KHS PREVIEWS
10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016
How to improve on perfection? Loggers will try
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
KNAPPA BASEBALL
Coach: Jeff Miller, 15th year
2015: 27-0 (21-0 NWL)
State Playoffs: Defeated Lost River, 19-2; Dufur, 6-4; Regis, 7-3; and
Monroe, 3-0, in the state championship.
All-League Losses: Andrew Miller (MVP), Austin Dragoo (trans-
ferred), Justin Dragoo, Chase Rusinovich, Nate Truax.
All-League Returners: Reuben Cruz, So.; Noah Kinney, Sr.; Jason
Miller, Jr.; Dale Takalo, So.; Colton Weirup, So.
Twenty-seven and 0? It was
a great season, it was fun and it
was a blast for Logger baseball
fans to watch their team win
another state championship.
But 27-0 is in the past, and
Knappa baseball is on to the
next season.
“I’ve never heard the kids
talk about it, I don’t talk about
it … that was last year’s team,”
Knappa coach Jeff Miller said.
Their fans may sport sweat-
shirts and T-shirts with “27-0”
on the back, but “We don’t ever
discuss wins here,” Miller said
of the players. “We try to take
care of other things, and the
wins come along with it.”
Of last year’s amazing
streak, he said, “We know that
it won’t help us this year.”
THE NWL
Make no mistake, the Log-
gers will still be a factor in the
league race, but the chase for
the championship could be a
little tighter for the ¿rst time in
years. It may even come down
to a three-game series between
9ernonia and Knappa, the ¿nal
week of the regular season.
“I’d pick Vernonia as the
favorite going in,” Miller said.
“They obviously have athletes,
like they did (winning league
championships) in basket-
ball and football. They return
experience, athletic ability and
pitching. They should be at the
top, and challenged closely by
Gaston, which has a deep pitch-
ing staff. (Jarad) Davis is a
good pitcher, and (Bailey) Mor-
rison at Vernonia is good.
“I hope that we get to where
we’re in that mix,” he said. “We
have kids who are used to win-
ning and like to compete, so I
think we can be in the mix of
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Knappa’s Dale Takalo pitches during a baseball game against Reedsport.
those teams at the top.
“Hopefully we’ll still be
close enough to where that last
series is interesting.”
Miller’s favorite would have
been Portland Lutheran, before
the school dropped its varsity
baseball program.
“They had the best pitcher
in the league,” he said of the
Bluejays.
Statewide, Miller said,
“Reedsport and Burns are the
top 2A teams this year.”
Knappa has already beaten
Reedsport twice, 3-2 and 10-0
in a two-game series to start
the season. “Irrigon will also
be a tough out. They have
a tremendous left-handed
pitcher, (Austin) Rice. He’s
good, and they’re talented and
athletic.”
THE LOGGERS
Five all-league returners
(and only one senior among
those six) will go a long ways
in helping Knappa be “a part of
the mix.”
“It’s a work in progress,”
Miller said. “We return some
good baseball players, but
there’s a lot of questions out
there, and positions to ¿ll.”
To start with, on the mound,
where Knappa must replace
Chase Rusinovich and Tyson
Burnard.
“Dale (Takalo, a sopho-
more) is basically all we return
on the mound. It’s a new role
for him, stepping up to be the
ace. Behind that, it’s one of
those years where it’s hard to
identify your pitchers, so every-
body’s a pitcher.
“We’re working a lot of
guys, and they’re all capable.
They will be better a month
from now than they are now.”
Some things, however, never
change. The Loggers still have
a defensive lineup that will be
unmatched at the 2A level.
All-state junior Jason Miller
will move to in¿eld this year,
where, coach Miller said, “We
have some very solid in¿eld-
ers, with Noah Kinney our only
senior. He’s been a starter for a
long time, he’s as solid as it gets
at second base; Jason Miller
and Mason Hoover (So.) are
both solid in¿elders (and inter-
changeable at second and short-
stop). Between the three, that’s
a solid an in¿eld as you will
¿nd.”
