A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
SPORTS
HAWKINS:
continued from page A7
Hawkins’ attitude with
his players is both relaxed
and intense. He talks about
his players like they’re his
sons, and he talks about
his sons like they’re his
players. He said there’s no
difference in his mind. He
cares and encourages, and
he pushes and celebrates.
“I blame it on my dad,” he
said about his demeanor. “He
made me a certain way.”
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was born. He went from a
normal 25-year-old to a fa-
ther in the blink of an eye,
and suddenly, his perspective
changed, he said. He now had
responsibilities.
He became a teacher and
a coach, and he shares these
experiences and memories
with his students and players.
It helps him relate to them
in a way that other teachers
or coaches don’t or can’t, he
said.
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on my coaching and teach-
ing. I usually wake up in the
middle of the night, and my
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think that’s how you become
a better dad, a better husband,
a better whatever you want to
be.”
He wants his players to
understand that baseball isn’t
life, he said. His two sons,
Vaughan and Hayden, are in
the military, and Vaughan is
about to go to Ukraine.
He told his team exactly
what’s happening and what
he’s thinking.
“I said, ‘Guys, I’ve got
a lot of stuff on my mind,
but I’d rather be here with
BULLDOGS:
continued from page A7
ally a pticher, but he gets
out there and he battled his
butt off today. I was really
pleased with that, and we
rewarded him by putting
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him an at-bat.”
Hermiston didn’t have
many scoring chances, how-
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innings, striking out sev-
en and walking four, while
touching 90 miles per hour
on the scouts’ radar guns.
Chase Root ended the
no-hitter bid in the bottom
of the third when his sharp
grounder to short took a bad
hop and found its way into
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added another knock in
the fourth on a line-drive
up the middle. Both times,
however, Hermiston helped
Lindell wiggle out. Root’s
third-inning single came
with one out and Kyler Mi-
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later Mikami was picked off
at second to end the inning.
After Smith’s single, Dylan
Caldwell grounded into a
smoothly turned 6-4 dou-
ble play to give Lindell two
quick outs in his penulti-
mate inning. Hermiston just
didn’t have any answers.
“In baseball, you have
COLBRAY:
continued from page A7
job done.
“I think it’s pretty good
for Sam, (too),” he added.
“I think he deserves it. I
don’t think he gets the cred-
it he deserves. He’s a really
talented wrestler, and he’s
really smart about it. ... As
long as he keeps improving
on the little things, he’ll be
OK.”
The Hermiston junior
wrestled in front of Cornell
University coaches Rob
Koll and Damian Hahn,
who told Williams they
were impressed with how
Colbray wrestled. They
have been actively recruit-
ing the 195-pound national
champion.
Colbray was one of four
Bulldogs to win matches at
ADVERSITY:
continued from page A7
do know something that’s
important: This team has
SAM BARBEE PHOTO
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without looking over his
shoulder, Hawkins said.
SAM BARBEE PHOTO
It’s a similar approach he’s
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Riverside head coach John
Christy, who is now Haw-
you. Please remember this an all-state-caliber baseball successful at it, he said
kins’ assistant coach. He’s
is a game. Life is happening player from the area, allows
“I really didn’t look at be- given Christy the freedom to
around us and sometimes we parents and fans to trust his ing a head coach when I was teach and help make lineup
don’t know that,’ ” he said. “I philosophies as a baseball younger because I wanted to decisions. He lets Matt Berg-
told these guys I lost a close coach and as a teacher.
know the game, and I wanted strom coach the pitchers his
friend of mine when I was 25.
“(My accomplishments to be mature enough,” he said. way. Christy has head coach-
In a blink of an eye, he was hold) credibility,” Hawkins “I had opportunities several ing experience and Bergstrom
gone. Then you take things said. “Because I played the times. People say, ‘Well why pitched collegiately. Hawkins
everyday, because you don’t game here, they know what didn’t you put in for it? Why said he wants their input.
know.”
kind of athlete I was when didn’t you do this?’ I wasn’t
“We all work together,”
---
I was a lot younger, but my ready. I wanted to do things, he said of his coaching staff.
As a baseball player, Haw- mental approach was pret- and I’m glad I came back and “We talk about lineups, and
kins wasn’t the biggest Herm- ty good ... I think people see coached with the kid, Doug ultimately I’m the one who
iston baseball player, or the how hard you work as a kid Taylor, and I reached a point makes the decision, and they
fastest, but he worked hard. and how hard you work going and said, ‘What better to do?’ realize that, but I want input.
He was a three-time All-Inter- through the ranks.”
”
I surround myself with peo-
mountain Conference player
---
After 14 years of biding his ple who are gonna help me in
and an all-state selection his
For 14 years, Hawkins was WLPH +DZNLQV LV ¿QDOO\ WKH whatever I’m lacking.”
junior year. He’s one of two an assistant baseball coach in head coach of his Hermiston
---
players from Hermiston to be Hermiston. He watched as Bulldogs after spending time
Hawkins stood in the dug-
selected to an all-state team in head baseball coaches were under head coaches who let out recently, his arms folded
50 years. He tried to play foot- hired, left and new ones came him roam and teach and grow over the railing, looking out
ball at Blue Mountain Com- in to replace them. He never in the game. Taylor, who was GRZQ WKH ULJKW ¿HOG OLQH DW
munity College, although he thought about being a head Hawkins’ predecessor and RXW¿HOGHUV WDNLQJ VZLQJV RII
said he was best at baseball, coach. It wasn’t something current Redmond head coach, tees, every once in awhile
but he hurt his back and ankle he wanted to just jump into. gave Hawkins the freedom to yelling to players when he
and could never fully recover. He wanted to be ready. He voice his input, to teach the saw something he didn’t like.
