10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
ghenley@dailyastorian.com
Astoria’s
season
ends at
La Grande
Career ends for
coach Gasser
The Daily Astorian
La GRANDE — It was a wild
ride while it lasted.
Seeking a sixth trip to the
state championship game in the
last 11 years, the 2017 Fisher-
men Express made its fi nal stop
Tuesday in La Grande, where the
Tigers scored two runs in the fi fth
inning, then tacked on four in the
sixth for a 7-2 win over Astoria,
in a Class 4A baseball
semifi nal.
The
season
comes to a close
for the Fisher-
men (20-6 over-
all), who were
carrying the No.
9 seed into the state
playoffs, and scored wins at
Estacada and No. 1-ranked Hid-
den Valley, before Tuesday’s loss.
The defeat also closes out the
careers for a successful senior
class for the Fishermen, as well as
the coaching career of Dave Gas-
ser, the all-time leader in victo-
ries (750) in Oregon high school
baseball.
La Grande (22-3) advances to
the state championship game Sat-
urday, when the Tigers will play
Henley (23-6) in the 4A state title
game at Volcanoes Stadium.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The Knappa Loggers celebrate yet another win on Tuesday, this time against Regis to advance to the state 2A/1A state championship Friday.
KNAPPA KNOW HOW
Loggers edge the
Rams for another
shot at the state title
Bottom of the fi fth
The Fishermen were within
nine outs of making the trip to
Keizer, as they held a 2-1 lead
entering the bottom of the fi fth.
Astoria grabbed a 1-0 lead
in the second inning when Kyle
Strange drew a walk, took third
on an errant pickoff throw, and
scored on a single by Jasyn Gohl.
La Grande evened the score in
the fourth, before the Fishermen
answered in the top of the fi fth.
Trey Hageman reached on a sin-
gle, moved to third on a pair of
grounders, then scored on a two-
out single from Cade O’Brien.
But that was the end of the
Astoria scoring, as La Grande
pitcher G.T. Blackman allowed
just three hits over seven innings,
with eight strikeouts.
At the plate, Blackman had
three hits and drove in two runs to
help his cause.
In the bottom of the fi fth, La
Grande junior Isaac Chamberlain
had a one-out single and advanced
to third on two wild pitches, while
teammate Jon Gonzalez walked
and stole second.
Freshman Logan Paustian fol-
lowed with a ground ball that
scored both runners to put the
Tigers in front, 3-2.
In the sixth, La Grande’s
Andrew Peasley reached on a base
hit, went to third on an error, then
scored on a single by teammate
Garrett Vaughn.
Chamberlain followed with a
run-scoring double, and Black-
man highlighted his day at the
plate with a two-run single for a
fi ve-run lead.
Blackman struck out all three
batters he faced in the seventh to
fi nish the game.
It will be La Grande’s fi rst
appearance in the state title game
since 2007, when they defeated
Astoria in a semifi nal, then
knocked off Newport in the cham-
pionship game, 6-5.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
Baseball — 2A/1A State Champion-
ship: Reedsport vs. Knappa, 1:30 p.m.,
Volcanoes Stadium
BASEBALL
Knappa 5, Regis 3
Regis
000 001 2—3 4 2
Knappa
200 300 x—5 9 3
Schumacher, Bryce Piete (4) and
Brandon Piete; Goodman, Hoover (6),
D.Takalo (7) and K.Miller. W: Goodman.
L: Schumacher. S: D.Takalo. RBI: Reg,
Joyce 2, Bryce Piete; Kna, J.Miller,
Hoover, Goozee, Bartlett, Weirup. 2B:
Kna, K.Miller. HR: Reg, Joyce; Kna, J.
Miller. HBP: Kna, Cruz. LOB: Regis 5,
Knappa 4. DP: Regis 2, Knappa.
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
K
NAPPA — Following his team’s win
over Knappa in last year’s state cham-
pionship game, Burns coach Kevin
Feist said of the Loggers, “They’re a great
team, they have a lot of youth, and they’re
going to be back here next year.”
Right, on all three counts.
They are great, they’re still young, and the
Loggers are headed back to the state champion-
ship game for the third consecutive season, fol-
lowing a 5-3 win over Regis in a 2A/1A semi-
fi nal Tuesday at Teevin Field.
Knappa starter Michal Goodman took a
no-hitter into the sixth inning, and the Loggers
had to do some fancy relief pitching to hold off
a late rally by the Rams.
Coming off back-to-back playoff wins of
15-1 and 22-2, the Loggers haven’t had to deal
with a lot of anxious moments lately.
But there was at least one coach in the ball-
park Tuesday who knew it wasn’t going to be
easy.
“It’s a semifi nal, and it’s Regis,” said Knappa
coach Jeff Miller. “Whether it’s the fi rst inning
or the seventh, we know they’re going to come
at us, and it’s not going to be easy.
“Our pitchers probably felt they were get-
ting squeezed a little, and (the Rams) are going
to play hard to the fi nish. They’re a proud and
great program. But our kids took a breath and
did a good job to fi nish.”
Miller’s team will now be making its third
straight trip to Volcanoes Stadium and the
2A/1A state championship game, where the
Loggers will play Reedsport Friday, 1:30 p.m.
