ATHENA — In a matchup between two top 10 teams, Bre Ward hit a two-run home run and struck out 14, as top-ranked Weston-McEwen eked out a 4-3 Blue Mountain Conference victory over No. 7 Pilot Rock on Thursday at Athena Memorial Ballpark.
“I will take nothing away from our competition,” Weston-McEwen coach Jeff Griggs said. “We have been struggling to finish games. It was a shutout until the sixth. I was ready to have that game over at 4-1, those last two runs were on us.”
The BMC standings are getting a little tight. The TigerScots are on top at 6-1, while Pilot Rock is 2-1 and No. 3 Heppner is 1-1 after splitting with Weston-McEwen (10-2 overall).
“We beat a team that only had one loss, and that loss was to Regis, which is one of the better 2A teams in the state,” Griggs said of the Rockets.
It was a close game throughout, with the TigerScots taking a 1-0 lead in the first as Lily Langford scored on an error.
Weston-McEwen added one more run in the second on a Hallie Burns RBI single.
Ward, who had five strikeouts through three innings, helped her cause at the plate in the bottom of the third, blasting a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence to give the TigerScots a 4-0 lead. It was her sixth home run of the season.
The TigerScots held the Rockets (12-2) scoreless through six innings, and in the top of the seventh, Ward walked one batter before striking out the next two.
Then, the tables turned. Hailey Thieme and Paige Hansen each reached base on an error, with Hailey Severe scoring on the first one.
With runners on second and third, Gracee Hemphill reached on an infield error, allowing two runs to score to pull the Rockets within 4-3.
Jada Deist lined out to first baseman Olivia Sargent to end the game.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” Griggs said. “A bobble at second base that should have been an out was part of the problem. Pilot Rocks is to be commended. They are a tough opponent.”
Each team had chances during the game to put runners across the plate. The Rockets had the bases loaded in the top of the third, but came up empty as Thieme lined out to Ward.
In the sixth, the TigerScots had the bases loaded and were at the lineup, but Hope Berry flew out to the first baseman to end the threat.
“We had some missed opportunities,” Griggs said. “Our routine here is not to trounce people, but to hold them down and score a few runs here and there.”
Langford went 3-for-3 and scored two runs for the TigerScots, while Ward was 2-for-2, and Sargent was 2-for-3.
The Rockets had three hits on the day, all by Hansen, who went 3-for-4.
Ward gave up three runs on three hits, struck out 14 and walked five.
Coley Gibbs took the loss for the Rockets, allowing four runs on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one.
The teams will meet again on April 28 in Pilot Rock.
We need to clean up our defense and bring our bats,” Griggs said.
Girls tennis
PENDLETON 8, MCLOUGHLIN 0 — The Bucks gave up just eight games in sweeping the singles in a Special District 5 home win over the Pioneers.
Pendleton led off the singles with a 6-1, 6-0 win by Noemi Alvarez-Barroso over Isaira Diaz, and McKinley Moore followed with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Bella Quist-Knopf.
At No. 3, Olivia Allen beat Lucy Reyes 8-2, followed by Kamryn Matteson with an 8-6 victory over Ava Arredondo. Sophia Estrada wrapped up the singles with an 8-0 win over, Eileen Lopez.
In doubles, the Bucks’ Isabelle Bernier and Hannah Morioka topped Alejandra Reyes-Carranza and Ahri Villagomez 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 1 match, while Avery Pitner and Avery Brown beat Dulce Saldana and Renata Perez 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2.
Pendleton wrapped up the match as Madelyn Gunter and Juliana Gunter beat Nevaeh King and Averly Knopf 9-8 (7).
Boys tennis
PENDLETON 3, MCLOUGHLIN 3 — The Bucks swept the doubles, and the Pioneers won three of four singles matches as the teams forged a tie in Special District 5 play in Pendleton.
Mac-Hi’s Diego Ledezma won the No. 1 singles match with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Sam Larsen, and Bryan Martinez added a 6-3, 6-4 win over Caden Crowder at No. 2.
Pendleton’s Will Larsen picked up a medical default over Grady Brown at No. 3, and the Pioneers finished the singles with an 8-5 win by Luis Ledesma over Thor Case. In doubles, the Bucks led off with a 6-3, 6-1 win by Ben Larsen and Cooper Crosby over Yael Lara Diaz and Erick Beltran, while Jordan Hantke and Henry Pullen beat Cristobal Medina and Joaquin Medina 6-3, 6-4.
