10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2017
CONTACT US
FOLLOW US
facebook.com/
DailyAstorianSports
Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
ghenley@dailyastorian.com
SPORTS
IN BRIEF
Oregon QB
Herbert out
with fractured
collarbone
EUGENE — Oregon quarter-
back Justin Herbert is out “for a
while” because of a fractured col-
larbone, coach Willie Taggart said.
Taggart also
said junior line-
backer Kaulana
Apelu is out for
the season with
an ankle fracture.
Herbert, running back Royce
Freeman and receiver Dil-
lon Mitchell, all starters for the
Ducks, were injured in the first
half of Oregon’s 45-24 victory
Saturday over California. Taggart
did not mention the other players
by name but said “everyone else is
day-to-day.”
Herbert left the game near
the end of the first quarter after
a 7-yard touchdown run. He fin-
ished 7-of-8 for 81 yards and also
had a touchdown pass.
Backup quarterback Taylor
Alie left the game with an injury
during the fourth quarter, paving
the way for third-string quarter-
back Braxton Burmeister to make
his first college appearance.
The Ducks (4-1, 1-1) host No.
11 Washington State (5-0, 2-0)
this Saturday.
Seahawks lose
RB Carson with
fracture in left leg
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — Seattle
running back Chris Carson suf-
fered a fracture in his lower left
leg when he was pinned in a pile in
the fourth quarter of the Seahawks’
win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Speaking on his weekly radio
show on KIRO-AM, coach Pete
Carroll said the fracture was dis-
covered just below Carson’s knee.
Carroll said the initial concern
was about Carson’s ankle and ini-
tial examinations didn’t show a
fracture there, but additional tests
revealed the extent of the injury.
He also has a significant high-an-
kle sprain and will be out for a
while.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Quarterback Russell Wilson,
left, comforts running back
Chris Carson before Carson is
taken away on a cart.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE
TODAY
Volleyball — Astoria at Seaside, 7
p.m.; Portland Adventist at Warrenton,
6 p.m.; Knappa at Columbia Christian,
5:30 p.m.
Girls Soccer — Astoria at Scappoose,
4:15 p.m.; Seaside at Banks, 4:15 p.m.
Boys Soccer — Scappoose at Asto-
ria, 7:15 p.m.; Banks at Seaside, 6:30
p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Cross Country — Trojan Relays, TBA
THURSDAY
Volleyball — Tillamook at Astoria, 7
p.m.; Valley Catholic at Seaside, 7 p.m.;
OES at Warrenton, 6 p.m.
Girls Soccer — Astoria at Valley Cath-
olic, 7:15 p.m.
Boys Soccer — Valley Catholic at As-
toria, 7:15 p.m.
Football — Naselle at Washington
School for the Deaf, 3:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Football — Tillamook at Astoria, 7
p.m.; Valley Catholic at Seaside, 7 p.m.;
Warrenton at Blanchet Catholic, 7:30
p.m.; Knappa at Neah-Kah-Nie, 7 p.m.;
Ilwaco at Raymond, 7 p.m.
Cross Country — Tillamook XC Invi-
tational, 3 p.m.
SATURDAY
Volleyball — Columbia Christian at
Knappa, 5:30 p.m.
Cross Country — Riverwalk Run,
TBA
Submitted Photo
Astoria senior McKenzie Burnett, left, eventually finished 23rd out of 239 runners in the varsity Division 3 race, just behind teammate
Sophie Long, center, who finished 22nd.
Lady Fishermen run strong
in ‘Nike Portland XC’ meet
By GARY HENLEY
The Daily Astorian
PORTLAND — The Astoria girls cross
country team — which could be competing
for a 4A state championship a month from
now — finished sixth out of 32 teams Satur-
day in the “Nike Portland XC” meet, held at
the Portland Meadows Race Track.
The Lady Fishermen missed a trophy fin-
ish by three points, with 20 personal bests for
the entire Astoria squad. The Astoria boys
placed 27th out of 35 teams.
“Overall, (the Astoria girls) had excel-
lent races against fast competition,” said
Astoria coach Andrew Fick, as the Lady Fish-
ermen are ranked ninth among Oregon 4A
schools.
“Nearly everyone had PRs today,” he
said. “I’m very happy with the improvements
on both the boys’ and girls’ teams. The girls
are doing an especially good job of running
together as a team.
“McKenzie (Burnett) and Sophie (Long)
have been doing a great job of getting out fast
early on and helping to set a tempo for the rest
of the girls.”
With several different races and events, the
Astoria girls competed in the Division 3 Var-
sity event, a 5,000-meter race.
Long had Astoria’s best finish, as the fresh-
man crossed the finish line in 20 minutes, 57.4
seconds, for 22nd out of 239 runners. Burnett
was 23rd in 21:01.
Kathy Perez was 66th (22:16), freshman
Abigail Groncki took 84th (22:42), and fresh-
man Emma Roe placed 102nd (23:02).
“Kathy and Libbie (Nash) have really been
stepping up too,” Fick said. “Libbie ran her
fastest 5K ever by about a minute (23:35,
136th). Abi and Emma have also been critical
for us in the four and five spots. Their ability
to keep in touch with Sophie, McKenzie and
Kathy for a good part of the race and finish in
the top half is a big reason for our ability to be
competitive as a team this year.
“They’re really developing as distance
runners, and it’s a lot of fun to see them keep
moving up, especially on a big stage like Nike
Portland.”
In other highlights, Astoria sophomore
McKenna Long placed fourth in the Junior
Varsity 3K out of 271 runners, also setting a
PR (13:34).
