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