Mike Vlahovich

Mt. Spokane activities coordinator John Miller has not strayed far from his roots. Born and raised here, he graduated from West Valley. He played football at Spokane Falls Community College and Whitworth and has taught, coached and administered sports in the Mead School District the past 31 years. "As a kid I was watching Gerry Lindgren and Bill Etter," he said. "When I got into coaching I got to watch Mark Rypien, Ryan Sandberg, Steve Emtman and the Stockton kids growing up."

The heat was on and results often harrowing, but three Greater Spokane League softball teams survived Saturday at Franklin Park to play another week. Shadle Park defended its 4A regional title with a 1-0 squeaker over Richland. Both Central Valley and 3A North Central survived loser-out situations to join Shadle in Tacoma over the Memorial Day weekend.

The next to last weekend of the 2007-08 high school sports season is a busy one as area athletes in seven sports and all classifications compete in state tournaments or for the chance to advance to state. State 4A baseball at Gonzaga Prep will pit the state's top three ranked teams and talented pitchers against one another in three games to determine a state semifinalist.

Sammy put an end to the whammy. Shadle Park pitcher Sam Skillingstad's two-run fourth inning double broke a 1-1 tie and she did the rest on the mound for an 8-2 District 8 4A championship softball victory over Central Valley Tuesday at Whitworth College.

Central Valley last went to the State 4A baseball tournament in 1996. Today the upstart Bears are in Wenatchee at 4 p.m. hoping to join what arguably may be the toughest four-team pod in this year's 16-team event. The state's top three ranked teams in Lem Elway's Washington Baseball Poll – defending state champion Richland, Redmond and University – are in the field.

As University baseball coach Scott Sutherland noted following the Titans' second straight District 8 4A championship, Gonzaga Prep is a hitter's park and runs were to be expected Saturday when the playoffs concluded at Higgins Field. "I figured somebody would have to score double figures to win," Sutherland said after U-Hi's 17-7 victory over Mead.

Trevor Delmedico was in the right place at the right time – twice. Central Valley's sophomore midfielder, left alone on the outside, tallied both goals in the Bears' 2-1 victory over visiting Pasco Friday. It gave the Bears (11-4) the regional championship and top eastern seed into the State 4A soccer tournament.

West Valley has unleashed the new "Murderer's Row," some 80 years after the New York Yankees were awarded the nom de guerre for their relentless home run hitting lineup. The Eagles baseball team on Wednesday slugged six homers in a single five-inning baseball game to qualify for the State 2A tournament with a 13-2 pasting of Pullman in the district semifinals.

It was an eventful Thursday at Whitworth's Marks Field for second baseman Tiffany Lookabill, whose Mead Panthers advanced to the District 8 4A softball semifinals with a 7-2 win over Gonzaga Prep. Lookabill scored the game's first run, had a great day on defense and in the process received a surprise invitation to Saturday's school prom.

Mt. Spokane shortstop Jarek Cunningham was at last on the field when the Wildcats opened Region 3A baseball competition at home on Tuesday. Cunningham contributed on defense, hit a pair of doubles and scored a run.

There's something to be said about maturity. It is the main reason, said coach Chad Ripke, that Freeman reigns as Northeast A League baseball champion. "The core nucleus has been with me now for three years," said Ripke. "We now have a lot of juniors and seniors. About seven of the kids play in the summer and fall. They live and die for baseball."

Prior to the start of their District 8 4A championship boys soccer match, regular-season Greater Spokane League co-winners Mead and Central Valley were each presented trophies. For 90 minutes Friday evening at Joe Albi Stadium, neither team was willing to relinquish its share, so they left it up to chance.

Postseason is upon us. •Soccer – Central Valley either qualified for state on Friday when it played Mead for the District 8 4A high school championship, or will play Friday's University-Ferris winner on Tuesday at Albi Stadium for the opportunity to do so.

For those who didn't get to witness Lewis and Clark's Washington State 4A title victory over Moses Lake, they'll get a taste of that matchup during the 15th Jack Blair Memorial Girls AAU All-Star Basketball Classic on May 29 at 7:30 p.m. at University High School. Moses Lake Chiefs Carly Noyes and Jordan Loera are members of this year's Region squad that Classic promoter Ron Adams called the best one by far.

Freeman girls basketball coach Matt Gregg has resigned to become the women's coach at Warner Pacific, an NAIA college in Portland. Gregg, who teaches at Post Falls Middle School, was Freeman's girls coach for the past five years, compiling a 103-24 record and placing in the top five three times at the State 1A tournament, including second place in 2005.

It took Billy Moon an inning to find his groove. Once he did, University was well on its way to undisputed first place in Greater Spokane League baseball. After allowing two game-tying first-inning runs Tuesday at Mead, the left-handed Titans junior pitched and batted the team to an 18-2 victory and a sweep of their two-game series that began last Friday with U-Hi's 10-0 win.

Prior to the start of the Greater Spokane League baseball series between league leaders University and Mead, Titans coach Scott Sutherland downplayed the significance of its championship overtones. "Winning the championship is not the big prize," Sutherland said. "Qualifying for regional is the important thing."

As May approaches, so do postseason tournaments for high school spring sports. Soccer begins next week, and Central Valley boys positioned themselves for a state qualifying run on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over preseason favorite Ferris.

The baseball had eyes on Tuesday and Mt. Spokane saw fit to make the most of them. Benefiting from four fortuitously placed fifth-inning hits, the Wildcats (8-9) scored five times for a 6-1 Greater Spokane League victory over visiting North Central (5-10).

Before the season began, University soccer coach Kevin Houston never envisioned the uncertainty of this year's multi-team Greater Spokane League title race entering the final week. Two matches remain, Wednesday and Friday, and, depending upon the outcomes, any of five teams can qualify for the district championship between the top two finishers that determines an automatic state berth.