A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017
Herald Sports
Bulldogs find success
at Kiwanis Invite
Hermiston teams
finish top-2, win
in 10 events
Hermiston Herald
The Hermiston Bulldogs
track team had a strong
showing at its 32nd annual
Kiwanis Invitational meet
on Saturday, as the Bulldog
boys team finished second
to Kamiakin (170) with 155
points while the girls pulled
out a close victory with 190
points to Kamiakin’s 186.
Hermiston picked up
wins in 10 events overall
on Saturday. In the girls
sprints, Scout Reagan set
a new PR in the 100 meter
dash with a 12.33 run for
first and Audrey Lincoln
took first in the 400 meter
(1:01.02). Hermiston swept
the 100m and 110 meter
hurdle events, with Madi-
son Wilson (15.28) and Ty-
ler Rohrman (14.57) each
setting new PRs as well.
Both Bulldog 4x100 relay
teams also won as well.
In field events, Herm-
iston’s Stephanie Miears
(36-07.50) and Antonio
Hernandez (48-01) won
the shot put events, while
Elias Arenas (140-10) won
the discus. And to wrap up
the day, Ebony Wilson won
both the girls long jump
(16-09.00) and triple jump
(34-11.75).
Pendleton’s two wins
came in the high jump,
where Kiara Glover was
the only girl to clear five-
feet as she jumped 5-02.00,
while Johnny Stuvland tied
with Hermiston’s Hiram
Maciel by clearing 6-feet-2.
Mac-Hi’s Bianca Garcia
claimed victory in the girls
javelin, setting a new PR
with a distance of 127-06.
————
Team Scores
Boys
1. Kamiakin
2. Hermiston
3. Chiawana
4. La Grande
5. The Dalles
170
155
146
88
69
Girls
1. Hermiston
2. Kamiakin
3. Chiawana
4. La Grande
5. Pendleton
190
186
84
79
70
SOFTBALL
THE DALLES 8-9,
HERMISTON 1-8 — At
The Dalles, the Bulldogs
nearly stopped their losing
streak but were unable to
get past the Riverhawks in
Game 2 of a league double-
header and dropped their
seventh contest in a row on
Saturday.
Kalei Smith had a big
day at the plate for Hermis-
ton (6-12, 0-5 CRC) going
4 for 7, and Ashley Cam-
eron drove in two runs in
Game 2 while Sydney Ste-
fani went 2 for 3.
Janelle and Julissa Al-
maguer took the losses in
the circle. Janelle was re-
lieved after allowing seven
runs (four earned) in the
first inning of Game 1, and
Julissa gave the Bulldogs
five strong innings giving
up just one more run off
five hits and four balls with
six strikeouts.
The Dalles (3-14, 2-3)
had her pegged by Game 2,
though, and she went just 2
1/3 to start and allowed five
runs.
WESTON-MCEWEN
9-12, RIVERSIDE 1-1 —
At Athena, Bailey Hillmick
threw two complete game
victories allowing just
11 hits, two runs and two
walks with 22 strikeouts
as Weston-McEwen swept
Riverside 9-1 and 12-1 on
Saturday.
Weston-McEwen (7-4,
4-0 SD1) coach Jeff Griggs
said that Hillmick has been
working hard in practice on
her pitches and it has start-
ed to pay off like it did on
Saturday.
“She was locating well
and mixing her pitches
well,” Griggs said. “We’ve
told her the art of pitching
is to keep the batters guess-
ing, that she doesn’t have to
always over-power hitters
and her combination today
worked well.”
On offense, Courtney
Cain and Jordyn Lambert
each hit home runs for the
TigerScots, while Hillmick
and Charmayne Bennett led
the team with a combined
four hits each.
“We just hit up-and-
down the lineup and that’s
been our success lately,”
Griggs said. “We’re start-
ing to have a lineup without
holes and it’s hard to pitch
around players and it’s pay-
ing dividends.”
Sadie Hasbell led Riv-
erside’s (12-5, 2-3) offense
with four hits and a double,
while Abby Hernandez hit a
solo home run in Game 2.
————
Game 1
R H E
RHS
000 100
0 — 1 7 3
W-M
301 014 X — 9 12 2
WP — B. Hillmick, LP — S. Wightman.
2B — S. Hasbell, Villegas (RHS); S. Peal,
C. Cain, B. Hillmick (W-M). HR — C. Cain
(W-M).
Game 2
R H E
RHS
001 00 —
1 4 4
W-M
205 5X — 12 8 1
WP — B. Hillmick, LP — S. Wightman.
2B — W. Roggerio, C. Cain (W-M). HR —
Hernandez (RHS); J. Lambert (W-M).
ECHO 15, IRRIGON
5 — At Echo, the Cougars
put together a dominant
victory over Irrigon on Sat-
urday, winning the rubber
match of the season series,
15-5.
Echo (7-8, 3-2 SD1)
pelted 17 hits on the day, as
coach Javier Garcia said his
Cougars had an ultra-ag-
gressive approach at the
plate, which paid off big.
