April 29, 2007

TDW leaves Bend in doubleheader dust
Eagle Indians remain in IMC playoff contention

By JODI RICH
of The Chronicle

     The Dalles Wahtonka baseball team decided they were past due for some serious spring cleaning Friday, bringing out all the brooms for the season’s first doubleheader sweep.
     Bend was on the receiving end of all that dust, losing 9-5 in game one, before stretching TDW to the limit in game two. The Eagle Indians’ right fielder C.J. Schertenleib spoiled the visitors’ last hopes with his walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth for an 8-7 win.
     The wins keep TDW (7-13, 5-5 IMC) in the conference race for one of four state berths.
     Coach J.R. Runyon, and the rest of the squad, were gushing. And they weren’t just talking about the beautiful, sunny Cherry Festival weekend weather.
     “The guys played so well,” said Runyon. “Defensively we struggled, but we absolutely played together as a team.
     “To finally close out one of these is huge for us. We played our hearts out and lost three close games like that. They really deserved it.
“I’m excited ... this just builds confidence, and every day we’re getting better.”
You can say that again.
     In game one, pitcher Vinnie Dodd went the distance for the win.
TDW’s bats — including Dodd’s fiery metal one — helped the hosts to a 4-1 lead in the first inning, then a 7-1 lead in the third.
     But, as the Eagle Indians have found over the last few games, no lead is safe.
Bend started working its way back in, closing to 7-4 at the top of the fifth with no outs. But Dodd reached back and with his teammates’ help got the next three outs, stranding one Bend runner.
     TDW stamped out two runs in the fifth for a 9-4 lead.
But the Lava Bears started to rally in the seventh, loading the bases after a single and two walks.
     Brian Price’s sacrifice fly scored one, but the next batter flew out to Schertenleib and the final batter grounded out back to Dodd, who tossed the ball to first baseman Aaron Pray to seal it.
     TDW’s 10 hits came from six players: shortstop Bubba Arrendale (3-4, two RBIs), centerfielder Raec Schwarzbach (2-3, double, two RBIs), Dodd (2-4, double, two RBIs), left fielder Jon Robertson (1-2), third baseman Ryan Luebke (1-3) and second baseman Jared Drake (1-4, double, two RBIs).
Pray went to the plate four times, getting hit twice and walking twice to score once.
     Bend 100 210 1 — 5 6 1
     TDW 403 020 x — 9 10 1
     Dodd and Mattox. WP-Dodd.
     Game two was closer — mostly due to TDW’s eight errors.
     Still, TDW led 3-2 lead after one, then 5-2 after two — rapping six hits in two innings.
     Bend pulled within 5-4 in the third, but Luebke led off the third with a solo home run.
     He drove the pitch offered by Bend’s Keith Hillard over the left-centerfield fence for a 6-4 TDW lead.
     Again, Bend rallied, tying the game in the fourth. It might have been worse save for TDW’s defense catching a Bend baserunner in a rundown between first and second base for the third out and a 6-6 tie.
     Bend’s leadoff hitter Beau Walker hit an RBI-single in the fifth for Bend’s first lead, 7-6.
     After starting pitcher Cory Smith gave up back-to-back singles, Quinn Macnab came on in relief and got the third out without facing a batter.
     With runners at first and third, and two out, Bend tried to steal second.
Macnab ran towards the baserunner, then wheeled and threw home to catcher Mark Sandoz, who tagged out Bend’s Kenny Norgaard to limit the damage to one run in the fifth.
     Runyon had all positives about Smith’s mound performance in his first outing.
“He absolutely did the job,” said Runyon. “He surpassed our expectations. He threw a gem of a game, and gave up only one earned run. For it to be his first outing, and to have that much control and that much command ... and he had his knuckleball. He could’ve gone the whole way, except for our defense.”
     In the bottom of the sixth, Drake singled, then Schwarzbach had his turn at the ‘Quinton Street bounce’ — firing to left-center field, close to the same spot as Luebke’s homer for an 8-7 lead.
     It looked to be enough after two routine outs by TDW. But the third out was a long time coming after an infield error and two straight hit batters loaded the bases.
     When Macnab’s inside pitch hit the third straight batter, it walked in the tying run, 8-8.
     Macnab, however, coaxed the next batter to fly out.
Fast forward to the eighth.
     After a T-Dub error, a hit batter and a single, Bend again loaded the bases. Macnab struck out Norgaard for the third out.
     For TDW, Ben Mclean pinch hit to lead off the eighth, ripping a single to shallow center field.
     Drake’s sacrifice bunt moved him to second, then Schwarzbach was intentionally walked.
     With two runners on, Schertenleib ran it to a full count before hitting the game-winning RBI into a hole in shallow left field to score Sandoz (running for Mclean) and seal the win.
     “Ben Mclean was so clutch,” said Runyon. “He comes in and does the job every time we ask him to. Then Drake pushed him to second and got him in scoring position. They walk Raec and C.J.’s basehit and the play at the plate. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

     UP NEXT: Tuesday at Hermiston, 4:30 p.m.
     Bend 202 210 10 — 8 7 4
     TDW 321 002 01 — 9 12 8

     Smith, Macnab (5) and Sandoz. HIllard and Norgaard. WP-Macnab. LP-Hillard.

