A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, MARCH 27, 2019
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Hermiston’s sprint relays
shine at Bulldog Invite
The Hermiston baseball team finally got
to play on Friday, but the outcome wasn’t
what the Bulldogs had hoped for.
In the Mid-Columbia Conference opener
for both teams, Chiawana swept Hermiston
8-6 and 10-0 in Pasco.
“The first game was a fun baseball
game,” Hermiston coach Kevin Moore said.
“The team that made the least mistakes
ended up winning.”
Chiawana, who was supposed to have
played its first game March 9, looked good
with just a few days on the field.
“We went out and did our thing,” River-
hawks coach Dave Price said. “We played
pretty well.”
In the opener, the Bulldogs led 4-1 after
the first, and 6-4 after four innings.
In the fifth, Riley Cissne belted a two-
out, two-run single that helped put the Riv-
erhawks ahead for good. Cissne finished the
game with four RBIs.
Wyatt Noland went 2 for 4 with a triple
for the Bulldogs, while Seth Prewitt was 2
for 4 with an RBI. Trevor Wagner, Gavin
Hunter and Spencer Juul all had an RBI,
while Juul also had a double.
Jordan Ramirez, Wagner and Ethan Ran-
dolph all saw time on the mound.
“Our pitchers were on a pitch count,”
Moore said. “We wanted to see what their
By HERALD STAFF
Boys tennis
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Thursday at the Bulldog Invite in
man won the boys 400 meters
(55.57), with Umatilla’s Arrik
Russell second (55.83).
Hailey Heideman of Ione was
second in the 400 (1:03.88), just
a step behind Kaitlyn Wright of
Burns.
Stanfield’s Rebecca Reynolds
finished third in the high jump,
tying her personal best with a
height of 4-8. Helm won with a
height of 5 feet.
“I would have liked to have
gone higher, but it just means I
have more room to improve,”
Reynolds said. “The weather
was so nice, which helped.”
In the boys 1,600, Tim Ste-
vens of Cove led the first three
laps, then got caught by Walla
Walla Valley’s Justin Roosma,
who eventually won the race in
a time of 4:20.69. Stevens was
nearly 6 seconds back, and Hep-
pner’s Hunter Nichols was fifth
(4:34.97).
“I was good to get a first time
and be in a competitive heat in a
race,” Nichols said. “I felt good
for the first race, but I still have
a long road ahead of me.”
Chiawana takes two from Dawgs
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston softball
posts 2 big wins
The Hermiston softball team wasted
no time taking care of business in its
season opener Saturday afternoon in
Yakima.
The Bulldogs shut out Davis 18-0,
and then turned around to take down
Eisenhower 12-2.
“I’m really proud of the team,” coach
Kate Greenough said. “They scored 30
runs in 10 innings. That’s exciting. We
couldn’t be more happy with the way
they showed up and played.”
Despite racking up 18 runs in the
opener, the Bulldogs didn’t get going
until the third inning, where they put up
eight runs. They tacked on two more in
the fourth, and another eight in the fifth
to end the game early.
Janelle Almaguer and Grace Studer
combined for a no-hitter against the
Pirates.
“That’s a huge deal,” Greenough
said. “It hasn’t happened since I’ve
coached Hermiston. That doesn’t hap-
pen often in high school softball.”
Ashley Cameron led the offensive
charge for both games, going a com-
bined 6-for-7 at the plate with three
doubles, a triple, a home run, and five
RBIs.
“Ashley’s absolutely a leader,”
Greenough said. “She’s a good ball
player. In softball, if you hit .300 or
.400, you’re doing well. She hit .800
today. That’s an impressive feat.”
The Bulldogs will begin Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference play Friday hosting
Southridge in doubleheader at Rocky
Heights Elementary. Game time is
3 p.m.
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston’s Garrett Walchli
knew he would have to turn on
the jets when he got the baton
for the anchor leg of the boys
4x100 relay.
Walchli, a junior, took the
baton from Ben Wicks and
started chasing down Walla
Walla’s Colby Turner. Walchli
caught him with about 40 meters
to go, and then crossed the finish
line a step ahead of Turner for
the win on Thursday at the Bull-
dog Invite at Kennison Field.
“I was wondering where our
boys were at,” Walchli said. “I
was like third or fourth when I
got the baton. I was like, ‘We
are not going down without a
fight.’”
The Bulldogs won in a time
of 45.72 seconds, while Walla
Walla was second in 45.85. The
team knows they still have work
to do.
“Now, we just have to brush
it up,” said DJ Wilson, who ran
the second leg.
Walchli also was second in
the 100 meters (11.42), just a
step behind Walla Walla’s Jared
McAlvey (11.23).
The invite, which featured
schools from Walla Walla to
Heppner, did not see a lot of
record times or distances, but for
most schools it was just nice to
get outdoors after a long winter
and waiting for several inches of
snow to melt.
There was no drama in the
girls 4x100 relay, where Herm-
iston won with a time of 50.13
— more than 4 seconds in front
of Umatilla.
While the win was nice, lead-
off runner Elsa Torres did not
like their time, saying their best
time is a few seconds faster.