The No. 5 seed Braves scored a 7-4 upset over
No. 1-ranked Dufur Tuesday.
The Millers
Fittingly, it was a couple Millers on the
playing fi eld that keyed the Knappa win.
Playing his last home game, senior Jason
Miller led off the bottom of the fi rst with a solo
home run, his career fi rst.
“It was a nice time to have it,” said dad.
“It’s about time,” Jason said. “It was a fast-
ball, right down the middle. I was kind of
expecting it right there, and I got it.”
On the very next pitch, Knappa’s Kaleb
Miller belted a double over the left fi elder’s
head, and eventually scored on a sacrifi ce fl y
from Mason Hoover for a 2-0 lead.
“It was nice to get off to that start,” coach
Miller said. “All three playoff games here,
we’ve gotten off to good starts. And that’s
always nice, so your pitcher can relax a little.
“We said coming in, if we score fi ve we’ll
give ourselves a chance,” he said. “We wanted
more than fi ve, but we had a few opportunities
we didn’t convert on in later innings.”
The pitching
Meanwhile, Goodman was mowing down
batters left and right over the fi rst fi ve innings.
He needed the help of a 6-4-3 double play
to get out of the fi rst inning, but retired 13 of 15
batters from the fi rst to the sixth inning, nine
by strikeout.
Hoover and Dale Takalo came on in relief,
Jason Miller lays down a perfectly executed bunt for Knappa during Tuesday’s win
over Regis. The Loggers will face Reedsport in the championship game on Friday.
UP NEXT: 2A/1A STATE
CHAMPIONSHIP IN SALEM
• Knappa Loggers (18-3)
vs. Reedsport Braves (24-3)
• Friday, 1:30 p.m.
‘They’re a great
team, they have a
lot of youth, and
they’re going to be
back here next year.’
Kevin Feist
Burns coach, talking about the Knappa
baseball team after their loss to Burns last year
in the state championship game
but Goodman still picked up the win.
“Mason got us out of the middle of an inning
(the sixth), and Dale did a good job of getting
us out of the seventh,” coach Miller said. “So
both those guys threw well. But, wow, I can’t
say enough about Michal.
“They didn’t have a good swing against
him. He was really dealin’, and did a great job.
He reached his pitch limit, trusted his team-
mates, and they brought him home.
“We fi gured it would be a three- or four-
pitcher day to get us through, and we did a
good job against a high-powered team.”
The batters
The Loggers picked up three crucial runs in
the bottom of the fourth, as fi ve of Knappa’s
fi rst six batters had base hits.
Two of the hits — by Andrew Goozee and
Logan Bartlett — were misplayed by Regis
outfi elders, allowing extra bases and extra runs
for the Loggers.
The fi nal hit was by Colton Weirup, a
squeeze bunt down the fi rst base line that
scored pinch-runner Shaun Lackey, and Wei-
rup beat the throw to fi rst.
The fi ve-run lead seemed plenty, with
Goodman tossing a no-hit shutout.
But a Knappa error and a walk allowed
the Rams to score a run in the top of the sixth,
and with Hoover on the mound in the seventh,
junior Nate Joyce blasted a two-run homer to
bring Regis to within two runs.
Takalo replaced Hoover on the mound, and
after giving up a single and a walk — and with
the Rams’ go-ahead run at the plate — Regis
junior Brandon Piete lofted a fl y ball to right
fi elder Eli Takalo, and Little Bro saved Big Bro
by making the catch for the fi nal out.
“It was a team effort, from the fi rst home by
Jay to the fi nal catch in the outfi eld by Eli, and
everybody in between,” coach Miller said.
“And we had two huge plays by Kaleb,”
throwing out runners at second base in the
fourth and sixth innings. “A good catcher
changes a game, and that was a good example
right there. Two plays, gunning guys down. Not
many catchers are going to make those plays.
“We feel we have as good a guy as there is,
period,” in Kaleb Miller, who was an all-league
catcher last year at the 3A level. “I don’t care
how many A’s you put behind the number, any
team, anywhere would be proud of those plays
he made today.”
Rams’ coach
The loss by the Rams brought an end to
a great coaching career, as Regis coach Don
Heuberger had previously announced his
retirement, effective at the end of the season.
Heuberger fi nishes with 718 career wins
over a 39-year career (35 at Regis), second
behind Astoria’s Dave Gasser’s 750 career
victories.
“It’s close to 40 years of service, and all his
wins are almost all at one school,” Jeff Miller
said. “He is Regis baseball, and coaches every-
where look up to him.
“When I came into coaching, I looked down
the road at Lennie (Wolfe) and the standard he
set, and I look to the valley and the standard
that Don Heuberger set. Those are the guys you
emulate to get better. I have nothing but respect
for him and the program he’s built, and wish
him a great retirement.”
Knappa’s next opponent will face the Log-
gers for the second year in a row, as Knappa
opened the 2016 season with a doubleheader
sweep over Reedsport at CMH Field (3-2 in
eight innings, and 11-0).
“If you see them, you wonder what they
put in the water down there,” Miller said of the
Braves. “They have a bunch of big, strong ath-
letes. They have two, top-of-the-line pitchers
who throw very well. They’re going to be all
we can handle, and then some. We’ll have to
fi nd a way to execute and make plays.”