BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
B1
WEDNESDAY
May 1, 2019
McCluskey closes in two wins over Huskies
Grant Union wins fi rst eight league games
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Prospector
Logan
McCluskey, a sophomore,
worked some magic at
Malone Field, closing two
games for the Grant Union/
Prairie City baseball team’s
double sweep of the Sher-
man/Arlington/Condon Hus-
kies on Saturday 7-3 and 9-2.
Grant Union’s No. 1
pitcher Warner Robertson, a
junior, took on the Huskies
for six innings in game one.
Sherman’s Wade Fields
pitched fi ve innings for the
Huskies with Cort Colby
fi nishing.
Robertson singled in the
bottom of the fi rst, driving in
leadoff hitter Tristan Morris,
who had stolen second base.
The Prospectors were up
2-0, when the Huskies bat-
tled back with three runs in
the top of the third.
In the bottom of the
fourth, Morris turned the
tables when he singled, and
Peyton Neault and Russell
Hodge scored runs to give
Grant Union a 4-3 lead.
Robertson struck out a
batter in the fi fth with fi rst
baseman Roen Langum tag-
ging a runner out and Hodge
catching a fl y ball for an out
in left fi eld.
Grant Union moved
ahead 7-3 in the sixth when
McCluskey singled for an
RBI. Then Jacob Vaughan hit
up the middle for an inside-
the-park two-run homer.
With McCluskey back
at the mound, Grant Union
sealed the win with two
strikeouts, and centerfi elder
Cole Deiter caught a fl y ball.
Freshman Mason Morris
pitched six innings in game
two.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union/Prairie City Prospector Damion Young scores
a run in Saturday’s game one against Sherman/Arlington/
Condon.
Grant Union head coach
Doug Sharp said Morris’ fast
ball “really moves.”
Sharp said sometimes
the freshman has diffi culty
“commanding it, but when
he’s on, it’s hard to square
him up — he did a great job.”
The wind was whipping
in the bottom of the sixth
inning.
When McCluskey came
in to pitch, there was one run-
ner out, and the bases were
loaded. He struck out the
remaining two batters and
left three runners on base.
Sharp said he thinks
the Huskies were feeling
defeated at the start of game
two.
“They knew our kids
were ready to play,” he said,
adding, “Our guys were
relentless.”
Langum, a senior, said
when they got behind in
game one, they didn’t get
down on themselves.
“We came back and talked
each other up and won it,” he
said.
“We probably played the
best baseball we’ve played in
a long time,” said Vaughan,
also a senior, who is catcher.
“In the fi rst game, it was
our defense, and the second
game our offense — we hit
really well.”
Sharp said, when his team
was behind, they continued
to play with confi dence.
“It doesn’t phase them,”
he said.
“That’s actually a pretty
good team,” he said of Sher-
man. “That fi rst pitcher
(Fields) was good. We knew
it was going to be a tough
challenge. The kids kept on
battling.”
Grant Union was sched-
uled to face the Pilot Rock/
Nixyaawii/Ukiah Rockets
on Tuesday, April 30, in Pilot
Rock, past press time.
The Prospectors are
ranked No. 6 among OSAA’s
2A/1A teams. They are No. 1
in league (11-6 overall, 8-0
league), and the Rockets are
No. 2 (10-4, 7-2).
Grant Union beat Pilot
Rock 13-4 on April 10 in
John Day.
“A lot could still happen,”
Sharp said. “It’ll be a big
game at their ballpark.”
Sharp said his top pitch-
ers have only an inning or
less left of pitches and will
have to rest due to pitch-
count rules, and likely Pey-
ton Neault and/or Damion
Young will take the mound.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Gage Brandon set a personal record in pole vault at the
small school meet.
Athletes set aspirations
high at small school meet
Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Madi McKrola is safe, sliding back to fi rst base in Friday’s game against Echo/
Stanfi eld.
Prospector softball
team sweeps two
Girls ranked fi rst
among 2A/1A fi eld
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Ranked No. 1 in the state
among OSAA’s 2A/1A teams,
the Grant Union/Prairie City
Prospector softball team swept
two league opponents at Sev-
enth Street Complex Friday
and Saturday.
On Saturday, the Prospec-
tors faced the Adrian Antelopes
for the fi rst time, winning 13-1
and 22-2.
Grant Union also swept the
Echo/Stanfi eld Cougars 14-4
and 14-1 on Friday.
Big highlights for Fri-
day included Prospector Tay-
lor Allen, a junior, hitting two
home runs in game one, and
Marissa Smith, a senior, hitting
a homer in game two.
Grant Union faced a chal-
lenge in the third inning of
game one when their No. 1
pitcher Macy Strong went
down with a migraine and
starting center fi elder Baylee
Combs came out of the game
with fl u-like symptoms.
“We had two girls off the
bench come in,” said Prospec-
tor head coach Zach Williams.
Freshman Harli Grove took
over for Strong with three
strikes, letting the defense
work.
The score was 14-1 going
into the top of the fi fth, and
Echo/Stanfi eld scored three
runs, but Grove held them off
for the 10-run win.
