S PORTS
Hermiston
A7
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
Experience
that lasts
a lifetime
SAM BARBEE
FROM THE
SIDELINES
T
he barrier between
professional athletes and
fans, though shrinking,
still exists. Oftentimes the
closest a fan can get to a player
is on social media or after
a game, and even then the
interaction can be rushed and
impersonal.
But when that interaction
becomes something more, it
can be a memory that lasts a
lifetime.
Local children get that
opportunity later this month,
when the Tri-City Dust Devils
host a clinic at Geza Field.
They’ll be taught baseball basics
by the players, who might one
day play for the San Diego
Padres or another big league
club. It won’t matter to the kids
that the players aren’t yet in the
big leagues. I know that because
I was once a young guy receiving
instruction from players older
than me, and I was once an older
player teaching kids.
Those experiences impact
both sides.
When I was just a little
guy, I took part in a camp at
Lower Columbia College. It
was the ¿ rst time I set foot on
the pristine turf at David Story
Field, and I was mesmerized.
The stands looked huge. The
surface was perfect. And the
players were right there. I could
touch them.
I distinctly remember being
in a gym, learning how to take
ground balls. I also remember
being in right ¿ eld and watching
as their great right ¿ elder taught
us how to ¿ nd the wall and jump
to rob a home run. It was like
Superman right in front of me. All
it did was make me want to grow
and get good at baseball so I could
do stuff like that.
Then in high school, I had
the chance to help run a clinic.
The ¿ rst year, my junior year,
I helped with pitchers. It was
so much fun. Beforehand, the
coaches told us that we would be
looked up to, that the kids didn’t
care we were just high schoolers.
We were older and giving them
attention and instruction, and
they would probably want our
autographs afterwards.
We looked around at each
other completely doubting the
impact we would later have on
these kids. After the three-hour
clinic, we signed autographs for
an hour. I signed so many my
hand hurt. I didn’t realize how
much they looked up to me. I was
just a lowly middle relief pitcher,
and I was being approached like
I was a big leaguer. It made me
realize how far a little attention
and encouragement can go in a
little guy.
That’s what these kids are
going to experience in Pasco
in a couple weeks. I strongly
suggest you take your child and
attend. It’s only $8 per ticket for
good seats and a free clinic, and
that free clinic is going to stay
with your child forever. They
probably won’t know that the
players aren’t major leaguers, but
I can guarantee they won’t care.
All they need to do is break
the barrier and get a pat on the
back and smile. That worked for
me. It’ll work for them.
— Sam Barbee is a sports
reporter for the Hermiston
Herald and East Oregonian
based in Hermiston. He can be
reached by phone at 541-564-
4542 or by email at sbarbee@
hermistonherald.com. Follow
him on Twitter @SamBarbee1
and follow Herald Sports @
HHeraldSports.
HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Devil of a baseball clinic
Tri-City Dust Devils
players to host
baseball clinic for
young athletes
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Tri-City Dust Devils Youth
Baseball Clinic
WHEN: July 19, 7:15 p.m., Geza
Stadium, Pasco, Washington
HOW: Purchase tickets to July 19
game ($8), clinic is free
OTHER INFO: Phone; 509-544-8789.
Address: 6200 Burden Blvd, Pasco,
WA 99301.
BY SAM BARBEE
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston Parks and
Recreation is offering local
youth baseball players an
opportunity to take part in a
clinic conducted by profes-
sional players and coaches.
The Tri-City Dust Devils,
a Short-Season Class A af¿ l-
iate of the San Diego Padres,
is hosting a pre-game clinic
followed by a home game
against the Salem-Keizer
Volcanoes on July 19.
“With any of our programs,
our goal in parks and recre-
ation is to promote health, pro-
mote activity — just having
fun, family activities,” Herm-
iston Recreation Supervisor
Dan (arp said. “This just ¿ ts
right into that. And it’s an op-
portunity to support baseball,
which we’re not involved in.
