>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

PENDLETON — A partial squad of the La Grande baseball team split with Pendleton Saturday.

The Tigers opened with a 9-7 win, but fell 6-3 in the night cap.

“It was good to see some people back,” LHS head coach Mark Lanman said. “We played pretty well, but need more time out on the field.”

BAKER CITY —  Neither rain, snow or a change of venue could deter Elgin from picking up its first win of the year.

The Huskies defeated the Baker junior varsity team 13-3.

Weather forced the game down I-84 to Baker City, but the snow made its way late in the game.

HOW WEST THE WON: Kelly West led the Mountaineers to a split against NAIA No. 14 the College of Idaho Saturday. EOU lost the opening game 10-1, and bounced back to win the night cap 4-1 at Peggy Anderson field. THE OBSERVER/PAUL HARDER

EOU and the visiting  team sat through a 20 minutes snow delay in the first inning.

The Yotes  9-4, 1-1 CCC, had no problem heating back up when play resumed.

THE DALLES — It wasn’t pretty, but it’s over.

A youthful La Grande boys golf team came home holding their heads high after shooting a team score of 432 Friday.

“They finished,” Tigers head coach Ron Evans said. “That’s the important thing. It was a great experience and a chance to see how they would fare in a real competition.”

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The first trip into the second round of the NAIA Division II women’s basketball tournament came to an abrupt end.

Following an upset win against Cardinal Strich, the Mountaineers came out cold during a 63-48 loss to Black Hills State University.

EOU shot 27 percent from the floor in the first half.

HERMISTON — A solid opening for the La Grande boys track and field team may provide a shot of confidence to a young group.

Wesley Burgess and Nur Sofe highlighted the season opening meet in Hermiston Friday.

Burgess took first in the 100-meter dash, and third in the 200-meter dash.

Senior Luke Kevan led the La Grande basketball team during two loses at the Class 4A state basketball tournament. Kevan scored 17 points in his final game. - Observer/PAUL HARDER

The bulbs at Gill Coliseum froze the Tigers again, this time to the tune of a 60-49 loss Thursday morning to Phoenix in the consolation round of the Oregon Class 4A Basketball Championships.

Once again the loss had the same blueprint — La Grande lost the battle on the boards and at the free-throw line.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Time heals all wounds?

Yes, it does.  And how nice it is.

The No.7-seeded EOU Lady Mountaineers upset No. 2  Cardinal Stritch, 52-49, saving the best for last during the final game of the night Thursday at the NAIA Division II Championships at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena.

La Grande senior Anthony Nice drives to the hoop against Marist during a 61-45 quarterfinal loss at the Class 4A state championships Wednesday. Nice finished with 10 points in the game. - Observer/PAUL HARDER

Marist, 23-4, opened strong and pulled away for a 61-45 win against the Tigers, 24-2, in the quarterfinals at the Class 4A state basketball tournament Wednesday.

It all started with the Spartan guards.

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — He said he had to be creative, needing to find ways to motivate his players. With nearly two weeks between games, EOU head coach Ryan Looney was trying to make his Mounties as prepared as possible for this NAIA Division II National Tournament.

Well, if Wednesday’s game is any indication of Looney’s creativity, then it appears his front lobe is working just fine.