SPORTS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
N EW BEGINNINGS :
New coach aims to give Grant
Union baseball team a fresh start
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union baseball team has
a new coach but a familiar face with
RC Huerta taking the helm.
Also the head basketball coach
for Grant Union, Huerta begins 2022
as the head coach
for both programs at
Grant Union High
School. Huerta began
as an assistant with the
baseball team in 2019
and ascended to the
role of head coach for
Huerta
the upcoming season
following the depar-
ture of former head coach Doug Sharp.
After a four-win outing last sea-
son, Huerta is looking to get Grant
Union back to its winning ways. The
program has won four state cham-
pionships since 1990. It is a past
Huerta knows well, and is always
mindful of.
“I played baseball in Redmond
when I was a kid. My grandparents
lived in Prairie, and I’d come here
and get a chance to watch their teams.
Looking at what they did and what
they built, baseball culture was huge,”
Huerta said.
“We’re proud of our baseball pro-
gram (at Grant Union),” he added.
“We were a little down last year with
COVID and having not played much
the year prior.”
Despite those challenges, Huerta
Justin Davis/Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union baseball team warms up before practice on Thursday, March 3, 2022.
sees a bright future for the Prospectors
moving forward.
“I’d like to think that at any time we
are going to win a championship. That’s
always the goal: make the playoffs and
get a championship under our belt.”
The coronavirus pandemic led to
the cancellation of the state baseball
playoffs for the past two years. When
asked if he anticipates any setbacks
or complications due to COVID this
season,Huerta was optimistic that all
those issues are largely over.
“I’d like to think not,” he said. “I
know they have a need for officials, so
A9
if anybody reads this and wants to be
an official, feel free to sign up for that.”
Huerta knows there will be chal-
lenges and adversity, but he thinks it
isn’t anything his team can’t handle.
“I like to think glass half full. It’s
sports, so adversity and challenges are
gong to come up, but we’ll be able to
face them and hopefully work through
them without any game cancella-
tions,” Huerta said.
Bringing a championship back to
John Day will rest heavily on the lead-
ership of the team’s three seniors and
the development of its underclassmen.
“We have three seniors on the
team,” Huerta said. “Mason Morris is a
returning player. We have Colby Fell,
who is also a returning player, and we
have Parker Neault.”
Another factor in the success of the
team will be navigating a tough sched-
ule in 1A/2A Special District 7.
“Our league is always tough,”
Huerta said. “I like to equate our
league to the PAC-12. We like to beat
up on each other.”
Despite the youth on the team and a
tough league schedule, Huerta is opti-
mistic that putting his fingerprints on
the team will result in success.
“We’re going to try and carry on
the tradition of baseball here in Grant
County. I’d like to get us back into
the win column and give ourselves an
opportunity.”
The baseball team won its first-
round state playoff game with Huerta
as an assistant three years ago, and
he’d like to return the team to a com-
parable level of success.
“In 2019 we got a chance to go
play Kennedy and got out of the first
round of the playoff. We didn’t quite
get out of the second round (against
Kennedy), but I’d like to get us back
to that place.”
When asked if there is anything
else he wanted people to know about
his team, Huerta spoke of character
and hard work.
“We’re going to have hard-work-
ing kids who are gong to hustle on
and off the field. They’re gong to carry
themselves with class and respect,”
Huerta said.
“We’re gong to get dirty and play
hard. We’re gong to have a good time
while doing it.”
Huerta also hopes to see the com-
munity in the stands for home games
throughout the season.
“Hopefully we get some more peo-
ple out here to see this thing through
so us and the softball program can
make them proud,” he said.
Grant Union begins its 2022 cam-
paign on March 17 at home against
Umatilla. The game starts at noon.
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
Guns and people can be a lot alike
O
Skiier airlifted after
mishap at Mt. Bachelor
By JOE SIESS
The Bulletin
MT. BACHELOR —
A 59-year-old woman was
airlifted from Mt. Bache-
lor ski area to St. Charles
Bend on Wednesday, March
2, after a ski accident on the
mountain.
