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).
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