WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2016 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 Herald Sports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports Stanield championship game a masterpiece Cougars earn 5 irst team honors By MATT ENTRUP The Echo Cougars had a tremendous season in the Eastern Oregon League, inishing second in the dis- trict and earning a trip to the state tournament. The Cougars were well rep- resented in the all-league teams, earning ive irst team selections, one second team selection and one hon- orable mention. The irst team selections were pitcher MacKenzie Gonzales (11-8, 2.49 ERA, 122 K’s, 117.2 IP), catcher Erika Parks (.301 avg., 19 RBI, 27 runs, 19 stolen bas- es), irst baseman Kenzie Blankenship (.402 avg., 7 HR, 32 RBI, 10 doubles), outielder Hannah McCa- rty (.400 avg., 37 runs), and designated player Raychal Campana (.391 avg., 12 RBI). four hits gave the Tigers the lead. Woods came Now that the dust next with a sacriice ly to has settled in Corvallis center, and it appeared the and Keizer from anoth- Tigers just might continue er amazing inish to the their high-scoring romp high school sports year, through the postseason it’s good opportunity to after all. take another look at what Should have known may have been the best better. 3A baseball game Although Stan- of the season. ield would chase The Stanield Ti- Draper from the gers’ 5-4 win over mound after three Santiam Christian innings, the Eagles’ in the 3A champi- bullpen proved up onship had every- to snuff and lefty thing a spectator Hunter Bain gave could ask for in a Matt his team four score- Entrup game. less innings of relief It had a back to keep the Tigers story. The two teams had within striking distance. met about a month prior Stanield added its with the Eagles earning third run in the third when a come-from-behind 2-1 Grogan hit a sacriice win with a walk-off home ly to bring Monkus in, run by star pitcher Dru and Monkus then made Draper in the bottom of a nice double play in the the seventh inning. bottom half of the inning It had historical sig- by catching a popped-up niicance. The Tigers bunt and then slinging the had four players on the ball to irst just ahead of team who had watched a sliding Chance Ottinger. their older brothers win As I rushed to get the titles on that same ield Rockets’ game story writ- in 2011, and assistant ten and delivered, Bain coach Trevor Morris was stranded a pair of Tigers also on that team. Two of in both the fourth and ifth them (Dylan Grogan and innings, and Grogan had Thyler Monkus) were bat a pair of strikeouts to go boys in that game. with a pickoff at irst by “It means a lot be- Monkus to highlight two cause now (our brothers) more scoreless innings by can’t rub it in our faces,” the defense. Monkus said. But then in the sixth, It had heart. The game the Eagles sucked the ex- was the inal one in the citement from Stanield’s third base box for Tigers dugout with a three-run coach Bryan Johnson, surge led by (who else?) who announced at the be- Draper, who inished the ginning of the season that game 2 for 4 with three he would be taking a job RBIs. After a Stanield outside of the district at error gave the Eagles a the end of the school year. new lease on life, the His contributions to Stan- Tiger killer appeared to ield baseball, athletics in have done it again with a general, and the commu- bases-clearing double into nity will ensure he’s long the gap that tied the score remembered and sorely 3-3 and lipped the mo- missed. mentum back to Santiam It had action. Oh boy, Christian. did it have action. Dou- “We had to take a ble plays, hits in the gap, minute because we kind a game-saving play at of topped off there and the plate, a failed suicide stopped talking in the squeeze, great clutch dugout,” Woods said. pitching and three extra “The fans are great. innings; the only thing They were so loud. They this game was missing helped us get back into was the long ball. the game,” Bailey said. It was also painful- Grogan got the Tigers ly long for those of us in out of the inning with the press box