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
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(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
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