A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017
Herald Sports
Follow sports on Twitter
@HHeraldSports
Dawgs hire new baseball coach Hermiston roper
Pendleton grad
Kevin Moore hired
as head coach
By ERIC SINGER
STAFF WRITER
After a 15-day search,
Hermiston baseball has a
new leader.
The school announced on
Friday afternoon that Kevin
Moore has been hired as
the program’s newest head
coach, pending approval by
the Board of Education at its
meeting on July 10. Moore
replaces Lance Hawkins,
who stepped down from
the position on June 1 after
three seasons at the helm.
Moore, 40, comes to
Hermiston from Idaho,
where he has spent the past
12 years as an assistant
baseball coach for Parma
High School, Caldwell, Val-
livue and Fruitland. He has
strong ties to Eastern Ore-
gon, though, as Moore grew
up in Pendleton and gradu-
ated from Pendleton High
School in 1995.
And even though the for-
mer Buckaroo is now going
to be coaching for his high
school rival, he is more
than excited to finally get a
chance as a head coach and
get started with the Bull-
dogs.
“This was an opportuni-
ty for both my wife and I
that we couldn’t pass up,”
Moore said. “I’ve heard
nothing but good things
about Hermiston baseball
and the opportunity to come
in and enjoy the success that
they’ve built and expand on
that is exciting.”
Moore’s baseball back-
seventh at CNFR
‘I’ve heard nothing but good things
about Hermiston baseball and the
opportunity to come in and enjoy
the success that they’ve built and
expand on that is exciting.’
BMCC women’s
team title reign
snapped
HERMISTON HERALD
Kevin Moore
Kevin Moore
ground is pretty extensive,
starting with a successful
high school career with the
Buckaroos that landed him
a chance to play college
baseball and eventually two
seasons playing profession-
al baseball in the Indepen-
dent Frontier League before
coming back to Pendleton.
From there, Moore spent
two summers coaching
Pendleton Legion baseball
from 2000-2001 for the
then-Dave’s Chevron team
with current Pendleton as-
sistant Travis Zander before
landing a teaching job in the
Parma School District. His
last two seasons in Idaho he
spent assisting the Fruitland
High team that won back-to-
back state championships.
Hermiston athletic di-
rector Larry Usher said that
Moore’s baseball coaching
background, along with ex-
perience in coaching foot-
ball and golf was a perfect
fit for what the school was
looking for.
“He comes from a great
baseball pedigree and has
had success everywhere
he’s been,” Usher said.
“One thing good coaches
should do is learn the most
they can from competitive
programs and I’m humble
enough to admit that Pend-
leton baseball has been fan-
tastic and that’s where he
started, and then what he
did in Parma spoke volumes
to us.”
Moore inherits a Bulldog
program that finished 10-15
overall this past season and
4-8 in the Columbia River
Conference, just missing
out on a postseason spot.
The Bulldogs do return
some experienced players,
though, as five positional
starters and all three starting
pitchers will return to the
field.
Hermiston has just one
more season to leave a last-
ing mark on the OSAA and
the four-team CRC before
it moves to the tougher
Mid-Columbia Conference
and the WIAA starting in
2018-19. Usher admitted
that the move to the WIAA
was a reason for the district
going outside of the pro-
gram.
“We don’t want to go up
there and not have a good
showing,” said Usher. “We
think Kevin brings a bit of
fire and will bring some
charisma to the high school
program.”
Along with revamping
the high school program,
Moore will be tasked with
helping the development of
Hermiston’s Little League
and middle school programs
to help funnel more kids
into the high school level
and make things more com-
petitive amongst the kids.
Moore believes that the way
to start is perhaps easier said
than done.
“My opinion is winning
brings along a lot of inter-
est from kids,” he said. “If
you’re winning, kids want
to be a part of the program
and will come out. I’m a
firm believer of teaching
kids how to play hard and
how to play right and get
kids to believe in them-
selves.
“If you treat kids with
respect and get them in the
right direction and get them
believing that they’re going
to be better then their op-
ponent, then we can start to
build a highly competitive
program.”
