A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2017
Herald Sports
PREP ROUNDUP
BASEBALL
HERMISTON
14,
KENNEWICK 11 — At
Kennewick,
Washington,
Kody Moss hit a two-RBI
single to put Hermiston on
top during its eight-run ral-
ly in the fifth inning, and
the Bulldogs never gave the
lead back in Monday’s non-
league baseball game.
Kennewick challenged
them in the bottom of the
seventh and had bases load-
ed after a two-out walk.
A single brought one run
in and the winning run to the
plate, but Bulldogs reliever
Jordan Ramirez got a fly ball
that center fielder Joel Men-
dez hauled in for the final
out.
Hermiston (4-5) went into
the seventh inning up 11-10,
and added three insurance
runs when Wyatt Noland
doubled to drive in Mendez,
then Kaden Caldwell singled
through the right side of the
infield to score Noland and
Slade Gritz.
Mendez went 3-for-5 with
three RBI from his lead-off
spot in the lineup and scored
two runs. Noland (2 for 4)
scored twice with two RBI,
and Moss and Gritz also had
two RBI.
Ramirez scored three runs
and tossed the final two in-
nings. He allowed one run
on two hits and three walks.
Caden Schwirse got the
win after coming in for start-
er Lucas Tolan in the third
inning. Schwirse threw three
complete allowing nine runs
(eight earned) on seven hits
and three walks.
UP NEXT
Hermiston opens Colum-
bia River Conference play
on Friday with a double-
header at Hood River that
starts at 4 p.m.
———
R H E
HHS
110 180
3 — 14 11 2
KHS
003 430
1 — 11 11 2
W — C. Schwirse.
2B — S. Gritz, W. Noland (HHS); Sellers,
Gee, Stevens (KHS).
SHERMAN
15-23,
HEPPNER 0-4 — At Sher-
man, the Huskies showed
why they are one of the top
teams in Class 2A/1A, pelt-
ing Heppner pitching for 38
runs and 26 hits in a double-
header sweep on Saturday
afternoon.
On the other side, Hep-
pner (1-7, 0-2 SD6) managed
just nine hits on the day, with
Coby Dougherty (2 for 5),
Tyler Carter (2 for 3, RBI,
double) and Wyatt Steagall
(2 for 3, run) led Heppner’s
offense.
The Mustangs scored all
of their runs in the second in-
ning of Game 2, starting with
Nik Dias Martins and Beau
Wolters both drawing a bas-
es-loaded hit-by-pitches and
Kevin Smith a bases-loaded
walk. Carter then finished off
the scoring with a RBI single
to right field to bring home
Martin.
———
Game 1
R H E
HHS
000 00 — 0 4 5
SHS
067 2X — 15 12 0
(HHS) K. Smith, K. Gibbs (3), W. Steagall
(4). (SHS) Troutman, C. Homer (5). WP —
Troutman, LP — Smith.
2B — Justesen, Winslow, Moe, Martin,
Fields 2, Jones (SHS).
Game 2
R H E
HHS
040 00 — 4 5 3
SHS
734 9X — 23 14 0
(HHS) W. Steagall, T. Jaca (2), Z. Glover (4),
K. Wilkins (4). (SHS) Justesen, Martin (2),
Shandy (4), Winslow (4). WP — Justesen,
LP — W. Steagall.
2B — T. Carter (HHS); Winslow 2, Troutman,
Fields, Homer (SHS).
STANFIELD
11-15,
BURNS 0-5 — At Burns,
Stanfield got its league sea-
son started the right way,
sweeping Burns with wins
of 11-0 and 15-5 on Friday
afternoon.
In Game 1, Stanfield’s
(8-1, 2-0 EOL) offense col-
lected 15 hits as eight of
the nine starters had at least
one hit. Dylan Grogan and
Klay Jenson were lights out
on the mound, throwing a
combined six-inning no-hit-
ter. Grogan struck out three
in one inning, and Jenson
struck out one and walked
three in five innings.
In Game 2 it was more of
the same for the offense as
Stanfield scored nine of its
15 runs in the top of the first
inning.