“We went away from be-
ing overly patient and want-
ed to make things happen
and put pressure on them,”
Garcia said. “We had three
first pitch hits in the first in-
ning, which set the tone.”
Alyssa Ray had a big
afternoon for Echo, as she
threw a complete game in
the circle for the win, al-
lowing five hits and five
runs with nine strikeouts
while also hitting a home
run on offense.
Kendra Hart, Monique
Montoya and Alex Put-
man each hit doubles in the
game for Echo, while Mya
Chapman and Fleming both
had doubles for Irrigon (11-
6, 3-2).
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BULLDOGS GET FIRST LEAGUE WIN
Hermiston puts
it all together to
beat Hood River
By ERIC SINGER
Staff Writer
With an inexperienced
pitching staff, the Hermis-
ton baseball team has had
its fair share of growing
pains this season.
The majority of Herm-
iston’s pitchers had never
thrown a varsity inning
prior to this season, which
meant a lot of learning
what it takes to be success-
ful at that level. The big-
gest thing that has plagued
the Bulldogs so far is in-
efficiency on the mound,
often times falling below
50 percent strikes thrown
which results in a high
number of walks, hit-by-
pitches and extra bases to
runners.
But on April 18 at Ar-
mand Larive ballpark, two
of the younger pitchers
gave coach Lance Haw-
kins something to smile
about. Junior righty Caden
Schwirse gave the Bull-
dogs five solid innings
from the start and soph-
omore Jordan Ramirez
threw two scoreless in-
nings to save a 4-2 Bull-
dogs victory over the Hood
River Valley Eagles.
Schwirse, making his
fourth appearance on the
mound this season, al-
lowed six hits with two
runs and one earned to go
along with three strike-
outs. He was very efficient
as well, only walking two
and throwing 74 pitches
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston’s Kaden Caldwell flicks the ball to first base for an out in the Bulldogs’ 4-2 win
against Hood River Valley on Tuesday in Hermiston.
in his five innings and he
threw just over 54 percent
strikes.
“I don’t want to just
give away free runs,”
Schwirse said of his effi-
ciency. “I wanted to make
them put the ball in play
and see what my defense
could do.”
Schwirse’s only runs
allowed came in the fourth
inning when seven Eagles
came to the plate. Three
Eagles reached via hit and
one walked, with the runs
scoring on an RBI single
by Lucas Viuhkola and
on a Hermiston (7-9, 1-2
CRC) fielding error. He
worked out of a few jams
as well, stranding two run-
ners in the first and work-
ing around a leadoff dou-
ble in the third inning.
“Great pitching, I mean
great pitching today,”
Hawkins added. “It helps
when you’re around the
plate with your pitches.
We weren’t falling behind
and when you’re up early
you can go with a second
or a third pitch, and I think
the guys did a good job of
competing on the mound
and that’s what we need.”
On the offensive side
of things for the Bulldogs,
the bats were kept relative-
ly quiet by Eagle pitching.
Hermiston registered five
hits spread in the first and
third innings, and had four
innings where the team
was retired in order.
But in the first inning,
back-to-back singles by
Ramirez and Wyatt No-
land plus a walk by Lu-
kas Tolan loaded the bas-
es. Slade Gritz stepped in
with one out and sent a fly
ball into left field that was
deep enough to bring home
Ramirez on a sacrifice fly
and a 1-0 lead.
And then in the fourth,
Hermiston again loaded
the bases with back-to-
back singles by Ramirez
and Noland followed by
a hit-by-pitch for Tolan
to bring Gritz to the plate
with one out. And again,
Gritz came through with
a first-pitch double that
rolled to the fence in left
field to drive in three runs
for a 4-0 Hermiston lead
and further solidifying his
spot as Hermiston’s ‘Mr.
Clutch.’
“I’d want any of my
guys up there but it seems
like Slade is the one that
gets there and always gets
the big knock,” Hawkins
said of the senior. “He’s
See BULLDOGS, A11
Pack of Bulldogs sign with T-Wolves
BMCC soccer adds
more local talent
for first team
By ERIC SINGER
Staff writer
When the Hermiston
boys soccer team lost a 2-1
heartbreaker to Woodburn
in the state quarterfinals
in November, many of the
team’s 11 seniors thought
that it was their final time
playing the game they love
together.
However, on April 19
six of those seniors decid-
ed that the playoff game
wasn’t their last time to-
gether. Anthony Carillo,
Eli Lopez, Gio Madrigal,
Hiram Maciel, Isaac Mu-
noz, and Ismael Arenas all
signed National Letters of
Intent with Blue Mountain
Community College and
be a part of the school’s
first-ever men’s soccer
team in the fall. The six
made it official at a sign-
ing party in the Hermiston
High commons, and were
all happy to know they
will continue playing as
teammates.
“It’s a great feeling be-
cause I’ve grown up with
these guys and we all know
how to play with each oth-
er,” Lopez said. “I’m ex-
cited about what’s going to
happen this year and I’m
looking forward to it.”
It was also an emotion-
al day for the athletes, as
all six were also fulfilling
childhood dreams of play-
ing collegiate soccer.
