WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A11
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GIRLS WIN WILDHORSE INVITE
Bundled-up Bulldogs
squeeze out 7-stroke win
By ERIC SINGER
STAFF WRITER
M
“It might be the best team
score we’ve had at this course,
especially with the conditions.”
Joshua Browning, Hermiston head coach
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Hermiston senior Grace Blackhurst tees off on the ninth hole Monday at the Wildhorse Invitational in Mission.
ISSION — Sixty-eight
golfers from 10 different
high schools descended
on Wildhorse Resort Golf
Course on Monday afternoon for
the annual Wildhorse Invite, and
all 68 were put to the test as con-
stant 20 mph winds and chilly
temperatures presented a big
challenge all day long.
Among the local schools com-
peting were Hermiston, Pendle-
ton and Mac-Hi.
Despite the conditions, and
while being bundled up in layers
of sweatshirts and jackets to keep
warm, some golfers were still
able to put together some solid
rounds, including the Hermiston
girls team.
The Bulldogs squeezed out
the victory by just seven strokes
over Pomeroy by a score of
405-412. Hermiston head coach
Joshua Browning was very
pleased with the outcome, given
the tough conditions the golfers
faced, while the Bulldogs’ five-
girl team was pretty surprised by
the win.
“It feels great,” Brown-
ing said. “The conditions were
pretty tough but they stuck with
it. I talked to a couple of the girls
during the round and they were
having a hard time. So (win-
ning) was unexpected for them.
I thought they were still in it
throughout, but it was still unex-
pected in the end.”
Hermiston was led by senior
Grace Blackhurst and freshman
Madison McClanahan in the
round. Blackhurst finished only
four shots off the lead with an 88,
still good enough for third place,
while McClanahan’s 98 put her
in the top five at fourth place.
Rounding out the Bulldogs’
scorecard was Leslie Browning
with a 106, Mykah Kramwiede
with a 113 and Morgan Brown-
ing, who carded a 126.
“It might be the best team
score we’ve had at this course,
especially with the conditions,”
Browning said.
For the boys, Hermiston fin-
ished fifth with a score of 378,
led by Garrett McClanahan and
Cody Thacker each with 90s,
Blue Blackhurst’s 91, and Con-
ner Scott’s 107.
PREP ROUNDUP
Local highlight competition in Riverside/Irrigon Tournament
HERMISTON HERALD
IRRIGON — No one was safe
from heavy winds at Irrigon High
on the afternoon of March 27.
Spectators bundled up in blan-
kets were still cold, dogs were
shivering and baseballs went flying
during a doubleheader that capped
off the first day of the Riverside/
Irrigon Tournament.
Games were split between
Boardman and Irrigon, and the
Knights welcomed the Heppner
Mustangs for the team’s second
meeting of the young season.
The Knights dug themselves
into an early hole after Heppner got
four runs on the board in the top of
the first starting with an RBI single
from Tyler Carter and ending with
another from Kevin Smith.
Irrigon scored a lone run in the
bottom of the inning, but Hep-
pner would score another handful
of runs in the second to extend its
early lead to 7-1, but Irrigon put
up 23 runs in the next two innings
combined.
In the second, the Knights took
control of the ball game and never
let up.
Irrigon went through its lineup
twice and eight different batters
scored. Johnny Phillips sent a
bomb over center field for a two-
run home run and both Lino Covar-
rubia and Adrian Roa hit RBI tri-
ples to help push the score to 23-7
in favor of the Knights. After shut-
ting out Heppner in the third and
fourth, Irrigon cemented its vic-
tory with three more RBIs from
Keith Flemming, Caleb Adams
and Mathew Moreno.
The Knights would face an even
tougher opponent in Game 2.
Stanfield entered the evening
matchup off a 14-4 victory earlier
in the day over Willamina. At first
Game 2 was eerily similar to the
first when the Knights found them-
selves in an early hole after Stan-
field’s Adrian Renner hit a grand
slam and Brody Woods followed
with a two-run homer to complete
the 10-run inning.
The double-digit lead and heavy
winds continued but this time it
didn’t favor Irrigon, as the Tigers
ran away with an 18-7 victory.
Irrigon was able to stay alive,
getting runs on the board to stop
the 10-run rule from coming into
effect but its efforts weren’t enough
to keep Stanfield at bay.
Irrigon continued play in
the Riverside/Irrigon Tourna-
ment on Wednesday and handed
Weston-McEwen a 15-5 loss.
After a slow start that allowed
the TigerScots to get up 2-0, the
Knights (3-3) answered with at
least one run in over the next five
innings.