Takalo will play ¿rst when
not pitching, and the same with
junior Michal Goodman, who
already has a head-to-head win
over an all-state pitcher in the
preseason.
The out¿eld is “anchored
by two good returning play-
ers, (sophomores) Reuben Cruz
and Colton Weirup. Defen-
sively, we’re very solid.”
Knappa must replace
another all-leaguer behind the
plate (Nate Truax), and may
just do it with another all-
league caliber catcher.
“Andrew Goozee (Jr.) has
the strongest throwing arm I’ve
ever coached. He has the tough-
ness you want in a catcher, and
he’s a leader. He has a lot of
qualities.
“So with Reuben, Dale,
Jason and Noah — there’s
four very good baseball play-
ers, then throw Mason in for a
¿fth,” coach Miller said. “We
have seven, eight, nine really
good baseball players.”
Also challenging for spots
will be Logan Bartlett, Ryker
Coffey, Reece Hunt, Shawn
Lackey and Quentin Pinkstaff.
“Good numbers and a qual-
ity freshman class,” Miller said.
“We just hope to be in the dis-
trict playoffs, where you have
a chance to play your best
for a game or two and hope-
fully qualify for the state
tournament.”
With a 62-1 record in league
play over the last three years …
yes (in the safest bet of the cen-
tury), the Loggers will probably
be in the league playoffs.
Prediction: Miller’s choice
is Vernonia, but it’s almost
impossible to ignore what
Knappa has done over the last
three years.
Knappa outscored the rest
of the league 310 to 35 last year
(and 325-40 in 2014); and the
Loggers won the league title
last season with a 21-0 mark,
over second-place Faith Bible
(13-8).
Vernonia may put up a ¿ght,
but it’s hard to imagine any
team even challenging Knappa
for the NWL title.
Knappa softball still strong, still young
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
Knappa baseball wasn’t the
only undefeated team during the
2015 Northwest League spring
sports season.
The Knappa softball team
was 12-0 in league play, high-
lighting a breakthrough season
for Lady Logger softball.
An overall record of 24-4,
unbeaten in league play, with
a sweep of the league MVP
and Coach of the Year awards
… and it all ended in the state
quarter¿nals, with a 1-0 loss at
eventual state champion Pilot
Rock (which won the state
championship game, 2-1, over
Weston-McEwen).
The Lady Loggers have lost
their all-star pitcher, Kacie Cam-
eron, but Knappa still returns
four all-league players (one
junior and three sophomores) —
plenty to make another run at a
title.
THE NWL
“Vernonia just has too many
hitters,” said Knappa coach
James Nichols. “The only good
thing for me is that they’re all
seniors. They’ve got the two
Smith girls (Sara and Paige),
and Cassidy (Whitton).
“Gaston has (sophomore)
Charity Hall, and we were 3-0
against her last year.” Knappa
also swept all three games from
Vernonia.
Still, “It will be us and Gas-
ton for that second spot,” Nich-
ols said. “I think we’ve got bet-
ter hitters. We’ll give up some
runs — we’re not going to strike
out 17 or 18 hitters a game, so
we’ll be relying on our defense.”
THE LOGGERS
“Senior Night” is going to
Jaden
Miethe
will be
one of
Knappa
softball’s
big hit-
ters this
spring.
The Daily
Astorian
KNAPPA SOFTBALL
Coach: James Nichols, 4th year
2015: 24-4 (12-0 NWL)
State Playoffs: Defeated Prospect, 4-1; lost at Pilot Rock, 0-1
All-League Losses: Kacie Cameron (MVP), Stacey Aho, Alyson Olhe-
iser, McKailyn Rogers (transferred to Astoria).
All-League Returners: Jaden Miethe, So.; Alisha Murphy, Jr.; Kaitlyn
Truax, So.; Paris Vanderburg, So.
be short and sweet this spring
at Knappa High School. Track
has a few seniors, baseball has
one, and Logger softball has no
seniors at all.
