PENDLETON — Pendleton has a lot of firepower at the plate, but the Bucks may have even surprised themselves Friday with a pair of Greater Oregon League wins over Ontario at Bob White Field.

The Bucks opened the day with a 24-0 victory in five innings, pounding out 20 hits, including a pair of home runs. Pendleton completed the sweep with a 21-0 victory in the second game, collecting 14 hits, including four home runs.

“It was a fun day to be a Buckaroo,” Pendleton coach Justin Speer said. “We swung it really well offensively. Every single one of our kids contributed. It was quite a day.”

In the opener,  the Bucks (15-8 overall, 6-2 GOL) jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, getting a two-run home run by Vance Nelson, a run-scoring single by Nate Driskell, a two-run single by Keli Spencer, back-to-back RBI doubles by Tugg McQuinn and Colin Harrington, and Reid Furstenberg finished the scoring with an RBI single.

Pendleton added six runs in the second inning for a 14-0 lead, and tacked on seven more runs in the third, four coming off a grand slam by Harrington over the left field fence.

The Bucks finished the scoring with three runs in the fourth, including a two-run fielder’s choice by Nelson, and an RBI triple by Grayson English.

Harrington and Nelson each drove in five runs, while English and Spencer each had three RBIs.

“I commend our guys,” Speer said. “They have a great approach and they stick to the game plan. It’s tough when you run up the score like that and they are having a tough time getting an out. We had some consecutive quality at-bats. It was a special day, for sure.”

Harrington picked up the win, throwing four innings of no-hit ball with 10 strikeouts and two walks. Joe Foster pitched the fifth, striking out two and giving up zero hits.

Sami Chavez  took the loss for the Tigers (3-19, 0-8), giving 4 runs on 20 hits while striking out four and walking five.

In the second game, Harrington hit a solo home run in the Bucks’ seven-run first inning, then added a grand slam in the bottom of the second as part of a 10-run inning.

Kolt McQuinn and Nelson each hit a two-run homer in the second inning as the Bucks took a 17-0 lead.

Pendleton went scoreless in the third, but rang up four runs — all on errors — in the fourth to invoke the mercy rule in the fifth. 

Harrington went 2-for-5 with five RBIs, while Furstenberg, Nelson and Kolt McQuinn all had two hits. Driskell and Furstenberg each hit a double.

“Since he has been in our program, he has been an impact player,” Speer said of Harrington. “He pitches the first game and strikes out 10. He hit two grand slams. He is our it factor. He has a special performance today.”

Furstenberg picked up the win, throwing a no-hitter through three innings with six strikeouts and zero walks. Keli Spencer pitched the last two innings, allowing one hit while striking out four and walking nine.

The Bucks are back on the field May 15 at Baker.

“The next two weeks are the most crucial for us,” Speer said. “La Grande took two from us earlier and Baker has two really good arms. This is where we want to be. We drive our own fate. It’s competitive right now, which is good. It makes our league better.”

PENDLETON JV 16-8, PILOT ROCK 6-7 — After Pine Eagle forfeited its Blue Mountain Conference games to Pilot Rock, the Rockets picked up a pair of games with the young Bucks.

In the opener, Pilot Rock’s Gage Williams threw five innings, giving up two runs on one hit with 11 strikeouts and seven walks, and left the game with a 6-2 lead.

From there, the Rockets’ bullpen imploded.

The Bucks put together a 14-run outburst at the top of the sixth to secure the win. 

Colston Zimmerman and Jace Hales hit RBI singles to pull Pendleton within 6-4. A bases-loaded walk and a hit batter evened the score at 6-6. Tiydan Moore gave the Bucks the lead with a two-run single, one run scored on an error, and Brayden Zander hit an RBI single for a 10-6 lead with no outs.

Four consecutive bases-loaded walks gave Pendleton a 14-6 lead, and after the second out, two more bases-loaded walks made it 16-6. 

The Rockets went three up, three down in the bottom of the inning to end the game.

Carter VanHouten, Lucas Thieme and Williams hit doubles for the Rockets, while Boston McCall drove in two runs.

Tucker Kuza picked up the win, allowing six runs on six hits with 10 strikeouts.

In the second game, Pendleton broke open a tie game with one run in the top of the eighth inning to complete the sweep.

Tanner Morgan hit a fielder’s choice in the eighth inning to send Zimmerman across the plate for an 8-7 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Rockets left two men on base as Tate Thacker struck out and Deacon Gourlie flew out to left field.

Morgan and Aaden Hernandez combined for 10 strikeouts for Pendleton.

Gourlie, Thieme and Williams hit doubles for the Rockets.

SHERMAN 8-20, WESTON-MCEWEN 7-2 — The Huskies ran their win streak to four games with a sweep of the TigerScots in Blue Mountain Conference action in Moro.

In the first game, Sherman (9-12 overall, 8-5 BMC) scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, with Drake Dark hitting an RBI double that put the winning run across the plate with two outs.

Creed Weedman went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for the Huskies, while Dark and Eli Pickard hit doubles.

Quentin Sincleir went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the TigerScots (3-12, 3-10), while Bennett Cavalletto was 3-for-4 with one RBI, and Aidenn Mahaffey was 4-for-4 with three runs scored.

In the second game, the Huskies scored 11 runs in the fourth inning to put the game out of reach.

The teams were tied 2-2 after two innings, but Sherman would score seven in the third and 11 in the fourth to invoke the mercy rule.

Weedman drove in four runs for Sherman, while Caiden Walker had three RBIs, and Pickard went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Tim Taylor went 3-for-3 with a double and one RBI for Weston-McEwen, while Buck Sparks drove in one run.

Softball

PILOT ROCK 4-5, GRANT UNION 8-0 — Autumn Severe hit a solo home run in the fifth inning to help the Rockets to a home win over the Prospectors in the second game of their Blue Mountain Conference doubleheader.

Pilot Rock (13-7 overall, 3-6 BMC) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, then tacked on two more in the third for a little breathing room.

Jada Deist and Severe combined on a three-hitter with two strikeouts and no walks.

Severe and Stevee Osborn each had two hits for the Rockets.

Grant Union (6-11, 4-4) won the opener, breaking open a 2-2 game with six runs in the fifth inning.

Hailey Thieme hit a solo home run for the Rockets in the bottom of the seventh, while Kashley Golden had a double. Hailey Severe, Thieme, Kessa Litfin and Autumn Severe all drove in a run for the Rockets.