Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2015)
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A11 COMMUNITY Bulldog girls eke one out over The Dalles Hermiston boys hammer Riverhawks 7-1 the boys team to Boise, Idaho for a two-day tourna- ment this weekend. Singles Robin Pashele (TDR) def. Katelyn Millard (HHS) 6-2, 6-1 Marisa Cianci (TDR) def. Jaycee Ternes (HHS) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) Mackenzie Hill (HHS) def. Kiani Pielli (TDR) 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 Devyn Wolfe (HHS) def. Julissa Marquez (TDR) 6-0, 6-2 BY SAM BARBEE HERMISTON HERALD Following a 5-3 loss to Pendleton that left players frustrated, the Hermiston girls tennis team rebounded Wednesday in a big way. With many compet- itive matches and three tie-breakers, the Bulldogs eventually outlasted the Riverhawks 4-3, keyed by a 6-4, 5-7 (10-8) win by No. 3 singles player Mackenzie Hill to clinch the victory. “No one was real happy with their play after Pend- leton,” head coach Jason Sivey said. “It made us step back and think about what we’re doing today, for sure, and I think that we came out and played a pretty good match with them not being real happy with their previous performance. “A lot more smiles com- ing off the courts (today) than frowns and being up- set,” he added. After the first two sin- gles matches, The Dalles appeared to be in control. The Dalles No. 1 singles player Robin Pashele han- dled Katelyn Millard 6-2, 6-1, and Marisa Cianci edged Jaycee Ternes 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). From there, though, Hermiston lost just one of the next six matches, and that was the No. 1 doubles pair of Briana Wolfe and Doubles Anna Muller and Johanna Wilson (TDR) def. Briana Wolfe and Cheyanne Peterson (HHS) 4-6, 7-5, 10-4 Kylie Markwick and Whitney McMahon (HHS) def. Emma Ell-Smith and Abby Munnick (TDR) 6-2, 6-2 Reed Middleton and Breena Wadekamper (HHS) def. Rebekah Kohtfarber and Ellie Trujillo (TDR) 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 Debra Johnson and Athen Reid (HHS) def. Cas- sie Vazquez and Tiani Langston (TDR) 6-4, 6-1 BOYS TENNIS SAM BARBEE PHOTO Hermiston’s Cheyanne Peterson sends a forehand back to her Riverhawk opponents in a varsity doubles match Wednesday at Hermiston High School. Cheyanne Peterson against Anna Muller and Johanna Wilson. After losing the first set 6-4, Muller and Wilson went on a tear, win- ning the second 7-5 and the tie-breaker 10-4 after start- ing down 3-1. Sivey said despite the loss, he wasn’t disappoint- ed with how they played. “They played well,” Sivey said. “They just played a really good team.” The key matches, Sivey said, were the No. 3 and 4 singles players — Hill and Devyn Wolfe. Hermiston needed those two wins, and the youngsters of Hill and Wolfe delivered. Hill’s two-set tie-broken match lasted until dusk with the WADEKAMPER: so Wadekamper gave her players an ultimatum: They had to win by eight points or they were paying for ev- ery point under eight. They won by seven and had to pay for that one point with extra conditioning. “I just remember one of the girl’s eyes were really big after my ultimatum,” Wadekamper said. “I said, ‘Believe me, I will.’ They had a lot of those memo- ries, too, after that season. It was a super-fun group, and it was just such a tight- knit group, and they got along so well, it just made it that much more enjoyable.” Wadekamper isn’t sure what’s coming next for her. “That’s the crystal ball question,” she said. She will spend some time visiting Tyler at whichever school he chooses — he’s visited Seattle Pacific Uni- versity and the University of Washington — and also watching Breena finish her three years at Hermiston High. She’s received some offers to continue coaching around the community but isn’t yet prepared to make any commitments. She said she wants to avoid any deci- sions for at least a year, but, again, isn’t yet sure if that will work out as planned. Coaching somewhere down the line isn’t out of the question, either. It’s just a matter of making the choices that best suit her team: the Wadekampers. “I wouldn’t say that I’ve entirely closed that door forever,” Wadekamper said of coaching. “I can just go by, at this time and mo- ment, how I feel. That may change. ... By and large, my most important job is to be a mother and a wife.” with the pitching depth they have — Tony Flores, Dylan Grogan, Ryan Bailey, Klay Jenson, Thyler Monkus and more — they feasibly won’t ever run out of arms. The order is strong and deep, and they have a lot of guys who can play anywhere. I’m sure Monkus could play