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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2017)
11A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2017 KNAPPA LOGGERS • SPRING SPORTS 2017 Loggers ready for another state title run KNAPPA BASEBALL By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian Coach: Jeff Miller, 16th year 2016: 24-2 (17-1 NW League) Playoffs: Defeated Oakland (10-4), North Douglas (6-3) and Monroe (9-4); lost to Burns (3-4) in state championship. All-League Losses: Noah Kinney All-League Returners: Reuben Cruz, Jr.; Michal Goodman, Sr., Jason Miller, Sr.; Dale Takalo, Jr.; Colton Weirup, Jr. ot to put too many expectations on the N Knappa Loggers, but Jeff Mill- er’s 2017 baseball roster could be the greatest collection of players at the 2A level in years. Which is saying a lot, two years after the Loggers went 27-0. Knappa’s roster includes two all-state pitchers, an all- state catcher (from the 3A level), an all-state infielder and two all-state outfielders. And all-leaguers everywhere you look. Needless to say, it would be the upset of the year if the Knappa Loggers are not back in the 2A/1A state champion- ship game June 2. Two things you can usu- ally count on over the past two years: the first weekend in June is usually the hottest of the year in the Willamette Val- ley, and the Knappa Loggers are playing at Volcanoes Sta- dium. Can they make it three straight? Daily Astorian/File Photo THE NWL “Our league should be very competitive,” said Miller, who enters the season with 302 career coaching wins. “It’s small — a couple teams dropped out (Faith Bible and Delphian), but the teams that are left were extremely young last year. Nestucca was the only team to beat us in league, and they return everybody. Vernonia is still the most ath- letic team in our league; and Gaston has two left-handed pitchers. There’s no days off in The hair is even longer than it was here, and Knappa pitch- er Dale Takalo is looking for an even better junior season. our league.” On the other hand, Knappa never seems to take a day off. The Loggers still own a 76-2 league record over the last four years, and they will be heavy favorites once again. THE LOGGERS “We’re at 30 kids, which is huge for our level,” Miller said. “We have enough for two JV teams.” In fact, the Knappa junior varsity will be taking Tilla- mook’s place on the Cowapa League JV schedule. The Loggers lost one senior (Noah Kinney) off last year’s team, and added a transfer who was an all-state player at the 3A level. “So it’s a pretty tough lineup to crack at this point,” Miller said. What’s even scarier for the rest of the state — the 2017 Loggers only have three seniors on the roster. Leading off is shortstop Jason Miller, a four-year starter and two-time all-state player. “We’re in good hands there,” said coach and dad Miller. “He’s a little stronger, and he’s a crafty, very good defensive player. And he’s a leader, in his own quiet way.” The other two seniors are all-state pitcher Michal Good- man and catcher Andrew Goozee. “The senior group is small, but good,” coach Miller said. Goozee was a catcher and may be again, but the Loggers have added Kaleb Miller from Pleasant Hill, where the junior was a 3A all-state selection at catcher last season. If he played anywhere else, freshman Eli Takalo would be the NWL’s all-league catcher this season, only he has Goo- zee and Miller ahead of him on the depth chart. “Between (Goozee and Miller), we’re in good hands at catcher,” coach Miller said. “We know they’re both going to play. “The one who’s not catch- ing will be playing somewhere in the field. Eli is also a catcher, so we have an embarrassment of riches right now behind the plate, which is rare, especially at our level. We have five or six guys who can do the job.” On the mound — one of the best, junior Dale Takalo. “Dale is first-team all-state, Player of the Year in league, he’s at the top of our rotation, and can play first or third when he’s not pitching,” Miller said. Goodman is behind Takalo, and junior Reuben Cruz may also see time on the mound, in addition to his all-state duties in the outfield. “Reuben is coming