————
Contact Eric at esing-
er@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0839. Follow
Herald Sports on Twitter @
hheraldsports.
CASPER,
Wyo-
ming — After two
straight seasons as
women’s team cham-
pions at the College
National Finals Rodeo,
Blue Mountain Com-
munity College’s reign
comes to an end.
A surprisingly dis-
appointing
perfor-
mance in the long
round led to just one
qualifier to the short
go for the Timber-
wolf women, help-
ing BMCC to a 26th
place finish with just
60 points on Saturday.
It was their worst fin-
ish at the CNFR since
2010 when the Tim-
berwolves
finished
30th with 20 points.
The
Timberwolves
came into the CNFR
ranked No. 6 in the
national standings 900
points out of first place
After failing to
qualify for the CNFR
in 2011, BMCC rattled
off five straight top-
10 finishes including
the last two national
championships. Sam
Houston State won
the team title this year
with 485 points.
Danyelle Williams,
the 2016 women’s
Preston Pederson
all-around champion,
was the lone short go
qualifier for the wom-
en, and she turned in
a 20.49-second ride in
barrel racing to finish
12th in the round and
12th in the average.
On the men’s side,
tie-down roper Preston
Pederson of Hermiston
and saddle bronc rider
Johnny Espeland made
it through to the short
go. Pederson finished
fourth in the round
with a time of 9.2 sec-
onds, earning him a
seventh place finish in
the average with 48.7
on four. Espeland reg-
istered a no score in
the saddle bronc short
go, and finished 12th
in the average with
143.5 points.
The men’s team fin-
ished 43rd overall with
70 points, while Pan-
handle State won the
title with 827.5 points.
Walla Walla Commu-
nity College finished
six spots ahead of
BMCC with 85 points.
Feel the Thrill
of a New Toyota!
10 New 2017 TOYOTAS
with
over
$ 2000
Cash Back
More options at a better price?
RDO DOES THAT.
2017 COROLLA
1025R Sub-Compact Utility Tractor
2017 RAV4
Excludes Hybrid
ONLY
150
/Month
$
also includes
2017 Camry Hybrid
20
2017 Prius v
2017 Avalon Gas
2017 Avalon Hybrid
2017 Yaris
2017 Yaris iA
2017 Sienna
*
2017 CAMRY
Or choose from 5 vehicles that can be
leased for less than $200 per month.
SUCH AS:
2017 Camry SE
$ 179 /mo
for 36 mos.
$ 199 /mo 2017 RAV4 LE
for 36 mos.
Add a 60D Mower for
$
*
28/ Month
Add a H120 Loader for
$
50
*
37 / Month
Add a 260 Backhoe for
$
*
70/ Month
Package Total
Special leasing also
available on:
2017 Corolla LE
2017 Corolla iM
2017 Yaris iA
285
$
50
/Month *
HERMISTON | 844-551-5594
See more and GET A QUOTE at RDOEQUIPMENT.COM
Every new Toyota comes with
(541) 567-6461 or 800-522-2308
ToyotaOfHermiston.com
All financing on approved credit through TFS. All vehicles subject to prior sale.
All prices plus tax and title. $75 dealer doc fee. Offers end 7/5/17.
For more details call 1-888-21-TOYOTA.
Mon - Fri 8:30a - 7:00p
Saturday 8:30a - 7:00p
Sunday 10:00a - 5:00p
*Offer valid on new 1025R Compact Tractor purchases made between 6/1/207 and 7/31/2017. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Down
payment may be required. Example: based on a purchase of $12,600 with $0 down payment, monthly payment of $150 at 0% APR for 84 months. Based on a purchase
of an H120 Loader at $3,150 with $0 down payment, monthly payment of $37.50 at 0% APR for 84 months. Based on a purchase of a 60D mower deck at $2,352 with
$0 down payment, monthly payment of $28.00 at 0% APR for 84 months. Based on a purchase of a 260 Backhoe at $5,880 with $0 down payment, monthly payment
of $70.00 at 0% APR for 84 months. Taxes, freight, set up and delivery charges could increase the monthly payment. Price and model availability vary by dealer. Valid
only at participating US dealers.
RDO5X100621HH-4C