For the day, Grogan was
the team’s leading hitter with
four hits, four runs and three
RBI. Thyler Monkus added
a team-high six runs scored
and Tony Flores added three
hits, two doubles and a team-
high five RBI.
Flores struggled with
command on the mound in
Game 2, walking five and
giving up four runs in two
innings. Hunter Barnes came
on for big innings allowing
just two hits and one un-
earned run and Ryan Bailey
pitched a scoreless seventh.
———
Game 1
R H E
SHS
302
015 — 11 15 1
BHS
000
000 — 0 0 5
(SHS) D. Grogan, K. Jenson (2) and T.
Monkus. (BHS) Case, Tiller (6). WP — K.
Jenson, LP — Case.
2B — B. Woods, H. Barnes, T. Flores (SHS).
Game 2
R H E
SHS
900 120
3 — 15 11 2
BHS
130 100
0 — 5 4 2
(SHS) T. Flores, H. Barnes (3), R. Bailey
(7) and T. Monkus. (BHS) Goss, Nyburg (1),
Zamora (6). WP — T. Flores, LP — Goss.
2B — R. Bailey, T. Flores, D. Grogan (SHS).
Knights stymie Vikings
Rice, Harrington com-
bine for no-hitter to win EOL
opener
UMATILLA — Austin
Rice and Brady Harrington
combined for a no-hitter and
then Harrington came in to
pitch the final two innings
of a combined shutout with
Johnny Phillips in the night
cap to sweep Umatilla 13-0
in five innings in both games
on Friday.
It was the Eastern Ore-
gon League openers for both
teams.
Rice struck out 10 and
walked two while taking a
no-hitter through four before
Harrington finished out the
last frame in Game 1.
Tanner Mills went 3 for 3
at the plate with five RBIs,
and Rice scored four runs
while going 2 for 3 with one
RBI.
Phillips gave Irrigon (9-
0, 2-0 EOL) another strong
start in Game 2 and allowed
just two hits over three full
innings while striking out six
and walking one. Harrington
allowed no hits and struck
out four in two innings of
relief.
Rice had another big
game at the plate going 2
for 3 with three runs and one
RBI.
———
Game 1 (5 innings)
R H E
IHS
243 40 — 13 8 2
UHS
000 00 — 0 0 6
A. Rice, B. Harrington (5). D. Soto, U. Garcia
(3). W — Rice. L — Soto.
Game 2 (5 innings)
R H E
IHS
461 11 — 13 6 0
UHS
000 00 — 0 2 6
J. Phillips, B. Harrington (4). C. Sampson, S.
Cranston (2). W — Phillips. L — Sampson.
2B — A. Rice. 3B — A. Rice.
NYSSA 17-2, RIVER-
SIDE 2-9 — At Boardman,
the Riverside Pirates split a
doubleheader with the Nyssa
Bulldogs to open up league
play on Friday, falling 17-2
in Game 1 before rebound-
ing 9-2 in Game 2 for the Pi-
rates’ first win of the season.
Riverside (1-8, 1-1 EOL)
was carried on offense by
Aramis Corpus on offense, as
he tallied four hits on the day
with a double and a pair of
RBIs. Along with Corpus in
Game 2, Riverside’s Andrew
Martinez and Andrew Soren-
son each had two hits apiece.
“It was fun to win again,”
Riverside
coach
Clair
Costello said. “I think they
(Nyssa) took us for granted
and we got a couple runs
and kept the pedal down. It’s
a big win, and in league is a
big deal.”
UP NEXT
Riverside will host Vale
on Friday for a doubleheader
at 1 p.m.
————
Game 1
R H E
NHS
153 80 — 17 8 2
RHS
000 11 — 2 5 13
(NHS) B. Thompson, E. Cleaver (5) and
B. Cleaver. (RHS) A. Corpus, Martinez (4),
Calvillo (4) and Bither.
Game 2
R H E
NHS
000 200 0 — 2 4 5
RHS
013 005 X — 9 9 2
(NHS) Gonzalez, E. Cleaver (4) and B. Cleav-
er. (RHS) Calvillo, Corpus (5) and Bither.
