WEDNESDAY
May 29, 2019
QUARTERFINAL FINALES
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union/Prairie City Prospector Tristan Morris rounds third base in the Wednesday, May 22, game against the Lakeview Honkers.
Prospectors overtaken by Kennedy
Grant Union/Prairie City cannot
overcome eight-run second inning
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union/Prairie City Prospector baseball
team ended their season at the OSAA 2A/1A State
Championship quarterfi nal round with a 12-3 loss to
the Kennedy Trojans on Friday in Mt. Angel.
Kennedy’s eight-run second inning gave the Tro-
jans a big early lead in the battle.
Calling it a “back breaker,” Prospector head coach
Doug Sharp said, “It was one of those innings that
nothing went right.”
In the top of the fi rst inning, Grant Union had the
bases loaded and only one out.
“We had a great opportunity to jump on them early,
but unfortunately we had a call that went their way,
and we came away with nothing,” Sharp said.
“Sometimes, you have to have some luck and get
some breaks to win a game at the state level,” he con-
tinued. “From the beginning, we just didn’t get those.
Our talent was just as good as Kennedy’s, though they
defi nitely played better on that day.”
“The kids, coaches, parents and fans all knew that
See Boys, Page B10
Grant Union/Prairie City
defeats Lakeview to
advance to quarterfi nals
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union/Prairie City Prospector Tristan Morris pitches
the Wednesday, May 22, second-round state playoff game
against Lakeview at Malone Field in John Day.
The Grant Union/Prai-
rie City Prospector base-
ball team advanced to the
quarterfi nals of the OSAA
2A/1A State Champion-
ships after defeating the
Lakeview Honkers 8-4
May 22 in John Day.
Grant Union/Prairie
City’s sharp one-through-
nine lineup, junior Tristan
Morris’ pitching and a
timely catch from fresh-
man center fi elder Mason
Morris were all elements
of the Prospectors’ vic-
tory over the Lakeview
Honkers in the round-two
playoff battle at Malone
Field at Seventh Street
Complex.
“They just hit the ball
really well, kept the ball
moving, turning over the
lineup and got some qual-
ity at-bats,” said Pros-
pector head coach Doug
Sharp of his team.
Tristan Morris had
two strikeouts in the fi rst
inning, but the Honkers’
two-run double put them
on the scoreboard early.
Prospector
senior
Roen Langum made sev-
eral stops against the
Honkers in his position at
fi rst base.
“Emotions were run-
ning high, and everybody
had nerves going into it,
but we overcame those
nerves,” he said. “They
got up in the fi rst inning,
but we knew it wouldn’t
be for long, and we kept
rallying.”
See Baseball, Page B10
GRANT UNION SOFTBALL
Prospector softball
Prospector girls fall to North
team defeats Lost River
Douglas in quarterfi nal round
Raiders to advance
Opposing Warriors
only allowed 34
runs during regular
season
Grant Union/
Prairie City tops
16 seed 4-2 in
second round
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union/Prai-
rie City Prospector softball
team ended a successful sea-
son in the quarterfi nal round
with a 5-0 loss to the North
Douglas Warriors.
The Prospectors, with
fi ve seniors, made it an
exciting season, entering the
OSAA state championships
as the No. 1-seeded team.
North Douglas put a
damper on Grant Union’s
dreams of winning it all
this season, with help from
their pitcher Nicki Derrick,
a junior.
According to OSAA.org,
Derrick threw three fi ve-in-
ning perfect games this sea-
son, and the Warriors have
only allowed 34 runs in the
regular season.
Grant
Union
head
coach Zach Williams said,
although that record tops
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
North Douglas runner Nicki Derrick slides back to fi rst just
before Prospector Marissa Smith can tag her out. In back are
pitcher Macy Strong, left, and third baseman Tiler Voigt.
the state, he still thought his
team would have a chance at
the plate.
“Sometimes you just tip
your cap to the other team
and say good job,” he said.
“They were ready, they bat-
tled, they got a lead on us
early and they just never
gave up.”
Warriors head coach
Jesse Rice said he was “a lit-
tle worried” when it started
to rain in the bottom of the
third inning.
“She (Derrick) stayed
focused and threw the ball
hard,” Rice said. “We knew
that Grant Union could hit
the ball, so were really ner-
vous about it. She went right
at ‘em. She defi nitely threw
the ball hard today.”
Senior Macy Strong
pitched seven innings for
Grant Union, striking out
two Warrior batters.
While Grant Union was
See Girls, Page B10
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union/Prairie City
Prospector right fi elder
Kori Jo Girvin, a senior,
makes the grab for an out
in the game against North
Douglas.
The Grant Union/Prai-
rie City Prospector soft-
ball team, No. 1 in the state,
kept their fans on the edge
of their seats in their 4-2
victory over the Lost River
Raiders of Klamath Falls in
the May 22 second-round
state playoff of the OSAA
2A State Championships in
John Day.
Both the Prospectors and
the Raiders had a dry spell
until the fourth inning.
In the top of the fourth,
Lost River had two outs.
Then a Raider sent a base
hit up the middle that center
fi elder Baylee Combs threw
to catcher Hailie Wright,
who tagged Raider Maken-
zie Girtman out at the plate.
“That was a huge momen-
tum shift,” said Grant Union
head coach Zach Williams.
Grant Union broke out
with four runs in the bottom
of the inning.
Wright started things off
with a double, followed by
Madi McKrola’s single to
send Wright home.
Marissa Smith and Kori
Jo Girvin hit singles, and
Macy Strong hit a double.
The bottom of the fi fth
was a different story with
Lost River center fi elder
Rianna Forrester catching
three fl y balls in a row for
quick outs.
Grant Union was able
to keep Lost River off the
scoreboard until the sixth
inning, when a couple Pros-
pector errors allowed the
Raiders to get in the game
with two runs.
That would be as far
as the visitors would go,
as Grant Union kept a lid
on Lost River in the fi nal
inning.
The Prospectors beat the
Raiders 9-1 early in the sea-
son, so the closer game came
See Softball, Page B10