Page 2B
East Oregonian
Oregon Football
Ducks expect few
By STEVE MIMS
The Register-Guard
Willie Taggart hasn’t
informed any of his
freshmen that they will sit
out a redshirt season.
The new Oregon football
coach is planning to use
anybody who can help him
on the field.
“I haven’t thought about
redshirting anybody right
now,” he said before practice
Tuesday. “We are going to
play our best players. We
have got some pretty good
freshmen on this football
team. If they can help our
football team in any kind of
capacity, then we are going
to play them.”
Defensive
linemen
Jordon Scott and Austin
Faoliu are possible starters
as true freshmen along
with cornerback Thomas
Graham Jr. on defense. Wide
receivers Darrian McNeal
and Johnny Johnson III have
lined up with the first unit
during fall camp.
McNeal, receiver Jaylon
Redd and running back
Darrian Felix have returned
punts during practice this
week.
“Redshirt, I think those
days are kind of old school
now,” Taggart said. “Kids
are so much more developed
Thursday, August 17, 2017
SPORTS
BUCKAROOS: Start season with three
redshirts home games against solid competition
than they were back
in the day. We’re
not going in saying
we are going to
redshirt anyone. If
guys show us they
are not ready to help us win
ballgames, then we will do
what is best for them and our
program, but right now there
is no intention of redshirting
anybody.”
McNeal, Redd, Johnson
and Daewood Davis give
Oregon four true freshmen at
wide receiver while Demetri
Burch has switched between
receiver and quarterback.
“I think they will be ready
to play,” quarterback Justin
Herbert said of the freshmen
receivers. “The coaches have
done a great job getting them
ready. We have got complete
confidence in them.”
One position where
Oregon will have an option
to redshirt is at running
back where true freshmen
Felix, CJ Verdell and Cyrus
Habibi-Likio are all likely
behind Royce Freeman,
Tony Brooks-James and
Kani Benoit on the depth
chart.
Oregon also has experi-
ence on the offensive line
ahead of freshmen Cody
Shear and Alex Forsyth.
“The guys up front on the
offensive line, if anybody
LLWS: Mid-Atlantic
team averaged 10.8 runs
in regional tournament
Continued from 1B
informed with teaching
mechanics and selection and
hitting philosophy.”
Grosse Pointe’s 6.6 runs
per game during regional
play was actually among
the lowest offensive output
among the teams taking the
field this week. The Mid-At-
lantic team from Jackson,
New Jersey, averaged 10.8
runs across four regional
games, the best mark of any
U.S. team.
The international teams
averaged more runs during
regionals than the United
States teams did, though
the competition levels of
the different regions vary.
The Asia-Pacific Region’s
representative from Seoul,
South Korea, outscored its
regional opponents 45-2 in
the four-game span. Canada
scored more than 20 runs
in back-to-back regional
games, averaging nearly 14.3
runs across seven contests.
Japan won its final regional
matchup 17-0 and averaged
more than 13 runs per game.
“We’ve got some power in
our lineup,” said coach Chris
Shaw of Hills Little League
from Sydney, Australia,
which will face Japan on
Friday. “If you look back at
our (regional) tournament,
we didn’t rely on the home
run. We just relied on batting
for average, looking to hit the
ball in the gaps.”
“We look to hit the ball
hard. If the ball goes out,
it’s an extra bonus,” Shaw
said. Australia averaged 12.3
runs per game across seven
regional games, third best
among international teams
behind Canada and Japan.
Hills is one of two teams
returning to the series for a
second straight year, along
with Emilia Little League
from Italy. That could be an
advantage because they’ve
already experienced the
hype.
“They’re so excited to be
here,” Shaw said. “They’re
one team that just likes to
relax, and they want to have
fun. I think they should be
having enough fun so the
nerves won’t really take
over.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Two key matchups are
coming up in the opening
days of the tournament.
— Fairfield, Connecticut
(New England) vs. Jackson,
New Jersey (Mid-Atlantic)
on Thursday: The high-
est-scoring offense among
United States teams, New
Jersey will try to hand
Connecticut its first loss this
summer as Fairfield won
each of its 18 games. New
Jersey has a connection
with New York Yankees
third baseman and 1998
Little League World Series
Champion Todd Frazier, who
played for Toms River, New
Jersey. Both Jackson and
Toms River are in the Ocean
County and this team’s
players have honed their
skills in practice with Frazier
and his two brothers.