Knappa was young last sea-
son, but good. Now they’re a
year older and a year better.
Just one week into spring
practice, Nichols had his start-
ing defensive lineup in place.
The in¿eld includes fresh-
man Hannah Hellburg at ¿rst
base; junior Alisha Murphy at
second and freshman Laicee
Hendrickson at third, with soph-
omore Jaden Miethe at the key
shortstop position.
The out¿eld has juniors
Emilee Olson in left and Hai-
ley Murray in center, and sopho-
more Mackenzie Strain in right.
The all-important pitch-
er-catcher battery will have
Good
Luck
Loggers
sophomore Paris Vanderburg in
the circle, with sophomore Kait-
lyn Truax behind the plate.
Rounding out Knappa’s ros-
ter are junior Desiree Andrade;
sophomores Ryain Killion,
Mikayla Rethati, Emaly Roberts
and Emma Taggert; and fresh-
men Katie Patterson, Lily Rob-
erts and Jordan Walter.
Assistant coaches include
Jeff Kaul, Paul Olheiser, Lisa
Graham, along with Kacie
Cameron as the pitching coach
and Nestucca graduate Emily
Menefee.
Prediction: With no seniors
on the roster, the Lady Loggers
are certainly the team of the
future in the Northwest League.
Why not get a head start on a
dynasty? Knappa will chal-
lenge Vernonia for the league
title.
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
The Loggers return senior Chris Montano, who competed at last year’s OSAA Track
and Field State Championships.
Logger track season under way
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
The Knappa track team
tuned up for the 2016 with
their ¿rst meet last Satur-
day, as the Loggers took
part in the Tillamook
Invitational.
Competing
against
mostly bigger schools, the
results were predictable for
the Loggers, who ¿nished
eighth out of nine teams on
the boys’ side, and ninth on
the girls’.
Still, there’s plenty to
be encouraged about for
Knappa Track, ’16.
Knappa returns three-
fourths of its state-qualify-
ing 400-meter relay team,
with juniors Chelsea Sapp,
Meranda Godwin and
Devin Vandergriff.
Go Loggers!
We Deliver!
3693 LIEF
ERIKSON DR.
ASTORIA
(JUST EAST OF SAFEWAY)
503.325.4927
HOURS: SUN-THUR 11AM-10PM;
FRI-SAT 11AM-11PM
Knappa Office (503) 458-6671
42894 Old Hwy. 30
Knappa, OR 97103
Rainier Office (503) 556-0410
29191 Dike Road
Rainier, OR 97048
www.teevinbros.com • CCB #133907
THE LOGGERS
Girls
Tabitha Adams, Sr.
Meranda Godwin, Jr.
Ressa Inman, So.
Emerald Mason, Fr.
Mikayla Morton, So.
Chelsea Sapp, Jr.
Devin Vandergriff, Jr.
Alyssa White, So.
Boys
Noah Bagnall, Jr.
Levi Christie, So.
Vandergriff will be the top
returner in the district 200
meters, and she’s in the top
two in the 100 and 400 meters.
The Knappa boys lost their
state points from Devin Lewis
Allen (100-, 200- and 400-
meter ¿nalist at state, district
champ in all three), but the
Loggers return senior Chris
Braedon Eltagonde, So.
Josh Fulton, Fr.
Spencer Fulton, So.
Keenan Gebhart, So.
Noah Gothro, Jr.
Cody Hobbs, Jr.
Nathan Hoikka, Fr.
Josh Jones, Fr.
Patrick Maize, Sr.
Chris Montano, Sr.
Elijah Patterson, Sr.
Trentne Smith, Sr.
Montano (long jump and tri-
ple jump), who won the long
jump competition in the Til-
lamook Invitational, beating
out Class 4A jumpers from
Molalla, Banks, Taft, Astoria
and Tillamook, with a leap of
19 feet, one inch. He placed
second in the triple jump
(39-2 ½).
GO
!
S
R
E
G
G
L O
(503) 458- 6886
42929 O ld Hw y 30 • Asto ria