Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2017)
Photo by Austin Boltz a highly com petitive or even cutthroat environm ent at the U O on the football field. " I think the difference is that he isn ’t worried about making the choice between football and baseball, choosing w hich school to go to. Now he seems relaxed, like h e ’ s ju st h ayin g fu n p laying th e gam e,” said G illett. “ He com m ented to me that he didn’t realize how m uch he loved baseball until he left it .” < A fte r p layin g at the cham p ion sh ip lev el o f college a th le tics , B rett now knows w hat to expect in the future as he continues his baseball career. “ It made me realize this is the world of athletics, not everybody there has got your back, you really have to watch out for y ourself,” said Brett. “ I don’t think I was ready for the day in and day out m ental grind. It’ s not only physical, it’ s a m ental grind, and th a t’ s one th in g I forgot about once I got there.” Out o f h igh -sch o o l, Brett was eligible to enter the MLB draft and was projected to be picked as high as the tenth round. He had team s like Arizona and Tampa Bay ready to put him in their farm league systems. Now that he is back to baseball the draft is once again his ultim ate goal. “ The reason I play is because one day I w ant to get to the h igh est level and compete at the highest level,” said Brett. “ I dream o f w aking up every day and going out there and com peting against the best guys because I think of m yself as one o f the best ball players, so I wake up every m orning w ith that thought on m y m ind. This is definitely a stepping stone to that opportunity.” H ap p y to be b ack to b ase b all, the 6 ’ 2, 2 2 0 -p o u n d cen ter fie ld e r w ill help Clackam as on the diamond w hile pursuing his own dreams and aspirations in the sport. As grey skies and wet days tu rn to w arm su n sh in e , B afaro w ill welcome in spring, knowing that his first season as a collegiate baseball player is upon him . Photo contributed by The Oregonian/Ore'QonLive Brett Bafaro is with his family as he signs his letter of intent with UO at Liberty High School. Tierrany Marshall-McBride takes a free throw shot at Clark College. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEN’S BASKETBALL The Clackamas women’ s basketball team battled through a rocky start to league play, injuries and even facing teams with twice as many players on their,roster; but they still made the m ost o f their season. The Cougars finished the regular season with an overall record of 17-11, with a 9-7 league record that earned them a third- place fin ish in the N orthw est A thletic Conference Southern Region. Their third-place finish qualified them for th e NW AC tournam ent where they faced Walla Walla Community College for the second time this season. In the prior meeting, back in December, CCC’s women defeated Walla W alla 65-59 in overtime. D uring the first-ro u n d gam e, W alla Walla jumped out to an early lead o f 16-7 at the end o f the first quarter and did not look back. Clackamas kept the game w ithin reach through its entirety, being down by only five at the half. The second h alf had more of the same for the lady Cougars, and they could not quite catch the Warriors. C la ck am as’ s season cam e to an end with a 74-65 loss in the first round of the NWAC tourney at the hands of Warriors o f W alla W alla on Saturday, March 11. — Doug Fry As the regular season comes to an end, so does the Clackamas men’s basketball playoff hopes. For the firs t tim e in 17 years, the m en ’ s team failed to qualify for the 16-team Northwest Athletic Conference ^ * Tournament. The Cougars finished their season w ith an 8 -8 record in the Southern Region and a 15-13 record overall record, holding onto a winning season. The CGC hoopers ended their season with three straight losses, all in closely fou ght gam es: 9 9-96 to U m pqua in double overtime and 69-64 to Clark College. But they still had hope w ith one game remaining against Portland Community College. Going into their final game against P C C , Clackam as w as in a 5 -team tie for third. In a back and forth gam e, Clackam as lost a heartbreaker with a score o f 74-72, ending their season. — Doug Fry R Clackamas Print MARCH 15,2017 theclackam asprintco^S