— Australia vs. Japan
on Friday: This game is
expected to showcase the
offensive firepower on the
international side of regional
play. Japan outscored its
opponents 53-6 in regionals,
showing it can dominate
both at the plate and on the
mound.
————
Matt Martell is a jour-
nalism student at Penn State.
Penn State is partnering
with The Associated Press to
supplement coverage of the
2017 LLWS.
has a chance (to
redshirt), it would
be there more than
anything,” Taggart
said. “At all the other
positions, there is a
lot open and it is fun to see.”
NEW
NUMBERS,
PLAYERS DEPARTED:
Brenden Schooler arrived
at practice wearing his third
number of the spring.
Schooler wore No. 43 as
a returning starter at safety
before switching to No. 26
at WR. He was given No. 86
after switching jerseys with
sophomore receiver Kyle
Buckner, who is now No. 26.
The switch means that
Schooler can play on special
teams, or select defensive
plays, alongside Khalil
Oliver, a junior safety
who also wears No. 26.
Two players with the same
number cannot be on the
field at the same time.
Junior safety Mattrell
McGraw changed from No.
27 to 21 while freshman
LB Isaac Slade-Matautia
switched from No. 41 to No.
43.
Two
freshmen
left
the team including Riley
Greene, a defensive lineman
from Gladstone. Rocky
Rainey, a 6-3 receiver from
League City, Texas, is also
off Oregon’s roster.
Continued from 1B
especially in the weight
room.
“We took pride this
summer in the extra things,
and the weight room was
the No. 1 important thing,”
Davis said. “If we’re going
to be competitive especially
with the big boys in the
Special District 1 we need
to be bigger, faster, stronger.
We’ve been preaching for a
long time for the kids to buy
in and I think I have a group
of 80 kids that bought in
and you can see that in the
way they practice, the way
they condition and hit the
weights.
“We have a better feel, a
better overall vibe going in
this year.”
After an offseason full of
weight room workouts and
fundamental learning, these
first few practices are an
important step for the Buck-
aroos. And aside from the
strategy that goes into season
preparation, the coaches
have scheduled practices for
7 a.m. for now to try and get
the kids back into a routine
like any other school day.
Davis said he knows it’s
always tough for the first few
days for the kids to get back
into the flow of things once
school starts after a summer
Staff photo by Eric Singer
Pendleton Buckaroo football players run through a
tackling drill during Wednesday’s practice at Pendleton
High School while coaches Fred Phillips, left, and Wes
Armstrong, right, look on.
of later wake-up calls, but
with Pendleton’s first week
of school also being the first
game week, they need the
adaptation to start earlier.
The Buckaroos have
another solid, challenging
schedule right out of the
gates this season, with three
straight home games against
La Grande, Putnam and then
the league opener against
Summit. The Buckaroos
have more confidence going
into the Special District 1
schedule this season, not
only because 2016 powers
like Summit and Redmond
lost a lot of firepower to
graduation, but because of
the progress made them-
selves in the offseason.
“I think there is going to
be a lot of parity this season,
but I feel that we fit right
in,” Davis said. “Before, I
felt like we were looking up
a mountain, and now I feel
like we’re on that peak to
where we could and should
compete throughout.”
————
Contact Eric at esinger@
eastoregonian.com
or
541-966-0839. Follow him
on Twitter @ByEricSinger.
MARINERS: Start 12-game road trip Friday in Tampa
Continued from B1
base hit with a sensational
diving catch in right field.
Diaz struck out Jonathan
Schoop, but then hit both
Trey Mancini and Mark
Trumbo to force in another
run. Rzepczynski relieved
and fanned Davis on three
pitches for his first save, and
just the second in his career.
“I’ve come in with the
bases loaded, two outs
plenty of times, but never in
the ninth with the game on
the line,” said Rzepczynski,
whose only other save in
466 appearances was with
Cleveland in 2014. “One
other career save, and it
was a four-out save, so it
was a little different. But,
I’ve come in plenty of times
with the bases loaded, so I
kind of just treated it like
that.”
Tony Zych (6-3) pitched
1 2/3 scoreless innings in
relief. Ubaldo Jimenez (5-8)
allowed six runs in 4 1/3
innings.
