A8
SPORTS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Lady Pros fall to Honkers
ing behind in the third inning.
Despite the disappointing fi nal
game, Grant Union/Prairie City
softball coach Zach Williams said it
was a great season and that the girls
battled all year to get to the champi-
onship game.
“It wasn’t our day. We got out-
played, and we have to tip our hats
to Lakeview. Drew pitched really
well and we hit really well. We
didn’t play solid defense, and it cost
us,” he said.
“We will miss the fi ve seniors
that played their last game on Fri-
day, and we wish them the best after
graduation.”
Williams also said the team
couldn’t have accomplished what it
did without the support of the com-
munity and his coaching staff .
“We have been very humbled by
the support and excitement of the
community, and we want to thank
everyone that came out and cheered
us on,” he said. “We had hoped to
bring the title back to Grant County,
but we’ll give it our best shot again
next season. I would also like to
thank my assistant coaches, Levi
Watterson, Brandon Culley, Amy
Martin and our AD, Ryan Gerry.
We couldn’t do any of this without
them.”
The second-place fi nish is the
best state softball result in school
history for the Lady Prospec-
tors, who fi nished the season with
a record of 26-2. Grove, Weaver,
Robertson, Emily Finley and Paige
Gerry all played their fi nal game for
the Lady Pros in Eugene.
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
T
he Grant Union/Prairie
City softball team had
faced Lakeview twice
this season and emerged
with victories on both
occasions.
Their third matchup of the sea-
son went a diff erent way as the
Lady Prospectors fell to the Lady
Honkers 5-3 in the fi nals of the Ore-
gon State Activities Association 2A
state softball tournament at Jane
Sanders Stadium in Eugene on Fri-
day, June 3.
The Lady Pros fi nished the
fi rst inning up 1-0 and every-
thing looked to be going accord-
ing to plan. Lakeview struck back
in the third inning, however, put-
ting a pair of runs on the board to
lead 2-1 headed into the fourth. The
fourth was scoreless, with Grant
Union going three up- three down
and Lakeview leaving two on base
to keep the game at 2-1 headed into
the fi fth inning.
Lakeview would add another run
in the fi fth with an RBI double and
push their lead to 3-1 headed into
the sixth. The sixth inning got off to
a promising start for the Lady Pros,
with Savannah Watterson lead-
ing off the frame with a triple to
right fi eld. A Riley Robertson sin-
gle two at-bats later would see Wat-
terson score from third to put the
Lady Pros within striking distance
at 3-2. Halle Parsons would dou-
ble to center fi eld on the next at-bat,
Chris Pietsch for the Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union/Prairie City’s Drew Williams pitches against Lakeview in the
OSAA 2A/1A State Championship game at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene
on Friday, June 3, 2022.
and Paige Weaver would be thrown
out at home trying to score off the
Parsons double. Raney Anderson
would fl y out the next at-bat to keep
the contest at 3-2 entering the fi nal
frame.
A pair of wild pitches set the
table for two Lady Honker runs to
score, which pushed the Lakeview
lead to 5-2 headed into the bottom
of the seventh inning. Ava Gerry
would score a run for the Lady Pros
in the bottom of the seventh inning
following an Addy Northway
groundout to cut the Lakeview lead
to 5-3 with one more out before the
end of the contest. The rally was not
to be, however, as Watterson would
strike out to end the contest at 5-3
and leave the Lady Pros just short
of their fi rst state softball champi-
onship in school history.
Robertson led the Lady Pros at
the plate, fi nishing 2-3 with a pair
of RBIs. Northway provided the
other RBI for the Lady Pros while
fi nishing 1-4, with an RBI and a run
scored. Harli Grove didn’t log an
RBI or run scored but did fi nish the
game a perfect 3-3 at the plate.
Drew Williams pitched the
entire contest for the Lady Pros.
Williams fi nished the game with
eight hits surrendered and a single
earned run while striking out 15 bat-
ters. Grant Union/Prairie City fi n-
ished the contest with an unchar-
acteristic seven errors and stranded
fi ve runners on base. The Lady Pros
never reclaimed the lead after fall-
John Day Bull Bash makes a splash
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Rainy weather did not
dampen the spirits of hundreds of rodeo
fans who attended the John Day Bull
Bash at the Grant County Fairgrounds on
Friday and Saturday, May 27-28.
In its second year, the rodeo fea-
tured bull, steer and calf riding as well
as professional bullfi ghting, with both
local and out-of-town competitors from
the bull riding community, according to
organizer and Grant County resident Joe
Oakes.
Oakes, a former professional bull
rider himself, said he thought people
would skip the event because of the unre-
lenting rain.
“(The weather) was just depressing
and I didn’t think anyone would come,”
Oakes said, “but then I couldn’t believe
how many people came in that kind of
weather.”
Oakes said 400 to 500 people
attended the fi rst night and no fewer than
400 came out for the second.
Last year — without the rain — he
said the event drew a much larger crowd.
Oakes, who grew up competing in high
school rodeos at the Grant County Fair-
grounds, said he was inspired to orga-
nize the event amid the fatigue many in
the county and across the country were
feeling with the ongoing pandemic
restrictions.
“I was depressed and wanted to do
something,” Oakes said. “I felt like the
community was ready to do something.”
Oakes said he called his friends in the
bull riding community and others in the
county got involved and people packed
the grandstands at the fairgrounds.
Oakes said he grew up riding bulls,
but now he is too old. Nonetheless, he
still wants to be involved with the sport.
The bull riding community, he said, is
a family-oriented group of people and the
rodeo community is its own family, too.
Not just the contestants but the fans as
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well. Events like the bull bash, he added,
bring commerce to the county’s restau-
rants and other businesses.
“It’s a big shot in the arm for them,”
he said. “(The rodeo) gives people some-
thing to remember and they love it, and
they’ll come back next year.”
Kids’ competition
Bransyn Harper, 9, took fi rst in the
mini-bull riding competition with 79
points, while his older brother Taytyn,
13, took second with 75. Gus McDaniel
took the steer riding championship while
Oakes’ son Sterling (Little Joe), 6, was
the calf riding champion.
Bull riding champions
Colten Dougherty took fi rst place
overall with a score of 84 on Friday and
87 Saturday.
In the second-place spot was Wyatt
Moulton, who scored 83 on the fi rst
night of the competition and 86 in the
fi nal going.
Steven Mitchell/Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant County’s Taytyn Harper
hangs on in the fi rst go-round
of the mini-bull riding compe-
tition during the John Day Bull
Bash on May 28, 2022, at the
Grant County Fairgrounds.
Grant sends four to state rodeo
Clark, a junior, qualified in pole bend-
ing as well.
Rowdy Israel, a sophomore, fell short
of qualifying for the state fi nals. Israel
said she competed in breakaway roping,
pole bending and goat tying. Unfortu-
nately, Israel said, she did not tie the legs
tight enough and the goat got up and she
got a “no time.”
The top 20 competitors in each event
will move on to state fi nals competition
on Saturday, June 9. From there, the top
four overall fi nishers will move on to the
National Finals Rodeo July 17-23 in Gil-
lette, Wyoming.
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
PRINEVILLE — Four Grant Union
students will compete at the Oregon High
School Rodeo State Finals, which will be
held in Prineville Wednesday-Saturday,
June 8-11.
Jack Strong, a junior, qualified in
saddle bronc and bull riding. Mean-
while, Sam McCracken, a senior,
qualified in reined cow horse and
boys cutting, while his sister Bailey
McCracken, a sophomore, qualified in
barrel racing and pole bending. Sarah
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