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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MAy 30, 2019
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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Warriors clinch spot in title game
First championship game
appearance since 1998
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
Warrenton Warriors
The 2019 Warrenton baseball team.
In sports, you can’t beat des-
tiny. And the Warrenton Warriors
definitely have destiny on their
side in 2019.
In fact, the Warriors might as
well put a big “D” on their hats
and “Destiny” on their uniforms.
Because at this point, the Class
3A baseball state title appears to
be theirs for the taking.
Warrenton’s latest victory, a
7-5 decision Tuesday at Santiam
Christian, sends the Warriors to
the state championship game for
the first time since 1998. Warren-
ton will play La Pine at Volcanoes
Stadium on Friday, game time
5 p.m.
“The thing that we’re trying to
keep in mind now, is that noth-
ing is a given and we’re taking
nothing for granted,” said War-
renton coach Lennie Wolfe. “We
have two days to get better for
La Pine. That’s our focus now.
We’re excited as can be about Fri-
day, but we’re going to focus on
tomorrow.”
With Clatsop County’s other
two title contenders (Knappa and
Astoria) both going down in their
respective semifinals, Warrenton
will be this year’s county repre-
sentative in Keizer.
Baseball teams from the North
TRACK
Naselle
Comets
among best
in their field
See Naselle, Page A7
SCOREBOARD
PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
Baseball — 3A state championship: Warren-
ton vs. La Pine, 5 p.m., Volcanoes Stadium,
Keizer.
BASEBALL
Henley 9, Astoria 3
Astoria 000 120 0—3 6 5
Henley 010 323 x—9 10 3
Rush, Kaul (6) and Hillard; Ha.Rasica and
He.Rasica. W: Ha.Rasica. L: Rush. RBI: Ast, Hil-
lard, Johnson; Hen, Tacchini 2, Rote, Loney,
He.Rasica, Hasskamp. 2B: Ast, Hillard, John-
son; Hen, Ha.Rasica 2. HR: Hen, He.Rasica, Tac-
chini. HBP: Ast, Hirsch. LOB: Astoria 8, Henley
6. DP: Astoria, Henley.
Warrenton 7, Santiam Christian 5
Warrenton 021 310 0—7 9 1
S.Christian 002 002 1—5 9 5
Jackson, Knight (6), Breitmeyer (7) and Mor-
row; Riley, Black (7) and Wirth. W: Jackson. L:
Riley. RBI: War, Morrow, Falls, Kapua, Herrera.
2B: War, Little, Kapua. HBP: War, Morrow. LOB:
Warrenton 8, Santiam Christian 8.
Umpqua Valley 12, Knappa 10
Umpqua 000 390 0—12 10 4
Knappa 135 100 0—10 15 1
Pettibone, Luther (2), A.Buechley (6) and
Guastaferro; Takalo, Flues (1), Wallace (5),
Goodman (5) and Patterson. W: Luther. L:
Goodman. RBI: UVC, A.Buechley 5, Luther 3,
E.Buechley 2, Heard; Kna, Bartlett 4, Coffey 2,
Wallace. 2B: UVC, A.Buechley 2, E.Buechley;
Kna, Goodman, Patterson, Wallace. HR: Kna,
Bartlett. HBP: UVC, Guastaferro 2, Mahoney,
Mesa, Gale. LOB: Umpqua Valley 11, Knappa
13. DP: Umpqua Valley.
See Warriors, Page A7
TRACK
EPIC UPSET
Kaino powers
Ilwaco boys to
third place
By PATRICK WEBB
For The Astorian
By PATRICK WEBB
For The Astorian
CHENEY, Wash. — Naselle
had a solid showing over the
weekend at the WIAA state
track meet from the 20 athletes
who qualified.
In team scores at Eastern
Washington University, the
Comet boys placed eighth and
the girls ninth among 1B teams.
Mount Vernon Christian won
the boys and Oakesdale won
the girls team trophies.
Naselle’s Faaoso Tutu’u
was third in the 100 meters
with 11.96 seconds (the win-
ner, from Mount Vernon Chris-
tian, ran in 11.59). He was also
fifth in the long jump, jump-
ing 20 feet, 5 ¼ inches. The
winner, from Mary K. Knight
School, leaped 20-10 ½.
Cody Condon was seventh
in the pole vault, an event in
which two other Naselle ath-
letes, Parker Dalton (9-6) and
Caleb Haataia (8-6) also par-
ticipated. Condon cleared
11-6.
Unfortunately the Comet
trio competed on a day when
two athletes from other
schools, cheered on by the sta-
dium crowd a short distance
across from their landing pit,
attempted to push the bar up
beyond prior heights. Micah
Colburn, a sophomore from
Trout Lake, won by clearing a
meet record height of 14-0.
The boys 400-meter relay
team of Tutu’u, Corey Greg-
ory, Condon and Antonio
Nolan placed fourth.
Monte Schell had two indi-
vidual successes, placing sixth
in the high jump and sixth in
the 800 meters with 2:12.49
(the winner from Pope John
Paul II School had 2:01.31).
Coast have played in a state cham-
pionship game nine of the last 13
years.
Up until now, it just hasn’t been
Warrenton.
But with wins over No. 2 seed
Brookings-Harbor and No. 3 seed
Santiam Christian, the Warriors
have clinched their spot in the
final. They will face No. 4 seed La
Pine — more proof that destiny is
on Warrenton’s side, as the Hawks
knocked off No. 1-ranked Pleasant
Hill in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
“The kids feel good about their
achievements,” said Wolfe, whose
last state title came in 1994. “And
again, such a big part of it is that
they know they’ve earned it.”
