Pendleton baseball champs put a ring on it
By Terry Murry on Monday, December 22nd, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Pendleton High School has come close to winning a state championship in baseball. That is until 2025. They brought home the biggest prize in the state. They’re still celebrating.
The Buckaroos gathered for a ring ceremony last Wednesday. Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus, who coached several of the boys when they were much younger, said it was a wonderful thing for a former coach to witness.
“A lot of these kids started that journey when they were 9 or 10,” he said. “To take a look at a picture of them together when they were 10 playing in a baseball tournament and then to see those same kids there receiving that ring – that journey with these families has been amazing.”
It wasn’t just the players who got rings.
“Their coaches were amazing to take them where they wanted to go,” he said. “Then, to watch Mike Hodgen with his nearly 50 years of Pendleton baseball, receive a ring was special. Absolutely special.”
Photo from Dan Primus: L-R Colson Primus, first-team all-state infielder and Evan Lehnert, 4A Pitcher of the Year show off their rings and trophy for the Buckaroos baseball team that won the 2025 OSAA state championship