Leading the way was Gumbert,
who went 2-for-3 at the plate and
recorded four RBIs. Three other
Knights each had three RBIs on the
day — Fleming, Brady Harrington
and Moreno.
Meanwhile, Stanfield dropped
its game to Kennedy after having
the lead through nearly the entire
first half of the game but ultimately
fell 10-8. .
For Riverside, the Pirates had
a doubleheader first playing Scio,
which Riverside handed a 7-4
loss, and next it followed with a
matchup against Willamia, where
the Pirates escaped with a 2-1
Game 1 victory. The Pirates (3-3)
used that momentum in Game 2,
where the runs from both teams
were all scored in the first inning.
Freshman Andrew Zeller pitched a
no hitter en route to the victory.
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Softball teams compete
in two-day tournament
BOARDMAN — Echo’s Ken-
dra Hart pitched a shutout in her
first career varsity appearance in
the circle to lead the Cougars to
victory in Day 2 of the Riverside/
Irrigon Tournament.
As the designated visiting team,
Echo put its bats to work early and
built up a 3-0 lead after the first
inning. The Cougars (2-1) then
added two runs in the third and
fourth innings, and put the run-rule
into effect after tallying four more
runs in the fifth.
All the while, Hart was having a
day in the circle. She struck out 12,
allowed only one hit and walked
two in her first win.
Behind the plate for Echo was
Alex Putnam, who also had an
RBI triple in the fourth to push the
Cougar’s lead to 6-0. Putnam was
brought home by Annie Barnes for
the only other run of the inning.
Barnes finished the day 2-for-3
with two RBIs.
For Irrigon, after winning its
first game on Tuesday, the Knights
returned to action for a double-
header against Grant Union and
Knappa.
In Game 1, the Knights were
defeated by Prospectors, 8-6 and
again in Game 2, lost by a narrow
margin to the Loggers but this time
by only one run. The 8-7 loss to
end the day moved Irrigon to 4-6
on the season.
Stanfield tennis struggles
against a talented Mac-Hi
MILTON-FREEWATER — On
Thursday, the Mac-Hi girls and
boys tennis teams welcomed Stan-
field for a day of tennis in some of
the best conditions this week. The
Pioneers swept the Tigers with the
girls winning 4-3 and the boys 4-0.
The league victory had some
close matches, head coach Danny
Sanchez said.
“I was very pleased on how
Mac-Hi persevered and fought hard
through some tough matches,” he
added. “It will give them valuable
experience further down the season
by playing these close matches.”
For the girls, Mac-Hi only
dropped one match when Stan-
field’s Brianna Cornejo defeated
Leslie Diaz 8-1. Janelle Martinez,
Banyan Moss and Dani Angel all
earned points for the Pioneers with
victories over the Tigers.
Stanfield had its most success
in doubles play when the duos of
Amanda Carrillo and Cornejo and
Ita Gomez and Payton Henning
defeated their Pioneer counter-
parts for much needed points for
the Tigers.
Areli Ramos and Joanna Landa
ended up winning their doubles
match over Stanfield’s Zore Geh-
reke and Zoe Russell — it was
Mac-Hi’s only doubles win.
On the boys side, the Pioneers
came away with some very close
matches. In singles, Bryan Abrego
and Jamie Gomez narrowly
escaped with wins. Both went into
a tiebreak where Abrego defeated
Noel Montez 9-8 (7-2) and Gomez
got the win over Uriel Carrillo 9-8
(7-4). Both doubles pairs defeated
Stanfield to complete the sweep.
———
Girls Singles
Janelle Martinez (MH) def Amanda Carillo (ST) 9-7
Brianna Cornejo (ST) def Leslie Diaz (MH) 8-1
Banyan Moss (MH) def Ita Gomez (ST) 9-8 (7-2)
Dani Angel (MH) def Payton Henning (ST) 6-2
Girls Doubles
A. Carrillo/B. Cornejo (ST) def J. Martinez/D. Alvarez
(MH) 8-4
I. Gomez/P. Henning (ST) def S. Harris/A. Uribe
(MH) 9-8 (8-6)
A. Ramos/J. Landa (MH) def Z. Gehreke/Z. Russell
(ST) 6-4
Boys Singles
Bryan Abrego (MH) def Noel Montez (ST) 9-8 (7-2)
Jamie Gomez (MH) def Uriel Carrillo (ST) 9-8 (7-4)
Boys Doubles
A. Pio/K. Carrillo (MH) def U. Carillo/R. Carillo (ST)
8-2
R. Castillo/R. Perayda (MH) def N. Montes/ R.
Carrillo (ST)