SPORTS
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
A13
Doug Sharp leads Grant Union baseball into new season
Team hosts two tourneys
next two weekends
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Doug Sharp has a long history
with Grant Union’s baseball pro-
gram and is taking over the reins
as Prospector head coach this
season.
Sharp, a math teacher at the
school,
played
baseball for the
Prospectors in his
high school days,
and he was head
coach in 2006 and
2007 and assistant
coach for the past
Head coach
two years for for-
mer head coach
Doug Sharp
Dusty Williams.
Twenty-five baseball play-
ers are busy at the batting cages
and Malone Field at the Seventh
Street Complex, Grant Union
combining with Prairie City this
season.
Sharp said he hopes to return
the team to a tradition of success.
“We never want to be rebuild-
ing, but reloading,” he said.
“We’re trying to get that back.”
He said his goal is to make
sure the team is fundamentally
sound and to teach the little
things about the game that will
gain victories.
“You want to play consistent
baseball and wait for the other
team to make mistakes,” he said.
It’s also important to antici-
pate each play — and hustle, he
said.
As coach, he’s trying to lead
by example.
“You want to be contagious
with your own effort and atti-
tude,” he said. “If I’m hustling
and working hard, they know
they need to work hard.”
He said his athletes are show-
ing commitment to the team, put-
ting in the hours at practice.
Sharp’s assistant coaches
include RC Huerta, Zack Deiter
and Brandon Hueckman.
Hueckman, a 2003 Grant
Union graduate, was on the team
that made it to the state champi-
onship game his senior year.
Deiter, who graduated last
June, was Grant Union’s starting
pitcher and left “big shoes to fill,”
Sharp said.
Sharp said he appreciates
his assistant coaches, adding,
“You’re only as good as your sup-
port staff.”
This year’s Prospector seniors
are catcher Jacob Vaughan, first
baseman Roen Langum and out-
fielder Gabe McKinley.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union’s Peyton Neault is ready to swing as the Prospectors practice at the batting cages March 14 at Seventh Street Complex in John Day.
Pitchers this
season
include
sophomore Logan
McCluskey, also
at second, and
junior
Warner
Robertson, also at
Gabe McKinley third.
Younger pitch-
ers in the wings
include freshmen
Mason
Morris,
Justin Hodge and
Parker Neault.
Other
play-
ers include junior
Jacob Vaughan short stop Tristan
Morris,
sopho-
more third base-
man
Peyton
Neault,
junior
left fielder Rus-
sell Hodge, junior
center
fielder
Cole Deiter and
Roen Langum
junior right fielder
Damion Young.
“I think we have a lot of ver-
satility,” Sharp said, adding that
if his athletes can hit the ball and
stay focused, they’ll play.
“Warner and Logan, they’re
going to give you everything
they have,” he said. “I just want
our kids to have confidence and
want them to go out there and
compete.”
A 2A team in Special District
7 this season, Grant Union/Prairie
City will compete against: Stan-
field/Echo (2A), Heppner/Ione
(2A), Dufur/South Wasco County
(1A), Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/
GRANT UNION BASEBALL SCHEDULE
March 21: vs. Homedale, Idaho,
2 p.m. (Iron Triangle Tournament)
April 14: vs. Weston-McEwen,
12 p.m., 2 p.m.
March 22: vs. Santiam Christian,
1 p.m. (Iron Triangle Tournament)
April 16: @ Heppner/Ione, 4 p.m.
March 22: vs. Western Christian,
3 p.m. (Iron Triangle Tournament)
March 23: vs. Nestucca, 2 p.m. (Iron
Triangle Tournament)
March 28: vs. Umpqua Valley Chris-
tian/Melrose Christian, 2 p.m. (Les
Schwab Tournament)
March 29: vs. Neah Kah Nie, 2 p.m.
(Les Schwab Tournament)
March 30: vs. Rainier, 2 p.m. (Les
Schwab Tournament)
April 6: @ Dufur/South Wasco Coun-
ty, 12 p.m., 2 p.m.
April 9: @ Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/Uki-
ah, 4 p.m.
