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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2017)
12A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com Athletes of the Week (FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 20-25) NIQUI BLODGETT Warrenton/Jewell FRIDTJOF FREMSTAD Astoria Photos by Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian he junior at Jewell High School is a big reason why the No. 10-ranked War- T Since renton softball team is currently 5-0. they don’t have softball at Jewell, Blodgett plays for the Warriors. She till recovering from an injury suff ered during the basketball season, Frem- S stad made his senior baseball season debut March 21 against St. Helens at CMH Field. also happens to have a 5-0 record as Warrenton’s starting pitcher. Blodgett opened her season March 22 with an 8-5 win over Taft, in which she threw 128 pitches and gave up four hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Off ensively, she went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. The next day, the Warriors scored a 22-2 win over Nestucca, in which Blodgett was 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI s. In the circle, she struck out 10, walked six and allowed four hits in fi ve innings. And he made it a memorable debut, as he hit for the cycle in a 15-3 win. In just four innings, Fremstad was 4-for-4 with a single, double, triple and a home run, scored four runs and drove in four. Astoria’s starter at shortstop, Fremstad opened the current week with a 3-for-3 eff ort (with two runs scored and two RBI s) in a 13-3 win over South Umpqua. In his fi rst three games played, Fremstad was batting .889 with a .909 on-base percentage and a 1.556 slugging percentage. SPORTS IN BRIEF Astoria baseball team wins, 20-3 Seagulls play in Arizona this week The Daily Astorian The Daily Astorian Ten different players scored runs for Astoria Wednesday after- noon, as the Fishermen capped their own tournament with a 20-3 win over Yamhill-Carlton at CMH Field. Nine players drove in runs and 10 different Astoria players drew walks from the four Yamhill pitch- ers, who combined to walk 13. Kyle Strange had the big num- bers for Astoria, as the senior went 3-for-3 with four RBI s and three runs scored. Olaf Englund and Samboy Tuimato also scored three runs apiece for the Fishermen, who led 11-0 after two innings, scored once in the third inning and tacked on eight in the fourth. Trey Hageman pitched 2.2 innings for the win, striking out six with three walks. Hageman, Tristan Wallace and Calvin Kaul com- bined on a two-hitter for the Fish- ermen, who had eight stolen bases. Astoria has won fi ve in a row, with the Fishermen outscoring their last four opponents 52-11. Riverside, Irrigon defeat Knappa girls The Daily Astorian IRRIGON — Knappa pitcher Madelynn Weaver struck out nine batters and walked three, but Riv- erside scored a 12-3 win over the Loggers in a nonleague softball game Wednesday at Irrigon. Kaitlyn Truax and Weaver were both 2-for-3 at the plate in the loss. Knappa fi nished the day with a game against Irrigon, and the host Knights scored a 10-0 win over the Loggers, who will fi nish their road trip with a doubleheader at Hep- pner Thursday. SCOREBOARD PREP SCHEDULE TODAY Baseball — Amity at Warrenton, 4:30 p.m.; Ocosta at Ilwaco (2), 3 p.m. SATURDAY Baseball — Willamina at Warrenton (2), Noon; Knappa at Santiam (2), 1 p.m. BASEBALL Astoria 20, Yamhill-Carlton 3 Yamhill 003 00—3 2 4 Astoria 651 8x—20 10 1 Garner, Dixon (3), Miller (4), Frost (4) and Long, Fry (3); Hageman, Wallace (3), Kaul (5) and Gohl, Hillard (5). W: Hageman. L: Garner. RBI: YC, Frost 2, Miller; Ast, Strange 4, Tuimato 2, Hage- man 2, Matthews, O’Brien, Gohl, Patter- son, Wallace, Reed. 2B: Ast, Strange. LOB: Yamhill-Carlton 3, Astoria 6. Submitted Photo Members of the Seaside baseball team enjoy a Major League spring training game Wednesday, on a week long road trip to Arizona. GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Seaside Gulls held a brief 2-1 lead, before George Washington Prep scored seven runs in the bottom of the second inning, on its way to a 14-4 win over Seaside, in a game played at Millenium High School in Goodyear, Ariz., as part of the Coach Bob Invitational. George Washington Prep — from Los Angeles — had just seven hits to Seaside’s six, but the Gulls committed seven errors in the loss. Brent Walsh (3-for-3) and Payton Westerholm (2-for-3) com- bined for fi ve of Seaside’s six hits, while the Gulls used four pitchers who combined to strike out eight with fi ve walks and three hit batters. The Generals had three triples and a double, and tacked on four runs in the fourth inning for a 12-4 