Quick hits

Rare accomplishment

When West Valley and North Central won regional baseball openers Tuesday and qualified for state, it had been some time since two Spokane teams in what is now the 3A classification had done so.

The last was 1997 when Cheney reached the semifinals, finishing third, and WV lost in the first round.

The defunct Frontier League qualified two teams to state in 14 of the first 25 state tournaments in what was formerly the AA classification. Clarkston won titles in 1974 and 1975 and WV was the 1978 champ.

East Valley (1983) was also a semifinalist. A half dozen more teams reached the round of eight.

The tournament is in its 34th year, the classification nomenclature has changed, and area luck has not been good. There was a four-year stretch, 2000 through 2003, in which Spokane had no state qualifiers.

WV’s Eagles are making their 12th tournament appearance.

NC’s move to 3A has improved Spokane’s odds. This is the Indians’ fifth state trip since 2000 and eighth overall. NC finished second in ‘78 and again in ‘01 in the 4A classification.

Hawks look for volunteers

The Seattle Seahawks have teamed with Qwest for the third Qwest Leadership Challenge, a scholarship program for football and girls soccer players based on volunteer work.

The program is looking for one football and soccer player from each Washington high school to volunteer in the community and to compete for one of two $5,000 scholarships. More information is available at www.seahawks.com. The deadline for nominations is Monday.

Last year’s winners included Nate Thompson of University High.

Around the region

Great Northern: Four teams (Pullman, Lakeside, Medical Lake and Colville) will play Saturday in Colville to earn one of two bids into the State 2A baseball tournament. Advancing from the GNL isn’t necessarily a guarantee of state success, but in the past five years, five of 10 state qualifiers made the final four, including two champions (Pullman in 2001 and ‘05). … The softball league season comes down to a doubleheader Saturday when Colville (13-0, 10-0) plays at Pullman (12-5, 8-2). Pullman could win the league championship with a sweep of the Indians. … The boys soccer semifinals are tonight, with Deer Park (8-7) at Riverside (10-4) and Lakeside (10-6) at Pullman (16-0). Both winners get into the State 2A tournament. Riverside split with Deer Park, and Pullman outscored Lakeside 4-0 in two wins.

Northeast A: Newport (19-0, 12-0) swept a pair of doubleheaders from Colfax (7-7, 7-4) last Thursday and Monday, ensuring back-to-back league baseball titles. The Grizzlies haven’t lost a regular-season game since moving to the NEA from the Great Northern League before the 2005 season. … Colfax (12-5, 8-2), after sweeping two doubleheaders against Newport last Thursday and Monday, has to just split a doubleheader against visiting Freeman (10-8, 6-4) Saturday (starting at noon) to win the regular-season softball title. Freeman and Kettle Falls (8-9, 6-4) split a doubleheader last Saturday. Kettle Falls is host to Newport (0-16, 0-10) Friday at 2 p.m.

Bi-County: Odessa beat Davenport in a tiebreaker for the top seed into the softball league tournament, where eight teams are pared down to three for the district tournament, with the fourth-place team having a chance in a pigtail game against the Panorama’s No. 5.

Panorama: Six teams play Saturday for four assured spots in the district softball tournament, with the fifth team advancing into the pigtail game. Inchelium (19-1) is the top seed.

District 7 baseball: With Lind-Ritzville (17-2) and St. George’s (17-3) already advancing to the State B tournament as the top seed from the Bi-Co and Panorama, respectively, the final two spots are on the line today in Northport and Hartline. Reardan (7-9) plays Republic (18-4) in Hartline, with the winner meeting Almira/Coulee-Hartline (14-4) for a state berth. St. Michael’s (13-7) plays Liberty (13-8) at Northport, with the winner facing the host Mustangs (17-3) for a trip to state. The seeding tournament will be held Monday at Avista Stadium.

Whitman County: District 9 baseball playoffs are under way, with Colton facing Blue Mountain champion DeSales, while WCL champion Asotin will face Liberty Christian Saturday in Pasco. The top three teams from D-9 will advance to regionals. … WCL softball champion Colton (16-1), Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia (13-9), Garfield-Palouse (15-7) and Asotin (11-12) have advanced to the District 9 playoffs. They will face their Blue Mountain counterparts Tuesday.