Little League runs baseball in
Hermiston, so we don’t have
any baseball programs for
youth. So it’s kind of some-
thing that we could offer for
the population that is interested
in baseball.”
Though this will be the
¿ rst year Hermiston is direct-
ly involved, the Dust Devils
h a v e
BASEBALL b e e n
running
a clin-
ic since 2005. The organi-
zation, which is partially
owned by baseball legend
George Brett, wanted to get
the younger fans more in-
timately involved with the
game.
“We just wanted a way
of getting the kids out on the
¿ eld with the players and
coaches,” Assistant General
TRI-CITY DUST DEVILS
A Tri-&ity Dust Devils player À st
bumps and high-À ves a couple
campers at last year’s Dust
Devils Youth Baseball clinic at
Geza Stadium in Pasco.
PHOTO COURTESY TRI-CITY DUST DEVILS
With the help of a Dust Devil, a camper learns how to swing a bat at last year’s Dust Devils
Youth Baseball clinic at Geza Stadium in Pasco.
Manager Dan O’Neill said.
“We decided to make it a
yearly thing.”
This year is the ¿ rst that
the city of Hermiston be-
came aware of the promotion
when a sales representative
contacted the Parks and
Recreation Department with
an inquiry. Immediately, the
city was interested because
it, too, was looking to branch
out and ¿ nd other fresh op-
portunities for summer ac-
tivities.
Plus, Hermiston is al-
ready involved with the Tri-
City Americans, a minor
league hockey team, with
group nights at discounted
prices, as well as a private
basketball clinic at the Moda
Center, home of the Portland
Trail Blazers.
So when Earp became
aware of the Dust Dev-
ils’ clinic, he jumped at the
chance because of how suc-
cessful those other partner-
ships have been, especially
the agreement with the Blaz-
ers.
Though the Dust Dev-
ils clinic is not privately for
Hermiston, as the Blazers
clinic is, Earp said it’s still a
good opportunity to receive
hitting, ¿ elding, base-run-
ning, pitching and sports-
manship instruction from
professional athletes.
But just because there
isn’t an exclusive Hermiston
night now, that doesn’t mean
it’s been ruled out in the fu-
ture.
“I’d say potentially,”
O’Neill said. “Any time
something goes well the
¿ rst time, you always want
to see where it could go in
the future. That’s never out
of the question, that’s for
sure.”
O’Neill didn’t have any
solid enrollment ¿ gures yet,
but he said usually about 100
children partake in the clinic.
That number, though, could
be higher this year if Hermis-
ton sends a large contingent.
In addition to Hermiston, the
Dust Devils have formed
other partnerships that they
hope will bring in even more
participants.
“It’s gonna be a memo-
rable experience that’s very
unique,” Earp said. “It’s a
very rare opportunity for a
child to be able to get on the
actual ¿ eld, to interact with
the players even if they ar-
en’t major league players.
It’s gonna be something
that — if these kids are in-
terested in baseball, which
a lot of them are with base-
ball cards and stuff like that
— then it’s gonna be some-
thing that they remember
forever, something they got
to go do. ‘Do you remem-
ber that night we got to go
and go on the ¿ eld and play
with the players and watch
the game?’ It’s that — for
the experience. And it’s
baseball, right? America’s
pasttime. So it’s an opportu-
nity to go out on a summer
night, enjoy the game, have
the hot dogs and everything
else. It’s gonna be a family
experience, too.”
Hermiston loses district title by one run
STAFF REPORT
The Hermiston 11-12-year-olds let
a lead slip away and fell to Pendleton,
10-9, in the League District 3 softball
tournament championship in Irrigon.
Hermiston led 7-5 going into the
bottom of the sixth inning.
Pendleton pieced together its sec-
ond four-run rally of the game in the
sixth, and Jordan Jones started things
with a hard line
SOFTBALL drive single be-
fore Hermiston
pitcher Brecella
1ash got a strikeout for the ¿ rst out
of the inning. A passed ball allowed
Jones to move to second, and a
throwing error on Jordyn Murphy’s
grounder allowed Jones to score.