He said because he was wanted to know he could be game and to make decisions He said he loves the game,
but partially because the
group of players he has at his
disposal make it easy for him.
He said there are no cliques
on Hermiston’s 2015 squad.
Everyone gets along, and ev-
eryone wants to get better.
He’s already spent time
with them. He was the
head coach over this past
summer and had time to in-
still his philosophies. He’s
coached the seniors for the
past three years as an assis-
tant. There wasn’t much of
a transition for him or the
players. It was merely a
change in title.
“They know where I’m
coming from,” he said. “I
have credibility with them.
Coach Christy talks about
this all the time: he goes,
“They don’t know me.
They don’t know my back-
ground. They don’t know
how much I know.’ ... For
most of these seniors, I’ve
had them for three years,
but I know their folks. I
think transition-wise, it’s
been really good. I have
great support, great par-
ents.”
Notes:
Hermiston will continue its
glare-shortened game against
Redmond on Friday at 11 a.m.
in The Dalles. The action will
pick up right where it left off
last week: with Redmond up
14-5 and Hermiston batting
with runners and first and
second with one out.
to have a short memory be-
cause you have so many
games,” Hawkins said. “If
you have a bad at-bat, we
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getting rid of it. It’s mental.
The guy pumped it pretty
good, and our guys went up
there and got their hacks.
Were we outmatched?
Yeah, I think we were at
times. When you got a
15-year-old going against
an 18-year-old in some cas-
es, you could tell they’ve
never seen anything like
that. That’s a good team.
It should’ve been a little
closer, I think, but they’re
a better team than we are
right now. That’s all there
is to it.”
West Linn scored three
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two-run triple to the fence in
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West Linn added some in the
third, when the Lions scored
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six runs on both Robles and
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ters of the frame walked,
and Pene came through
again with an RBI single.
After a walk, a strikeout and
another walk, Cole Kinman
doubled to plate two. Rudy
Hughes followed with a sin-
gle to make the count 8-0,
and, after an error, Chase
Cosner grounded into a 6-4
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Jake Perkins, who courtesy
ran for catcher Kinman.
In the next frame,
West Linn put the game
away with four. Nicholas
Yokubaitis singled with
no outs and a runner at
second to give the Lions a reached on an error, allow-
10-0 lead, and Tate Hoff- ing Hughes to trot home.
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———
plate Colton Cosner, who
WEST LINN 13,
had previously singled.
HERMISTON 0
After an error and a hit-by-
306
640 — 13 10 1
pitch to load the bases, Tim WL
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000 — 0 2 4
Tawa singled to drive in K. Lindell and C. Kinman. R. Robles, H. Edmis-
Yokubaitis to push the lead ton, C. Smith and L. Gammell.
to 12-0, then Trevor Wells 2B: C. Kinman (WL). 3B: C. Cosner (WL).
the NHSCA Nationals. Of
seven Hermiston wrestlers
competing, Colbray, Andy
Wagner, at 126 pounds in
the junior division, Bob
Coleman, wrestling at 170
pounds in the junior divi-
sion, and AJ Tuia, compet-
ing at 132 pounds in the
freshmen division, won
matches. Coleman was
two matches from placing
eighth, which would have
earned him an All-Ameri-
can nod.
Colbray, though, was the
story for Hermiston.
As the sixth-ranked
wrestler in the tournament,
he cruised through his
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Georgia’s Jack Walsh 8-1
to start things off, handled
Jalen Martin of Missouri
8-2, pinned New Jersey’s
Patrick Daly in 35 seconds
and then pounded Tennes-
see’s Benjamin Stacey 13-3
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er, Colbray faced Christian
Araneo from New York,
the 11th-ranked wrestler in
the tournament, who gave
Colbray some problems.
The New Yorker had a style
unfamiliar to Colbray, and
Williams said it created a
bad matchup for him un-
til Colbary got a takedown
midway through the third
period for two points and
rode Araneo the rest of the
way for a 3-1 win.
“That was probably the
closest match of the tourna-
ment,” Williams said.
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was better for Colbray, with,
Williams said, in his opinion
the best two 195-pound ju-
niors wrestlers in the national
championship, and Colbray
won going away.
In the other brackets,
Coleman cruised through
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til taking a 3-1 loss to Jalaa
Darwish of New Jersey, the
eventual runner-up. In the
consolation bracket, Cole-
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couldn’t get past New Yorker
Nick Garone in a 5-3 defeat.
Wagner topped Florid-
ian Dylan Cameron 5-1 in
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126-pound bracket and lost
to Matthew Sheetz from
Georgia. On the back end,
Wagner slipped past Tex-
as’ Mason Vidrine 5-3 in
overtime but lost to Ryder
Jones of West Virginia in a
3-1 decision.
Freshman Tuia, who al-
most didn’t wrestle at dis-
tricts because of illness,
beat Tennessee’s Thomas
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round match, but top fresh-
man 130-pounder Sammy
Sasso of Pennsylvania
handled the Hermiston
freshman 20-5 in the sec-
ond round. Tuia then lost
his next match by fall in
just 50 seconds to Joshua
Brown of Pennsylvania.
Williams said commu-
nity members and busi-
nesses deserved thanks for
already learned from last
year and is ready and
willing to change it for the
better. That’s something to
admire and something to
keep your eye on over the
next couple of months. I
won’t go as far as saying
the Vikings will challenge
anyone for a league title,
but they’ll get better. I’m
sure of that.
— Sam Barbee is the
sports reporter for the
Hermiston Herald. He
can be reached at sbar-
bee@hermistonherald.
com
helping pay for the seven
wrestlers’ trip to Virginia.
Their contributions helped
lower the wrestlers’ indi-
vidual costs.
“It was just overwhelm-
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people within the commu-
nity (who) I can’t express
enough thank you’s to,” he
said.