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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2018)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com SPORTS IN BRIEF Loss to Kentucky was gut check for Ducks heading to world series EUGENE — If there are con- structive losses, perhaps Oregon’s came in the opener of its NCAA Super Regional series against Kentucky. The top-seeded Ducks dropped Game 1 of the series against the No. 16 Wildcats but rebounded to win the next two to secure a trip to Oklahoma City for this week’s Women’s College World Series. Oregon coach Mike White called the loss a “gut check.” It cer- tainly put the Ducks on notice. White cited how other teams had endured in the face of elimina- tion, including second-seeded Flor- ida. The Gators (55-9) advanced when freshman Jordan Matthews hit a walk-off home run on Sat- urday against Texas A&M in Gainesville. “It happens a lot, and you’ve got to persevere in those moments and come back and believe in what you are doing, or you go home,” White said. “And so I think the finality of it all is that this team stepped up and that’s what you have to do.” The Ducks (52-8) are headed to the WCWS for the fourth time in the past five years. They’ll open the eight-team event on Thursday against eighth-seeded Arizona State. Photos by Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Knappa’s Logan Bartlett drove in a run with a double in the fourth inning, although he was thrown out trying to get back to the base. Veteran WR Marshall says he’s signing with Seahawks RENTON, Wash. — Veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall has indicated on social media he’s joining the Seattle Seahawks. Marshall posted a series of pic- tures on Instagram on Tuesday decked out in a green Seahawks jer- sey, one captioned “Let’s go,” and another with Marshall saying he’s always wanted to play before Seat- tle’s fans. Marshall visited Seattle ear- lier in the offseason after he was released by the New York Giants and worked out for the team, but no deal was struck at that time. His rep- resentatives did not return messages seeking comment. Atlanta Hawks player charged with drunken driving in Oregon ATLANTA — A basketball player who just finished his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks has been arrested on a drunken driving charge in Oregon. Eugene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin tells news outlets an officer pulled over 22-year-old Tyler Dorsey for driv- ing without lights early Saturday. The officer spotted an open con- tainer of alcohol on the floor of the passenger’s side. He was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, driving without lights and having an open alcoholic beverage con- tainer and was released after post- ing $590 bail. It’s unclear whether he has a lawyer. Dorsey was drafted by the Hawks last April, following his sophomore year at the University of Oregon. — Associated Press SCOREBOARD PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE FRIDAY Baseball — 2A/1A state champion- ship: Pilot Rock vs. Knappa, Volcanoes Stadium, 5 p.m. BASEBALL Knappa 6, Kennedy 3 Kennedy 300 000 0—3 4 2 Knappa 110 400 x—6 4 1 Traeger, Valladares (5) and Klein- schmit; Miller, M.Hoover (1), E.Takalo (3), D.Takalo (6) and R.Patterson, Miller (1). W: E.Takalo. L: Traeger. RBI: Ken, Traeger, DeLaRosa, Marseille; Kna, M.Hoover 2, D.Takalo, Bartlett. 2B: Kna, Bartlett. HBP: Ken, Traeger, Gros- jacques, Espinoza, Beyer; Kna, Miller, Miethe. LOB: Kennedy 7, Knappa 6. DP: Knappa 2. KNAPPA WILL PLAY FOR ANOTHER STATE TITLE Loggers defeat Trojans in 6-3 semifinal win, their 37th in a row By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian NAPPA — Home sweet home. The Knappa Loggers will take it. When it comes to sports, the home field advantage does not always guar- antee a win or a trip to the championship … but it sure doesn’t hurt. Knappa’s Teevin Field was the site Tues- day for yet another state playoff game, and yet another victory for the Loggers, who bounced Kennedy from the semifinals with a 6-3 decision over the Trojans. Four Knappa pitchers helped the Log- gers lock up their fourth straight trip to the 2A/1A baseball state championship, where they will face Pilot Rock, 5 p.m. Friday in Keizer. Knappa had just four hits in Tuesday’s win, and the Loggers scored their last four runs following one big error on the Trojans. But Knappa knows how to play the bot- tom line this time of year. And the bot- tom line is, the Loggers will make another appearance at Volcanoes Stadium, their fifth in nine years. “Obviously we’re really happy just to win and move on,” said Knappa coach Jeff Miller. “My hat’s off to (Kennedy coach) Kevin Moffatt and those guys. They played some good ball