12A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017
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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.