THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015
SPORTS
7A
Submitted Photo
The Astoria seventh-grade tournament team. Front row, from left, Julia Norris, Hailey
O’Brien, Libby Whitsett, Liz Barnett, Dakota Morris and Taileigh Cole. Back row: Brook-
lynn Hankwitz and Baylee McSwain.
Submitted Photo
Astoria fifth- and sixth-grade girls basketball team.
Astoria youth teams head to state
tournaments over the last two
months. The team took second
The Astoria girls sev- at a Seaside seventh-grade PBL
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NHWEDOOWHDPTXDOL¿HGIRUDQG seventh-eighth-grade combined
will compete in the Oregon PBL tournament that included
Middle School State Basket- wins against Seaside and War-
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second year in a row, March took the third-place trophy at a
7 and 8 in Redmond, Sisters Clatskanie eighth-grade tour-
and Bend.
nament with a win against the
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second in the St. Helens Volcano team to take third.
Classic tournament in January.
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Astoria took part in seven Feb. 21 and 22 at a Seaside
The Daily Astorian
PBL tournament with wins over
Rainier, Roosevelt and Banks,
and one loss.
The team is coached by
Rob Niemi, Nathan Hankwitz
and Pat O’Brien. The team is
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Drive.
Astoria’s seventh-grade girls
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ria Middle School season, going
11-1. They were coached by
Mark Thompson.
More on the way …
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in the Seaside tournaments in
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and sixth-grade girls basketball
team swept the last two week-
end tournaments in Clatskanie,
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events.
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the upcoming state tournament in
Central Oregon, March 7 and 8.
The girls are coached by
Emily Schuerger and Stacey
Matthews.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SCHEDULE
TODAY
Boys Basketball — Crook County at Seaside, 7 p.m.; Union at
Knappa, 6 p.m.
Wrestling — OSAA State Tournament, Portland Memorial Colise-
um, all day.
SATURDAY
Girls Basketball — Wahkiakum at Ilwaco, 2 p.m., at WF West HS,
Chehalis
Wrestling — OSAA State Tournament, Portland Memorial Colise-
um, all day.
Elias hopes to prove himself
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) —
Roenis Elias began spring
training last February as a
pitcher who had never started
a game above Double-A. He
wound up earning a spot with
the Seattle Mariners as a sur-
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to win double-digit games.
A lot has changed this time
around, right?
Well, not quite.
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said Sunday through a trans-
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Seattle Mariners’ Nelson Cruz waves as he walks onto a stage to help show off the team’s
new alternate Sunday uniforms during an unveiling Jan. 23 in Seattle.
Cruz steps into power
hitting role with Mariners
lator. “Last year I didn’t come
in with a spot. This year you
could say the same thing.”
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“You still have to work
hard and keep improving,” said
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don’t prove it they’re not going
to take me with them.”
Stars Felix Hernandez and
Hisashi Iwakuma will take two
slots. Third-year pro James Pax-
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Manager Lloyd McClendon
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one more.
In other circumstanc-
es, Elias might have the job
secured. But highly touted
22-year-old Taijuan Walker
and others are looming.
“You just go out and do what
you have to do,” Elias said.
CMH Urgent Care in Warrenton
Open daily, 9am-6:30pm
1639 SE Ensign Lane (near Staples and Petco)
503-338-4500 t www.cmhurgentcare.org
By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) —
Few Mariners were happier to
see Nelson Cruz in Seattle’s
clubhouse than Felix Hernan-
dez.
The Mariners’ ace knows
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be. Not only has Cruz broken
up a Hernandez no-hit bid, the
slugger is tied with the Yan-
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Cy Young Award winner with
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things,” Cruz said Wednesday.
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ers in the game, you want to
be your best. That’s what I did
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And the Mariners paid a
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run hitter in baseball last sea-
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contract in December.
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ning team, and this is the best
choice I could make,” Cruz
said.
There isn’t much ques-
tion that Cruz can provide the
punch at DH that the Mariners
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Morales and Corey Hart each
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season in which he was given
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involvement in the Biogenesis
scandal, had an All-Star sea-
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ed hitter’s career numbers at
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AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Seattle Mariners’ Nelson Cruz bats during spring training
baseball practice Thursday in Peoria, Ariz.
smashing — nine home runs,
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in 52 games — but the Mari-
ners aren’t worried.
“This guy’s a good hitter.
He hits home runs but he’s also
a good hitter,” manager Lloyd
McClendon said. “He has the
ability drive in runs. I suspect
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Cruz said he ignores the
talk that he will struggle to hit
as many home runs in Seattle.
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they go out, they go out. All
I can do is what I can do,” he
said.
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new teammates well. In all or
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rival. He also represented the
Dominican Republic twice in
the World Baseball Classic,
playing with Seattle team-
mates Robinson Cano and
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“They’re the leaders,”
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the team, and I don’t know
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those two guys.”
Notes: The Mariners held
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Wednesday, with position
players taking batting prac-
tice. ... LHP Danny Hultzen
pitched his second bullpen
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throwing shoulder that caused
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season. ... McClendon said
one messages he wanted to
share with entire team be-
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though expectations are very
high he doesn’t want them to
get caught up in that. “We’ve
got to get prepared and get
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game schedule, and it starts
(Wednesday). It doesn’t start
in April,” he said. ... New-
ly-acquired Rickie Weeks will
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McClendon said. Weeks had
been a second baseman with
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Another newcomer, OF Justin
Ruggiano, will get a look in
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Austin Jackson on occasion.
Urgent Care in Warrenton
With shorter wait times.
We’re here when you need care now
When you need healthcare now, come to CMH Urgent Care
in Warrenton and Astoria. With onsite x-ray and lab services,
you’ll be on the road to recovery soon.
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t Works with most insurances, including Medicare and
Medicaid.
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t Cares for people of all ages.
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