lead before ending the game with two runs in the sixth. The Gulls continue their week- long stay in Arizona with a game today against Joy Christian (Calif.) High School. Final Four guide: Teams, players, matchups to watch coaches for years, he’s proven it during the Ducks’ run to the Final Four. By JOHN MARSHALL Associated Press GLUE GUYS GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Final Four is set, with one blue blood and three newbies headed to the desert to settle the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. North Carolina has been there, done that with college basketball’s fi nal weekend, reaching the title game last year. Oregon is here for the fi rst time since winning its only title in 1939, while Gonzaga and South Caro- lina are making their fi rst ventures this deep into March Madness. It should be a great weekend and to get you ready, we’ve got the teams, players, coaches and matchups to keep an eye on at University of Phoenix Stadium. Zach Collins, Gonzaga. The top NBA prospect still in the bracket comes off the bench, but is an instant game-changer, a 7-foot freshman who can score and guard the rim. Jordan Bell, Oregon. A big reason the Ducks have not suffered a defen- sive drop-off without the shot-block- ing Boucher in the lineup. Luke Maye, North Carolina. The 6-foot-9 sophomore provides a lift off the bench and hit the buzzer-beat- ing shot against Kentucky with a Final Four trip on the line. Rakym Felder, South Carolina. Scrappy 5-10 freshman point guard can shoot from range and give the Gamecocks a spark off the bench. THE TEAMS North Carolina. Veteran, multi-tal- ented, been here before more times than the other teams combined. A clear favorite. Gonzaga. Finally over the Final Four hump, the Zags are ready to take two more steps and add a title to their resume. Oregon. The Ducks may have lost a key player with Chris Boucher’s ACL injury, but they’re talented enough to be a player in the national champion- ship race. Just ask Kansas . South Carolina. These Gamecocks are gamers. Already took out three of the top four seeds in the East Region for their fi rst NCAA Tournament wins in 44 years, ready to make the trip even more special. TOP PLAYERS Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga. First-team All-American shuts down the opposing team’s best player, runs one of the nation’s most effi cient offenses, superb leader . Sindarius Thornwell, South Car- olina. Physical, scores, rebounds, defends. May not be anyone playing better in the tournament. Dillon Brooks, Oregon. Plays with an edge, usually comes close to cross- KEY MATCHUPS AP Photo/Orlin Wagner Oregon forward Dillon Brooks celebrates at the end of the team’s Midwest Regional final against Kansas in the NCAA men’s college basketball tour- nament, Saturday in Kansas City, Mo. Oregon won 74-60. ing it. Always fi nds a way to make a big play. Justin Jackson, North Carolina. Long, athletic, shoots inside and out, causes nightmares for opposing coaches trying to fi gure out how to stop him. THE COACHES Roy Williams, North Carolina. The dean of college basketball coaches. And dadgum it, one fi ery southern gentleman. Frank Martin, South Carolina. The big man in the big suit is known for his fi ery demeanor and stare-right- through-you eyes on the sideline. Also happens to be a good coach and one of the most loyal people in the sport. Mark Few, Gonzaga. The monkey off his back — along with the dogs and cats — he has the basketball acu- men and the team to take the Zags to their fi rst national title. Dana Altman, Oregon. Quietly known as one of the nation’s best Oregon’s defensive rebounding vs. North Carolina on the offensive glass. The Tar Heels clean up 42 percent of their missed shots with offensive rebounds. Oregon was 180th nation- ally in defensive rebounding. Here’s guessing this might be a key to Satur- day’s game. South Carolina vs. Gonzaga’s front court. Zags center Przemek Kar- nowski is perhaps the biggest big in the country at 7-1, 300 pounds. Collins is a 7-0 leaper. Gamecocks front court- ers Maik Kotsar and Chris Silva give up at least three inches and a whole lot of poundage to Karnowski. The Pol- ish big man also is an adept passer, so South Carolina will have to be careful with the game planning. Pace game, Oregon vs. North Car- olina. The Tar Heels like to play fast. Score 5 seconds after a missed free throw fast. The Ducks, despite their rep- utation as an up-tempo team, play at an adjusted tempo that was 241st nation- ally. Control the pace, win the game. Gonzaga from 3, South Carolina guarding it. The Gamecocks are stellar at defending the 3, holding opponents to the eighth-lowest percentage (30.1) in the country.
