Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
OSU: Has outscored its
opposition 49-8 through
five postseason games
Continued from 1B
to say that with USC in
here and Ian Kennedy on
the mound and all the guys
they had, it was awesome.”
Andy Jenkins, a current
assistant coach, hit for the
cycle as OSU gutted out a
10-8 victory in the finale.
The Beavers were back at
the CWS for the first time
since 1952.
OSU won consecutive
national titles in 2006-07
— defeating North Caro-
lina in both finals — and
also qualified for the CWS
in 2013 and 2017. Casey
has fond memories of all
five trips, including the
quick exit in 2005.
“They are all different
and they are all special,”
Casey said. “Obviously
’05 was our first time, and
we kind of shocked the
world a little bit there.”
The college base-
ball world would not be
shocked if OSU captures
its third national title in
2018.
The Beavers, who are
105-16-1 overall the past
two seasons, have out-
scored the opposition
49-8 through five postsea-
son games. OSU did trail
in Saturday’s 6-3 victory
over Minnesota, but the
offense came alive late to
clinch the Corvallis Super
Regional.
“They have an out-
standing lineup,” Golden
Gophers
coach
John
Anderson said. “They are
going to give people trou-
ble trying to pitch to that
lineup for nine innings, we
found that out.
“It’ll be interesting to
see how that offense plays
in the big stadium, but they
sure do put the ball in play
and they grind out at-bats
for you up and down the
lineup.”
OSU is hitting .320
as a team, the third-high-
est mark in all of Divi-
sion I, entering cavernous
TD Ameritrade Park. The
Beavers are tied for fourth
nationally with a .981
fielding percentage.
“(Adley)
Rutschman
does an outstanding job
back there handling that
staff and they are strong
up the middle,” Anderson
said. “If you’re going to
be a championship team,
you’ve got to be strong up
the middle. And they are
strong up the middle.”
The Beavers’ starting
rotation of Luke Heim-
lich (16-1, 2.32 earned
run average), Bryce Feh-
mel (10-1, 2.87) and Kevin
Abel (4-1, 3.58) has also
impressed throughout the
postseason.
Heimlich struck out
nine in 8⅔ innings of one-
run ball as OSU defeated
Minnesota 8-1 in the Cor-
vallis Super Regional
opener. Fehmel didn’t
have his usual command
but still limited the Golden
Gophers to three runs in
six-plus innings Saturday
night.
“Heimlich, he’s a pro
pitcher,” Anderson said.
“He’s the top left-handed
pitcher maybe I’ve seen in
my career based on how
he pitched the other night.
Fehmel is going to get you
to try and expand the zone,
use his three pitches and
wants you to chase.”
Abel worked eight shut-
out innings against LSU,
striking out eight with one
walk. Bullpen members
Dylan Pearce, Brandon
Eisert, Sam Tweedt, Jake
Mulholland and Chris-
tian Chamberlain have
combined to throw 7⅔
scoreless innings with 12
strikeouts in the NCAA
tournament.
“With Heimlich on the
mound, they’ll be able to
beat anybody in the coun-
try,” Anderson said. “Feh-
mel will go out there and
he’ll force you to really
try to put together a good
at-bat … and the two left-
ies I saw tonight (Cham-
berlain, Mulholland) were
pretty special. I like their
chances, I really do, based
on what I saw out there the
last two games.
“I wouldn’t count them
out in Omaha, that’s for
sure.”
MARINERS: Maintain
1/2 game lead over
Houston in AL West
Continued from 1B
Haniger lined an oppo-
site-field solo shot off
Jaime Barria (5-2) in the
first. Trout tied it at 1 with
his homer in the fifth off
Seattle starter Mike Leake.
That was the only run
permitted by Leake, who
gave up four hits while
striking out four.
It was Leake’s 10th win
with the Mariners since
they acquired him from
St. Louis on Aug. 30 last
year for infielder Rayder
Ascanio.
