Clever Titans Slip Past Highlanders

University needed one hit and one clever play Saturday to clinch a spot in the District 8-4A softball title game.

The Titans (20-1) defeated Shadle Park 1-0 at Franklin Park, scoring in the bottom of the eighth inning during a rundown.

Megan Mertens lined to shortstop with Katy Oglesbee on second base. Oglesbee reached third when the ball was dropped, and Mertens rounded first and ended up in a rundown. Oglesbee scampered home while Shadle tried to retire Mertens.

Hard-luck loser Jessica Murray allowed just Kelly Pierce’s single. U-Hi’s Cheryl Andrizzi (20-0) pitched a three-hitter, all three by Dorthea Gooch. Gooch was stranded at third in the fourth.

Mead defeated Ferris 4-2 in the day’s other game.

U-Hi plays Mead (16-4) at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the top two seeds to next weekend’s regional tourney at Franklin. Shadle (13-8) plays Ferris (13-9) at 3:45 Tuesday at Franklin for the third and fourth regional berths.

Friday’s opening-round regional matchups will be: GSL No. 1 vs. Big Nine Conference No. 4 Pasco; GSL No. 2 vs. Big Nine No. 3 Richland; GSL No. 3 vs. Big Nine No. 2 Eisenhower; and GSL No. 4 vs. Big Nine No. 1 Wenatchee.

In Mead’s win, Janessa Karstens (17-4) struck out four and singled in a run during a two-run fifth.

Missy Bonanno’s sacrifice fly snapped a 2-all tie.

Tarrah Brown (16-0) pitched a pair of two-hitters, striking out 18 on the day, as Great Northern League champion Colville (20-0) completed its regular season with a 15-1, 10-0 sweep at Pullman (11-9).

Brown, Tiffany Tripp and Ellen Shaw all had three hits on the day.

Leslie White (16-0) won twice, including a two-hitter, and Nicki Roecks had a two-run homer in the second game as Freeman (16-4) swept visiting Medical Lake 5-3, 11-1 to finish in second place.

Freeman’s Michelle Kiddoo was 3 for 4 with three RBIs in the opener, including a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh. Casie VanTassel had three hits, three runs and two RBIs in the nightcap.

The Cardinals are 8-12.

Heather Hone was 4 for 4 with two RBIs in the opener and Isa Barrans, Heather Hoxie and Lisa Donton had third-inning doubles in the second game as visiting Chewelah swept Riverside by identical 6-5 scores to tie the Rams for third place at 11-9.

Chewelah’s Chelle Foucault escaped a no-out, bases-loaded situation in the third of the opener with three strikeouts. Riverside’s Lacey Darby doubled in a run and scored in the seventh of the opener.

Rachael Kinservik pitched a no-hitter in the opener, saved by Chas Utter’s two diving catches in the outfield, and Kettle Falls (10-10) swept visiting Newport 15-0, 10-2 to finish in sixth.

Vonda Holland and Kim Marcum combined for five hits in the opener to back Kinservik, who struck out five. Mollie McDirmid of the Grizzlies (1-19) struck out 13 and walked 13 in the second game.

Results of the Colfax (6-12) doubleheader at Lakeside (5-13) weren’t reported. The top eight teams advance to next weekend’s district tourney at Medical Lake. Colfax had a chance to tie Medical Lake for eighth and force a tie-breaker.

Sandra Tronsen had a two-run homer in the second and finished with three RBIs as defending State B champion Garfield-Palouse (21-1) defeated Rosalia 14-4 in the title game of the Whitman County tournament at Palouse.

Gar-Pal advances to Saturday’s District 9-B tourney at Kennewick as the No. 1 seed and will open against Blue Mountain No. 4.

Gar-Pal opened the day with a 25-15 win over Tekoa-Oakesdale, as Nancy Sheffler tripled, homered and had six RBIs.

Rosalia (15-7) reached the final with a 14-9 win over LaCrosse-Washtucna. Rosalia scored nine in the sixth, assisted by three Tigercats errors. Julie Suchanek tripled twice for Rosalia, which advances to district as No. 2 and opens with BM No. 3.

T-O (9-13) earned the No. 3 seed with an eight-inning, 12-11 win over L-W (10-13). Aimee Dahl of T-O, who had tripled and homered, was walked to load the bases in the eighth. Jessica Small’s RBI walk tied the game, and Tina Beddingfield followed with a single.

T-O opens with BM No. 2 and L-W draws BM No. 1 to open district.

Debbie Plummer doubled twice and had five RBIs as visiting Reardan (13-6) defeated Tonasket 9-2 in a piggyback game of the District 6-2A/1A slowpitch tourney.

Caree Olson scored three runs for Reardan, which advances to the double-elimination portion of the tourney. Reardan plays at Brewster at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Reardan was seeded into the tourney because it played an independent schedule when fellow Northeast A teams joined the GNL for fastpitch.

District 7-3A girls tennis

Brooke Ruchert and Tiffany Claridte of East Valley won the doubles title with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Clarkston’s Tanya Moen and Darleen Schneider.

Both teams made the final without dropping a set in two matches. Both advance to the Region IV tourney next weekend in Yakima.

Track and field

Freeman’s boys and Colfax’s girls won titles at the NEA meet in Colfax.

Bill DePell won the 100- and 200-meter runs for Freeman, which outscored runner-up Reardan 93-72. Freeman distance runners Joe and John Russell accounted for 21 points.

Kettle Falls’ Tim Gehring won the shot put and discus.

Colfax edged Freeman 91-84 for the girls title. Laura Widman won the high jump, long jump and shot put, and Mary Appel won the 100 and 200 for Colfax. Freeman’s Laura Halverson won the 1,600 and 3,200.