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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2018)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com SPORTS IN BRIEF FISHERMEN REEL IN STATE TITLE Olympian sues USA Swimming, saying it failed to protect her SEATTLE — Olympic swim- mer Ariana Kukors Smith sued USA Swimming on Monday, alleging the sport’s national gov- erning body knew her former coach sexually abused her as a minor and failed to protect her while shielding him. Kukors Smith alleges Sean Hutchison, who began coach- ing her at a swim club near Seat- tle, groomed her for sexual abuse when she was 13, started touch- ing and kissing her when she was 16, and engaged in sexual activity with her when she was 17. “This lawsuit is about holding people accountable who should have protected a 15-year-old girl,” Kukors Smith told reporters, add- ing, “I needed help and there were people in positions of power that could have helped me.” Hutchison has denied the alle- gations, which emerged earlier this year when Kukors Smith, now 28, posted an emotional essay online. Hutchison, assistant coach on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, has not been charged with a crime. The office of his attorney, Brad Meryhew, said he had no com- ment on the lawsuit. The case marked another scan- dal for USA Swimming and for the sports world. Caps rough up Lightning 3-0 to force Game 7 WASHINGTON — Facing elimination at home, the Washing- ton Capitals looked determined to hit everything that moved in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final. The goal was to finish checks on Tampa Bay Lightning players as much as possible, though at one point Devante Smith-Pelly decked Dan Girardi and took teammate Jay Beagle down with him. “I apologized to him,” Smith- Pelly said. “I said sorry. He didn’t seem to care.” Sorry, not sorry. The Capitals made no apolo- gies for taking the body and grind- ing out a physical 3-0 victory Monday night that tied the playoff series and set up a deciding Game 7. T.J. Oshie had a goal on the power play and into an empty net, Smith-Pelly scored a back-breaker and Braden Holtby stopped all 24 shots, but it was the bruising style that kept the Capitals alive and could still pay more dividends. 19-year-old Soto hits 3-run HR in 1st start for Nats WASHINGTON — Juan Soto, the youngest player in the majors at 19, hit a three-run homer in his first career start as the Washington Nationals defeated the San Diego Padres 10-2 on Monday night. Mark Reynolds had two solo home runs for the Nationals, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Bryce Harper had a homer and an RBI double. Soto’s drive highlighted a five- run second inning. The promising outfielder, who played for three minor league teams this season, connected off Robbie Erlin (1-3). Soto also singled. Soto’s homer traveled an esti- mated 442 feet. He earned a stand- ing ovation and responded by taking a curtain call. Per Base- ball-Reference.com, Soto became the first teenager to hit a home run in a major league game since Harper on Sept. 30, 2012. — Associated Press SCOREBOARD PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY Baseball — 4A state playoff: Madras at Astoria, 4 p.m.; 3A state playoff: War- renton at Cascade Christian, 4:30 p.m.; 2A/1A state playoff: Riddle at Knappa, 4 p.m. Softball — 2A/1A state playoff: North Douglas at Knappa, 4:30 p.m. Walt Postlewait/For The Daily Astorian Astoria’s fishermen, Michael Postlewait, left, and Leo Matthews, during their last competition at The Dalles. By WALT POSTLEWAIT For The Daily Astorian A storia High School proved to have the best fishermen in the state May 12 at The Dalles, during the second and final leg of the Student Angler Federation’s Oregon State Bass Fishing Championship. Leo Matthews and Michael Postlewait won the 2018 state championship by beating the 2017 champions, Thurston High School, in both legs. “The fish were very active today,” Mat- thews said. “We had some big fish in the boat early and continued to catch fish all day.” McMinnville High School won the day with a bag of five fish weighing 18.50 pounds, compared to Astoria’s 14.07 pounds. But with Astoria winning the first leg, and then plac- ing second Saturday, Astoria had the points to bring the title to the school of the Fishermen. “It’s awesome that we finished where we did,” Postlewait said. “Both tournaments we had a plan and they came through. Bass fish- ing is very technical, and takes a lot of work to find and catch fish. We’re just two guys that love to fish and it’s great that it’s finally going somewhere.” With the win, the team qualifies for the 2018 SAF National Championship, held June 26-30 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. SAF is the student-focused arm of The Bass Federation, which is partnered with Fish- ing League Worldwide. FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization. Each year, FLW offers anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across the globe. Matthews and Postlewait will begin defending their state championship July 28, when the 2018-19 State Championship Series kicks off its first of four legs at Silcoos Lake near Florence. The series is scheduled to conclude May 11, 2019 at Cascade Locks, with stops at Ten- mile Lake and Celilo Pool (Columbia River above The Dalles dam) along the way. For more information regarding the Asto- ria High School bass fishing team email ahs- bassfishingteam@gmail.com. All tied up: LeBron’s 44 leads Cavs past Celtics By TOM WITHERS Associated Press CLEVELAND — LeBron James knows the path to the NBA Finals better than anyone in today’s game. And unless the Boston Celtics do something soon, he’ll get there again. James bullied his way to 44 points, surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar atop a postseason list and helped the Cleve- land Cavaliers even the Eastern Con- ference finals at 2-2 on Monday night with a 111-102 victory over the Celt- ics, who are looking forward to get- ting home before their adoring fans. Pushed by a raucous crowd that wasn’t so confident a few days ago, the Cavs held off Boston’s comeback in the fourth quarter and squared a tight series that is now a best-of-three. Cleveland is trying to become the 20th team — out of 300 — to over- come a 2-0 deficit and James, who has already orchestrated two such ral- AP Photo/Tony Dejak Cavaliers’ LeBron James, right, drives to the basket against Celtics’ Marcus Morris Monday in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 111-102. lies and is seeking his eighth straight finals, is a step closer to a third. To do it again the Cavs will have to win in Boston, where the Celtics are 9-0 this postseason. “We know it’s going to be a hos- tile environment,” James said. “We know their fans are going to be very energetic. But we have to just have our same mindset we had when we came home for these two games. If our minds are there, we put ourselves in a position to be victorious.” Game 5 is Wednesday night at TD Garden, and Celtics coach Brad Ste- vens is trying to stay positive with a team that has given up a 2-0 lead and fell to 1-6 on the road in these playoffs. “It’s the best two out of three to go to the NBA Finals. Doesn’t get better than that,” he said. “Ultimately, any- body that didn’t think this was going to be tough, I mean, everything is tough. In this deal, it’s a blast to have to grit your teeth, get up off the mat and go after it again.” Kyle Korver added 14 points and Cleveland’s sharp-shooting 37-year- old added three blocks and several hustle plays, outrunning three Celt- ics in one sequence and diving for a loose ball.