8A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2018
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
ghenley@dailyastorian.com
OSAA 3A BASEBALL
Challengers
shut out
Warrenton
The Daily Astorian
MEDFORD — The Warrenton baseball
program played its first state playoff game in
seven years Thursday at U.S. Cellular Field
in Medford, where Cascade Christian hosted
the Warriors for a 3A first-round state playoff.
A three-day stay, however, apparently
took a lot out of the Warrenton bats, as Chal-
lenger pitcher Kyle Reece tossed a two-hit
shutout on his way to a 3-0 win.
Cascade Christian advances to the quar-
terfinals, where the Challengers will play Fri-
day at Santiam Christian. After a co-cham-
pionship in the Lewis & Clark League, the
season comes to a close for Warrenton, 17-5
overall. It was the second straight loss for the
Warriors, following an 11-game win streak.
Cascade Christian scored a pair of early
runs in Thursday’s playoff, which had been
postponed Wednesday because of a thunder
and lightning storm in the Medford area.
The Challengers had runners at second
and third with no outs in the bottom of the
first, and took the early lead when Jadon
Rullamas beat out an infield single to score
Reece for a 1-0 lead.
An RBI fielder’s choice by Declane
Payne brought in Joel McLemore for a 2-0
advantage.
The Challengers left the bases loaded in
the second inning, and had stranded eight
baserunners through four, as Warrenton
starter Devin Jackson held Cascade Christian
scoreless from the second through the fifth
innings.
Warrior freshman Duane Falls had a one-
out triple to left in the fifth inning, but was
stranded at third.
The Challengers tacked on one insurance
run in the bottom of the sixth, as McLemore
reached safely on a squeeze bunt that scored
Ryan Vidlak for a three-run advantage.
Reece closed out the Warriors in order in
the seventh to finish the shutout.
Jackson allowed just three hits over five
innings, with five strikeouts and four walks.
Dalton Knight pitched the sixth, giving up
two hits, and striking out three.
“We just didn’t bring the sticks today,”
said Warrenton coach Lennie Wolfe, who
compared Reece to Clatskanie pitcher James
Helmen.
“On one of our better days, we might have
done better,” he said. “They’re a very similar
team to us.”
The Warriors arrived Tuesday for the
Wednesday game, but Wolfe and the War-
riors didn’t make excuses for Thursday’s
loss.
They chose, instead, to look at the big
picture — from a 1-17 record last season, to
17-5 this year.
“Last year, we were the worst team in
the state, at any level,” Wolfe said. “We had
the worst record, gave up the most runs and
scored the fewest.”
The Warriors managed to turn things
around, with better statistics in pitching, hit-
ting and fielding.
“It was good to see a return to old Warren-
ton baseball,” Wolfe said.
“A coach has a checklist of things he
wants to accomplish going into a season, and
very seldom can he check off every one of
those things. I was able to check off every-
thing on my list. Every player on our team
experienced more wins than they’d ever had,
in all sports combined. All the juniors, soph-
omores and freshmen — they all surpassed
that, by far.”
Warrenton loses just two seniors, Caden
Hans and Preston Miller.
Lillard selected for
All-NBA 1st team;
James on record 12th
NEW YORK — LeBron James was
unanimously selected to the All-NBA first
team for a record 12th time, while Houston’s
James Harden also appeared on all 100 first-
team ballots.
They were joined Thursday on the first
team by New Orleans’ Anthony Davis,
Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Portland’s
Damian Lillard.
James passed Kobe Bryant and Karl
Malone with the 12th first-team selection
of his 15-year career. He also was a sec-
ond-team selection twice.
The second team was forwards Giannis
Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and LaMar-
cus Aldridge of San Antonio, Philadel-
phia center Joel Embiid, and guards Russell
Westbrook of Oklahoma City and DeMar
DeRozan of Toronto.
Injury absences sent Golden State’s Ste-
phen Curry tumbling to the third team, where
he was joined in the backcourt by Indi-
ana’s Victor Oladipo. Minnesota teammates
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, and
Oklahoma City’s Paul George rounded out
the third team.
AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith
The Rockets’ Trevor Ariza, left, is fouled by the Warriors’ Draymond Green during the final moments of Game 5 in Houston.