Allen pitched game two,
and Grove started in left fi eld
with freshman Riley Robertson
behind the plate.
“Those freshmen stepped
up and did what they needed to
Grant Union Prospector Taylor Allen pitches against Echo/
Stanfi eld in game two, getting the 13-1 win.
Grant Union fi rst baseman Marissa Smith throws to pitcher Taylor
Allen after tagging an Echo-Stanfi eld runner out in Friday’s game.
do,” Williams said.
He said, hitting-wise, the
team needs to make adjust-
ments quicker when facing
pitchers with different speeds,
“but they did well, and they did
enough to get two 10-run victo-
ries. I’m proud of them.”
Grant Union will face the
Pilot Rock/Nixyaawii/Ukiah
Rockets at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Wednesday in Pilot Rock for
more league action.
They host Heppner/Ione
at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Satur-
day, May 4, in John Day for
their fi nal league games of the
season.
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant County track and fi eld ath-
letes are honing their skills as they pre-
pare for their fi nal meets before district
competition.
Grant Union, Prairie City and Long
Creek’s teams took fl ight April 23 at
the Grant Union Small School Meet in
John Day, along with four other teams.
Taking the top team score for the
boys was 2A Grant Union with 180
points, followed by 3A Burns with
160, 1A Crane with 104 and 1A Prairie
City with 77. Long Creek, a 1A team,
placed sixth with 33 points.
The Grant Union girls tied for fi rst
with Burns with 201.5 points. Crane
placed third with 101 points, and Prai-
rie City placed fourth with 36.5. Long
Creek and Mitchell-Spray tied for fi fth
with 22 points.
Jordan Hall, a Grant Union soph-
omore, set personal records in all of
his events. He placed fi rst in the 110-
meter hurdles with a time of 17.13,
second in the triple jump with a mark
of 39-7 and fourth in javelin with
132-1.
Hall, along with teammates Quaid
Brandon, Mason Morris and Justin
Hodge, shaved nearly one second off
their time in the 4x100 relay for their
best time of the season.
Morris placed fi rst in the triple
jump, setting a personal record with a
mark of 42-9.5. He was also second in
the 200, behind Burns sprinter Klay-
ton Nutter.
Gage Brandon set season records
in his events, which included the 110
hurdles, 300 hurdles and pole vault.
Setting personal records for the
girls were Rylee Browning in the
1,500 and 3,000; Lauryn Pettyjohn in
the 100 and 300 hurdles; and Sierra
Cates in the 200.
Abby Lusco and Sophie Brockway
added to their marks in discus, and
Kaylee Wright and Shelby Brooks
added height to their high jumps.
Trinity Hutchison set a personal
record in the 300 hurdles with fi rst
place. She placed fi rst in all her events
— the long jump, triple jump and
4x100 relay with teammates Sierra
Cates, Carson Weaver and Wright.
Wright was also fi rst in all her
events, which also included the 100
and javelin.
Hutchison was happy with her
results.
“I’m just enjoying the season so
far,” the senior said. “It’s a good day.”
Long Creek freshman Carter Bur-
nette improved his marks in discus
and javelin.
“I think our team is doing good
overall,” he said at the meet, noting
several of his teammates were setting
personal records.
His teammate Henry Grannis, a
junior, said his favorite event is dis-
cus. He earned second place in the
event behind Grant Union’s Drew
Lusco.
Grannis said he didn’t beat his pre-
vious record, but said, “I’ll do better
at the next meet.”
James Kreamier set a personal
record in the triple jump, placing
fourth with a mark of 38-00.50
Long Creek’s assistant coach Peter
Case said his team’s running form is
“starting to click.”
“Our returning runners are doing
much better than last year,” he said,
noting they’ve added to the skills they
learned previously.
For the girls, Long Creek soph-
omore Dorotha Johnson set per-
sonal records in the triple jump, plac-
ing second with a mark of 28-00,
and in the shot put, placing 10th.
She also placed third in the triple
jump.
Cheers could be heard across the
fi eld when Prairie City senior Levi
Burke broke his personal record in the
high jump with a leap of 6-07, adding
3 inches to his mark.
Tristan McMahan shaved off time
in his 300 hurdles event, placing third.
In his fi rst year of track, senior Syd
Holman is giving impressive perfor-
mances, and he set personal records in
all his events.
He placed second in the 100 with a
time of 12.01 behind a Burns sprinter.
He also competed in the 200, javelin
and long jump.
“I just wanted to PR,” he said at the
meet. “In the long jump, I did well with
18 fl at. I’m happy with that, consider-
ing I learned how to do it this week.”
Prairie City head coach Nate Barber
said he’s glad Holman joined the team
this season.
For the girls, Abbey Pfefferkorn
improved in the 200, placing fourth —
fi rst among the 1A athletes — and high
jump, placing fourth.
Her teammate Mikiah Kimble also
set a personal record, fi nishing third in
high jump behind 2A and 3A athletes.
Rilee Emmel also bettered her
javelin throw, and Samantha Work-
man added height to her pole vault
performance.
Barber commented on the sunny
day.
“Better weather equals better
results,” he said. “It defi nitely helps.”