The breaking balls
weren’t there since the
beginning of the game,”
Jimenez said. “The first
couple innings I was able to
control the fastball down in
the zone, but then the slider
and the splitter were up.”
The wild card-con-
tending Mariners won their
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Seattle’s Jean Segura, right, slides safely into home
as Baltimore catcher Caleb Joseph waits for the ball
in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game in Seattle.
second in a row and capped
a 2-5 homestand, their only
games at Safeco Field in
August. Seattle opened the
month with eight games on
the road, and now heads out
on a four-city, 12-game trip.
“It’s definitely nice,” said
Alonso, who entered hitting
.192 in his first seven games
with Seattle. “Obviously,
I’m enjoying my time here
and enjoying the oppor-
tunity for this whole team
and what’s at stake. We’re
excited and it was a good
team. Definitely a good
one, especially winning the
series, so now we can enjoy
our off day and get ready for
a long road trip.”
After Baltimore erased
a 3-1 deficit with three runs
in the fifth, the Mariners
answered with three in
the bottom half to go back
in front 6-4. Jean Segura
singled to open and Guill-
ermo Heredia was hit by a
pitch, setting up RBI singles
by Robinson Cano, Alonso
and Danny Valencia.
The Orioles bunched five
consecutive one-out hits to
go up 4-3 in the fifth. Joey
Rickard and Caleb Joseph
had consecutive singles.
Rickard scored from third
on a wild pitch and Craig
Gentry followed with an
RBI triple to left-center.
Tim Beckham singled in
Gentry.
“It’s one of those games
where you look back, there’s
seven or eight things during
the course of the game
that could have changed
it,” Orioles manager Buck
Showalter said.
Beckham opened the
game with his 17th home
run, his second leadoff
homer of the series. The
Mariners tied it in the third
on doubles by Mike Zunino
and Heredia.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: 3B Kyle
Seager missed his second
straight game with what
was described as a stomach
virus. Valencia made his
first start of the season at
3B. ... RHP James Paxton,
on the 10-day DL (strained
left
pectoral
muscle)
continues to improve.
“Paxton was seen by the
doctor yesterday, moving
along in the right direction.
He’ll start really picking
up his activity now and
trying to strengthen things,”
manager Scott Servais said.
UP NEXT
Mariners: After a day
off, RHP Erasmo Ramirez
(4-4, 4.73) returns to Tampa
Bay to open the three-game
series on Friday. Ramirez,
acquired from the Rays on
July 28, makes his fourth
start for the Mariners. He
has allowed five homers in
14 1/3 innings with Seattle.
SEAHAWKS: With Shead still out, team searching
for starting cornerback to pair with Sherman
Continued from 1B
said 11 other teams had
reached out about Brock, but
he had an interest in staying
on the West Coast.
“The process and every-
thing is under the rug and
I’m just moving forward
from that situation,” Brock
said.
Brock started 31 of 32
games over the past two
seasons for the 49ers, but
was released following his
arrest.
Seattle is looking for a
starting cornerback opposite
Richard Sherman after
DeShawn Shead suffered
a major knee injury in last
season’s playoffs. Rookie
Shaquill Griffin and veteran
Jeremy Lane have been the
two most likely to step in
for Shead, but Brock adds
to the competition with his
experience as a starter.
“I know what I’ve got to
do. I have to come in and
make plays that (are) going
to make me a part of the team
and keep me a starter,” Brock
said.
NOTES: Seattle signed
LB Rodney Butler on
Wednesday. Butler is an
undrafted rookie out of New
Mexico State who led the
country in tackles last season
with 165. The Seahawks
waived wide receiver Jamal
Johnson and waived/injured
safety Jordan Simone. ... OL
coach Tom Cable said Mark
Glowinski will start at RG
and Germain Ifedi will start
at RT in Friday’s exhibition
game against Minnesota but
that rookie Ethan Pocic is
still in the competition for
both spots.