nervously a ly ball to right ield, watching deadlines as the where Jason Fitzpatrick shadows crept across the was having a good game inield at Volcanoes Sta- as the team’s only senior dium. starter. Fitzpatrick went 2 “For a sport that you for 5 at the plate and in the just stand there, I don’t seventh inning had a slid- know if I’ve ever been ing catch in foul territory that tired,” Grogan said. near the dugout called The game was a minute off (some would argue shy of three hours, which wrongly) for being out of actually ended up being a play. good thing as well. Grogan pitched out of I had just come from a jam again in the seventh watching the Pilot Rock and stranded Ottinger at Rockets beat the Union second with a ly to Justin Bobcats for the 2A/1A Keeney in center. Keeney softball title in true-cham- would come up big for the pion form. There would Tigers later in the game. be no Rocky Balboa sto- The top of the eighth ry for the Eagles, as the started off great for the Rockets beat them mer- Tigers as Bailey singled cilessly, 9-2, for the ifth to lead off, stole second time this season. and went to third on a ly- With just enough time out by Renner. to make the drive from But with one out and Corvallis to Keizer for the runners on second and start of Stanield’s game, third (Woods had walked that left me transcrib- and also advanced on ing interviews with the Renner’s ly), Johnson Rockets’ Tehya Ostrom made his irst risky call of and Bekah Roe as Stan- the game with Fitzpatrick ield took a 2-0 lead in the at the plate. irst inning on a single by Having already put Ryan Bailey and sacriice down a perfect bunt for a ly from Brody Woods. single earlier in the game, The Tigers came out Fitzpatrick was asked to hitting Bobcats ace Drap- do it again with the added er hard, a good sign after pressure of sending Bai- he’d gone the distance ley on the pitch. The pitch and held them to one run came in low and outside, in their last meeting. and when Fitzpatrick was Monkus was hit by a unable to make contact a pitch in the game’s irst rundown ensued that end- at-bat, and Tony Flores ed with Bailey tagged out followed with a double at home by pitcher Daniel to put runners in scoring Hendrix. position right away. A Fitzpatrick then rare strikeout by Grogan grounded out to the pitch- followed (he more than er for the third out, and made up for an 0-for-3 the writing was starting to day at the plate later), See TIGERS, A10 then the irst of Bailey’s Staff writer Hermiston Herald 33 runs). The Riverside Pirates were represented by pitcher Skylar Wightman on sec- ond team and irst baseman Sadie Hasbell an honorable mention. ——— HERALD FILE PHOTO Echo junior Mackenzie Gonzales delivers a pitch early during the Cougars’ 14-0 rout of Colton in this ile photo. Inielder Cheyenne Hil- liard was Echo’s lone sec- ond team selection (.402 avg., 25 RBI, 27 runs) and outielder Jamie Christo- pher was named honorable mention (.253 avg., 19 RBI, EOL All-League 2016 SOFTBALL Player of the Year: Jessica Lambert, sr., Weston-McEwen Pitcher of the Year: Jessica Lambert, sr., Weston-McEwen Coach of the Year: Jeff Griggs, Weston-McEwen FIRST TEAM Pitchers MacKenzie Gonzales, jr., Echo/Stanield Jessica Lambert, sr., Weston-McEwen Catchers Erika Parks, sr., Echo/Stanield Sydney Peal, jr., Weston-McEwen Inield Isabelle Dillow, sr., Weston-McEwen Jordyn Lambert, fr., Weston-McEwen Hannah Mizuta, jr., Vale Asucena Trujillo, sr., Nyssa Outield Amie Coffman, fr., Weston-McEwen Hannah McCarty, jr., Echo/Stanield Lexi Mulvany, jr., Vale First Base Kenzie Blankenship, sr., Echo/Stanield Utility Mariah Moulton, so., Grant Union Designated Player Raychal Campana, sr., Echo/Stanield SECOND TEAM Pitchers Kelsey Hawley, jr., Vale Skylar Wightman, so., Riverside Catchers Gracie Jacobs, fr., Vale Brianna Zweygardt, so., Grant Union Inield Cheyenne Hilliard, sr., Echo/Stanield Bailey Hillmick, jr., Weston-McEwen Amanda Trenkel, jr., Vale Rayvn Walker, jr., Grant Union Outield Charmayne Bennett, so., Weston-McE- wen Darby Gassett, jr., Enterprise/Joseph/ Wallowa Jocelynn Smith, sr., Grant Union First Base Natalie