SPORTS
JUNE 17, 2015
HERMISTONHERALD.COM
A6 WEDNESDAY,
PREP GOLF • SUMMER SOFTBALL • SCHEDULE • SUMMER BASEBALL
The pain
of caring
too much
SAM BARBEE
FROM THE SIDELINES
Sports reporter
W
hile the Houston
Astros were parading
around the bases
against the sanity-taking
Mariners, I became angry. Not
just feign I-wish-this-wasn’t-
happening angry. No. It was
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something-injuries-be-damned
angry.
Then I realized something:
I’ve gotten out of control.
I guess it all started when
I thought the Mariners would
actually be a good baseball
team. On paper they are,
but games aren’t won with
projections and hypotheticals,
they’re won with runs. And
Seattle has the second-fewest
runs in baseball, despite having
this guy named Nelson Cruz.
So as the Astros scored 13 runs
and Seattle mustered just two
hits, boy was I upset. I stomped
around my apartment and
pouted with my arms folded. I
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didn’t get to go to McDonald’s
because he misbehaved.
I texted my dad and told
him what was going on. He’s
in Europe right now with
my mom, taking a cruise
from Cologne to Vienna,
and somehow the nine-hour
time difference synced up
properly for us to have a brief
conversation.
He said to just remember
that it’s entertainment and
ultimately unimportant. It’s
a sentiment I share but had
forgotten. Sure, I’m emotionally
invested in the teams I root
for. When Washington lost a
heart-breaking football game
to Arizona last fall, I couldn’t
watch that day’s highlights.
They were too painful. But
that’s a rarity. Usually I don’t
care enough to have a win or
loss affect my mood and my
attitude.
It’s been happening more
frequently lately. My coworkers
can attest to my irrational
involvement. They see when I
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win and I’m glowing, and I
have a rain cloud over my head
when the Mariners have lost two
of three. Editor Jessica Keller
tells me I’m in an unhealthy
relationship and I have to get
out. And you know what? She’s
right.
So now I’m trying. I’m
trying not to live and die with
each inning, with each at-bat,
with each pitch. I make fun of
football fans in the South who
obviously take it too seriously.
Remember that story about an
Alabama fan who poisoned
the almost sacred trees on the
campus of Auburn a few years
ago? That’s what I was on
pace to become. At one point,
I was seriously considering
hijacking the train that steams
across some tracks at Houston’s
ballpark as a sort of revenge
tactic. See where I was?
I had this coming. At the
beginning of the spring, I was
telling anyone who would
listen that the M’s are winning
the American League West this
season. It turns out I couldn’t
have been more wrong, yet
I still believed. And I guess
some of my negative emotions
came from the expectations
I made in my own head out
of hope and desperation. So,
it’s really my fault. I got too
involved, too emotionally
connected to a sports team. It
can happen to the best of us,
but it’s also important to have
some perspective about the
whole situation.
By the end of the day
Sunday, with these things
hashed and re-hashed in my
head, I have a new attitude:
lethargy.
— Sam Barbee is a sports
reporter for the Hermiston
Herald and East Oregonian
based in Hermiston. He can be
reached by email at sbarbee@
hermistonherald.com or by
phone at 541-564-4542. Fol-
low him on Twitter at @Sam-
Barbee1 and follow Herald
sports at @HHeraldSports
Darkness ends ASA scrimmage in tie
ton’s turned to play chick-
en with the sunset.
Two errors and a wild
pitch got Hermiston its
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one out, then a single and
a walk loaded the bases.
Almaguer singled on the
BY SAM BARBEE
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HERMISTON HERALD
two and putting Hermis-
Rarely do softball
ton down a single run at
7-6 still with one out. A
games end in ties. Usually
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they go to the next inning
ter popped out of Jamie
with some sort of tiebreak-
Christopher’s glove in
er to swiftly determine a
center, allowing the tying
winner.
run to cross the plate.