TDW golf teams both place third

Boys: Telles, two others tie for medalist honors at 3-under 69

     The Dalles Wahtonka Eagle Indian boys golf team shot a low 309 — but it was only good enough for third during an Intermountain Conference golf match at Broken Top Golf Course in Bend this Friday.
     “The kids played well ... beautiful day, beautiful course,” co-coach Danny Telles said.
     The Dalles Wahtonka sophomore Damian Telles shot a 3-under 69 (35-34) to enter a three-way tie for medalist with Bend’s Andrew Vijarro and McKenzie’s Casey King.
     The tie touched off a dramatic series of playoffs on the ninth hole with Telles, Vijarro, and King tying one another not once but twice.
     On the first playoff, all three hit par 4. So, it was back to the start.
     On the second playoff, all three birdied the hole again in the second playoff.
Finally, the medalist was determined by a scorecard ‘playoff,’ a random draw from one of the course’s toughest holes.
     Vijarro got the nod. Telles finished second, and King was declared third.
“[Vijarro’s] a very solid player,” Telles said.
     Bend also grabbed first place overall, shooting a remarkable 288. Hermiston edged out The Dalles Wahtonka for second 306-309.
     For TDW, Riley Skov shot 36-40-76, Lincoln Gay and Wiley Dodd both 41 on the front nine and 43 on the back for an 84 total. Benny Koch shot a 41-44-85.
     “Benny played a [heck of a match],” Telles said.
     Bend looks to be locked into first in the Intermountain Conference, and the state berth that comes with it, Telles said.
     The Dalles Wahtonka can grab a state berth by placing second at the upcoming district tournament, May 7-8 at Eagle Crest Golf Course in Redmond.
Team Scores — Bend 288, Hermiston 306, TDW 309, Summit 313, Sisters 317, Pendleton 318, McKenzie 333, Madras 335, Crook County 336, Mt. View 381.
— Alex Bosworth

Girls: Summit sweeps top four spots, wins another IMC match

     Summit continues to be just that — at the peak — in the Intermountain Conference girls golf standings.
     At Friday’s seven-team match at Eagle Crest Golf Course in Redmond, the Storm shot a 310 to win.
     Summit swept the top four individual spots as well. Molly Black shot a 3-over 75, followed by teammates Tiffany Schoning (76), Sarah Gerke (77) and Kathleen Adame (82).
     Crook County finished a distant 74 strokes back, 384, for second, while TDW was third (397).
     Coach Dan Downend said his top two golfers, freshman Nadia Telles and senior Megan Rundell, both struggled Friday. Telles shot 49-44-93, Rundell shot 50-49-99.
     On the up side, the other golfers shot better than usual.
     Shelby Green broke 100 for the first time this season (47-52-99), while El Larsen recorded her best-ever round (51-55-106).
     Sophomore Nancy Padilla, in her first-ever round — never even played a complete nine — shot a 61-70-131.
     “If you hit the ball fairly straight, you’re going to score pretty good,” said Downend. “There are trees and hills off the fairways — but that’s easier said than done.”
     UP NEXT: Monday at Hood River Country Club, 2 p.m.; practice round Wednesday at Bend Country Club; May 7-8, IMC tournament at Bend CC.
— Jodi Rich

TDW shuts out Bend, twice

By ALEX BOSWORTH
of The Chronicle

     Bend has yet to win a softball game this year.
     The Dalles Wahtonka has lost just two games all season.
The Dalles Wahtonka battered winless Bend in a doubleheader Friday to take both games in the fifth inning at 16th Street ballpark.
     “In practice all week we emphasized keeping our intensity, we didn’t want to [lose focus],” coach Steve Garrett said. “We knew Bend was a young, inexperienced team ... Bend [had a great attitude about the losses], they didn’t let up.”
     In the first game, TDW set the tone early on their way to a 21-0 victory.
Starting pitcher Jessica Wood retired the first three batters she faced in order. In the bottom of the first, TDW exploded for eight runs off six hits. Maddie Maier smacked a two-run double in the inning and LoriAnn Jones also drove in two runs before the inning ended.
     Wood pitched all five innings and finished with nine strikeouts while giving up just one hit for the Eagle Indians.
     Bend’s Kassie Bliss received the loss, while Emily Fillmore gave the Lava Bears their only runner in the top of the fourth inning.
     Freshman Rylee Parke, a Dufur student who co-ops with TDW for softball, blasted her third home run of the season on a solo shot to centerfield in the second inning.
     “Rylee’s stepped up in spades,” Garrett said. “Our plan was to have her pitch in JV this year but she was hitting so well ... she’s done a great job.”
She got even better.
     In the second game, Parke pitched a no-hitter, and TDW was never threatened on its way to a 18-0 victory.
     In all, TDW combined for 36 hits and 39 runs in eight innings of offense.
Parke finished with six strikeouts.
     As in the first game, the Eagle Indians scored eight runs in the first inning to remove most of the suspense.
     Bend starting pitcher Suzanne Fillmore made a circus-catch on LoriAnn Jone’s line drive, then threw Maddie Maier out at first to stop the bleeding.
The Eagle Indians gave Parke plenty of run support throughout the game.
     Jessica Wood finished with a triple and four RBIs and Samantha Prentice finished with three RBIs. Parke also chipped in three RBIs.
     Bend fell to 0-16 on the season.
     The Dalles Wahtonka improved to 18-2. TDW is undefeated in Intermountain Conference play, at 10-0, and is on pace to win the conference.
     Garrett said if TDW wins the conference, they’ll host the Midwestern League’s No. 2 team on Tuesday, May 22 in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
     UP NEXT: Tuesday at Hermiston, 4:30 p.m.
T-Dub’s JV girls also turned in a strong game Friday, defeating Bend’s JV squad 8-5.
     Bend 000 00 — 0 1 11
     TDW 865 2x — 21 17 3

     Bend 000 00 — 0 0 7
     TDW 813 6x — 18 19 4