At around 10:24 a.m.
Wednesday, Mt. Bachelor ski
patrol officials got a call about
a ski-related injury, Leigh
Capozzi, the communications
director for Mt. Bachelor, said
in an email to The Bulletin.
“Upon assessing the skier’s
injuries, Ski Patrol dispatched
Bend Fire and Rescue and a
medical helicopter,” Capozzi
said. “The skier, a 59-year-
old-female wearing a helmet,
was transported by patrollers
to West Village, where care
was ultimately transferred to
Airlink helicopter, who trans-
ported the injured skier to St.
Charles Hospital.”
Capozzi did not provide
further details about the wom-
an’s injuries or condition.
ONSTRUCTION, LLC
C
W
A
Featuring:
•
•
•
•
•
Roofing
• General Construction
Remodeling
Fences
Decks
Storage Sheds
Andy Wolfer
541-910-6609
and
Much
More!
just wasn’t reaching her potential. A bar-
rel change, some stock work and reloading
helped her to really shine.
Both guns and people can be
high-maintenance beauties that generate
lust in your heart. Fun for a while, but in
the end, not worth the cost. Some take a
while to really get to know and appreciate.
They may seem a little odd at first and take
some time to get used to, but in the end are
fun to be around.
Each gun you meet will have its own
personality. You just never know what you
are getting until you spend some time get-
ting to know each other. Maybe you just
won’t get along. Maybe you can find a way
to work together to get the job done.
Every now and then, you find a true
friend that will bring joy every time you are
together.
What caliber is your best friend? Let us
know at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.
com.
Rod Carpenter is a husband, father
and huntin’ fool.
Michael B. DesJardin
Dentistry, PC
Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics
New Patients
Welcome!
208 NW Canton
John Day
541-575-2725
mbddental@live.com
michaelbdesjardinmd.com
S283690-1
CCB#186113
S273980-1
Monday - Thursday
7am-
6pm
Monday
- Thursday
7am-
6pm
Friday
8am
- 5pm
Friday
8am
-
Mendy Sharpe 5pm
FNP
Mendy
Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
S283676-1
139101
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin, File
The Red Chair lift at Mt. Bachelor. A woman was airlifted from
the ski area on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, after the latest ac-
cident on the mountain.
ver the years I have messed
know what you are going to get
with a few guns and dealt
until you spend some time with
with a lot of people. I have
them.
come to the conclusion that guns
Many years ago I saved my
and people are a lot alike.
pennies for an expensive rifle
Each one is unique. People
from a quality maker only to
raised in the same house, with the
have my heart crushed. It was
Rod
same parents, can have wildly dif-
nothing but pain and suffering,
Carpenter
ferent personalities. Guns built one
so we had to part ways.
right after the other in the same
On the other hand, I have an
factory can vary a great deal in function and old, beat-up Ruger 77 that is like that life-
long friend that is always there for you. Not
accuracy.
We all know a family or two that are pil- shiny or fancy. A little worn, with a few
lars in the community. Hard-working, hon-
quirks, but shows up and gets the job done
est and reliable. People you can trust.
without any drama every time.
However, they all seem to have that one
You may not see each other for a while,
black sheep that doesn’t quite live up to the but when you get back together, you pick
family name. Likewise, gun makers with
up right where you left off.
a good, solid reputation can throw a lemon
Every now and then you come across a
every now and then.
person or a gun that just needs some help to
On the other side of the coin, there are
become their best self. A little encourage-
ment, some love and attention to help them
the families from the wrong side of the
realize who they are.
tracks that sire a success story and that
A 7mm Remington Magnum started
cheap manufacturer that occasionally turns
life as a 300 Winchester Magnum, but
out a true gem of a rifle. You just never