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Tiger season ends
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NEWPORT — The OSAA title defense came to a close Friday versus Newport, as the La Grande varsity baseball team fell, 7-1. “It wasn’t our turn,” Tigers coach Mark Lanman said. “It was a crappy game to end the season.” And to end the coaching career of Lanman, who will now retire, and a stellar set of careers for the Tigers’ seniors. The Tigers started off well in this game, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Zach Nice led off with a double, then moved to third when Jacob Johnston sacrified him. Then Josh Yundt brought in the lone Tigers run of the day when he perfectly executed a suicide squeeze. From there, Newport scored twice in the third and fourth innings, thanks to home runs, and La Grande was on its way out of the playoff picture. Nice threw well on the mound, striking out seven batters through five innings. But four errors in the field hurt La Grande. “We threw the ball around a little bit,” Lanman said. “They put pressure on us. “I think there were some nerves.” So that’s it for the Tigers’ seniors. No more Anthony Nice reeling in grounders and belting pitches at the plate. No more Richie Carmichael striking out batters and belting home runs. No more of Johnston flying around in centerfield, covering enough ground to make a bird jealous. And no more Cody McKague behind the plate. That’s it? That’s it. And with this playoff exit, and close of high school baseball careers, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. Several winning seasons. Back-to-back GOL Titles. And a 2007 Class 4A state championship they’ll remember forever. “They didn’t want to lose that game,” Lanman said. “Their heads were down. I mean, they’re competitors. They didn’t enjoy that feeling at all, knowing that’s it for high school baseball this year.” But they had a great season. They won the GOL title again. And they provided a thrilling, comeback, victory Tuesday when Carmichael tied the game with one strike left versus Scappoose, making this game versus Newport even possible. Hold those heads up high. “With all the pressure that was on those kids,” Lanman said. “They did a darn good job.”
Newport 002 203 x — 7 6 0 WP — Iverson. LP — Z.Nice 2B — Z.Nice. HR — N, Iverson, Lunger.
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