off a serious (football) injury in the summer, but he’s rounding into shape. He will be the best ath- lete in our league when he’s healthy.” Cruz anchors center field, while another all-stater, junior Colton Weirup, is in left. “Reuben will probably do a little pitching, so Colton can make an easy slide over to cen- ter,” Miller said. “He’s a very good defensive outfielder, with a strong arm and good range.” Elsewhere, junior Mason Hoover started at third last year, and “can play any infield spot,” Miller said, in addition to being “one of our main rota- tion pitchers.” Juniors vying for time include Jacob Ford, Reece Hunt, David Patterson, Quen- tin Pinkstaff and Cody Stuhr. The sophomore class includes Logan Bartlett, Logan Flues and Ty Vanderburg. “In other programs, they would be seeing (varsity) time already,” Miller said. “Bartlett was a DH last year, with a .375 average and the fewest strikeouts on the team as a freshman. He loves the game and puts a lot of work into it. “We’re looking for real big things in his sophomore year. Logan is strictly a backup third baseman, but will start at DH.” Hopes are high for 2017. “We’ve been really fortu- nate to have some really good kids and really good teams. We weren’t sure what was going to happen last year. They all stepped up, and we made it to the championship game (los- ing to Burns, 4-3). So they know what it feels like. They understand the challenge of trying to do that again.” Reaching the title game is “certainly a goal of theirs, to at least give ourselves a chance to compete at the state level. There’s going to be a lot of good teams out there. “Regis is loaded; all those teams we played in the play- offs last year in the first three rounds were all young and return lots of players. The 2A level is really deep this year.” Miller adds, “I know we should be physically stronger and deeper. Our goal is always to play well in May and hope- fully into June.” It may be tough to keep all the Millers straight on the Knappa roster. In addition to Jason Miller and Kaleb Miller (not related), the coaching staff will have Jeff Miller and his brother Tim Miller; and Kirk Miller (Kaleb’s father), who has pre- vious coaching experience at Pleasant Hill and Regis. Knappa track low on quantity, high on quality By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian The Knappa track program always battles low numbers, while the quality of athletes is still good, as the Loggers pre- pare to kick the 2017 season into full gear. In 2016, the Knappa boys’ and girls’ teams both placed sixth out of seven schools in the Northwest League district meet, held annually at Port- land Christian. Nestucca is the defending team champion on both sides. As of the first week of April, the Loggers had only taken part in one meet, and the inclement weather has kept marks and times below average. Still, Knappa track heads into a new season with high hopes for some key athletes. The Logger boys will cer- tainly miss Chris Montano (second in the district long jump and triple jump last year), but Knappa returns senior Cody Hobbs on the track, senior Noah Gothro in the sprints and the jave- lin, and junior Braedon Elt- agonde in the jumps. Hobbs was a point-scorer for Knappa in last year’s league meet, where he placed fifth in the 1,500 meters and seventh in the 3,000. In the Northwest Relays March 23, Hobbs was just 1 second off his time in last year’s 3,000- meter race at districts. Gothro competed in the javelin in the recent NWL Relays, but could be one of the top returning sprinters in the league, after taking fifth in Daily Astorian/File Photo Paris Vanderburg is one of the returning pitchers for Knappa softball. Logger softball is heating up By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian Daily Astorian/File Photo Knappa sprinter Devin Vandergriff is ready to explode out of the blocks for another great season. last year’s district 200-meter final. He just missed quali- fying for the final in the 100- and 400-meter races. With another year of foot- ball training behind him, Elt- agonde hopes to make his way up the standings in the triple jump and long jump, after placing 10th and 