In an ASA softball
We moved to the
scrimmage
between
eighth, then, and with a
Hermiston and Echo Out-
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rage, we got to the eighth
er. Instead of just one
inning tiebreaker after
runner at second and one
Hermiston plated four in
out, it was decided to
the bottom of the seventh
have runners at second
to tie things up at 7-7. But
and third and no outs in
during the fourth at-bat
an attempt to speed up
of the eighth, the game
the process. Echo plated
was called a 7-7 tie due to
a couple of runs before
darkness.
it got too dark, and both
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coaches, along with the
real competition of the
single umpire, decided
summer, and both coaches
to call the game a tie be-
walked away with largely
cause of darkness.
happy with how the game
For Bailey and Echo,
was played.
who travel to McMin-
Hermiston coach Kylee
nville for a tournament
Lete and Echo coach Bry-
this weekend, it was good
an Bailey both were sat-
SAM BARBEE PHOTO to get some live action.
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“It was good to get
%XW /HWH ZDVQ¶W VDWLV¿HG Echo’s Mackenzie Gonzales slides safely into second base as Hermiston short stop Mikayla
.RSDF]WULHVWRÀQGWKHEDOOGXULQJDQ$6$VFULPPDJH0RQGD\LQ+HUPLVWRQ7KHJDPHZDV over here and get away
with the overall effort.
from typical practice
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stuff,” Bailey said. “It
said. “We played defense
ÀDW :H KLW ÀDW (YHU\- lead in the third, when two Hermiston got another in three walks in the sixth, ZDV GH¿QLWHO\ ZKDW ZH
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errors created a run with the fourth when Almaguer took a base on a bean ball, needed to prepare to go
%XWGHVSLWHWKHÀDWQHVV no outs. An out later, Kelly walked to lead off, moved and scored three runs. A to McMinnville for a
+HUPLVWRQ VFRUHG ¿UVW McLoughlin singled home to second and third on run scored on a wild pitch tournament.”
———
Jaime Hinkley led off with Echo’s second run of the wild pitches and scored on with Mackenzie Gonzales
a double in the bottom day for a 2-1 lead.
Hermiston’s second safety at the dish, and she singled
ECHO 7,
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Hermiston responded squeeze on the day for a home another. Gonzales
HERMISTON 7
third on a throwing error. in the home half of the 3-2 lead.
herself scored on another
002
013
The next at-bat, Julissa third when Hinkley sin-
But Echo got one back wild pitch to push Echo ECHO
1 — 7 5 6
Almaguer bunted home gled, moved to second on LQ WKH ¿IWK RQ DQ HUURU WR ahead, 6-3. They got an- STAN
101
100
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other in the seventh on yet 4 — 7 6 5
B. Nailor, J. Almaguer and T. Betz; M. Gonza-
1-0 lead.
scored on a ground out to
Then Echo appeared to another wild pitch.
les and J. Garza.
Echo grabbed a brief tie things at two apiece. take control. Echo worked
Then it was Hermis- 2B: J. Hinkley (HERM).
Hermiston plated
four in seventh to
stay alive
Four Bulldog golfers honored with scholarships
Kings and Queens
Tournament gives
$1,500 in awards
BY SAM BARBEE
HERMISTON HERALD
Four Hermiston golfers got a lit-
tle help paying for college expenses.
They are recipients of the Kings
and Queens Scholarship, which
gives $250 and $500 awards to
a male and female golfers from
Umatilla and Morrow counties.
Paden LaCoursiere and Mad-
ison Welch received the $500
scholarships, and Zack Adams
and Saige Smith received the $250
scholarships. They were awarded
based on involvement in golf, es-
says written about how the sport
has affected their lives and letters
of endorsement from coaches.
“They’ve been involved in golf
a number of years and just the
way they handle themselves on
the golf course (was reason to se-
lect them),” Committee Chairman
Don Obrist said. “I’ve watched
them play for several years and
they really just stood out.”
The scholarship is related to
“We saw some
ways to raise
some money and
we decided to
raise money to
give it away,”
Obrist said. “Be-
cause all the
couples were in-
LaCoursiere
Welch
volved in golf,
what better way
to give the mon-
ey in scholar-
ships?”
The Kings and
Queens Tourna-
ment is July 25-26
Adams
Smith
at Big River Golf
Course in Umatil-
la. The entry fee is $180 per couple
and that includes a dinner Saturday
the Kings and Queens Tourna- night. A horse race auction is also on
ment, a couples event that’s in its the docket for Saturday.