The Bulldogs did lead from
start to finish, with Torres hand-
ing off to Madi Wilson, who in
turn gave the baton to McKaylee
Young, and Young passed it off
to Scout Reagan, who crossed
the finish line with the next team
a country mile behind.
Even with a couple of stum- Heppner sophomore Jayden Wilson competes in the long jump on
bling handoffs, the Bulldogs Hermiston.
were in sync.
“We have good chemistry,”
Wilson said.
Wilson also won the 100 hur-
dles in a time of 15.44.
“I was the last one out the
blocks,” said Wilson, who said
she slipped a little. “I just ran.
The first race is always a little
bumpy, but I felt good overall.
My goal is that no one will beat
me on my track.”
Young added a win in the
100 (12.99) to go with the relay.
Patty Burres of Umatilla was
second (13.03), and Scout Rea-
gan, who was nursing a quad
strain, was third (13:10).
In the battle of the big boys,
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Heppner’s Derek Howard held Hermiston senior Madison Wilson, center, leads her heat in the
his own in the shot put, finishing 100-meter hurdles on Thursday at the Bulldog Invite in Hermiston.
second with a mark of 47 feet,
3 inches. Walla Walla’s Patrick big schools. They always have foot better than Prosser’s Abby
Utschinski, who is headed to someone super good like him Rodriguez (37-6). Hermis-
ton’s Kendall Dowdy was third
Washington State to play foot- (Utschinski).”
ball, won the event with a throw
Howard also was third in the (34-4).
of 52-8.
Palzinski also was second in
discus (123-9), behind Utsch-
“It was pretty good for the inski (137-7) and Sam Carlson the triple jump with a leap of
first meet,” said Howard, who of Helix (126-4).
31-4. Noelani Helm of Walla
has placed third at state the past
In the girls shot put, Hermis- Walla won the event with a mark
two years. “It’s a good opportu- ton’s Paige Palzinski won with of 32-6.
nity to push myself against the a mark of 38-8, more than a
Heppner’s Mason Leh-
PREP ROUNDUP
conditioning was.”
In the second game, the Riverhawks
jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the sec-
ond inning, highlighted by a two-out, two-
run single by Evan Wagner.
Chiawana led 2-0 after the first, and
tacked on six more runs in the second. Two
runs in the sixth invoked the 10-run rule.
Wagner had three hits and drove in four
runs for the Riverhawks, while Royce Van-
dine drove in two runs.
Ramirez and Noland each had a hit for
Hermiston.
“The second game wasn’t pretty,” Moore
said. “It wasn’t a bad ballgame. It was one
of those games where one error led to six
runs.”
HERMISTON 6, CHIAWANA 1
— The Bulldogs swept the doubles
matches and dropped just one singles
match in beating Chiawana in Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference action Monday in
Pasco.
“Overall, the team is looking very
good,” said coach Shann West. “I think
it comes down to the kids wanting to
win.”
HERMISTON 7, EISENHOWER 0
― The Hermiston boys made a clean
sweep of Eisenhower on Saturday in
Yakima.
Hayden Cissna won his singles
match in a third-set tiebreaker 7-3.
Jaiden Ruloph won his match 6-3, 6-4,
as did Miguel Salvador, 6-4, 6-0. Aus-
tin Garcia made easy work of his sin-
gles opponent 6-1, 6-0 for his first win
of the season.
Matt Eckhardt and Trent Pitney
escaped with a 6-4, 6-4 doubles win.
Salvador and Maxwell Spencer teamed
to claim their match 6-0, 6-2, and
Ruloph and Carter Tolan came out on
top 6-3, 6-2.
“The boys are continuing to play
very aggressive,” Bulldogs coach
Shann West said. “They’re having
some very impressive points with the
balls being kept low and put away with
authority.”
Girls tennis
CHIAWANA 7, HERMISTON 0 —
The Bulldogs ran up against a strong
Riverhawks team Monday, dropping
all seven matches in a Mid-Columbia
Conference match in Pasco.
The doubles teams of Violet Mitch-
ell and Emery Snyder, and Grace Lind
and Malayna Anderson, split sets
with their opponents, but lost in the
tiebreaker.
HERMISTON 5, EISENHOWER
2 ― The Hermiston girls dropped just
one singles and one doubles match in
cruising past host Eisenhower.
Addi Caplinger won her singles
match in a 6-3 tiebreaker, Alyssa Per-
kins won 6-4, 6-4, and Cydney Lind
won a 6-1, 6-3 match.
In doubles, Liz Umana and Shi-
yenne Stewart teamed for a 6-4, 6-1
victory, and Grace Lind and Malayna
Anderson won in a 6-2, 6-1 match.
Prep basketball
Hermiston’s Jordan Thomas scored
four points and grabbed four rebounds
to help Tri-Cities to an 84-62 victory
over Yakima in the SWX Classic All-
Star game Sunday at Yakima Valley
College.
Talia von Olehoffen (Tri-Cities
Prep) had 11 points, 11 rebounds and
three steals for TC, which has won 10
games in a row in the series. Nicole
Gall (Richland) added 12 points and
four rebounds.
In the boys game, Yakima used a
31-16 run in the third quarter to help
beat Tri-Cities, 104-96.
Hermiston’s Ryne Andreason had
four assists and four rebounds for TC,
while Cesar Ortiz chipped in three
points and three rebounds.