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10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com COLLEGE WORLD SERIES Beavers’ late rally keys 11-6 win Tar Heels ousted UP NEXT: CWS By ERIC OLSON Associated Press AP Photo/Nati Harnik Oregon State players, including Steven Kwan (4), celebrate after Adley Rutschman hit a double that scored Cadyn Grenier, right, Nick Madri- gal and Jack Anderson during the eighth inning against North Caroli- na in a College World Series elimination game in Omaha, Neb. SPORTS IN BRIEF Yankees rally past M’s, 7-5 NEW YORK — Expec- tations have been sky high for Giancarlo Stan- ton since he was acquired from Miami last offseason. In front of a sellout crowd Wednesday night at Yan- kee Stadium, the 6-foot-6 slugger had his first huge moment in pinstripes. Stanton lined a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the New York Yankees erased a five-run deficit to beat the Seattle Mariners 7-5. Eyes on Sacramento at No. 2 in NBA draft NEW YORK — Mar- vin Bagley III and Michael Porter Jr. believe they are the best players in this NBA draft, though the best they can hope for is probably the No. 2 pick. The Sacramento Kings own it, and that’s where the intrigue appears to begin Thursday. Arizona center Dean- dre Ayton is expected to be taken by the Phoenix Suns to open the draft, and then Bagley, Porter, Slo- venian guard Luka Doncic or Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. could be consid- ered by Sacramento. The Kings have been one of the league’s lowliest fran- chises, not making the play- offs since 2006. But Bag- ley and Porter both said they would be open to playing in Sacramento, and getting picked so early would be an accomplishment for Porter after a back injury sidelined him for nearly all of his only season at Missouri. Bagley thrived in his one season at Duke and doesn’t expect that to change once he’s a pro. “I want to be the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball, and I mean that in the most humble way possible,” he said. — Associated Press SCOREBOARD LOCAL SPORTS SCHEDULE TODAY Junior baseball — Knappa at Tillamook (2), 4 p.m. FRIDAY Junior baseball — Astoria Ford at Seaside (2), 4 p.m.; Ken- nedy at Warrenton, 5:30 p.m. SATURDAY Junior baseball — At Warren- ton HS: Kennedy vs. Clatskanie, 1 p.m.; Clatskanie at Warrenton, 3 p.m. SUNDAY Junior baseball — Kennedy at Warrenton, 1 p.m. • Mississippi State (2-0) vs Oregon State Beavers (2-1) • Friday, noon TV: ESPN OMAHA, Neb. — Oregon State was down three runs when a steady mist moved in at TD Ameritrade Park in the eighth inning Wednesday night. Perfect conditions for a team from the Pacific Northwest. “Every time we’re playing and it starts to rain, everyone looks around and says, ‘OK, we’re going to come back and do what we do at home,’” OSU shortstop Cadyn Grenier said. “When the rain comes, we know there’s a possibility of a storm coming — and that’s from us.” The Beavers stormed back all right and knocked North Carolina out of the College World Series with an 11-6 win. Brett Daniels walked in the go-ahead run after Adley Rutschman tied it with a three-run double. Tyler Malone hit his second homer of the CWS, and the Beavers’ third of the game, as Oregon State (51-11-1) built a five-run cushion and avenged Satur- day’s 8-6 loss to the Tar Heels (44-20). It was a stunning turnabout after the Tar Heels wiped out a 3-0 deficit to go up 6-3 in the sixth. North Caro- lina had been 37-0 when leading after seven innings and had won 50 straight when scoring six runs, the longest streak in Division I. “Until that final out, we never feel we’re out of the game,” OSU star sec- ond baseman Nick Madrigal said. “That’s the way Oregon State baseball is. We’re going to fight to the end.” North Carolina’s eighth-inning meltdown saw three pitchers walk four batters, one intentionally, and allow three hits. No. 9 batter Zak Taylor started things off with a leadoff single. Mad- rigal, the No. 4 overall draft pick by the Chicago White Sox, followed with a base hit and Grenier won a 12-pitch duel with Joey Lancelotti to walk and load the bases. “Zak Taylor got us going,” Madri- gal said. “Sometimes it takes one hit to break it open. That’s the way base- ball is.” Rutschman followed with a drive to the center-field wall off Daniels (6-1) for his bases-clearing double. “We were playing no doubles,” Carolina coach Mike Fox said, “but we would have had to be standing on the warning track to catch that ball.” From the Fishermen to the Mudcats, Harber has lived a wild baseball ride By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian C onor Harber has been on both ends of the fishing line, so to speak, when it comes to his baseball career. The former Astoria Fisher- man (Class of 2012) is in his second season as a pitcher with the Carolina Mudcats, a Class A advanced minor league team (named after a catfish) of the Milwaukee Brewers. Harber was enjoying Day 3 of a three-day break Wednes- day, as the Carolina League held its annual All-Star game Tuesday. It’s back to work today, when the Mudcats begin a two-game road trip to Buies Creek, North