2B — A. Corpus (RHS). HR — Gonzalez
(NHS).
See ROUNDUP, A11
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@HHeraldSports
GRITZ PROVIDES LATE-GAME MAGIC
Hermiston senior
records second
walk-off hit as
Bulldogs split
By ERIC SINGER
Staff Writer
Slade Gritz has made a
new name for himself this
baseball season and it’s
Mr. Clutch.
With Hermiston and
Heritage (WA) tied at 11-
11 in the bottom of the sev-
enth inning, the Bulldog
senior catcher hit a one-out
chopper past the Timber-
wolf shortstop and into left
field, bringing home Lukas
Tolan for a walk-off win in
Game 1 of Friday’s dou-
bleheader at Armand Lar-
ive ball park.
It was Gritz’s second
game-winning hit of the
season, and third overall
contribution to a Hermis-
ton (5-7) walk-off win, af-
ter scoring the winning run
on a walk-off wild pitch in
the Bulldog’s season open-
er.
So with those two pre-
vious game-winning con-
tributions in his back pock-
et, Gritz said he stepped
to the plate in the seventh
looking at his teammate
standing on second base
and expected something
good to happen.
“I just know I need to
get a job done every time
I go up there and if I’m
the one that’s got to do
it, then I’ll gladly do it,”
Gritz said. “I’m not try-
ing to steal anything from
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER
Hermiston’s Slade Gritz is congratulated at first base by teammate Joel Mendez (2) after
driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning in the first game of a
baseball doubleheader against Heritage on Friday in Hermiston. Hermiston won 12-11.
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER
Hermiston’s Andrew James delivers a pitch during the
second game of a baseball doubleheader against Heritage
on Friday in Hermiston.
my teammates, I wouldn’t
mind somebody else to
hit a winning run, but I’m
definitely not complain-
ing about it, I’ll take it for
sure.”
Just prior to Gritz’s he-
roics at the plate, sopho-
more Wyatt Noland had
his own heroics on the
pitching mound. Heritage
had scored three runs in
the top of the inning to tie
the game at 11-11 and had
the go-ahead run at second
base with only one out.
Noland came on in relief
of Kody Moss, and threw
just one pitch and induced
a 5-4-3 double play to end
the threat and the inning to
set up the win.
“We always talk to the
guys that they’re one pitch
away,” Hawkins said of
the situation. “And play-
ing good defense, it helps
a guy a lot and there the
guy rolls over on the pitch
and we’re out of it just like
that. That was huge.”
Overall, Game 1 was
an offensive showcase for
Hermiston as the Bulldogs
put up season highs with
12 runs and 17 hits. Gritz
finished with four hits in
Game 1 with a double and
an RBI and added two
more hits in Game 2 to fin-
ish off a terrific day at the
plate.
“He’s usually a dead-
pull hitter and today he hit
it up the middle and good
things happened,” Hermis-
ton coach Lance Hawkins
said. “He gets in those
See BULLDOGS, A11
Dawgs pass test against Rams
Hermiston sweeps
doubleheader with
Central Catholic
By ERIC SINGER
Staff Writer
Being in the four-team
Columbia River Confer-
ence, Hermiston has to
play each team three times
and to get three wins in
those situations is always a
tough task.
So Hermiston coach
Kate Greenough said that
Saturday’s doubleheader
against Central Catholic
was a good test for what
the Bulldogs will be facing
in the CRC, as Hermiston
had already played, and
beaten, Central Catholic
once prior at a spring break
tournament on March 28.
And after the two games
were passed, Greenough’s
team passed its first test
as the Bulldogs swept
the Rams, 6-4 and 5-3,
on a windy day at Rocky
Heights field.
The Bulldogs took two
different paths to get both
wins, leading the entire
way in Game 1 and hold-
ing off a late rally by the
Rams, followed by a late
come-from-behind win in
Game 2.
“This was a great indi-
cation of how our league
is laid out because it is re-
ally tough to beat the same
team three times,” Gree-
nough said afterwards.