R O S T E R
RESHUFFLING
Angels: Barria was
recalled from the minors
to make the start, and Los
Angeles optioned reliever
Eduardo Paredes to Tri-
ple-A Salt Lake. Paredes
pitched in eight games for
the Angels, compiling a
6.97 ERA.
Mariners: To complete
a trade with Boston for
left-hander Roenis Elias,
Seattle sent outfielder Eric
Filia to the Red Sox. Filia
began the season serving
a 50-game suspension. He
was hitting .426 at Dou-
ble-A Arkansas.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: 1B Jefry Marte
(sprained left wrist) was in
a splint after being placed
on the 10-day disabled
list. Angels manager Mike
Scioscia said Marte will be
re-evaluated later this week
in Southern California. INF
David Fletcher was pro-
moted from Triple-A Salt
Lake to replace Marte. .
SS Andrelton Simmons
(ankle) did some light
baseball activities but is not
running yet. . After fouling
a ball off his foot Monday,
Trout started in center field
as usual. ... Relief pitcher
Blake Wood (elbow) was
transferred to the 60-day
DL after Tommy John
surgery.
Mariners:
Right-
handed reliever Nick Vin-
cent (groin) had to cut a
25-pitch bullpen session
short Monday, and likely
won’t attempt another one
until this weekend at the
earliest. . Seattle manager
Scott Servais said reliever
Juan Nicasio (right knee)
felt better and some of
the swelling in his knee
has subsided. Nicasio has
yet to throw off a mound.
. Right-hander Dan Alta-
villa (elbow) isn’t close to
returning to baseball activ-
ity, Servais said.
UP NEXT
Angels: Right-hander
Garrett Richards (4-4, 3.26
ERA) shut out the Mari-
ners for 6 2/3 innings on
May 4 for his fourth win
of the season. He has not
won since. After dropping
three consecutive decisions
to close out May, Richards
has given up just two runs
in the past 12 1/3 innings.
Mariners: Left-hander
Marco Gonzales (7-3, 3.28
ERA) has allowed just three
earned runs in his past five
starts combined over a span
of 33 1/3 innings. He has
gone at least six innings in
eight of his past nine starts.
He does not have a deci-
sion in three appearances
against the Angels.
AP Photo/Denis Tyrin, File
The refurbished Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, Russia, where the opening match and final of the World Cup will
be played when the soccer world gathers at 12 stadiums in 11 cities across the European portion of Russia start-
ing June 14 for a 32-day, 64-match championship.
Germany looks to become 1st
repeat Cup champ in half-century
By RONALD BLUM
Associated Press
MOSCOW — After rais-
ing the World Cup eight
miles from Copacabana
Beach four years ago, Ger-
many hopes to lift the trophy
four miles from the Krem-
lin on July 15 and become
the first repeat champion in
more than a half-century.
The soccer world gathers
at 12 stadiums in 11 cities
across the European portion
of Russia starting Thurs-
day for a 32-day, 64-match
championship. Much has
changed since Die Mann-
schaft humiliated the host
Selecao 7-1 in the 2014
semifinals, then left Rio de
Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium
with a 1-0 extra-time win
over Argentina on Mario
Goetze’s 113th-minute goal.
The United States will
be missing from soc-
cer’s showcase after seven
straight appearances. Four-
time champion Italy will
be watching from home for
the first time since 1958,
its streak of 14 consecu-
tive appearances ended by a
playoff loss to Sweden. The
Netherlands, which lost the
2010 final to Spain, missed
out after slumping to third
in its qualifying group. And
Chile failed to qualify after
consecutive Copa America
titles.
Iceland and Panama are
World Cup debutantes, Peru
is back for the first time
since 1982, and Egypt ends
an absence dating to 1990.
Germany and Brazil are
the pretournament favorites,
and France is fancied behind
them with a young roster .
England will try to end more
than five decades of hurt
since winning its only major
title on home soil in 1966.
Mexico will try to advance
past the second round for the
first time since 1986, but El
Tri opens against Germany
and its likely second-round
opponent is Brazil.
There also has been a
generational change within
FIFA. Many of its lead-
ers have moved from pent-
houses to prisons follow-
ing indictments by the U.S.
Department of Justice that
detailed kickbacks to be as
much a part of soccer as free
kicks.
Expect controversy on a
regular basis.
FIFA’s Congress votes
June 13 on the host of the
2026 tournament, and a joint
bid by the U.S., Mexico and
Canada is competing against
Morocco — where most
of the infrastructure would
have to be built — on a bal-
lot that includes a none-of-
the-above option.