today. “And hat’s off to our guys,” he said. “Whether they feel like they played their best game or not, what an amazing thing — they’re going to Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Stadium for the fourth time. “Whether it’s pretty or what the fans want, the bottom line is, it’s the playoffs, you win and move on. And they did it.” Knappa spotted the Trojans three runs in the top of the first, as the first four Kennedy batters reached safely on a single, two walks and a hit batter that forced in the first run. A sacrifice fly made it 2-0, and Deme- tre Marseille’s RBI single gave Kennedy a quick 3-0 lead. But the Knappa Loggers are approaching the one-year anniversary of their 10-9 state title win over Reedsport, in which Knappa overcame a 9-3 deficit in the seventh inning. A 3-0 deficit in the first inning was a walk in the park. “We’ve been there before,” said Knappa senior Dale Takalo. “We trust our offense, and we knew we’d get a couple runs across. It was just a matter of stopping the damage.” The Loggers scored single runs in the K Sophomore Eli Takalo was the winning pitcher, striking out five with no walks and no hits allowed. UP NEXT: STATE CHAMPIONSHIP • Knappa Loggers vs Pilot Rock Rockets • Friday, 5 p.m. in Keizer first and second, but still trailed 3-2 after three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Loggers drew two walks, and had two runners on with two outs when Takalo lifted a routine fly ball to right field. Marseille — who earlier had made an outstanding, diving grab for an out — was unable to make the catch on Takalo’s fly ball, and two runs scored on the error. Mason Hoover followed with a run-scor- ing single, and Logan Bartlett’s double to center scored Hoover. Game over. “Those first two innings it was good to get some runs across,” Takalo said. “Then the fourth was when we really got ‘er going. That (dropped fly ball) was a game-changer. Huge play.” After Hoover pitched the second inning, Eli Takalo took over on the mound and pitched the third, fourth and fifth, striking out five with no walks and no hits allowed. Dale Takalo pitched the sixth and sev- enth, and struck out four with one walk. “We were pretty confident that three runs wasn’t going to beat us,” Miller said. “It’s just not the way you expect things to start. “But we figured we would get the three runs at some point,” he said. “We just wanted to make sure we weren’t greedy and try to get it back all at once. They were going to have to get us out for seven at-bats. “We still didn’t (do) a lot offensively, and you have to credit Kennedy,” he said. “They played very well, other than the one play. We left a lot of guys on base, and we’re having a hard time getting timely hits lately, so we need to get back in an offensive rhythm. We have ‘til Friday to do that.” The Loggers — winners of 37 in a row Knappa senior Mason Hoover had one of four hits for the Loggers, and drove in two runs. going back to last season — may be strug- gling at the plate, but their pitching staff is unmatched at the 2A level. All four pitchers used in Tuesday’s win will be available for the championship game. “We didn’t want to throw me or Eli more than 45 (pitches),” Dale Takalo said. “We wanted to keep all the pitch counts low, in case we need them in the championship. And everybody should be available.” Back in the old days, the OSAA would try to give each team at least one home game in the state playoffs, allowing home field advantage to the team that had fewer home games in previous rounds. The rule was changed five years ago, to always give home field advantage to the highest seed. Needless to say, those league championships and No. 1 seeds have paid off for the Loggers. Other than an occasional playoff game at CMH or Broadway Field — and of course their annual trip to Keizer for the state cham- pionship — the Loggers have not had to leave the county for a state playoff in five years. Knappa’s last true road playoff game was May 24, 2013 (a 10-7 loss at Grant Union). Since then, the Loggers have served as the host team for the first three rounds of the playoffs every year for the last five years. Fifteen straight home games has saved a bundle on travel expenses. In addition, “I’ve never lost a home game in my life, so that’s pretty cool,” said Dale Takalo. “Never lost a home game as a Log- ger, so when you’re at home for the play- offs, that’s good. It’s always nice to play at your own ballpark, because you know how it plays and the different intricacies.” One other statement the Knappa seniors can make: They’ve never finished a season anywhere other than Volcanoes Stadium. “We don’t know anything else but to play at Keizer and try to win a championship to end the year,” Takalo said. “It’s a pretty cool feeling.”
