State softball: East Valley, Cheney ousted on first day of 1A tourney
It was a rough day for area 2A teams.
Great Northern League champion Cheney, which entered play at Carlon Park in Selah on Friday with two losses, left with four.
The Blackhawks (19-4) were limited to two hits by Olivia Gray, who struck out 18, and blanked 6-0 by Woodland in a first-round game, then eliminated by Sedro-Wooley 10-6 in the third-place bracket.
East Valley didn’t have it much better.
The Knights (14-11) were dropped by North Kitsap 9-6 in the first round, but rebounded to beat Fife 6-5 in a loser-out in the third-place bracket.
East Valley drew Port Angeles in its third game of the day but it ran out of steam and fell 19-3 in the third-place bracket and were eliminated.
1A
The Northeast A League has a member in each of the 1A semifinals.
Lakeside topped Warden 5-1 in the first round behind a 16-strikeout, one-hit effort from Shelby Claasen, then beat fellow NEA member Deer Park 10-0 in a quarterfinal at Columbia Playfield in Richland.
In the win over the Stags, Saelor Dvorak launched a home run among three hits.
Lakeside (17-6) faces Castle Rock in a semifinal at 9 a.m.
Deer Park beat South Whidbey 4-2 in its first-round game, then after falling to Lakeside the Stags routed Bellevue Christian 18-2 in the third-place bracket.
Deer Park (19-7) faces Montesano on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a loser-out game.
In the other half of the bracket, Chewelah (23-2) beat Montesano 7-5 in a first-round matchup, then downed Mt. Baker 6-3 in a quarterfinal to advance to a semifinal against Elma on Saturday at 9 a.m.
2B
Northwest Christian advanced to a semifinal with an 8-4 win over Pe Ell/Willapa Valley in a quarterfinal at Gateway Sports Complex in Yakima. Mattea Nelson hit a first-inning home run and the Crusaders topped Liberty Bell 9-4 in a first-round game.
NWC (25-0) plays Adna at noon with a trip to the state final on the line.
Colfax (16-7) beat Liberty Christian 11-9 in a first-round game. Colfax faced Ocosta in a late game. If the Bulldogs won they face Napavine in a semifinal at noon; if they lost they play Dayton/Waitsburg in the third-place bracket.
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague (13-13) lost to Kittitas/Thorp 12-2 in the first round, then lost to Dayton/Waitsburg 18-2 in a loser-out in the third-place bracket.
Liberty (16-8) dropped a 10-0 decision to Napavine in the first round and lost to Brewster 13-3 in the third-place bracket.
1B
Almira/Coulee-Hartline will play for a state title on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Quilcene at Gateway Sports Complex.
ACH (23-3) advanced to the championship with a 5-4 win over Colton in eight innings in a semifinal. In its first game, ACH routed Rainier Christian 15-0.
Colton (20-4) reached the semifinal with a 15-1 first-round win over Wishkah Valley.
Quilcene knocked off Inchelium 10-4 in the other semi. Inchelium defeated Pomeroy 6-3 in a first -round game.
Inchelium (19-7) faces Rainier Christian and Colton takes on Pomeroy (12-8), with the winners reaching the state third-place game.
Tennis
Freeman’s Andy Simmerman is the final local player in a winner’s bracket.
Simmerman bested La Salle’s Ben Newman 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of State 1B/2B/1A tennis at the Columbia Basin Racquet Club in Richland.
In the quarterfinals, Simmerman beat Caleb Hardesty of Tonasket 6-3, 6-1. He plays Seattle Academy’s Ezra Magaram today with a chance to advance to the finals.
Freeman also has a doubles team in the fourth/seventh place finals. Trevor Paternoster and Kolby Emtman play Wilson Mosier and Michael Yang of University Prep.
4A
Tyler Timperman of Gonzaga Prep will play for fourth place on Saturday when he faces Justin Ong of Olympia.
In doubles, Eric and Edward Liu of Mead are in the fourth/seventh place match where they will play Jackson Kelley and Alex Collie of Bellarmine Prep for fourth place.
2A
Pullman’s Jake Pru is still alive and he will have to win two matches to get fourth place at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle. Pru starts his day against Abe Rios of Foster.