11th, respectively, at districts. Other returners for the Knappa boys include seniors Noah Bagnall (a promising 800-meter runner) and Luis Rodriguez (throws); juniors Levi Christie, Spencer Fulton and Keenan Gebhart; with junior Nicholas Schaelling and sophomore Josh Fulton adding depth. The Loggers also have freshmen sprinter/ jumper Kanai Phillip, Robert Pina-Morton (1,500), Cristian Rodriguez, Kayden Stuhr and Spencer Teague. The Knappa girls had just three athletes competing in GO ! S R E G G L O (503) 458- 6886 42 92 9 O ld Hw y 30 • Asto ria the March 23 meet — senior Chelsea Sapp and juniors Mikayla Morton and Alyssa White. Sapp placed in the triple jump (second), the long jump (third) and the 100 meters (seventh) in last year’s dis- trict meet, while Morton and White will give Knappa strength in the throwing events. Meanwhile, the top returner (and point-scorer) for the entire Knappa team is senior Devin Vandergriff. She is the defending champion in the district 800, took second in the 200 final, second in the 400, and fourth in the 100 to score in all four events. Knappa coach Brittany Norton hopes to have Vander- griff competing at state again in the 200, 400 and 800, while Sapp was a state qualifier in the triple jump. The Knappa Lady Loggers began the 2016 league season with three straight wins over Neah-Kah-Nie, in which the Loggers outscored the Pirates by a combined 50-22. Knappa’s season ended with a 16-9 loss to Neah-Kah-Nie in the league playoffs. The Lady Loggers are hop- ing to reverse the order this year, and “Finish Strong.” With a roster loaded with returning all-league players, they’re off to a good start. THE NWL Knappa was at or near the top of the Northwest League standings for almost the entire season … until the last four days of the regular season. The Loggers had won eight in a row going into a three-game series against Vernonia, and Ver- nonia stole what Knappa was hoping for — the league cham- pionship, as Vernonia scored three straight victories to win the league title. On the plus side, Vernonia Go Loggers! KNAPPA SOFTBALL Coach: James Nichols, 5th year 2016: 12-15 (10-5 NW League) Playoffs: Lost league playoff to Neah-Kah-Nie, 9-16. All-League Losses: None All-League Returners: Hannah Hellberg, Fr., Jaden Miethe, So., Alisha Murphy, Jr., Hailey Murray, Jr., Kaitlyn Truax, So., Paris Vanderburg, So. lost league Player of the Year Kassidy Fitch to graduation. Once again, the battle for the 2017 league title will likely come down to Gaston, Knappa and Vernonia. “Gaston has Charity Hall (Jr.), and Vernonia has Joyce Everett (So.), a pretty good pitcher,” said Knappa coach James Nichols. “I think it will be us three.” Vernonia also has the return of senior shortstop Payton Wolf, along with all-league catcher Pearl Cook. THE LADY LOGGERS The future of the league certainly appears to belong to Knappa, which has seven fresh- men on the varsity roster, several of whom start. The preseason will include “a little mix and matching,” Nich- ols said. “I think we’re going to be fine. We have a tough non- league schedule, but once league starts, we’ll be OK.” In the circle, freshman Mad- elynn Weaver did almost all of the pitching on Knappa’s road trip to Eastern Oregon. Paris Vanderburg is the No. 2 pitcher, and freshman Emily Nicholson could also see time. Junior Kaitlyn Truax (first team all-league) is back behind the plate, with Vanderburg at first base (or sophomore Han- nah Hellberg when Vanderburg is pitching), Alisha Murphy (Sr.) or Aiko Miller (Fr.) at second; Jaden Miethe (Jr.) at shortstop, and either Laciee Hendrickson (So.) or Baylee McCall (Fr.) at third. The outfield will be Sophie Carlson (Fr.) in left, Hailey Mur- ray (Sr.) in center and Nicholson in right. Adding depth to the Knappa lineup are junior Mikaela Rethati, sophomores Katie Pat- terson and Lily Roberts, and Katie Denny. Good Luck Loggers We Deliver! Knappa Offi ce (503) 458-6671 42894 Old Hwy. 30 Knappa, OR 97103 Rainier Offi ce (503) 556-0410 29191 Dike Road Rainier, OR 97048 www.teevinbros.com • CCB #133907 3693 LIEF ERIKSON DR. ASTORIA (JUST EAST OF SAFEWAY) 503.325.4927 HOURS: SUN-THUR 11AM-10PM; FRI-SAT 11AM-11PM