all nine positions plus be the bat boy, water boy and keep score all at the same time. The kid can play. A few miles south in Echo, the softball team isn’t playing its best, but it’s contending. The Cougars are 8-8 (4-4) and are two games back of first-place Vale. But Echo’s got the players to give them trouble. Mackenzie Gonzales has been fabulous in the circle, Jamie Christopher has been money lately at the top of the order and Kenzie Blankenship, Erika Parks, Bailey Srofe and Hannah McCarty have been doing their parts, as well. All Echo has to do is clean up some defensive troubles, and its one of the better teams in that league. That will be an interesting race, along with both sides of the CRC and the EOL. At this point, we have some good playoff races heating up. Keep your eye on OSAA.com on the standings and run differentials, and I’ll be checking, too. If this keeps up, we shall be faced with an amazing May of close and important baseball and softball games. I sure can’t wait. — Sam Barbee is the sports reporter for the Hermiston Herald. He can be reached at sbar- bee@hermistonherald. com continued from page A10 easily.” Wadekamper started coaching volleyball as soon as she graduated from NNU and had been involved in the Bulldogs’ program since 2009. In her first year, the Bulldogs won the Co- lumbia River Conference and earned the third seed in the 5A state tournament. That group stands out to Wadekamper not, just because it was her first as head coach in Hermiston, but because of the dynam- ic of the team, as well. She recalled the play-in game that year as one of her bet- ter Hermiston volleyball memories. Her squad was ranked significantly higher than Wilson, and it played like it the first game. The second game started to get away from the Bulldogs, however, and Wadekamper said her piece in the hud- dle. Then captain Mallory Moss spoke up, and her voice cracked at an inop- portune time, right as Moss was making her point, pro- viding some much needed comic relief. Hermiston then served eight straight points in a runaway game win. In the third set, Herm- iston was again letting the inferior team hang around, SPRING: continued from page A10 I’d put the Tigers up against anybody right now. I was at their game on Saturday, and they look like a different team than I saw a month ago. They hit, they pitch, they field, they run and they bunt. They do everything good teams do. They appear to be on a mission, as well. After losing their first three games to one great team and some decent ones, they’ve reeled off nine straight wins with a run differential of plus-9.5. That’s really impressive. As of Friday, the Tigers are 10-5 (5-1), good for second place behind Vale by mere percentage points. The Tigers were the only undefeated team in the 3A Eastern Oregon League until an 11-5 loss to Vale on Friday. And Bulldog just sliding past the Riverhawk, and Wolfe dominated Julissa Marquez 6-0, 6-2. “(Hill) stepped up her game a lot,” Sivey said. “That was one of the big- gest matches she’s had this season. She played really well. She kept her head in the game really well. It was a lot different than Pend- leton. In Pendleton, she struggled through it, and today she came out ready to play, and she played one of the best matches I’ve seen her play all season.” On the doubles side, Kylie Markwick and Whit- ney McMahon made short would of Emma Ell-Smith and Abby Munnick 6-2, HERALD FILE PHOTO After four years, Becky Wadekamper (facing) announced earlier this week that she is retiring as head vollyeball coach at Hermiston High School. SAM BARBEE PHOTO Hermiston’s Jaycee Ternes tries to get on top of a forehand during a No. 2 singles match Wednesday in Hermiston. 6-2, but pair Reed Middle- ton and Breena Wadeka- mper found themselves in a battle with Rebekah Kohtfarber and Ellie Trujil- lo. The Hermiston players dropped the first set 6-3 but won the second 6-2 and the tie-breaker 10-7. In the No. 4 match, Athen Reid’s partner Tania Jamie Sanchez was sick Tuesday and wasn’t in the varsity lineup, so junior varsity No. 1 Debra Johnson got the call and didn’t disap- point. The pair dispatched Cassie Vazquez and Tiani Langston 6-4, 6-1. For Hermiston, the win was the second this sea- son over The Dalles, but it acts as a tune up and con- fidence-builder for its tour- nament this weekend in Boise, Idaho. “I think we’re going into that tournament with a higher self-esteem,” Sivey said. “We’re going in with more momentum. We have a little more confidence in ourselves in that tourna- ment as well as finishing out the season ... It was good to see another win with some change-ups.” Hermiston