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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2018)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2018 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 Herald Sports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports DAWGS PLAYOFF RUN ENDS PHOTOS BY ROBERT MCLEAN FOR THE HERMISTON HERALD Hermiston’s Sydney Stefani hits a leadoff home run in the first inning of the Bulldogs’ 11-7 loss to Lebanon in the 5A quarterfinals on Friday in Hermiston. Lebanon beats Hermiston 11-7 in 5A quarterfinals By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ STAFF WRITER H ERMISTON — On Friday, a red- hot No. 15 Lebanon team came to town off a one-run upset vic- tory over No. 2 Hillsboro in the 5A first round just two days prior. The Warriors certainly gave the No. 7 Hermiston Bulldogs a run for their money as well. After Hermiston took an early lead, Lebanon fought back to regain control. The Bulldogs were looking for a break, and got it in the bottom of the sixth when they pulled within two runs. An RBI double off the bat of Bailee Noland put Hermiston back in the game, but half a frame later Lebanon broke out its bats again to reach the game winning score of 11-8. The War- riors (14-14 overall) move onto the semifinals to face No. 6 Putnam while the Bulldogs’ season — and member- ship in the OSAA — comes to an end. Hermiston battled in Round 1 to come away with a 4-3 victory to keep its season alive. The efforts of Julissa Almaguer on the mound and the bat of Ashley Cameron aided the Bulldogs’ fourth consecutive win. The young squad was gaining confidence as they attempted to make their way deep into the state tournament for the first time since 2013. But Lebanon squashed those hopes with some timely hitting late in the quarterfinal matchup. “They fought so hard, and that’s one thing we do is we fight,” head coach Kate Greenough said. “They give it their best, they worked their butts off and we just ran out of time today.” The opening frame favored the Hermiston’s Ashley Cameron tags out a Lebanon base runner for the first out of an eventual double play. Hermiston catcher Bailee Noland waits to tag out a Lebanon base runner at the plate. home team. Almaguer, Hermiston’s starter, put Lebanon down in order and on offense, Sydney Stefani hit a lead- off home run to give the Bulldogs (17- 10) an early advantage. Amanda Bar- ron added an RBI single to the board in the first which put Hermiston up 2-0. But that lead wouldn’t last for long. Over the course of the game there would be three lead changes and two ties as both teams continued to battle back. First it was Lebanon’s efforts that helped put up a four spot in the second to gain control. It was one of the War- riors’ better innings offensively, and at the same time not Hermiston’s best showing defensively. Two RBI doubles from Taylor Edwards and Kira Sneddon opened the game up for the visitors, who went ahead and had three more two-plus run innings. Hermiston was expecting steady hitting from the Warriors, who brought with them a veteran roster. “I thought they’d be a single-type hitter and that’s what they did. They did well and we made a few mis- takes, more than a few, and they took advantage of them,” Greenough said. “They’re a team to kind of keep an eye on, they are tougher than they look. They’re scrappy and they do the right things at the right time.” A two-out rally in the third again kept Hermiston alive, and ended up giving the Bulldogs a lead they would soon relinquish. “I think we just kind of beat our- selves,” Greenough said, “but the girls, they don’t stop and I love that about them.” Daisy Maddox’s RBI double high- lighted those efforts in the bottom of the frame, as did an RBI single from Kylie Green and a sacrifice fly from Noland that start the three-run affair. That was the last time Hermiston put up multiple runs in an inning. The Bulldogs knocked in three more runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Lebanon. Noland was given the loss after four innings of work. The starting catcher came in for relief of Almaguer, who later returned in the seventh inning. The Bulldogs made their first appearance back in the quarterfinals since 2013, and with a young roster will be bringing some experience with them as they gear up for the move to the WIAA. “I’m pumped for what these kids are doing,” Greenough said. “I’m so excited for what they represent and what they show and as a coach — we’ve had a great year, I would put that up against anybody, but not only that but they are fantastic kids. They love softball, they love to work hard and their future is bright in whatever they do.” ——— R H E LHS 040 320 2 — 11 9 8 HHS 203 011 1 — 8 9 3 (L) K. Sneddon. (H) Ju. Almaguer, B. Noland (3), Ju. Almaguer (7). W — Sneddon, L — Noland. HR: S. Stefani (H). 2B: T. Edwards, K. Sneddon 2 (L); D. Maddox, B. Noland (H). Tigers baseball season ends in extra innings Horizon Christian ousts Stanfield in the 3A quarterfinals Friday HERMISTON HERALD STANFIELD — At first during the 3A quarterfinal matchup Fri- day, it looked like the No. 2 Stan- field Tigers were poised for another big victory. The home team got out to an early 9-0 lead against the visiting No. 7 Horizon Christian Hawks. But after coming to town off four straight wins, it didn’t take long for Horizon Christian’s momentum to pick back up. A pitching change helped after four of the six runs in the third inning were either from walks or hit by pitches, and certainly the 10 runs in the sixth and seventh inning didn’t hurt the Hawks, who even- tually escaped with a 13-12 win to end Stanfield’s season. Three different Tigers (22-6 overall) put together a two-hit night. Adrian Renner, Justin Kee- ney and Makiah Blankenship led the offense and also pitched in six combined RBIs while also scoring six times. Keeney recorded the only extra base hit for Stanfield, a double that started the short two-run rally in the ninth to knot the score back up at 12 runs apiece. But after the Hawks’ (19-7) sac- rifice fly gave them the go-ahead run, the Tigers were unable to respond. Stanfield worked through its bullpen, and ultimately it was Damien Curiel who was given the loss. Curiel pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up three runs off four hits, walking five and striking out none. For Horizon Christian, Luke Klein earned the win after five innings of work surrendering only two runs off three hits while strik- ing out five and walking four. Brannon Macfarlane was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and also scoring twice. ——— R H E HC 000 002 802 01 — 13 10 4 SHS 006 301 002 00 — 12 10 2 (H) N. Murrell, N. Brucker (3), L. Klein (7). (S) B. Woods, S. Keltz (7), A. Renner (8), D. Curiel (8). W — Klein, L — Curiel. 2B: J. Keeney (s).