SCOREBOARD
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Boston
69 51 .575 —
New York
64 55 .538 4½
Tampa Bay
60 62 .492 10
Baltimore
59 62 .488 10½
Toronto
58 62 .483 11
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Cleveland
65 52 .556 —
Kansas City
61 59 .508 5½
Minnesota
59 58 .504
6
Detroit
53 67 .442 13½
Chicago
45 72 .385 20
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Houston
74 46 .617 —
Los Angeles
62 59 .512 12½
Seattle
61 61 .500 14
Texas
59 60 .496 14½
Oakland
53 68 .438 21½
———
Wednesday’s Games
Cleveland at Minnesota, ppd.
L.A. Angels 3, Washington 2
Kansas City 7, Oakland 6
Seattle 7, Baltimore 6
Toronto 3, Tampa Bay 2
Boston 5, St. Louis 4
N.Y. Yankees 5, N.Y. Mets 3
Texas 12, Detroit 6
Houston 9, Arizona 5
L.A. Dodgers 5, Chicago White Sox 4
Thursday’s Games
Cleveland (Clevinger 6-4) at Minnesota
(Berrios 10-5), 10:10 a.m., 1st game
Arizona (Corbin 9-11) at Houston (Fiers
7-7), 11:10 a.m.
Tampa Bay (Archer 8-7) at Toronto (Rowley
1-0), 1:07 p.m.
Cleveland (TBD) at Minnesota (TBD), 4:10
p.m., 2nd game
N.Y. Yankees (Severino 9-5) at N.Y. Mets
(Matz 2-6), 4:10 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Lopez 0-0) at Texas
(Ross 3-2), 5:05 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Washington
71 47 .602 —
Miami
58 61 .487 13½
New York
53 65 .449 18
Atlanta
53 65 .449 18
Philadelphia
43 75 .364 28
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Chicago
63 56 .529 —
Milwaukee
63 59 .516 1½
St. Louis
61 59 .508 2½
Pittsburgh
58 62 .483 5½
Cincinnati
50 71 .413 14
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Los Angeles
85 34 .714 —
Colorado
67 53 .558 18½
Arizona
66 54 .550 19½
San Diego
54 66 .450 31½
San Francisco
48 74 .393 38½
———
Wednesday’s Games
L.A. Angels 3, Washington 2
Miami 8, San Francisco 1
Milwaukee 7, Pittsburgh 6
San Diego 3, Philadelphia 0
Boston 5, St. Louis 4
N.Y. Yankees 5, N.Y. Mets 3
Chicago Cubs 7, Cincinnati 6
Houston 9, Arizona 5
Colorado 17, Atlanta 2
L.A. Dodgers 5, Chicago White Sox 4
Thursday’s Games
Arizona (Corbin 9-11) at Houston (Fiers
7-7), 11:10 a.m.
Cincinnati (Feldman 7-7) at Chicago Cubs
(Lester 8-7), 11:20 a.m.
Atlanta (Sims 0-3) at Colorado (Hoffman
6-4), 12:10 p.m.
St. Louis (Wainwright 12-5) at Pittsburgh
(Taillon 7-5), 4:05 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Severino 9-5) at N.Y. Mets
(Matz 2-6), 4:10 p.m.
Washington (Jackson 3-2) at San Diego
(Chacin 11-8), 7:10 p.m.
Philadelphia (Nola 9-7) at San Francisco
(Samardzija 7-12), 7:15 p.m.
Wild Card Standings
AL
W
New York
64
Los Angeles
62
Kansas City
61
Minnesota
59
Seattle
61
Texas
59
Tampa Bay
60
Baltimore
59
Toronto
58
L
55
59
59
58
61
60
62
62
62
Pct GB
.538 +3
.512 —
.508
½
.504
1
.500 1½
.496
2
.492 2½
.488
3
.483 3½
NL
Colorado
Arizona
Milwaukee
St. Louis
L
53
54
59
59
Pct GB
.558 +1
.550 —
.516
4
.508
5
W
67
66
63
61
MiLB
Northwest League
North Division W
L
x-Vancouver
13
8
Tri-City
12
9
Everett
12
9
Spokane
10 11
South Division W
L
Boise
10 11
Eugene
10 11
x-Hillsboro
9 12
Salem-Keizer
8 13
x-first-half champions
————
Wednesday’s Games
Vancouver 6, Spokane 2
Salem-Keizer 12, Boise 3
Eugene 3, Hillsboro 2
Everett 4, Tri-City 1
Pct GB
.619
—
.571
1
.571
1
.476
3
Pct GB
.476
—
.476
—
.428
1
.380
2
Thursday’s Games
Vancouver at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.
