Grant Union baseball team falls to Heppner

HEPPNER— The Grant Union baseball team lost a close league road game on April 5, falling to Heppner 3-0. The game was scoreless through the first three and a half frames before Heppner struck first, scoring two runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning. Heppner would add their third run in the sixth inning and keep the Pros off the board for the remainder of the contest. Grant Union coach RC Huerta said pitcher Parker Neault “threw a gem. We just couldn’t get any runners across.” Crazy wind conditions and bitter cold contributed to the result as well but “the boys battled,” Huerta said. The loss leaves the Pros at 7-4 on the season with a league record of 2-1.

Lady Pros take two from Heppner

HEPPNER — The Grant Union softball team outscored the Heppner Lady Mustangs 32-1 in a pair of league games in Heppner on Friday, April 8. The first game saw the Lady Pros emerge with a 17-1 win that was called early. Heppner was held scoreless in the second game as the Lady Pros went on to secure a 15-0 win.

Area track teams compete in Prairie City

PRAIRIE CITY — The Grant Union, Prairie City and Monument track teams competed in the Prairie City Annual Track Meet on Friday, April 8.

Finishing with 141 points, the Grant Union boys beat out nine other teams to win the meet. The Prairie City boys team finished in fourth place with 81 points. Mitchell-Spray finished in second place with 87 points, one more than third-place Crane.

The girls’ competition had 12 teams, with Grant Union finishing second with 98.5 points. Meet winner Crane finished the afternoon with 157 points.

Prairie City’s Lady Panthers finished in sixth place with 37 points. Ten points separated sixth-place Prairie City from fourth-place Condon, which finished the meet with 47 team points. The Monument girls amassed 8 points on the afternoon.

The Grant Union boys finished with multiple individual placers, led by Justin Hodge and Brady Dole. Hodge came away with a pair of first-place finishes in the 100 meter dash and shot put while placing second in the javelin. Dole picked up first-place finishes in the 800 meter and 1,500 meter races. The Prospectors ended the meet with 13 top three finishers in all events.

The Prairie City boys also had multiple top three finishers, led by Eli Wright. Wright had a very productive day, finishing first in the javelin and high jump. Wright also placed second in the 300 meter hurdles. Prairie City also picked up a second-place finish in the pole vault from Cayden Howard. The Monument boys team competed at the event but didn’t score any team points due to small numbers leading to a limited number of participants in races and field events at the meet.

The Grant Union girls also had multiple individual placers, led by Carson Weaver, who placed top three in four separate events. Weaver logged second-place finishes in the high jump and the 4×100 relay with teammates Lauryn Pettyjohn, Sydnie Brandon and Katelyn Hughes. Weaver also placed third in the javelin and 100 meter dash. Hughes added a second-place finish in the 300 meter hurdles to her second-place finish in the 4×100 relay.

Prairie City and Monument’s girls finished the day with a number of individual placers as well. The Monument girls were led by Jin Bo Ciochetti, who finished second in the 800 meter race. Prairie City’s Janie Koopman had a pair of top three finishes, winning the 400 meter race and placing third in the high jump. Mallory Lusco and Morgan Randleas also had top three finishes for the Lady Panthers. Lusco would finish second in the discus and Randleas would place third in the long jump.