Katie Kline then put down a perfect
bunt and beat the throw to ¿ rst, and
Murphy came all the way from second
to slide in ahead of the throw back to
the plate and tie the score at 7-7.
A pop-out got Hermiston its sec-
ond out, but Delaney Duchek reig-
nited the rally with a single to left
¿ eld. A passed ball advanced Kline
and Duchek into scoring position,
and Brynn Cody brought them both
home after fouling off several pitches
in a long at-bat.
Cody looped a single to left, but
Hermiston stopped the bleeding
when it got the next batter to ground
out.
Hermiston, which hadn’t failed to
answer a Pendleton run yet, got its
spark in the bottom of the sixth when
Grace Studer smashed a one-out tri-
ple to the wall in right ¿ eld. Saman-
tha Atilano followed with a walk and
took second base uncontested.
Marti Plum then connected on a
grounder to the right side that scored
Studer but put Pendleton one out
from victory.
Laikyn Fields laced a single to left
¿ eld that scored Atilano and tied the
game at 9-all.
Pendleton pitcher Celia Farrow
struck out the next batter to force an
extra inning.
Hermiston quickly recorded two
outs in the seventh, but Alexia Laib
legged out an in¿ eld single to keep
them alive, and then stole second un-
contested. That brought up Murphy,
who caught just enough of Nash’s
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Pendleton 11-12 Allstars catcher Natalie Neveau makes the tag against a
Hermiston runner Thursday in Irrigon. The lead see-sawed back and forth
until Pendleton À nally won in e[tra innings.
offering to put the ball in fair territory
and then forced a bad throw to ¿ rst
with her speed down the line.
Laib scored all the way from sec-
ond and Murphy would replace her,
but a ground out on the next at-bat
ended the threat.
Hermiston put the ball in play
three consecutive times in the bottom
of the seventh, but À awless ¿ elding
earned Pendleton the title and a berth
in the state tournament, which begins
July 11 in Gresham.
Field led Hermiston going 2 for
3 at the plate and Atilano scored a
team-high three runs.
GO SEE IT
Wednesday, July 8
MEN’S SOFTBALL
softball fi eld, Theater Sports
Park, 7:30 p.m.
C&C Construction @ Elite, North
softball fi eld, Theater Sports
Park, 6 p.m.
Thursday, July 9
MRT @ Preferred Realty, South
softball fi eld, Theater Sports
Park, 6 p.m.
Friday, July 10
Elite @ C&C Construction, North
softball fi eld, Theater Sports
Park, 7:30 p.m.
Preferred Realty @ MRT, North
No events scheduled
COED RECREATIONAL SOFTBALL
Regency Hermiston @ Nookies,
North softball fi eld, Theater
Sports Park, 6 p.m.
SAGE Center @ Java Junkies,
South softball fi eld, Theater
Sports Park, 6 p.m.
H and M Photopraphy @ New
Hope, North softball fi eld,
Theater Sports Park, 7:30
p.m.
Sunday, July 12
M2Machmedia @ 11th Market,
South softball fi eld, Theater
Sports Park, 7:30 p.m.
Riverside Sports Bar @ Purosho,
North softball fi eld, Theater
Sports Park, 6 p.m.
GOLF
Untouchables @ TRCI/Java
Junkies, South softball fi eld,
Theater Sports Park, 6 p.m.
Jack and Jill Couples League, Big
River Golf Course, 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 11
No events scheduled
No events scheduled
Monday, July 13
COED COMPETITIVE SOFTBALL
Purosho @ Riverside Sports Bar,
North softball fi eld, Theater
Sports Park, 7:30 p.m.
TRCI/Java Junkies @
Untouchables, South
softball fi eld, Theater Sports
Park, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 14
No events scheduled
If you have any events you
would like to see on the schedule,
email submissions to sports
reporter Sam Barbee at sbarbee@
hermistonherald.com.