Ukiah (2A), Sherman/Arlington/
Condon (1A), Union/Cove (2A)
and Weston-McEwen (2A).
Pilot Rock finished in sec-
ond place at state last year, but
Sharp said they lost pitchers to
graduation.
Stanfield, which was tradition-
ally strong at the 3A level, is now
2A, and Heppner was also com-
petitive last year, Sharp said.
“We had to beat them (Hep-
pner) on a walk-off bunt to
advance last year,” the coach said.
He added there is no district
playoff this season, so every
game is important.
“We want to respect every
April 27: vs. Sherman/Arlington/
Condon, 12 p.m., 2 p.m.
April 30: vs. Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/
Ukiah, 4 p.m.
May 4: @ Union/Cove, 12 p.m.,
2 p.m.
May 7: vs. Heppner/Ione, 4 p.m.
May 11: vs. Stanfield/Echo, 12 p.m.,
2 p.m.
May 20: State playoffs, first round
May 22: State playoffs, second
round
May 24: State playoffs, quarterfinals
May 28: State playoffs, semifinals
May 31: State playoffs, finals
opponent,” he said.
Sharp said his former high
school coach Art Thunell, who
is now director of the John
Day-Canyon City Parks and Rec-
reation District, has been a “huge
influence” in his life, as a coach
and a teacher.
“As soon as he stepped on the
field, he was 100 mph” when he
coached, Sharp said.
Thunell was recognized as
Oregon’s “winningest” high
school coach in 2005 — going
31-0 that season with 591 vic-
tories over his 28-year coach-
ing career. He also earned the
National Coach of the Year
Award in 2006 from the National
Federation of State High School
Associations.
Vaughan, excited to start
the season, said he enjoys the
methodical and strategical aspect
of baseball and said they have
some big hitters on the team this
year.
Langum is impressed with the
team chemistry.
“We’re going to have good
communication in game, and
we’re going to pick each other up
— nobody gets down,” he said.
McKinley said he feels they
have a high chance of making
it further in the playoffs this
season. Last year, Grant Union
made it to the first round at state.
He’s happy with the good
relationship between the players
and coaches this year.
“The new coach is involved
with the players and has a lot
of experience,” he said. “He’s
been involved with the program
a lot, and he wants to see it come
back.”
Sharp said, if you try to offer
kids a program that they can be
proud of, they don’t mind putting
in the long hours.
“They want to be the next
group that wants to carry on the
torch — that’s our goal,” he said.
He said they’re aiming for a
state championship.
“Why play the game if we’re
not going for a state champion-
ship?” he asked. “We’ll do our
best, and whatever happens,
happens.”
SPORTS SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, MARCH 21
Grant Union track and field, in-
ter-squad meet in John Day, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY, MARCH 22
Grant Union golf @ Heppner at
Echo Hills Golf Course, 10 a.m.
ment), 3 p.m.
Tournament vs. TBD, 1 p.m.
Grant Union baseball vs. Santiam
Christian (Iron Triangle Tourna-
ment), 1 p.m.
Grant Union softball @ Lost
River at Pilot Rock Tournament,
5 p.m.
Grant Union baseball vs. Nestuc-
ca (Iron Triangle Tournament),
2 p.m.
Grant Union baseball vs. Western
Christian (Iron Triangle Tourna-
SATURDAY, MARCH 23
Grant Union softball @ Pilot Rock
Mission Statement:
ATTN VETERANS:
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VET CENTER IS
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retenal.
READJUSTMENT
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WHEN/WHERE
John Dav-Elks lodge
March
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Februarv 21th
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. April 24th
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Find out about what is
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WHO ARE WE?
CENTRAl OREGON VET CENTER
1645 NE FORBES RD, SUITE 105
BEND, OR 91102
541-149-2112
WWW.VETCENTER.VA.GOV
For more information contact
Grant County Veterans 541 620-8057
MONDAY, MARCH 25
Grant Union softball vs. Clats-
kanie (Grant Union Spring Break
Tournament), 1 p.m.
TUESDAY, MARCH 26
Grant Union softball vs. Nestucca
(Grant Union Spring Break Tour-
nament), 1 p.m.