Following the drug-test-
ing scandal that engulfed the
2014 Sochi Winter Olym-
pics, FIFA’s medical com-
mittee chairman said no
Russians will be involved
in collection of urine and
blood samples, which will
be flown to Lausanne, Swit-
zerland, for analysis.
VAR will be the acronym
of the moment: video assis-
tant referees in soccer-speak,
instant replay for most view-
ers at home.
And as soon as the final
whistle of the tournament is
blown at Moscow’s Luzh-
niki Stadium, attention will
shift to the 2022 World Cup
in Qatar, moved to Nov. 21
through Dec. 18 because
of summer desert heat and
compressed to 28 days
because it is in the middle
of the European club season.
Gianni Infantino, who suc-
ceeded the disgraced Sepp
Blatter as FIFA president in
2016, has discussed increas-
ing the World Cup field from
32 to 48 in 2022, four years
ahead of schedule.
Some of the top sto-
rylines likely to dominate
play in Russia:
MESSI
AND
RONALDO
Lionel Messi and Cris-
tiano Ronaldo have split
the last 10 FIFA Player of
the Year awards, and this
is likely their last chance
to win a World Cup. Messi
turns 31 on June 24, two
days before Argentina fin-
ishes the first round against
Nigeria, and has lost four
finals with the national team.
Ronaldo, 33, helped Portu-
gal win the 2016 European
Championship for its first
major title.
BREAKOUT STARS?
Brazil’s
Neymar,
England’s Harry Kane,
Egypt’s Mohamed Salah,
France’s Antoine Griezmann
and Belgium’s Kevin De
Bruyne are stars who could
lift themselves into Player
of the Year contention with
stellar World Cups.
BACK TO BACK
Italy in 1934 and ‘38, and
Brazil in 1958 and ‘62 are
the only teams to win con-
secutive World Cups. Ger-
many was 10-0 in qualify-
ing, the only European team
with a perfect record, and
outscored opponents 43-4.
PLAY IT AGAIN
Following the first use
of goal-line technology at a
World Cup in 2014, FIFA has
expanded off-the-field deci-
sion-making. A video assis-
tant ref can notify the ref-
eree by headset of the need
to reverse a decision if there
is a “clear error” involving
goals and their buildups,
penalty kicks, straight red
cards, and mistaken identity
for red and yellow cards.
ICE, ICE BABY
Iceland at about 335,000
becomes the least-populous
nation to appear in a World
Cup, a mark that had been
held since 2006 by Trinidad
and Tobago at 1.3 million.
MISSING
Injured players miss-
ing the tournament include
Argentina goalkeeper Ser-
gio Romero and midfielder
Manuel Lanzini; France
defender Laurent Kosci-
elny; Serbia defender Matija
Nastasic; Brazil right back
Dani Alves; and England
midfielder
Alex-Oxlade
Chamberlain.
SPLIT SCREEN?
The World Cup final
starts two hours after the
beginning of the Wimbledon
men’s singles final. If Spain
and Rafa Nadal are play-
ing for titles, and the tennis
isn’t decided in straight sets,
which event do fans watch?
SCOREBOARD
Local slate
LEGION BASEBALL
Wednesday’s Games
Hodgen Distributing vs. Hanford (BMCC
field), 3 p.m.
Pepsi Diamondjaxx at Hanford (WA), 4
p.m.
Friday’s Games
Pepsi Diamondjaxx at Walla Walla Griz
Tourney, 4 p.m.
Hodgen Distributing at June Jam Wood
Bat Tourney (Yakima), TBD
Basketball
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
Connecticut
7
1 .875 —
Atlanta
5
4 .556 2½
Washington
5
4 .556 2½
New York
3
4 .429 3½
Chicago
3
6 .333 4½
Indiana
0
9 .000 7½
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
L Pct GB
Phoenix
8
3 .727 —
Seattle
7
3 .700
½
Los Angeles
6
2 .750 ½
Dallas
4
4 .500 2½
Minnesota
3
6 .333
4
Las Vegas
2
7 .222
5
———
Tuesday’s Games
Las Vegas 101, Indiana 92, OT
Seattle 96, Chicago 85
Phoenix 75, Dallas 72
Los Angeles 72, Atlanta 64
Wednesday’s Games
Las Vegas at New York, 4 p.m.