“But the girls didn’t stop
fighting and didn’t give
up. We definitely had
moments of inconsisten-
cy, but the ability to fight
back and stay in the game
on these long days showed
a lot of growth.”
In Game 1, Hermis-
ton (6-5) got to Central
Catholic right away in
the bottom of the first as
the Bulldogs had four hits
to help push across four
runs for an early lead. Af-
ter giving up two in the
top of the second, Herm-
iston answered with two
more in the third after a
two-RBI triple by Kalei
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC SINGER
Hermiston’s Kalei Smith (3) slides safely into third base as coach Kate Greenough looks on
after hitting a triple during Saturday’s doubleheader with Central Catholic in Hermiston.
Smith for a 6-2 lead. But
those were the last runs
Hermiston scored in the
game as its offense went
ice cold.
Central Catholic (4-
6) started chipping away
and threatened in the
seventh.
Back-to-back
singles plated a run for
the Rams to make it 6-3
and then another single
brought the go-ahead run
to the plate with only one
out. However, freshman
pitcher Janelle Almaguer
slammed the door shut
with two straight fly outs
to pick up the one-inning
save on Hermiston’s win.
Julissa Almaguer start-
ed that game in the circle
and gave up 10 hits, three
runs and one walk with
five strikeouts in six-plus
innings.
Then in Game 2,
Hermiston struck first
again as Sydney Stefani
led off the game with a
single, advanced around
the bases and came across
to score on a wild pitch
for a 1-0 lead. Central
Catholic took its first
lead of the afternoon in
the third inning behind a
two-out, three-run home
run that was blasted to
straightaway center field
by Kimberly Pulido off
of Bulldog pitcher Janelle
Almaguer to put the Rams
up, 3-1.
The home run was an
impressive one, as Puli-
do’s shot was hit straight
into the wind stream that
was traveling straight to-
wards home plate. The
wind affected plenty of
fly balls in the game,
mostly turning hard-hit
balls into infield fly outs
for both sides.
But that was all the
offense the Rams would
get. The freshman righty
thrower was very impres-
sive in the game, allow-
ing six hits and one walk
with one strikeout, most-
ly pitching to contact and
getting 12 of the 21 outs
via groundballs.
“Her giving up the ho-
mer was kind of a bum-
mer, but her fight the rest
of the game was huge,”
Greenough said of Alma-
guer. “Even right after,
she went after the next
batter and got out of the
inning. She didn’t give up
there, which is sometimes
rare for a freshman and I
commend her for that.”
Hermiston finally got
an offensive rally going
in the sixth inning, when
Julissa Almaguer led off
with a walk and then stole
second base with ease.
Two batters later, Ashley
Cameron hit a towering
fly ball into left field that
got pushed around by the
wind and fell in behind
the left fielder for a dou-
ble, scoring Almaguer to
tie the game.
Then Janelle Alma-
guer put the Bulldogs on
top with a hard-hit dou-
ble over the left fielder’s
head to bring in Cameron.
Janelle Almaguer then
scored from second on
a throwing error from
Central Catholic for the
game’s final run.
Before that sixth in-
ning, Hermiston had just
four hits in the four pre-
vious innings, though one
Bulldog said that being
the third time through the
lineup they were finally
seeing the pitches better.
“I feel like we were
seeing the pitches more
and placing the ball
where we needed to be,”
said Cameron, who fin-
ished the day with three
hits, three runs scored
and three RBI. “We kept
fighting in that game
just trying to come back
and finally got some hits
when we needed them.”
———
Game 1
R H E
CCH
020 100
1 — 4 11 2
HHS
402 000 X — 6 6 0
WP — Ju. Almaguer, LP — M. Mc-
Donald.
2B — K. Pulido (CCH); S. Stefani, E.
Jones (HHS). 3B — K. Smith (HHS).
Game 2
R H E
CCH
003 000
0 — 3 6 1
HHS
100 103 X — 5 7 0
WP — Ja. Almaguer, LP — K. Pulido.
2B — A. Cameron 2, Ja. Almaguer
(HHS). HR — K. Pulido (CCH).
———
Contact Eric at esing-
er@eastoregonian.com or
541-966-0839.