Colin Murphey/The Astorian
Devin Hoover takes a swing at the plate for the Loggers.
Umpqua Valley stuns
Knappa with big-time rally
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
‘W
e did a lot of good, but it’s a tough
pill to swallow at the end,” said
Knappa coach Jeff Miller, whose
team suffered one of its toughest defeats in
years. Actually, one of its only defeats in years.
A “tough loss” is putting it mildly, as
Umpqua Valley Christian’s unlikely 12-10
win Tuesday over the No. 1-ranked, two-time
defending state champion Loggers will hurt for
some time.
Miller’s team has won a lot of games — 20
in a row coming into Tuesday’s game, and 62 of
their last 63 — so losing a game at home, in a
state semifinal, after holding a big lead, this one
definitely hurts.
But, as Miller said, “It’s never easy. Win or
lose, it’s never easy to say goodbye to seniors.”
And, after watching Umpqua Valley bat-
tle from a nine-run deficit, he said, “You don’t
see that every day, thankfully. Hats off to (the
Monarchs), for keeping on fighting, and tak-
ing advantage of the opportunities they had.
I’m still proud of our kids. They battled and
fought.”
Considering how they lost it, it was even
more difficult to believe.
Two years ago, the Loggers overcame a 9-1
deficit to beat Reedsport 10-9 in the 2017 state
championship.
In Tuesday’s game, Knappa held a 9-0 lead
after three innings.
And even though Logger starting pitcher Eli
Takalo suffered an arm injury in the first inning,
Knappa’s Logan Flues was pitching well in
relief, the Loggers were racking up hits left and
right, and the Monarchs were having problems
making the most routine plays.
See Knappa, Page A7
Henley stings Astoria 9-3 in semifinals
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
Less than a week after ending
Seaside’s season, the Henley Hor-
nets did the same to the Astoria
Fishermen, in a Class 4A baseball
semifinal Tuesday in Klamath Falls.
Henley snapped a 1-1 tie with
three runs in the bottom of the
fourth inning, then tacked on two
in the fifth and three in the sixth
to pull away for a 9-3 win over the
Fishermen.
The loss left Astoria one game
short of its first appearance in the
state championship since 2011.
Still, it was quite a run while it
lasted for the No. 14 seed Fisher-
men, who scored victories over No.
3-ranked North Marion and No. 11
seed Sweet Home before falling to
the No. 2-seed Hornets.
Henley advances to the state
championship, where the Hornets
will face No. 1-ranked Banks. After
winning state titles in football and
boys basketball, the Braves will be
competing in their third state cham-
Steve Matthies/Herald and News
Astoria’s Adam Feldman bats against Henley’s Hayden Rasica.
pionship game in their third differ-
ent sport of the 2018-19 school year.
The Hornets rapped out 10 hits
in Tuesday’s win, nine off Astoria
starter Dylan Rush.
Henley’s hard-hitting lineup —
which hammered the Gulls 12-0
just six days earlier — had a pair
of doubles by Hayden Rasica and
home runs by Heith Rasica and
John Tacchini.
Ebin Hillard and Danny Johnson
both had doubles as part of Asto-
ria’s six-hit attack, but the Fisher-
men also committed five errors in
the field.
CHENEY, Wash. — Pres-
sure? Not for Ilwaco sprinter
Alex Kaino.
This time last year he was
atop the podium after winning
the 300-meter hurdles at the
WIAA state track meet.
Last weekend, he stepped
up to the podium five times —
retaining his 300 title, placing in
the 100- and 200-meter finals,
and enjoying a second-place
win with his 1,600-meter relay
buddies.
As Saturday’s light faded
in Roos Stadium, the last steps
he climbed in a Fisherman uni-
form were when WIAA offi-
cials announced that the Ilwaco
boys had placed third overall.
He joined many of those who
had made it possible, includ-
ing coaches Sarah Taylor, Dan
Schenck and Thad McMullen.
Fishermen fans who had
supported them rain or shine
made their way
onto the East-
ern Washing-
ton University
field, whooping
and hollering
with vigor.
Kaino’s
Alex Kaino
teammates gave
him the trophy
to hold and shuffled the dimin-
utive runner into the center for
photos.
Coach Taylor, beaming with
pride, noted that her senior
sprinter’s humility was some-
thing she would miss.
“He has been a great leader,”
she said. “He keeps everything
organized. He is truly a team
player. He works like crazy for
everyone else — while he is
working out twice a day.”
When the 2019 2B season
rolled around, Kaino prepared
for all his sprints while being
focused on a 300 hurdles repeat.
In his last run before state, he
raced to 39.41 seconds, the only
qualifier with a sub-40 time.
“It’s been good competition
both years,” he said. “And the
support I have received is the
best — it has been more than
anyone could ask. People like
our fans do expect you to win,
so it’s a little bit of pressure.”
Kaino won his heat at
Cheney in 40.17 — even after
knocking over the final hurdle
— then prepared for the finals.
As expected, Will Lane from
Northwest Christian, who had
been second last year, won the
other heat in 40.09. They were
almost side-by-side around the
final curve when bad luck for
one provided good luck for
another.
“He clipped a hurdle and
that gave me my edge,” Kaino
admitted. His time was 39.28.
Lane was second at 39.95.
Still, Kaino didn’t have long
to celebrate or recover before
he was back on the track for the
100 and 200. He’d had good
See Ilwaco, Page A7