Boise at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m.
Eugene at Hillsboro, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
LITTLE LEAGUE
Little League World Series
At South Williamsport, Pa.
Double Elimination
Thursday’s Games
Game 1: Maracaibo (Venezuela) vs.
Tamaulipas (Mexico), 10 a.m.
Game 2: Jackson (N.J.) vs. Fairfield
(Conn.), 12 p.m.
Game 3: White Rock (British Columbia)
vs. Emilia (Italy), 2 p.m.
Game 4: Lufkin (Texas) vs. Grosse Pointe
(Mich.), 4 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Game 5: Tokyo vs. Sydney, 11 a.m.
Game 6: Walla Walla (Wash.) vs. Rancho
Santa Margarita (Calif.), 1 p.m.
Game 7: Pontezuela (Dominican Republic)
vs. Seoul, 3 p.m.
Game 8: Sioux Falls (S.D.) vs. Greenville
(N.C.), 5 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
Wednesday’s Game
Montreal 3, Chicago 0
Friday’s Game
New York at Portland, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Columbus at Orlando City, 4:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at Chicago, 5 p.m.
FC Dallas at Sporting K.C., 5:30 p.m.
D.C. United at Colorado, 6 p.m.
Houston at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
New England at New York City FC, 3 p.m.
Minnesota United at Seattle, 7 p.m.
Basketball
WNBA
Wednesday’s Games
Los Angeles 95, Washington 62
Minnesota at Seattle, 7 p.m.
Friday’s Games
New York at Connecticut, 4 p.m.
Phoenix at Washington, 4 p.m.
Indiana at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Los Angeles at Chicago, 5:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Seattle, 7 p.m.
Golf
PGA TOUR
Upcoming schedule
WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Greensboro, N.C.
Course: Sedgefield Country Club. Yard-
age: 7,130. Par: 70.
Purse: $5.8 million. First prize: $1,044,00.
Television: Thursday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (Golf
Channel); Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf Chan-
nel); Saturday-Sunday, 12-3 p.m. (CBS).
Defending champion: Si Woo Kim.
Tennis
Western & Southern Open
Wednesday
At The Lindner Family Tennis Center
Mason, Ohio
Purse: Men, $4.97 million (Masters 1000);
Women, $2.54 million (Premier)
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
How Seeds Fared
Singles
Men
Second Round
Grigor Dimitrov (7), Bulgaria, def. Feliciano
Lopez, Spain, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina, def.
Mitchell Krueger, United States, 6-4, 6-4.
Pablo Carreno Busta (11), Spain, def.
Mischa Zverev, Germany, 6-3, 7-6 (2).
Nick Kyrgios, Australia, def. Alexandr
Dolgopolov, Ukraine, 6-3, 7-6 (6).
Frances Tiafoe, United States, def. Alexan-
der Zverev (4), Germany, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Spain, def. Gilles
Muller (16), Luxembourg, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Adrian Mannarino, France, def. Sam Quer-
rey (15), United States, 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, def. Richard
Gasquet, France, 6-3, 6-4.
Women
Second Round
Madison Keys (16), United States, def.
Daria Gavrilova, Australia, 6-2, 6-1.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia, def. Yulia
Putintseva (8), Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-4.
Anastasija Sevastova (15), Latvia, def.
Roberta Vinci, Italy, 6-2, 7-5.
Ashleigh Barty, Australia, def. Venus Wil-
liams (9), United States, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
Caroline Wozniacki (6), Denmark, def.
Elena Vesnina, Russia, 6-2, 6-4.
Dominika Cibulkova (11), Slovakia, def.
Alize Cornet, France, 6-1, 6-4.
Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, def. Angeli-
que Kerber (3), Germany, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (11).
Sloane Stephens, United States, def.
Petra Kvitova (14), Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-3.
Elina Svitolina (5), Ukraine, def. Lesia
Tsurenko, Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4.
Karolina Pliskova (1), Czech Republic, def.
Natalia Vikhlyantseva, Russia, 6-2, 6-3.
Football
NFL
Preseason Glance
Thursday’s Games
Buffalo at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Baltimore at Miami, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Jacksonville, 5 p.m.
Friday’s Game
Minnesota at Seattle, 7 p.m.