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ß ifr Wednesday. May 1,2013 B la z e r s | offseason provides hope fo rfu tu re A.M. SPORTI _____ _____ _______ PRINT: BASEBALL: Cougars up and down season continues Sports Continued from Page 1 Andrew Millbrooke Sports Editor , . Four players wrapped out two hits apiece for the Cougars as Jodi Combs, Thomas Kelly, Skyler Barkdull and Myers all kept the The Portland Trail Blazer pressure on the Saints. season that started with such , Kelly kept the Saints o ff bal promise in a home win over ance with a variety of off-speed the hated Lakers in October , pitches and pinpoint control in dissolved* into injuries and a his first complete game shutout. ; 13-game losing streak to end the Kelly, at 6’2 and 165 pounds, is season. However, there is hope ; $ not going to overpower hitters, for Blazermaniacs as the Blazers have a solid cote group o f play so he must mix it up with his off ers and a little wiggle room this 3; speed pitches. offseason with more than $10 ‘T jq st try to get ahead in the million in salary cap space. count and then try to make them Ifnew General Manager Neal / / chase,” said Kelly. “I throw all Olshey decides to make a deal three pitches just like my fastball. for toe first tim ein his short stint The curveball was dropping in at the helm, the Blazers have and the changeup had them off numerous players that w ould balance.’’, ' ' receive plenty o f offers. Let’s take vfe a look at the six Blazers that are Robinson was impressed that sure to return. his team came together, offen Damian Lillard, point guard: sively and defensively for the first Lillard had a sensational rookie time in a while. _______________ season, earning eveiy Western “We’ve been pitching well, oeon iviyers.jrom Kearns,utan, takesacut in a recent game fo r Clackamas. Myers doubled with one out in the sixth Conference Rookie o f the Month or we’ve been hitting well,” said inning and scored the lone run in the Cougars 1-0 win over Mt. Hood on Saturday in Gresham. award and is certain to be named Robinson. “We haven’t really tied NBA Rookie o f the Year later a lot of games together in the total Myers. in the first five innings. this year. Lillard started all 82 ri next two doubleheaders. First, ity. Today, we pitched well, we Robinson also singled out games, leading the league m total “It seemed like everyone was they play Lane on Saturday at 1 minutes played while averaging defended for him really well and his catcher, sophomore Thomas up after that,” said Myers. “Luke p.m., before hosting Linn-Benton 18 points and 6.5 assists. we hit enough to score runs.” Kelly, as playing a great game. came up with a huge hit that on Tuesday, May 7 at 1 p.m. LaMarcus Aldridge, power Robinson said his young pitch “Our catcher is great. Thomas we needed to score that run.” forward: Aldridge made his sec er threw a great game. Kelly is playing great,” Robinson Myers was ready and waiting for ond consecutive All-Star game, “He’s got three good pitches repeated. “He calls a great game, his pitch when he smacked his but he still does not provide a and he kept mixing them /’ said he defends, he threw a guy out double. dominant presence on defense./ Robinson. “I think a lot o f times at first, threw a guy out at sec “It was just a fastball,” said Aldridge is still a very effective they were swinging at change-ups ond. Between (Michael) Kelly and Myers. “I knew he’d throw me scorer with range out to 20 feet Luke came up with not knowing they were change- (Thomas) Kelly, the catcher and low. I watched him and then final Nicolas Batum, small & r- , a huge hit that we ward: Batum showed signs of . ups, He did a great job o f mixing pitcher, they had a great game ly I got ahead in the count. He needed to score that breaking out and becoming the / pitches.” between the two o f them.” gave me the pitch I wanted and I star that Portland paid $10 mil Myers, the Cougars lone return The mood , of the Ciackainas roped a double in the gap.” run.” . lion per season to retain, but a ing All-Region honoree, was also team seemed to change after The Saints (20-10, 13-5) got unpresseil wltlrtlie wuyliis young ■ M y ers bel t ed a do ubl e wi t h on e -b aefe on track -r n-the-nightcap, as- still leave toe ju iy out on Ration S co tt M yers teammate was pitching. out in the sixth inning. Marks sin freshman jpitcher Clint Burris held Wesley Matthews, shooting Designated Hitter “His ,change-up was on, his gled him home and the Cougars the Cougars to two hits over six guard: Matthews is a fiery com* curveball was on and he was spot finally broke through with a run innings in a 3-0 victory. The base petitor and has become a team ting up with his fastball,” said after stranding two runners twice ball team will be at home for its leader on the Blazers, but he lacks ii toe outside shooting consistency (39.8 percent on 3-pointers) to be a n elite2 -g u ard in th eN B A ./ M eyers Leonard, center. Although completely over matched at times, Leonard • showed the athleticism, grit, determination and hustle that will make him a player someday. Will Barton, small forward: Barton came on late in the sea son when injuries took a toll on Batum and Matthews to provide an offensive spark Barton started the final five games o f toe season, averaging' 15 points, six rebounds and three assists per game. The Blazers will also tty to' ' keep backup point guard Eric Maynor, who provided a steady ing influence for toe second unit after he was acquired from Oklahoma City late last season. Victor Claver probably deserves another year, and guard Elliott Williams is a question mark after being hurt for two straight sea sons. J J. Hickson proved to be an effective scorer and rebounder while playing out o f position at center, but he is probably going to get more money in free agency to sign elsewhere. Luke Babbitt, Joel Freeland, Sasha Pavlovic and Nolan Smith all appear head- ed out the door too. While toe Blazon pmbahlv won’t be able to get toe Hkes o f Chris Paul or Dwight Howard this offseason, there are many intriguing players out there. The 2013 free agent class includes a long list o f solid 3-point threats including; O J . Mayo, Ray Allen, ; Monta Ellis, Jodie Meeks, J.R. Smith, Martell Webster, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Delfino. The market for a big man in toe middle is pretty s b a , but Chris Kaman, Andrew Bynum / and A1 Jefferson all fit Portland’s needs. M uch o f toe Blazers’ suc cess next season will depend on • toe front office’s success this off- / season. Let’s hope that Olshey can seal toe deal on someone Warm weather has arrived just in time as the Clackamas Community College baseball team gets a chance to play in front o f the home crowd as they host threedoubleheaders in thenexttwo weeks. The Cougars host Lane this Saturday at 1 p.m. and then play Linn-Benton on Tuesday, May 7 at 1 p m Clackamas travels to Salem to play Chemeketa on Saturday, May 11, before hosting its final home game on Tuesday, May 14, against Mt. Hood at 1 p.m. Free Rapid HIV «< Testing 800.777.2437 GotAcne? ...Get ALA-PIM www.ALA-PtM.COM cascadeaids,org/hiv-testing*resöurce . Cascade AIDS Project >CAI=> cascadeaids.org prom o C o d e: CCCSTUDENT
