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A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019 HeraldSports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports Dawgs going after slow pitch title Softball 2A/3A tournament is Friday and Saturday in Yakima By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER Everything the Hermiston Bull- dogs have done this season has helped them get to this point. The Bulldogs (16-2) will play in the 2A/3A state slow pitch soft- ball tournament this weekend, with winning a state title the ultimate goal. “It takes so much to get there,” Hermiston coach Kate Greenough said, as her team took off for a run Monday afternoon. “We have played some competitive teams from the Yakima Valley and Chi- awana. It’s a really good test for the kids. People are excited about what we are doing.” Hermiston will open state play against Prairie at noon Friday at Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima. The eight-team bracket will feature first-round and semifinal games Friday, along with two con- solation games. The champion- Photo courtesy of Kate Greenough The Hermiston Bulldogs won the 3A/2A MCC/GSL/GNL district tournament Saturday in Spokane. ship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday. Hermiston advanced to state with a pair of wins Saturday at the 3A/2A MCC/GSL/GNL district tournament in Spokane. “We won district, and that was a lot of fun,” Greenough said. The Bulldogs defeated Rogers 10-6 in the semifinals, then eked out a 10-9 victory over Mt. Spo- kane in the championship game. “In the first game, Grace (Studer) hit a home run and we went up 5-0 to start,” Greenough said. “In the second game, the kids put the ball in play as much as they could. The kids had to play defense. They (Mt. Spokane) played with us the whole time.” The Bulldogs have 10 players off the fast pitch team that quali- fied for the 3A state tournament, including Studer, Bailee Noland, Sam Atilano and Janelle Almaguer. The Bulldogs, who have won 14 consecutive games, also have got- ten good contributions from fresh- men Macey Tovar (second base) and Hailey South (short stop). “It’s a really cool group of kids,” Greenough said. “This sport gives them a chance for a common goal, and (to) do something they might not have before.” Abby Findley has done a good portion of the pitching this fall, while Noland is at first base, Studer at third, Almaguer is the rover and Atilano plays in the outfield. The Bulldogs have been pro- ductive offensively, scoring an average of 13.8 runs a game. Noland has seven home runs this season, while Studer has five and Almaguer two. Tovar has four tri- ples, and the team has hit a couple dozen doubles. “It’s fun to see the different groups of kids come together,” Greenough said. “They are pretty relaxed. I have 16 kids who show up every day and love to play.” MCC FOOTBALL Walchli scores 4 TDs, but Dawgs drop game to Hanford Staff photo by Kathy Aney Garrett Walchli (5) evades a tackle during Friday’s game against the Hanford Falcons. By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER I n a play straight out of the movie “Rudy,” Hermiston starting wide receiver Trevor Wagner went to coach David Faaeteete and asked that senior Zach Tovey start in his place Friday night against Hanford. Tovey, who has been hurt most of his high school career, started the first series of the game against Hanford, car- ried the ball 6 yards on a reverse. It was one of a few bright spots in what would be a 50-28 Mid-Columbia Conference loss to the Falcons at Kennison Field. “That’s a testament to him,” Hermis- ton coach David Faaeteete said of Wag- ner. “To have him (Tovey) come out, be successful and contribute is big.” To Wagner, it was the right thing to do. “He comes to everything,” Wagner said. “He has been troubled with inju- ries and I felt it was only right he got to start on Senior Night.” Senior Garrett Walchli had four touchdown catches on the night for the Bulldogs, bringing his season total to nine. “It was a lot of fun,” Walchli said. “We were battling the wind all day.” Hanford took a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, getting scor- ing passes of 25 and 21 yards from Easton Wise-Hyde, and an 8-yard run by Idrian Cerna. Hermiston would hold the Falcons scoreless in the second quarter. The Bulldogs scored with 1:47 left in the first half as Walchli hauled in a 4-yard pass from Sam Schwirse. Hermiston’s series started after D.J. Wilson intercepted Wise-Hyde and took the ball out to the Hanford 40-yard line. The Falcons helped the Bulldogs down the field with a face mask pen- alty, a roughing the passer penalty, and a pass interference penalty in the end zone on fourth down. When the Bulldogs got to replay fourth down from the 4-yard line, Wal- chli got the touchdown. Walchli also had touchdown catches of 80, 18 and 6 yards in the second half as the Bulldogs never backed down. “We are never satisfied,” said Wal- chli, who had 11 receptions for 185 yards. “Our record does not show who we are.” Hermiston played the last part of the game without Faaeteete, who was ejected with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter for disputing a ruling on a fum- ble by Trevor Wagner. “That was a big momentum swing,” Faaeteete said. “We were only down 15 at the time.” The Falcons scored two plays later for a 36-14 lead. Kamari Durmas led the Falcons with 173 yards rushing, while Cerna had 98 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Wilson, Wagner, Ryan Arnold and Tyson Stocker each had five solo tackles for the Bulldogs (1-7, 1-6 MCC). BOX SCORE Hanford 21 0 15 14 — 50 Hermiston 0 7 7 14 — 28 SCORING Han — Gabe Martinez 25 pass from Easton Wise- Hyde (Xavier Uvalle kick) Han — Idrian Cerna 8 run (Edward DeLaPaz run) Han — Caleb Harvey 21 pass from Wise-Hyde (kick failed) Her — Garrett Walchli 4 pass from Sam Schwirse (Trevor Wagner kick) Han — Jaxon Farrah 31 pass from Wise-Hyde (DeLaPaz run) Her — Walchli 80 pass from Schwirse (Wagner kick) Han — Wise-Hyde 3 run (Uvalle kick) Her — Walchli 18 pass from Schwirse (pass failed) Han — Cerna 23 run (Uvalle kick) Her — Walchli 6 pass from Schwirse (Guiomar Garay pass from Schwirse) Han — Cerna 15 run (Uvalle kick) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Passing: Herm, Schwirse 29-46-0-303-4; Hanford, Wise-Hyde 7-17-1-142-3 Rushing: Herm, Garay 18-89, Schwirse 5-10, Wag- ner 2-9, Walchli 2-15, Zach Tovey 1-6, Spencer Juul 1-(-6); Hanford, Easton Wise-Hyde 7-(-17), Kamari Durmas 23-173, Idrian Cerna 11-98, Gabe Martinez 1-8, Isaiah Mitchell 1-8, Cole Mullins 1-3. Receiving: Herm, Garrett Walchli 11-185, Trevor Wagner 6-68, Broc Remmer 5-15, Spencer Juul 2-7, Trent Pitney 3-15, Guiomar Garay 2-13; Hanford, Jaxon Farrah 2-43, Caleb Harvey 2-51, Isaiah Mitch- ell 1-20, Gabe Martinez 1-25, Kamari Durmas 1-3.