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inaugural tournament, Obrist and ed tournament separated into
the committee decided to start three categories based on handi-
raising money, and that quickly caps. The sign-up deadline is Sat-
urday, July 20.
morphed into scholarships.
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Grogan tosses one-
hitter in win, walks
doom Tigers in loss
BY SAM BARBEE
HERMISTON HERALD
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baseball team split a pair
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the weekend.
Bolstered by a one-hit-
ter from Dylan Grogan
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cruised to an 11-0 win over
the Tri Cities Badgers, but
a big sixth inning from
the Badgers completed a
comeback in the second
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11-10.
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scored nine runs in the top
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a 2-0 game. Ryan Bailey
scored on a single from
Grogan in the fourth and
Grogan scored on a double
play for a 2-0 lead. Mean-
while, the lanky sopho-
more Grogan was dealing.
TCB got its only hit of
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bunt single — and Grogan
followed that with a walk.
But Grogan struck out the
next two batters to slip out
of the jam. After a walk in
the second inning, Grogan
retired 11 straight Bad-
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nings pitched, one hit, no
runs, two walks and nine
strikeouts.
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scored all nine with two
outs. Damian Curiel sin-
gled with two away and
Thyler Monkus followed
with a walk. Adrian Ren-
ner and Bailey both sin-
gled, driving in Curiel
and Monkus and giving
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gan then walked to load
the bases and Tony Flores
walked to plate Renner
for a 5-0 lead. Klay Jen-
son then singled, Hunter
Barnes walked, Makiah
Blankenship singled and
Jason Fitzpatrick dou-
bled. Fitzpatrick’s was a
three-run, base-clearing
two-bagger to put Stan-
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Fitzpatrick was 1 for
3 with three RBIs on the
game, Ryan Bailey was 2
for 2 with two runs scored
and an RBI, and all but
two Tigers had an RBI.
———
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000
29 — 11 10 0
TCB
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00 — 0 1 3
D. Grogan and T. Monkus; Nelson, Hartwig,
Dickson and Ritala. W — D. Grogan. L —
Nelson.
2B: J. Fitzpatrick.
———
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peared to be in control.
Leading 8-5, sophomore
right-hander Tony Flores
was set to relive starter
Hunter Barnes after he went
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runs, four earned, on eight
hits while walking one and
striking out three.
But Flores experienced
his second straight outing
with poor control, walk-
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1/3 of inning, allowing
six earned runs on just
one hit. The six-run sixth
put the Badgers up 11-8,
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couple in the bottom of the
seventh, it wasn’t enough.
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doubled to drive in Thyler
Monkus, who walked, and
Flores, who singled. Klay
Jenson then shot a single
into left, plating Bailey for
a 3-0 lead. TCB got a two-
RBI double in the second
to pull within a run at 3-2.
After a couple quiet
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another three in the third.
Bailey and Jenson each
singled again to plate a run
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5-2 lead. Keith Wampler
later walked with the bags
packed to send home Dylan
Grogan, who had singled.
TCB got one back in
the visitor’s fourth with a
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RBI double and single.
Wampler and Justin
Keeney came up with RBI
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back to three at 8-5, then
the miserable sixth.
An RBI walk, a passed
ball, an RBI double, and an
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vided TCB’s six runs and
the 11-8 lead. Monkus and
Flores each walked to lead
off the home sixth, then
Bailey reached on an er-
ror to plate Monkus. Flores
moved to third and Bailey to
second on the play. Grogan
then reached on an error, al-
lowing Flores to score. But a
ground out and line out end-
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couldn’t get anything going
in the seventh.
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Larive for a doublehead-
er against Hermiston June
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is at Irrigon June 22. First
pitch is set for 5 p.m.
———
TRI CITIES
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TCB
020
126
0 — 11 9 2
STN
303
022
0 — 10 11 1
Mencado, Ritala and Long; H. Barnes, T.
Flores, A. Renner, D. Grogan and T. Monkus.
W — Mencado. L — T. Flores.
2B: Ritala 2 (TCB), C. Ritala (TCB), Harlow
(TCB), K. Jenson (STN), T. Monkus (STN), R.
Bailey (STN).