Williams, sr., Enterprise/Joseph/ Wallowa Utility Ashley Hill, jr., Weston-McEwen Designated Player Natalie Stearns, jr., Grant Union HONORABLE MENTION Pitcher Cody Madden, so., Grant Union Catcher Madison Mitchell, jr., Nyssa Inield Madison Plew, so., Enterprise/Joseph/ Wallowa Outield Jamie Christopher, sr., Echo/Stanield Whitney McClellan, so., Grant Union Sicily Simpson, jr., Elgin/Imbler Kelsy Weber, sr., Vale First Base Sadie Hasbell, jr., Riverside Olivia Olvera, sr., Nyssa Utility Bridgett Dunham, sr., Umatilla Lucy Trujillo, jr., Nyssa Designated Player Sydnee Thomas, fr., Vale TIGERS TAKE TITLE IN THE 10TH Stanfield comes up big in crunch time to win program’s second state championship By MATT ENTRUP Staff Writer The Stanield Tigers stopped Santiam Chris- tian’s comeback bid cold with a play at the plate, and when the game went into extra innings scored the go- ahead runs on hits by Ryan Bailey and Brody Woods to beat the Eagles, 5-4, in 10 innings Friday in the OSAA 3A state championship. Dylan Grogan pitched eight innings for the Ti- gers and Woods came off short rest to throw the inal two for his third win of the postseason. It was the second state title for the Tigers under head coach Bryan John- son, who coached his i- nal game for the Tigers on Friday, and got one last ice shower as the team cele- brated on the ield. “It couldn’t have ended any better. I’m just so hap- py we were able to get one for these kids,” said John- son, who also coached the Tigers to the 2A/1A title in 2011. “Both teams, you’ve got to give them credit. We fought, they fought, that’s what great teams do. “It’s nice to beat the private school, too. No of- fense to the private school but it means something for Oregon public schools. They have a great pro- gram.” Stanield scored two runs in the irst and one in the third, but Santiam Christian rallied to knot it STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Stanield’s Dylan Grogan (20) and Brody Woods embrace at home plate after Grogan scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning of the Tigers’ 5-4 win against Santiam Christian in the state 3A championship baseball game on Friday in Keizer. 3-3 in the sixth. The Eagles appeared to have the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Dru Draper hit a hard ly to the gap in right-center with a run- ner on irst. Tanner Macal rounded third and looked to have a clear path to the plate, but Tony Flores took the relay from Jus- tin Kenney and delivered a perfect ball to catcher Thyler Monkus for the game-saving out. “That was the most ex- citing thing ever. Tony made a great throw,” Monkus said. “ Everybody thought the game was go- ing to be over right there but he made a great throw and got him out.” The Tigers inally broke the tie with no outs in the top of the 10th. Grogan was hit on the shoulder by Santiam Christian reliever Daniel Hendrix to start the at-bat, then scored from irst when Bailey got his fourth hit of the game on a double down the third-base line. “Honestly I didn’t even see the ball when it came off the bat,” Grogan said. “I think I tracked it down at second (base) and once I seen it down and where it was played at by the left ielder I just went on home.” “I had two strikes and I was going to hit it wherev- er it was pitched,” Bailey said. “It just happened to be down the line and (Gro- gan) was on his wheels. I kind of slowed down when I got to second actually be- cause I was watching him. I saw that he was going to get there and that’s more adren- aline than I’ve ever had go- ing, I think.” Woods followed with a single for his irst hit of the game that scored Bailey. Woods inished with two RBIs, Monkus scored twice, and Jason Fitzpatrick and Flores both went 2-for-5 for Stanield as the only other Tigers with multiple hits. Grogan started on the mound and lasted eight com- plete innings, but left with the score 3-3 after throwing 123 pitches. He struck out nine and walked four, and none of the Eagles’ three runs were earned. “Grogan pitched a great game. He just competed and battled and went as long as he can,” Johnson said. Woods allowed