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JOHNAMIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Kevin Harvick stands in Victory Lane a er winning the pole Friday for the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. ByPaulNewberry TheAssociatedPress HAMPTON, GA. Kevin Harvick knows he can go fast at Atlanta Mo- tor Speedway. Now he wants to win the race. Harvick took the pole for the sec- ond race of the NASCAR Monster En- ergy Cup season on Friday, turning a lap of 190.398 mph in the third round of qualifying. Harvick has led more laps than anyone at each of the last three At- lanta races, a total of 442 laps in all. He failed to win any of them. "It's frustrating," he said. "Hope- fully this year we can close it out." Ryan Newman will start on the outside of the front row Sunday after posting a speed of 189.870. They were followed by Kyle Busch (189.850), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (188.854) and Brad Keselowski (188.783). "That was good," said Newman, who is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 season. "Harvick just slipped in there and beat us." Kurt Busch, who captured the sea- son-opening Daytona 500, was 13th. Two-time defending Atlanta race winner Jimmie Johnson settled for the 18th spot. Five cars did not pass inspection in time to get on the track. Michael McDowell, Cole Whitt, Jeffrey Earn- hardt, Derrike Cope and Cody Ware were not able to attempt a lap in the first round of qualifying, but no one will be sent home with only 39 en- tries for the 40-car field. Unlike the previous year, when the inspection line was plagued by delays, NASCAR officials said every car was able to get through at least 45 minutes before the start of qual- ifying. However, under new rules for this season, any car that fails even one part of the inspection protocol has to go through the entire process again. "The garage has asked us to stay consistent, stay the course, and they'll get it fixed. That's what we're going to do," said Elton Sawyer, NAS- CAR's vice president of officiating and technical inspection. NASCAR MONSTER ENERGY CUP HarvickclaimspoleatAtlanta Hasledmostlapsinlast 3 races there, 442 laps in all, but never won any By Andrew Baggarly Bay Area News Group MESA,ARIZ. As Buster Posey pre- pares to depart San Francisco Gi- ants camp for the World Base- ball Classic, the innings behind the plate are about to pick up for backup catchers Nick Hundley and Trevor Brown. It's more a collaboration than a competition. Hundley has a guaranteed contract and is on the team. Brown's only hope, at least to start, is that the Giants decide to carry a third catcher — a luxury that manager Bruce Bo- chy covets every spring but seem- ingly never can afford. The Giants had plans to in- crease Brown's versatility, but they have too many other non- roster infielders in camp. So he's been taking ground balls at sec- ond and third on his own time, just in case. Brown knows he almost cer- tainly will begin the season at Tri- ple-A Sacramento, but he sees the positives in that assignment. He's never had the chance to catch ad- vanced pitching on an everyday basis, and his receiving skills can only get better. "When you move up to Triple- A and the big leagues, it's a big step to catch pitchers who have that additional movement and ve- locity," Brown said. "I'm definitely more comfortable with it now. It's something I worked at in the off- SPRING TRAINING BROWN EMBRACES CHANCES TO GROW Posey leaves for WBC; Samardzija sharp in loss to A's despite giving up home run to Alonso San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija leaves the spring training game against the Oakland A's during the third inning on Friday in Mesa, Ariz. PHOTOS BY CHRIS CARLSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Oakland Athletics' Yonder Alonso hits a home run against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning of a spring training game Friday in Mesa, Ariz. By Tim Booth The Associated Press SEATTLE For the second time in a matter of days, Sydney Wiese and No. 6 Oregon State got the better of California. Now the wait begins for Cali- fornia to see if those two losses to the Beavers contribute to the Golden Bears either making the NCAA tournament or being left out. Wiese scored 26 points and the top-seeded Beavers rolled into the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals with a 65-49 victory over Califor- nia on Friday. Wiese and the Beavers (28-3) won their sixth straight, lead- ing by as many as 16 in the first half and holding off every run by the Golden Bears. It was Oregon State's second win in a week over California, knocking off the Bears in the regular-season finale by 15. And every win this weekend in Seattle only bolsters Oregon State's chance of possibly land- ing a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs. The Beavers will play No. 15 UCLA in Saturday's semifinals. "It's tough to play a team (twice) in a four- or five-day span because you know each other so well, and at the end of conference play, too," Wiese said. California would like to join Oregon State in the NCAAs, but will have an antsy wait over the next week until the tournament field is announced on March 13. Kristine Anigwe led California (19-13) with 26 points, but needed 24 shot attempts to do so. The Bears likely needed one more victory to bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes, but California coach Lindsay Gott- lieb believes the Bears have done enough as is to warrant an at- large bid. "I'm confident that's where we belong. It's hard to be confi- dent in things that are out of your control," Gottlieb said. "We know that, you know, if we have five or six more wins, then it's not a ques- tion." Mikayla Pivec added 17 points for Oregon State, which a year ago used a run to its first Pac-12 Tournament title as the precur- sor to a Final Four run. Marie Gu- lich overcame early foul trouble to add 12 points. California was within 10 mid- way through the third quarter, but went six minutes without scor- ing. A free throw from Anigwe in the opening moments of the fourth quarter finally broke the scoreless drought but the Bears still trailed by 15. California had one final run, pulling within 55- 47 with 4:05 remaining on Anig- we's basket. After an Oregon State turnover, Asha Thomas' 3-pointer rimmed out and the Bears could get no closer. Wiese's three-point play with 2:04 left finally put the game away. Wiese was 7 of 13 shooting and COLLEGE WOMEN Wiese gets No. 6 OSU past California Golden Bears sit on NCAA tourney bubble Red Bluff's Top Fueler wrestlers placed at Feb- ruary's Gateway Classic Tournament at Central Valley High School in Shasta Lake City. Pictured are Gunner Bonner, first, Uriah Hale, first, Bainan Dion, first, Dakota Bunn, second, Tyler Peterson, second, Hunter Bonner, second, Jennifer Soto, second, Corbin Domoe, second, Blake Miller, third, Adam Peterson, third, Seth Miller, third, and Sayla Blanchard, third. CONTRIBUTED WRESTLING Top Fuelers place at Gateway Tournament WOMEN PAGE 2 BASEBALL PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, March 4, 2017 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1