A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019
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ROUNDUP
Bulldogs fall to
Bombers
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston couldn’t over-
come the visiting Richland
Bombers on Friday, losing
both ends of a doubleheader
7-6 and 13-4.
“We’re improving,” said
coach Kevin Moore. “And
that’s our goal: to improve
game in and game out.”
The Bulldogs mounted a
comeback in the fi rst game,
but they fell short.
The Bombers scored fi ve
runs in the top of the second
to pull away, but the Bull-
dogs wouldn’t give up eas-
ily, responding with three
runs of their own in the third
inning. Ethin Randolph and
Trevor Wagner each had
RBIs to aid in the rally.
Hermiston would score
two more runs in the bottom
of the seventh, dropping the
game by just one run.
“They put up some quick
numbers,” Moore said of
Richland. “Then, we battled
back. It just wasn’t enough.”
Seth Prewitt allowed
seven runs off six hits from
the mound in the opener. He
struck out one Bomber, and
walked three. Meanwhile,
Richland pitcher Kirby Nel-
son struck out four, and
walked only one.
In Game 2, the Bombers
shot ahead early with seven
runs in the top of the fi rst.
“We started out rough and
gave up a lot of free passes,”
Moore said. “When we do
that, the other team will usu-
ally come around and score.
Our arms got tired and we
struggled. We dug ourselves
a hole.”
Jordan Ramirez struck
out fi ve Bombers and
allowed four runs off fi ve
hits. He also walked six
players.
“We’re doing a lot of
good things,” Moore said,
“but there’s still plenty to
work on.”
HERMISTON
7-14,
PASCO 8-10 — In a bat-
tle of Bulldogs baseball,
Hermiston led 6-5 in the
fourth inning in the fi rst
game of their doubleheader
March 26 against Pasco,
but allowed three more runs
to give Pasco an 8-7 win to
start the day.
In game one, Ethin Ran-
dolph was 1-for-3 with a run
and three RBIs, and Trevor
Wagner was 2-for-4 with a
run and an RBI.
Hermiston bounced back
in Game 2 for a 14-10 vic-
tory. Three runs in the sec-
ond inning would keep them
ahead for the long haul. Jor-
dan Ramirez was 2-for-5
with three runs and four
RBIs. Randolph was a hard
hitter to shut down, going
4-for-5 with three runs.
Boys soccer
WALLA WALLA 2,
HERMISTON 1 — The
Bulldogs suffered their sec-
ond loss of the season Friday
to the visiting Blue Devils.
The Dawgs previously
opened their season with a
3-1 loss to Walla Walla.
“It was a tough loss to
take,” coach Rich Harsh-
berger said. “The team
adjusted well and fought
until the end.”
Junior defender Matt
Mendez scored Hermiston’s
goal on a penalty kick in the
fi rst half. The game was tied
1-1 at halftime, but the Blue
Devils got the game winner
in the second half.
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Dawgs strike back
to split Southridge
doubleheader
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Janelle Almaguer rounds second during Friday’s game against Southridge.
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
A
fter Hermiston
dropped the fi rst
softball
game
of its Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference dou-
bleheader against visiting
Southridge, the Bulldogs
knew
something
was
wrong and changes needed
to be made.
“That wasn’t us in game
one,” said junior Bailee
Noland. “I don’t know
what team that was, but if
we didn’t pick things up, it
would all go downhill.”
They did pick things up,
and the day ended in favor
of the Dawgs.
After allowing fi ve runs
in the second inning of the
opener on the way to a 7-2
loss, Hermiston rebounded
to claim the second 10-4 in
their MCC debut.
In the top of the sec-
ond inning, Rylee Vasquez,
Raelyn Nesary, Bailey
Rose and Emmee Ball all
drove runners in for the
Suns to bury Hermiston
early on.
Bulldog senior Sydney
Stefani would single and
steal second and third in an
attempt to get things rolling
for her team at the bottom
of the fi fth, but was ulti-
mately left stranded.
The Suns scored two
more runs at the top of
the sixth, and it was then
that Hermiston fi nally
responded. Noland led off
at the bottom of the inning
with a home run to get the
Bulldogs on the scoreboard.
“It felt pretty good to
get that home run,” Noland
said, “but we didn’t have
enough time to come back.”
At the top of the sev-
enth, Stefani singled and
proceeded to steal sec-
ond and third. She made it
home on a wild pitch.
“I think we came in with
big heads,” Noland said of
the fi rst game. “We thought
we were going to blow
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Sydney Stefani touches second base Friday to put out Marlee Martin, of Southridge, and prepares to throw to
fi rst.
them out.”
In game two, Hermiston
struck back with an excep-
tional second inning of
their own.
At the bottom of the
inning, junior Daisy Mad-
dox walked to fi rst, and
stole second on a wild
pitch. Junior Janelle Alma-
guer drove her home with
a double at the next at-bat.
She would score a run off
sophomore Halle Penning-
ton’s ensuing sacrifi ce bunt.
Sophomore
Grace
Studer and senior Destiny
Canisalez would both make
it home on wild pitches to
round out the inning.
Noland led off the
bottom of the third and
smacked away another
home run. She would do
the same in the fourth.
“Bailee is fi ercely com-
petitive,” said coach Kate
Greenough. “She puts
her teammates above her-
self, and plays selfl essly.
The team thrives off that.
They’ll fi nd ways to help
her out when she’s going
100 mph.”
The Suns would bounce
back with Marlee Mar-
tin’s RBI triple and Marissa
Hickman’s RBI double to
bring the score to 5-3, but
the Dawgs weren’t done.
Stefani, Studer and
Canisalez all scored on a
trio of wild pitches in the
bottom of the fourth. And
in the sixth inning, Noland
would drive junior Ash-
ley Cameron home with a
single.
The Suns loaded the
bases at the top of the sev-
enth, and Noland was
pitching to junior Kendra
Monteith with a full count.
“I knew I had to give my
pitching everything I had,”
said Noland, who was on
the mound for all seven
innings of the second game.
Monteith took a hard
swing at Noland’s fast-
ball and missed, narrowly
avoiding another South-
ridge rally. It would be
Noland’s tenth strikeout of
the game.
“I feel much better after
getting one win,” Gree-
nough said. “I would’ve
rather seen two, though.
After the fi rst game, we
challenged the kids to trust
their skills and to know
what they’re playing for.
They did that in the second
game.”
Stefani hit 3 for 4 in
game two, and Almaguer
was 3 for 5 with two dou-
bles for the day.
On Tuesday, Hermiston
(3-1, 1-1 MCC) hit the road
to Hanford for another dou-
bleheader after the Hermis-
ton Herald’s deadline.