-
cise a player option to remain in Seattle for the 2022
season and be paid $13 million. Or he could opt out
of the deal entirely and become a free agent at age 30.
It’s a massive decision that could lock Kikuchi in
long-term or leave both sides searching for other
options.
“It’s obviously a big year contract-wise person-
ally, but I’m more focused on how big of a year it is
for our team. This year and next year,” Kikuchi said
through an interpreter. “We truly believe that this
year, next year, we’re going to make a good run for
the playoffs and more. And so I’m just really focused
on being able to be a big factor.”
See Kikuchi / A6
PREP SPORTS | TRANSGENDER BAN
WOMEN’S PAC-12 BASKETBALL
Can Oregon ‘right the ship’ in Lawmakers in more than 20 states
rematch with Oregon State? seek to ban transgender girls
BY JAMES CREPEA
The Oregonian
Oregon will open its post-
season slate with a rubber
match against Oregon State in
the Pac-12 tournament.
The No. 4 seed Ducks will
take on the No. 5 seed Bea-
vers in the quarterfinals on
Thursday at the Mandalay Bay
Events Center in Las Vegas.
It’s the first ever conference
tournament meeting of the in-
state rivals, who played Sunday
in Eugene with Oregon State
winning 88-77 to split the reg-
ular season series and snap a
three-game losing streak to
Oregon.
Next up
BY DAVID CRARY AND LINDSAY
WHITEHURST
Associated Press
No. 19 Oregon vs. Oregon St.
When: 11 a.m. Thursday TV: Pac-12
It was the third of now four
straight wins for OSU (10-6),
which beat Cal on Wednesday
afternoon and has won seven
of its last eight to go from out-
side the NCAA Tournament to
likely shoring up an at-large bid.
See Oregon / A6
Legislators in more than
20 states have introduced
bills this year that would ban
transgender girls from com-
peting on girls’ sports teams
in public high schools. Yet in
almost every case, sponsors
cannot cite a single instance
in their own state or region
where such participation has
caused problems.
The Associated Press
reached out to two dozen state
lawmakers sponsoring such
measures around the coun-
try as well as the conservative
groups supporting them and
found only a few times it’s
been an issue among the hun-
dreds of thousands of Amer-
ican teenagers who play high
school sports.
In South Carolina, for ex-
ample, Rep. Ashley Trantham
said she knew of no transgen-
der athletes competing in the
state and was proposing a ban
to prevent possible problems
in the future. Otherwise, she
said during a recent hearing,
“the next generation of female
athletes in South Carolina may
not have a chance to excel.”
In Tennessee, House
Speaker Cameron Sexton
conceded there may not actu-
ally be transgender students
now participating in middle
and high school sports; he
said a bill was necessary so the
state could be “proactive.”
Some lawmakers didn’t re-
spond to AP’s queries. Oth-
ers in places like Mississippi
and Montana largely brushed
aside the question or pointed
to a pair of runners in Con-
necticut. Between 2017 and
2019, transgender sprinters
Terry Miller and Andraya
Yearwood combined to win
15 championship races,
prompting a lawsuit.
See Transgender / A7