just two hits and one unearned run in the bottom of the 10th. “Earlier this week my arm was sore, but today I iced it a lot and I’m ine now,” Woods said. “Those clutch hits, the amazing plays our players made in the ield, it’s just amazing, best feeling in the world, probably.” He got the inal out on a grounder to Flores at short- stop, who threw to Bailey at irst to end the game after two hours and 59 minutes. “It was tiring, one of the most tiring baseball games ever,” said Grogan, who moved to third after leaving the mound. “For a sport that you just stand there, I don’t know if I’ve ever been that tired. “It was a fun game, those are the games you want to watch.” It was also a win that could make Thanksgiving dinners a little more interest- ing in a few Stanield house- holds. Grogan, Monkus, Bailey and Adrian Renner all became the second in their family to win a state title for the Tigers. “The dog pile is the best thing in the world, honestly. It was insane,” Grogan said. “Our brothers are always talking about the dog pile is the best thing, and it honestly was.” “Unreal, absolutely unre- al,” Bailey said. “The fans are great. They were so loud. They helped us get back into the game. That was tough, they’re a solid team.” ——— R H E SHS 201 000 000 2 — 5 11 4 SC 000 003 000 1 — 4 6 1 D. Grogan, B. Woods (9) and T. Monkus. D. Draper, H. Bain (4), D. Hendrix (8) and G. Carley. W — Woods. L — Hendrix. 2B — A. Flores, R. Bailey (SHS); T. Macal, D. Draper 2 (SC). IN BRIEF Special Olympics recognizes winners A handful of people and a business were recently recognized during the Hermiston/Pendleton Special Olympics Program No. 510 annual Awards Des- sert. More than 60 people attended the May 17 event at The Arc Building in Hermiston, which honored recipients of the 2015 sports season. Award winners included Remick Arey, female coach of the year; Cal Harris, male coach of the year; Randy Brown, accepting on behalf of Master Printers of Pendleton as business of the year; Jonathan Kinsel, male athlete of the year; Andrea Eiden, female athlete of the year; and Michele Keitzke, volunteer of the year. Special Olympics provides year- around training and athletic competitions for children, youth and adults with intel- lectual disabilities. There is no charge for athletes to participate. More than 100 athletes, coaches and volunteers are cur- rently training in golf, bocce` and track and ield for upcoming regional compe- titions. For more information about volun- teering or participating in Special Olym- pics, call local program coordinator Stu Bance at 541-376-8132. Hermiston woman wins family showdown A family showdown resulted in Yvonne LaCoursiere taking the grand prize during the 15th annual Thousand Yard Shoot in Ione. The Hermiston woman was awarded a long-range rile scope and $100 cash after beating her brother, Paden LaCour- siere, and father, Pete LaCoursiere, in a inal shoot-out. It was the second year in a row LaCoursiere won the event. The winner for the open-site 500 yard target was Jules Martino of Silverton, who received $100. Bill McGovern won the gun rafle, a Tikka Caliber 6.5 Creed- moor, sponsored by Garner’s Sporting Goods in Pendleton. The annual event, formerly known as the TV Shoot, is a fundraiser for kid’s prizes at the ishpond and other games during the annual Ione Fourth of July Celebration. United Way tees up benefit golf tournament A four-person golf scramble will beneit the United Way of Umatilla and Morrow Counties. The event is Friday, July 29 with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. at Wildhorse Golf Course, located off Interstate 84 at Exit 216, Mission. The cost is $100 per person. The entry fee includes green fees, golf cart and lunch. People can sign up individually or as a team. There will be cash awards for contests and pro shop certiicates for team prizes. Money raised from the event will help support local food banks, children’s programs and services for seniors. A registration form is available at www. umatillamorrowunitedway.org. For more information or to register, contact 541-276- 2661 or unitedwayumco@eoni.com.