Carolina. From there, it’s two home games vs. Buies Creek, fol- lowed by a six-game road swing. After that, the next open date for the Mudcats is July 17. That’s life in the minor leagues. The Mudcats, based in Zeb- ulon, North Carolina, are just the latest stop for Harber, who has played for two colleges and three different minor league clubs since 2013. He has worked his way up the Brewers’ system since 2015, pitching for the Helena Brewers and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers before joining the Mudcats. At 24 years old, Harber is getting to be an old hand at the bus rides, promotional nights at the ballpark and those rare days off. Over the next month, Car- olina has just two scheduled open dates. “I got a little taste of North Carolina last year, and what the league and travel was going to be like,” Harber said. “The Car- olina League is actually much better than a lot of leagues. Our longest trip was only six hours, and we did that the first road trip of the season, to Wilmington. “When I was with Wiscon- sin, the average trip was six to eight hours, and one that was 14. There’s other leagues that have it much worse than we do.” Oh, the humidity The biggest adjustment for Harber — the weather. For an Oregon kid who was born in Coos Bay and grew up in Astoria, North Carolina was a culture shock. “Last year was the first time I had experienced true humid- ity,” Harber said. “That was a big change. We had a two-week stretch where it was 95 to 100, with 100 percent humidity. It really takes all the energy out of you. “The next month-and-a-half is when it starts heating up.” And then there’s the fun side of minor league baseball — the almost daily “promotion nights” at the ball park. This season — in addition to The different hats and uniforms worn by Conor Harber in just the last five years. THE CONOR HARBER TIMELINE 2012: Graduated from Astoria High School. Helped lead the Fisher- men to the 2011 state title. 2013: Selected in the 38th round by the Baltimore Orioles in the amateur draft. 2014: Selected in the 40th round by the Tampa Bay Rays in the amateur draft. Played two years (2013- 14) at West- ern Nevada College in Carson City, Nevada, earn- ing third-team All-American honors as a sophomore. Neal Hock/For The Daily Astorian 2015: Selected in the 16th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in the amateur draft. Played the spring of 2015 for the Oregon Ducks, spent the summer of 2015 with the Helena Brew- ers of the Pio- neer (Rookie) League. “We were able to take four of five games in Myrtle Beach and ended it with a win. That made the three-hour bus ride home a little better.” Harber has certainly accu- mulated the frequent flyer miles since graduating from high school. He played at Western Nevada College in Carson City in 2013 and ‘14. From there, he spent the spring of 2015 with the Oregon Ducks, and played that summer with the Helena (Montana) Brewers of the Pio- 2016: Played for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest (Single A) League. 2017-18: Carolina Mudcats of the Class A Advanced Carolina League. neer League. Harber played the 2016 sea- son with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, before joining Caro- lina in 2017. “My goal is to hopefully fin- ish this year off at Double A,” he says, which could mean a move to Biloxi, Mississippi. “I can do it if I stay on the same pace I’m at, and finish strong.” Fans can follow the Mud- cats (and listen to games live) through the team’s web- site: https://www.milb.com/ carolina-mudcats. Conor Harber in a recent appearance with the Carolina Mudcats. Taco Tuesdays and Dollar Dog Days, the Mudcats have sched- uled ‘Bark in the Park,’ ‘Honky Tonk night’ and ‘Star Wars night’ at Five County Stadium. “We had some pretty cool jerseys for Memorial Day, but that got rained out,” Harber said. “Star Wars night was a good one. And we had ‘Brew- ers Weekend,’ when we wore the old throwback blue.” Harber is certainly doing what he can to move up the minor league ladder, as his numbers on the mound keep improving. After going 4-9 in 2017, Harber is currently 2-3, with a 2.59 earned run average (down from 5.04 a year ago), with 46 strikeouts and 31 walks in 55.2 innings pitched. He’s made seven starts, after coming out of the bullpen earlier in the season. “I would like to take down the walks a little, but over time I’m starting to get there,” Har- ber said. “My command is better and I’m going after hitters, and not nibbling the corners as much,” he said. “I’m letting them get themselves out, rather than trying to strike everyone out. That’s keeping my pitch count low. Instead of throwing 50 pitches in three innings, I can go four or five innings if they need me to.” Livestock feed & Supplies for home, farm & garden Frequent flyer miles Harber ended the first half of the season on the best note possible. A day before the All-Star break, Harber led the Mudcats to a 3-2 win at Myrtle Beach, pitching a full six innings to earn the victory. Patrick McKerren, Owner 42232 Kylester Ln Astoria, OR, 97103 tel. (503) 458 6470 twooldgoatsff@gmail.com Like us on Facebook!
