A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, ApRIL 17, 2019
HeraldSports
Suns too hot for Dawgs to handle
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HERMISTON HERALD
H
ermiston senior Jor-
dan Ramirez said
he’s never faced a
left-handed pitcher in high
school baseball.
That goes for the rest
of the Bulldogs, and it was
quite apparent when they
went to the plate April 9
against Southridge lefty Ste-
ven Englert.
Englert gave up just two
hits and struck out eight as
the Suns took the opener of
the Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence doubleheader 14-0 in
Hermiston.
“He is a quality pitcher,”
Hermiston coach Kevin
Moore said. “One of the
better quality ones we will
see in this conference. With
left-handers, the ball tends
to tail away from the hitter.
Not only that, he had com-
mand of three pitches and we
couldn’t make adjustments
at the plate.”
The Suns, who won the 3A
state title last spring, made a
clean sweep of things, tak-
ing the second game 12-2 to
improve to 8-0 in MCC play
and 10-0 overall.
“They have been around
the program and they think
it is their turn,” Southridge
coach Tim Sanders said of
his team’s solid play. “They
have the confidence to be the
next guy.”
Hermiston (1-7 MCC)
starter Seth Prewitt was
able to hold the Suns to two
runs on four hits through
two innings, but midway
through the third, when he
had reached 58 pitches and
allowed two more runs, his
day was finished.
The Suns would add four
more runs to their total in the
inning to take an 8-0 lead.
Hermiston went through
three pitchers in the opener,
but none could shut down
the Suns, who finished with
11 hits, and only had two bat-
ters strike out.
“Their first guy had a
knuckleball, which was
interesting,” Sanders said.
“They had trouble finding
the zone and we were able to
execute.”
Leadoff hitter Aidan Mor-
rison went 2-for-3 with a
double and three RBIs for
the Suns, while Wesley
Hickman was 2-for-4 with a
triple and two RBIs.
Englert faced the mini-
mum of batters the first two
innings, recording six strike-
outs. He gave up a single to
Rustin Edmiston in the third
and another to Ethin Ran-
dolph in the fourth, but he
kept the Bulldogs off bal-
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston pitcher Rustin Edmiston throws from the mound in the Bulldogs’ 14-0 loss to Southridge in the first game of a
doubleheader April 9 in Hermiston.
ance, and the Suns’ defense
never let a Hermiston runner
get past second base.
“He has been in the zone
a lot this year, and he lets
the defense work for him,”
Sanders said of Englert.
“And, he had a couple of
quality at-bats.”
In the second game, the
Bulldogs were able to put the
bat on the ball to the tune of
eight hits, but managed just
two runs.
Southridge continued to
pound the ball, getting seven
runs in the first inning, and
five more in the second for a
12-0 lead.
Kody Bruton earned the
win for the Suns, striking out
two and walking one.
Nick Grade went 3-for-4
for Southridge — all doubles.
Jordan Ramirez started
for Hermiston, but struggled
with control. He lasted one-
third of an inning, scattering
five hits and allowing seven
runs.
Spencer Juul led the
Bulldogs at the plate, going
2-for-3 with a double.
Edmiston also hit a double.
“This league is a little dif-
ferent,” Moore said. “Not
taking anything away from
the Oregon teams, but Tri-
City baseball has been pretty
dominant for a quite some
time. We have seen some
pretty good pitchers, and
that’s what carries teams.”
WALLA WALLA 3-4,
HERMISTON 2-3 — The
Bulldogs dropped two MCC
game at Walla Walla on
Saturday.
Hermiston dropped both
games by just one run — 3-2
and 4-3.
The Blue Devils got
a head start when Taylor
Hamada singled and drove
in a run in the bottom of
the first inning. Hermis-
ton knotted the score at 2-2
on an error in the top of the
fourth, but Walla Walla ran
in one more at the bottom
of the fifth. They outlasted
the Dawgs for the final two
innings to stay on top.
Trevor Wagner led the
Bulldogs’ offense, going
1-for-3 with a run scored.
Gavin Hunter scored Herm-
iston’s second and final run
of the game.
Seth Prewitt sat down just
two Blue Devils batters, and
surrendered three runs on
seven hits over six innings of
work.