travels with At The Dalles, the Hermiston boys tennis team had its way with the Riverhawks in a steady wind, winning 7-1. In preparation for playing doubles in Boise, Idaho this weekend, usual top singles players Tyler Wadekamper and Jacob Snell played No. 1 doubles, winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. Filling in the top two singles spots were Valentino Whitsell and Caleb Jorgenson. Whitsell ate the only loss for the Bulldogs, a 6-4, 6-4 loss, and Jorgenson came through with a 6-6 (5-7), 6-1, 10-4 tie-break win. Ayden Pruitt also won a tie-breaking match after losing the first set 6-3. He won the second set 6-2 and took the tie-breaker 10-7. In the No. 4 match, Skyler Grigg won easily 6-0, 6-1. After Wadekamper and Snell came Cameron Meade and Race Latham, who won convincingly 6-0, 6-1. Stefano Peiris and Koby Grigg man- aged a 6-6 (7-5), 7-5 win, and Patrick Wicks and Jason Morris eased to a 6-0 6-4 win. Singles Will Cog (TDR) def. Valentino Whitsell (HHS) 6-4, 6-4 Caleb Jorgenson (HHS) def. Daniel Santillan (TDR) 6-6 (5-7), 6-1, 10-4 Ayden Prewitt (HHS) def. Alex Lopez (TDR) 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 Skyler Grigg (HHS) def. Pedro Lopez (TDR) 6-0, 6-1 Doubles Tyler Wadekamper and Jacob Snell (HHS) def. Griffin M. and Ethan S. (TDR) 6-1. 6-3 Cameron Meade and Race Latham (HHS) def. Joe Singhurst and Jesus Barajas 6-0, 6-1 Stefano Peiris and Koby Grigg (HHS) def. Cody McClinton and Luis Diaz (TDR) 6-6 (7-5), 7-5 Patrick W and Jason M (HHS) def. Omar Rodri- guez and Caleb Turner (TDR) 6-0, 6-4 ago, when Davis and his classmates were freshmen, the Bulldogs didn’t win a continued from page A10 game, and last year they a match that is shaping up to won three by themselves determine who will take the and one by forfeit. fourth spot in the playoffs Being in a playoff race and who goes home. has the players feeling more It will be the first time positive this late in the sea- that any player in the son than they have in years. Hermiston program has “It feels really frickin’ been in the thick of the good, to be honest,” Davis playoff hunt this late in said of being on a success- the season. Four years ful team who is playing for a playoff spot. “Going from freshman year 0-8, 0-9, or something like that, to seeing my team being able to work the ball and have teamwork instead of being selfish the last cou- ple of years, it’s a good feeling.” Hermiston takes on Central Valley, Washing- ton, in a non-league game at 3 p.m. today at Sunset Elementary. ROUNDUP: but was not aided by her defense, which commit- ted 10 errors. The fielding mistakes were not isolated to the second game; the Cougars also made six er- rors in the first game. Echo will try to regain its winning ways in a home non-league contest versus Weston-McEwen Thursday and in a league double dip against Nyssa on Friday. ——— BULLDOGS: continued from page A10 Allan singled to score Jenson from third and Wampler after a throwing error on a pick-off attempt to put Stanfield up 5-2. Vale plated a couple in the home half of the sixth, but Bailey’s single in the seventh gave Stanfield a much-needed insurance run, and Jenson’s wiggled out of a little jam in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win. ——— STANFIELD 6, VALE 4 SHS200 002 1 — 6 7 1 VHS000 202 0 — 4 5 6 K. Jenson and D. Grogan; Weber and Rodriguez. 2B: Fortin 2 (VHS). 3B: Weber. SOFTBALL At Vale, the Cougars took a major step back on Friday against the de- fending state runner-up Vikings, dropping a pair to Vale 9-4 and 13-0. Entering with identical league records, Vale (9-7, 6-2 EOL) wasted little time asserting its dominance. Kelsey Hawley powered through the Cougar (8-8, 4-4 EOL) lineup in the cir- cle, allowing one earned run in 12 innings of work. The junior right-handed pitcher’s talents were on full display during a game two five-inning no-hitter of the Cougars. In the second game, Echo’s defensive struggles surpassed the plate. Pitch- er MacKenzie Gonzales allowed 13 runs to cross VALE 9, ECHO 4 Game one R H E 7 tab bold: ECHO 022 000 0 — 4 5 6 7 tab bold: VALE 020 403 x — 9 10 2 A. Ray and E. Parks. K. Hawley and Z. Mulvaney. W — K. Hawley. L — A. Ray. 2B —Z. Mulvaney (VALE) . Body: VALE 13, ECHO 0 (5 innings) Game two R H E ECHO 000 00 — 0 0 10 VALE 162 4x — 13 7 1 M. Gonzalez, A. Ray (4) and E. Parks. K. Hawley and Z. Mulvaney. W — K. Hawley. L — M. Gonzales 2B — C. Perry (VALE). sign up for our email newsletter Get news from the Hermiston Herald delivered to your email Monday - Friday. Sign up for our email newsletter at hermistonherald.com for more information 1-800-522-0255