Rockets move a win from Finals
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
Associated Press
HOUSTON — The Houston Rock-
ets are so full of physical defenders that
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said many
look like they could play football.
And with three-time NFL Defensive
Player of the Year J.J. Watt watching from
a courtside seat Thursday night, this team
long known for its powerful offense relied
again on its defense to beat the Warriors
98-94 and take a 3-2 lead in the Western
Conference finals.
“Both teams are playing their guys
heavy minutes so shots will fall or not,”
James Harden said. “But I think whoever
NBA CONFERENCE FINALS
EASTERN CONFERENCE: Game 6
• Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers
• Tonight 5:30 p.m. TV: ESPN
(Celtics lead series 3-2)
WESTERN CONFERENCE: Game 6
• Houston Rockets at Golden State
Warriors, Saturday 6 p.m..
• TV: TNT (Rockets lead series 3-2)
can buckle down and get stops consecu-
tively and create opportunities with their
defense is going to win or have a chance at
winning games.
“The last two games, we’ve done that.”
Indeed. The Rockets bounced back
from an embarrassing 41-point loss in
Game 3, when Golden State scored 126
points, to hold the Warriors to fewer than
100 points in two straight wins. Hous-
ton’s stingy defense helped the Rockets
come out on top on a night when Harden,
the MVP front-runner, was 0 for 11 on
3-pointers.
Critics of Mike D’Antoni’s teams often
said they were too focused on offense and
not good enough on defense. It looks like
that’s changed now — against a team with
four All-Stars in its starting lineup.
“Ninety-four points for a team like that,
the guys are trying to find a way and they
did,” D’Antoni said.
NFL players, coaches
grapple with new
anthem policy
By TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
RENTON, Wash. — Seahawks coach Pete
Carroll wanted to be talking about football mat-
ters — Seattle’s recommitment to the run game,
the addition of two new coordinators, almost
anything to do with what happens between the
lines.
Instead, the league’s oldest coach has spent
the past few days processing and discussing the
league’s new mandate that players on the field
stand for the national anthem. Carroll, his play-
ers and those around the NFL are now trying to
figure out how to tackle the polarizing topic in
the locker room.
“We’re going to have to deal with that,” Car-
roll said. “I was kind of liking the way it was
going and so now it’s kind of taken out of the
control from the coach and the players and the
locker room to a certain extent, so we’re going
to have to deal with that. In time, we’ll figure
it out.”
Players from Seattle, Buffalo, Denver and
New Orleans were among those grappling with
how to move forward following the league’s
announcement Wednesday of a new national
anthem policy, which will fine teams if play-
ers on the field are not standing for the anthem.
Players wishing to continue demonstrations
like the kneeling movement sparked by Colin
Kaepernick to protest social injustice will be
allowed to remain in the locker room during the
anthem.
Seattle’s Doug Baldwin had the most strik-
ing comments, directed at both the league and
President Donald Trump after his remarks to
“Fox & Friends” on Thursday saying “maybe
you shouldn’t be in the country” if you don’t
stand for the anthem.
“He’s an idiot. Plain and simple,” Baldwin
said.
Make time for you
Life is hectic, especially when you’re a busy mom.
The CMH Women’s Center now has after-hours
appointments with our nurse midwives for prenatal
and postpartum appointments. Annual exam
appointments are available, too.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE
TODAY
Baseball — 2A/1A state playoff: Monroe at Knappa,
4:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Cascade Christian 3, Warrenton 0
Warrenton 000 000 0—0 2 2
C.Christian 200 001 x—3 7 0
Jackson, Knight (6) and Morrow; Reece and Thomp-
son. W: Reece. L: Jackson. RBI: CC, Payne, McLemore,
Rullamas. 2B: CC, Reece, McLemore. 3B: War, Falls.
HBP: CC, Vidlak. LOB: Warrenton 4, Cascade Christian
10.
Patricia Boullie, CNM
Corinne Almquist, CNM
Appointments are available until 6:15pm on
Thursdays. Schedule yours today by calling the
Women’s Center at 503-338-7595.
columbiamemorial.org/womens-center/
2111 Exchange St., Astoria, Oregon • 503-325-4321
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