Washington at Connecticut, 4 p.m.
Baseball
MLB
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W
L
New York
43 19
Boston
46 22
Tampa Bay
31 35
Toronto
30 37
Baltimore
19 47
Central Division
W
L
Cleveland
35 30
Minnesota
29 34
Detroit
31 37
Chicago
23 42
Kansas City
22 45
West Division
W
L
Seattle
43 24
Houston
43 25
Los Angeles
37 31
Oakland
34 33
Texas
27 42
———
Tuesday’s Games
Pct GB
.694 —
.676 —
.470 14
.448 15½
.288 26
Pct GB
.538 —
.460
5
.456 5½
.354 12
.328 14
Pct GB
.642 —
.632
½
.455 6½
.507 8½
.391 17
Boston 6, Baltimore 4
N.Y. Yankees 3, Washington 0
Minnesota 6, Detroit 4
Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 1
Chicago White Sox 5, Cleveland 1
Cincinnati 5, Kansas City 1, 10 innings
Houston 6, Oakland 3
Seattle 6, L.A. Angels 3
L.A. Dodgers 12, Texas 5
Wednesday’s Games
Toronto (Happ 8-3) at Tampa Bay (Font
0-3), 10:10 a.m.
Boston (Sale 5-4) at Baltimore (Ramirez
0-0), 12:05 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Richards 4-4) at Seattle
(Gonzales 7-3), 1:10 p.m.
Washington (Fedde 0-1) at N.Y. Yankees
(Gray 4-4), 4:05 p.m.
Minnesota (Berrios 7-5) at Detroit (Boyd
4-4), 4:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Bauer 5-4) at Chicago White
Sox (Covey 2-1), 5:10 p.m.
Cincinnati (Mahle 4-6) at Kansas City
(Hammel 2-6), 5:15 p.m.
Houston (Cole 7-1) at Oakland (Blackburn
1-0), 7:05 p.m.
Texas (Hamels 3-6) at L.A. Dodgers
(Maeda 4-4), 7:10 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East Division
W
L Pct GB
Atlanta
38 28 .576 —
Washington
36 28 .563
1
Philadelphia
34 30 .531
3
New York
28 35 .444 8½
Miami
25 42 .373 13½
Central Division
W
L Pct GB
Milwaukee
40 27 .597 —
Chicago
38 26 .594
½
St. Louis
36 29 .554
3
Pittsburgh
32 35 .478
8
Cincinnati
24 43 .358 16
West Division
W
L Pct GB
Arizona
37 29 .561 —
Los Angeles
34 32 .515 2½
San Francisco
33 34 .493
4
Colorado
32 34 .485 4½
San Diego
32 37 .464
6
———
Tuesday’s Games
N.Y. Yankees 3, Washington 0
Philadelphia 5, Colorado 4
Miami 3, San Francisco 1
Atlanta 8, N.Y. Mets 2
Milwaukee 4, Chicago Cubs 0
Cincinnati 5, Kansas City 1, 10 innings
San Diego 4, St. Louis 2
L.A. Dodgers 12, Texas 5
Arizona 13, Pittsburgh 8
Wednesday’s Games
N.Y. Mets (deGrom 4-1) at Atlanta (Soroka
1-1), 9:10 a.m.
Chicago Cubs (Montgomery 2-1) at
Milwaukee (Chacin 5-1), 11:10 a.m.
Pittsburgh (Taillon 3-5) at Arizona (Greinke
5-4), 12:40 p.m.
Colorado (Anderson 3-1) at Philadelphia
(Pivetta 4-5), 4:05 p.m.
Washington (Fedde 0-1) at N.Y. Yankees
(Gray 4-4), 4:05 p.m.
San Francisco (Suarez 2-4) at Miami
(Smith 5-6), 4:10 p.m.
Cincinnati (Mahle 4-6) at Kansas City
(Hammel 2-6), 5:15 p.m.