“Ever since I was little
I always had a dream, a
goal of playing profession-
al soccer and this is just
that next step after high
school,” Arenas said. “And
I’m one step closer to my
dream and that’s all I can
ask for.”
“Yeah it was always my
dream,” Lopez added. “I
was iffy about it my fresh-
man year but now that it’s
come to reality I’m really
excited and looking for-
See PACK, A11
————
R H E
IHS
210 20 —
5 5 2
EHS
717 0X — 15 17 2
WP — A. Ray, LP — M. Chapman.
2B — Fleming, Chapman (IHS); Hart,
Montoya, Putman (EHS). HR — A. Ray
(EHS).
BASEBALL
THE DALLES 10-4,
HERMISTON 0-3 — At
The Dalles, the Bulldogs
offense sputtered on Satur-
day as Hermiston collected
just nine hits and three runs
resulting in a 10-0 and 4-3
victory for The Dalles.
In Game 1, The Dalles
(9-9, 3-2 CRC) pitcher
Jordan Wetmore mowed
through Hermiston’s order,
allowing just three hits and
one walk in six scoreless
innings to go with seven
strikeouts.
In Game 2, Hermiston
(7-11, 1-4) pitcher Brylee
Dufloth kept the Bulldogs
right in it, giving up six hits
with five strikeouts in 6 1/3
innings.
However he ran into
trouble in the seventh with
a leadoff walk and eventu-
ally loaded the bases.
Wyatt Noland came in
on relief and the River-
hawk’s Spencer Honald
put down a perfect squeeze
bunt to score the game-win-
ning run.
No player had more
than one hit on the day for
Hermiston, but Cole Camp-
bell hit a big two RBI single
in the fifth inning of Game
2 to get the Bulldogs their
first and only lead of the
day.
————
Flores signs with BMCC
Hermiston guard
stays close to home
for college hoops
By MATT ENTRUP
Staff Writer
When Hermiston senior
Chance Flores stepped off
the court following a 65-
50 loss to Parkrose in the
5A boys basketball play-in
round, he knew nothing
more than he wasn’t ready
for it to end.
Injuries during his ju-
nior and senior seasons
had assured Flores and his
17-points-per-game aver-
age had flown under the
radar of collegiate coaches
and recruiters. That could
have been that. But Flores,
a 6-foot-1 guard who also
averaged 5.7 rebounds, 3.5
steals and 3.2 assists his
senior season, had been
dreaming of playing col-
lege basketball since the
sixth grade and wasn’t
ready to leave it there.
“Someone one time told
me, ‘Don’t quit something
until you’re forced to,’”
he said of some words of
advice from Hermiston’s
Dennis Stefani, a former
assistant with the boys’
program and the Bulldogs’
girls JV head coach. “He
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO COURTESY OF HERMISTON ATHLETICS
Chance Flores, second from right, signs his National Letter
of Intent with Blue Mountain Community College men’s
basketball on Monday at a ceremony at Hermiston High.
Also shown are Flores’ parents, his older brother C.J.
(standing), and his HHS coach Casey Arstein (far right).
told me that a long time
ago and it just stuck with
me.”
With the assistance of
Hermiston head coach Ca-
sey Arstein, he compiled
his best highlights and start-
ed sending them out. One
of the first programs Flores
contacted was Blue Moun-
tain Community College in
Pendleton, and when head
coach Gavin Burt returned
his interest Flores said he
didn’t expand his search
much further.
Flores officially brought
his short search for a col-
lege landing spot to a close
last week when he signed
a National Letter of Intent
to join the BMCC Timber-
wolves in the fall.
Surrounded by fami-
ly, friends and teammates
during a ceremony at
Hermiston High, Flores
said there were two peo-
ple he especially needed to
thank for making him the
player he is today.
The first was his older
brother C.J., a 2014 HHS
graduate.
“The biggest thing
was my brother would al-
ways push me and at first
it wasn’t me trying to be
great. It was me trying
to be better than my old-
er brother,” he said. “We
played basketball and then
he was always better than
me and he’d always push
me, and then sooner or lat-
er it grew into ‘Wow I re-
ally like this.’ And now it’s
something I really want to
push for.”
The second was his
eighth grade coach, Brian
Moss.
“He really changed
basketball for me, he just
completely turned me
around,” he said. “I was
an OK player and he really
formed me into who I was
coming into high school.
He really helped me a lot.”
The Timberwolves list-
ed 13 freshmen on their
roster in 2016-17, but
Flores said Burt told him
there will be plenty of op-
portunity for him to get on
the court early.
“I’m hoping so, I was
talking to coach a little bit
and he said there’s not a lot
of returners left so that just
definitely opens up a win-
dow, I’ve just got to keep
working hard,” Flores said.
He plans to work to-
ward his associates degree
in business with the inten-
tion of entering an electri-
cian apprenticeship upon
completion, but had to de-
fer to Stefani again when
considering his future.
“I’d like to (play at a
four-year school). I’ll play
my two years there (at
BMCC), or one year, and
we’ll see where it goes,”
he said.