And in the race featuring most of the top
runners — the 5,000-meter Danner Cham-
pionship — former Astoria runner Kaylee
Mitchell (now attending Sprague High
School) finished 10th in 18:11, out of 142 run-
ners from several different states.
On the boys’ side, Seaside senior Rafi
Sibony was ninth individually in the Division 3
race, in 16:49. The Gulls finished 31st as a team.
For Astoria, “Cameron (VanRaden, 18:16)
and Nikolai (Boisvert, 18:49) are putting up
great freshman marks,” Fick said. “Some-
times in these big meets it’s hard to know
where you really stand against such a big field,
but I think there are only around 15 freshmen
boys in 4A running under 19:00 right now, so
that’s a great start.
“We have a lot of positive energy on the
boys’ team right now, and I’m excited to see
what kind of gains we can accomplish over
the next few weeks before districts.”
Baseball playoffs kick off tonight
By BEN WALKER
Associated Press
All those home runs by Aaron
Judge, all those wins by the Los Ange-
les Dodgers, nicely done. Except none
of that matters now — a sinker that
bounces to the backstop, a liner that
hooks barely foul, the whole script
flips.
October has a way of doing that.
The Major League Baseball play-
offs start Tuesday night at Yankee Sta-
dium when New York hosts the Min-
nesota Twins in the AL wild-card
game. A look at the 2017 postseason:
ALTUVE’S ASTROS — Gener-
ously listed at 5-foot-6, Jose Altuve is
baseball’s little big man. The do-ev-
erything second baseman won his
third AL batting title and aims to lead
the Astros to their first World Series
crown. With the Houston area recover-
ing from Hurricane Harvey, they’re the
sentimental favorites.
BULLPENS — Kenley Jansen and
Aroldis Chapman going long, Andrew
Miller entering early, Clayton Ker-
shaw as a closer. The old rules were
out last October when it came to relief
roles. We’ll see what pops up in the
‘pens this year.
CUBS VS. CLEVELAND — Kris
Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Corey Kluber
& Crew, once more? It’s been a while
since a World Series rematch, when
Reggie Jackson led the Yanks over the
Dodgers in 1977-78. But, it’s already
been a ripe year for repeats — Warriors
vs. Cavaliers, Alabama vs. Clemson.
DEBUTS — Strikeout king Chris
Sale makes his first playoff appear-
ance when Boston starts at Houston on
Thursday in the best-of-five AL Divi-
sion Series. Rockies bopper Nolan
Arenado and Twins slugger Brian
Dozier are postseason newbies, too. So
is Nationals backup Adam Lind, after
12 years and more than 1,300 games.
EXTRA — Hmmm, anyone
remember the last time a postseason
game went to extra innings? Hard to
top the Cubs’ 10-inning, rain-delayed,
8-7 thriller over Cleveland in Game 7.
The Red Sox are the experts of extras
this year — they’re 15-3, including
seven straight wins.
HOME FIELD — World Series
home-field advantages goes to the
team with the best record. Thankfully,
it’s no longer based on who wins the
All-Star Game. That means the Dodg-
ers (104 wins) get first dibs, followed
by Cleveland (102), Houston (101),
Washington (97), Boston (93) and the
Cubs (92).
INJURIES — Nationals ace Max
Scherzer tweaked his hamstring, team-
mate Bryce Harper is getting over a
bad knee. Banged-up All-Stars Miguel
Sano of the Twins and Michael Brant-
ley of the Indians might be able con-
tribute this week. Might not.
KERSHAW — He tied for the
major league lead in wins and won his
fifth ERA title. He’s a three-time Cy
Young Award winner and seven-time
All-Star. But will anyone get more
scrutiny in the postseason than Clay-
ton Kershaw? Probably not, because
the LA lefty is 4-7 with a 4.55 ERA in
the postseason.
LOUSY WEATHER — Too bad,
the temperature is often better suited
for snowballs than baseballs. It was in
the low 40s at Wrigley last year, and
just imagine how it might feel in Den-
ver or Minneapolis. If you want clear
conditions, root for Arizona vs. Hous-
ton and their retractable roofs.
NETTING — Fan safety has drawn
special focus ever since a 1-year-old
girl was recently hit by Todd Frazier’s
105 mph foul ball at Yankee Stadium.
Of the teams in these playoffs, three
already had extended the netting to
screen spectators: Houston, Washing-
ton and Minnesota. The Yankees say
they’ll have it next year.
OCTOBER — Of course. But if the
World Series goes to Game 7, they’ll
go beyond Halloween and play on
Nov. 1.
PUERTO RICO — Carlos Bel-
tran, Francisco Lindor and Carlos Cor-
rea are among the many players from
Puerto Rico trying to raise money and
awareness for the damage done to their
island by Hurricane Maria. Look for
messages on caps and shoes over the
next few weeks.
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge.
QUICK? — Extra mound confer-
ences, longer TV commercials, more
pitching changes, they all contribute
to slowing down the pace in the play-
offs. MLB wants to speed up the action
and avoid a repeat from last year, when
postseason games averaged almost 3
1/2 hours. Not a good sign that regu-
lar-season games this year took more
than 3 hours, 5 minutes on average, the
longest ever.
YANKEE STADIUM — The play-
offs begin the Bronx, with Yankees
youngster Luis Severino starting the
AL wild-card game, taking on Ervin
Santana and the Twins.
ZACK GREINKE — The Ari-
zona ace is set to throw the first pitch
in Wednesday’s NL wild-card game at
home against a familiar opponent. He’s
2-1 in five starts vs. Colorado this year.