Game two was off to a
slow start as 4½ scoreless
innings went by until Walla
Walla scored three times
in the bottom of the third.
Hermiston would even the
score at 3-3 in the top of the
sixth when Wagner, Landon
Jones, and Wyatt Noland all
scored.
But it was Ryan Watilo
who clinched the second
win for the Blue Devils, who
scored one final run in the
bottom of the sixth.
Spencer Juul allowed
three of Walla Walla’s four
runs, which were scored off
eight hits. Juul also walked
five Blue Devils. Landon
Jones pitched an inning of
relief, allowing two hits and
one run
Hermiston Dawgs brave Kamiakin
By BRETT KANE
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston’s softball team
left their home field Friday
with two more wins, thanks
in part to Grace Studer.
While the Bulldogs
cruised to an 11-5 win
against the Kamiakin Braves
in the first of two games, a
fourth-inning stumble in the
nightcap threatened a split.
Studer’s grand slam at the
bottom of the seventh inning
propelled the Dawgs to a
last-minute 12-10 win to end
the day.
“When she came up to
that last at-bat, she had a
plan,” coach Kate Gree-
nough said of Studer. “She
centered her hit and extended
the ball. Hitting-wise, this
was her best performance so
far this season.”
And Studer wasn’t the
only Dawg to bring the fire-
power on Friday. Sydney
Stefani led off with a home
run that sparked a six-run
first inning. Bailey Noland
would knock away a two-
run homer two at-bats later,
and Studer posted a two-RBI
single. The Bulldogs would
send 11 batters to the plate
by the end of the inning.
“Sydney is just a leader,”
Greenough said. “She’s a
trend-setter. The kids try to
play like she does. She holds
herself to a high standard.”
The Bulldogs ran in five
more in the second inning,
with Noland and Studer both
collecting another RBI each.
It took two Kamiakin
pitchers to contain the Bull-
dogs in the first two innings.
Hannah Jablonski gave up
10 hits, 11 runs, eight errors,
and three walks across
1⅓ innings on the mound.
Emma Wood relieved the
last 4⅔, but only managed
four strikeouts.
The Braves scattered just
three runs across the follow-
ing two innings in response
to Hermiston’s first two
offensive showings.
“Our core group is the
same as it was last year, with
a few new freshmen and
sophomores,” Stefani said.
“We’ve struggled building
our chemistry all season,
but today was an indicator
of our progress. In that first
game, we played with a lot
of heart. We let it loose in
the second game.”
Stefani, Samantha Ati-
lano and Ashley Cameron
all posted a single and a run
apiece to open game two,
and Stefani saw fit to slug
away another home run at
the bottom of the second.
At the bottom of the
third, Daisy Maddox hit the
Bulldogs’ fourth home run
for the day, but their game
started to falter in the fourth
inning.
Despite their five-run
deficit, the Braves scored
eight runs in two innings,
including seven in the top
of the fourth, capped off by
Jablonkski’s home run in the
fifth. By the bottom of the
seventh, Hermiston trailed
10-6.
“There was just a lack of
focus,” Stefani said of the
Kamiakin rally. “There was
some lackadaisical playing
on our part.”
The Dawgs loaded the
bases twice for their final
at-bat. Maddox drove Cam-
eron in on a single, and
Studer’s walk-off grand
slam on a 1-1 count and no
outs sealed the rally in dra-
matic fashion.
“I felt like I was strug-
gling at the plate all day,”
Studer said. “When I got up
there, I was just looking to
score. It feels good to win
this one for my team. Kami-
akin came ready to fight. I’m
glad we stuck it out.”
Maddox led Hermiston
in game two, batting 2 for 3
with two runs and four RBIs.
Studer’s grand slam helped
her to a 1 for 4 performance
at the plate with one run and
four RBIs.
Wood allowed 10 runs off
16 hits, along with 10 errors
and just one strikeout for the
Braves.
The back-to-back wins
pushed Hermiston (7-1,
5-1 MCC) to the top of the
Mid-Columbia
Confer-
ence standings. On Tues-
day, they’ll hit the road to
challenge the No. 4 Kenne-
wick Lions for more league
action.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Janelle Almaguer winds up for a pitch Friday
during the first game of two against against Kamiakin.