San Diego (Lauer 2-4) at St. Louis (Weav-
er 3-5), 5:15 p.m.
Texas (Hamels 3-6) at L.A. Dodgers
(Maeda 4-4), 7:10 p.m.
NCAA
Division I Baseball Tournament
College World Series
At TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
Omaha, Neb.
(Double Elimination)
Saturday’s Games
Game 1 — Oregon State (49-10-1) vs.
North Carolina (43-18), 12 p.m.
Game 2 — Washington 35-24) vs. Missis-
sippi State (37-37), 5 p.m.
Sunday’s Games
Game 3 — Arkansas (44-19) vs. Texas
(42-21), 11 a.m.
Game 4 — Texas Tech (44-18) vs. Florida
(47-19), 4 p.m.
Soccer
MLS
Tuesday’s Games
No games scheduled.
Wednesday’s Games
Atlanta United FC at Columbus, 4:30 p.m.
Orlando City at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
D.C. United at Toronto FC, 5 p.m.
Seattle at New York, 5 p.m.
Chicago at Colorado, 6 p.m.
New England at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
FIFA
WORLD CUP
GROUP A
W T
L GF GA Pts
Egypt
0 0
0
0 0 0
Russia
0 0
0
0 0 0
Saudi Arabia 0 0
0
0 0 0
Uruguay
0 0
0
0 0 0
——
Thursday, June 14
At Moscow
Russia vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 a.m. (FOX)
Friday, June 15
At Ekaterinburg, Russia
Egypt vs. Uruguay, 5 a.m.
GROUP B
W T
L GF GA Pts
Iran
0 0
0
0 0 0
Morocco
0 0
0
0 0 0
Portugal
0 0
0
0 0 0
Spain
0 0
0
0 0 0
——
Friday, June 15
At Saint Petersburg, Russia
Morocco vs. Iran, 8 a.m.
At Sochi, Russia
Portugal vs. Spain, 11 a.m.
GROUP C
W T
L GF GA Pts
Australia
0 0
0
0 0 0
Denmark
0 0
0
0 0
France
0 0
0
0 0
Peru
0 0
0
0 0
——
Saturday, June 16
At Kazan, Russia
France vs. Australia, 3 a.m.
At Saransk, Russia
Peru vs. Denmark, 9 a.m.
GROUP D
W T
L GF GA
Argentina
0 0
0
0 0
Croatia
0 0
0
0 0
Iceland
0 0
0
0 0
Nigeria
0 0
0
0 0
——
Saturday, June 16
At Moscow
Argentina vs. Iceland, 6 a.m.
At Kalinigrad, Russia
Croatia vs. Nigeria, Noon
GROUP E
W T
L GF GA
Brazil
0 0
0
0 0
Costa Rica
0 0
0
0 0
Serbia
0 0
0
0 0
Switzerland 0 0
0
0 0
——
Sunday, June 17
At Samara, Russia
Costa Rica vs. Serbia, 5 a.m.
At Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Brazil vs. Switzerland, 11 a.m.
GROUP F
W T
L GF GA
Germany
0 0
0
0 0
Mexico
0 0
0
0 0
South Korea 0 0
0
0 0
Sweden
0 0
0
0 0
——
Sunday, June 17
At Moscow
Germany vs. Mexico, 8 a.m.
Monday, June 18
At Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Sweden vs. South Korea, 5 a.m.
GROUP G
W T
L GF GA
Belgium
0 0
0
0 0
England
0 0
0
0 0
Panama
0 0
0
0 0
Tunisia
0 0
0
0 0
——
Monday, June 18
At Sochi, Russia
Belgium vs. Panama, 8 a.m.
At Volgograd, Russia
Tunisia vs. England, 11 a.m.
GROUP H
W T
L GF GA
Colombia
0 0
0
0 0
Japan
0 0
0
0 0
Poland
0 0
0
0 0
Senegal
0 0
0
0 0
——
Tuesday, June 19
At Saransk, Russia
Colombia vs. Japan, 5 a.m.
At Moscow
Poland vs. Senegal, 8 a.m.
0
0
0
Pts
0
0
0
0
Pts
0
0
0
0
Pts
0
0
0
0
Pts
0
0
0
0
Pts
0
0
0
0