U-Hi Blows Into Regional

Prep baseball

Chris McMurtrey and University are back where they’d hoped to be.

McMurtrey (6-0) pitched a four-hitter and struck out 13 Saturday as U-Hi defeated Mead 5-2 to clinch a repeat trip to the Region IV-4A tournament.

The late-afternoon game at Seafirst Stadium capped U-Hi’s weekend of three consecutive wins at the District 8-4A tourney. The third-seeded Titans (15-8) pulled a similar feat last year while seeded No. 6.

Second-seeded Mead (15-6), last year’s district champion, couldn’t catch up to McMurtrey’s 85- to 90-mph fastballs and missed a return trip to region.

“We got complete game, complete game and complete game this weekend, and you can’t ask for anything more from high school kids,” said Titans coach Don Ressa.

Ressa and assistant Scott Sutherland devised a district strategy that involved using Chris Barth and Sean Ruscio in early games and saving McMurtrey for the hard-hitting Panthers.

McMurtrey appreciated the confidence, since tendinitis delayed his season and he hadn’t felt right until this week.

“I knew I was the one who had to get us into regionals,” said McMurtrey, who allowed no extra-base hits and had a shutout until Brandon Muzatko’s two-out, two-run single in the seventh.

U-Hi will play Greater Spokane League champion Ferris (18-2) Tuesday night at Seafirst for seeding to Saturday’s regional, also at Seafirst. Ferris has won 17 consecutive games since a GSL season-opening loss to U-Hi.

The region schedule is: GSL No. 1 vs. Big Nine Conference No. 2 Pasco, 10 a.m.; GSL No. 2 vs. Big Nine No. 1 Kamiakin (20-2), 1 p.m.; and championship game, 4 p.m. The champion advances to the May 29 state semifinals in Vancouver.

U-Hi cracked five homers during the weekend, two by Josh Sheffield, who has 10 for the year.

Brandon Florence and Brad Valkenaar homered against Mead. Florence’s two-run shot off Dan Thigpen (4-1) set the tone, as the Mead starter was one out away from escaping unharmed in the third despite allowing Josh Thompson’s leadoff double.

Instead, left-handed hitter Jon Spear lined a 3-1 pitch to the opposite field to score Thompson. Florence took the next pitch to right-center, and the ball hit the top of the fence and bounced over.

Valkenaar’s one-out solo homer to left in the seventh gave McMurtrey a 5-0 lead.

“I hadn’t felt really good all year, but today the fastball was really on,” said McMurtrey, who also won a district game last year.

Ruscio (5-3) scattered 10 hits in the day’s first game, a 10-7 Titans win that eliminated Gonzaga Prep (10-12).

Prep owned leads of 2-0 and 3-2 before two errors by third baseman Nick Korst in the fourth helped the Titans to a 5-3 edge. Spear had his second RBI double in the inning.

Sean Thacker’s homer to right-center in the sixth pulled the Bullpups within one, but the Titans responded with a five-run sixth. Spear had a one-out single, Florence reached on Korst’s wide throw to first, and Sheffield pulled a 1-0 pitch deep over the right-field fence.

“The real story is that this is a team energized by seniors,” Ressa said. “There are only two juniors on the field.

“What we did last year certainly helped us this week.”

District 7-3A playoffs

Eric Biesen snapped a 9-all tie with a two-run double in the seventh, and reliever Joe Cahalan pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh as third-seeded West Valley (7-15) beat No. 2 Cheney 11-9 in a loser-out at Cheney.

Biesen had three hits, including another double, and Chris Hilsabeck and Ian Harty also doubled for the Eagles. West Valley is 5-3 since starting 2-12.

Daryl Craig of Cheney (8-12) was 3 for 4 with three RBIs. He doubled twice and tripled.

WV plays at Frontier League champion East Valley (16-4) on Tuesday, needing two wins to advance to regionals. EV is 4-0 against WV this year.

Mid-Valley’s No. 2 team, Selah or WV (Yakima), will be the opening assignment for Tuesday’s winner.

District 7-2A playoffs

Joe Spears (9-1) struck out six, and he and Jojo Powers had three RBIs apiece as Colville (20-1) defeated Medical Lake 11-1 in the title game at Colville.

Colville advances as the top seed to Saturday’s Region IV tournament at Shadle Park. The Indians open at 10 a.m. against Central Washington No. 4 Naches.

Medical Lake (17-6) bounced back to eliminate Lakeside 4-3. The Cardinals, No. 2 to region, open at 1 p.m. against Central Washington No. 2 Othello.

The title game, for a state semifinal berth, is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Against Medical Lake, Spears had RBI singles in the first, third and fourth. Powers had an RBI single in the first and a two-run single in the fourth. Shane Meinhold added a two-run single in the third.

Jefferson French (6-0) pitched a five-hitter and scored the go-ahead run after doubling in the fifth in Medical Lake’s win over Lakeside (11-11).

Brandon Moore and Richard Brown hit solo homers for Medical Lake. Moore’s was his eighth.

Lakeside opened the day by eliminating Chewelah (14-9). No details were reported.

District 7-1A playoffs

Nick Mayer hit a three-run homer in the fifth for a 4-2 lead, then threw a 3-2 curveball for the game-ending strikeout as Northeast A League champion Colfax (18-3) defeated visiting Freeman 5-4 to qualify for regionals.

Freeman (13-8) led 2-0 in the second. Bryan White and Matt Smith singled and scored, Smith on John Brune’s single. Brad Biagi of Colfax singled and scored in the fourth on an errant pickoff throw to first base.

Brian Seuss had a bunt single and Kyle Warwick walked before Mayer’s homer in the fifth. Biagi followed with a double, and he scored on Ryan VanDyke’s single.

The Scotties cut the lead to one on solo homers by Matt Smith in the sixth and Kody Owen in the seventh. Freeman had runners at first and second when Mayer fanned the final hitter.

The regional is next weekend at Moses Lake.

District 9-B tournament

Joe Levens (6-0) pitched a one-hitter, and Josh Wolfram homered and tripled for three RBIs as six-time defending State B champion DeSales (16-5) defeated Tekoa-Oakesdale 16-0 in the title game at Lewiston.

Pat Heaton of the Nighthawks (15-4) broke up the no-hitter with a single to lead off the sixth.

Kris Wolfram, J.C. Viagi, Ty Baffney and Levens combined to go 10 of 19 with nine RBIs.

DeSales earned the No. 1 seed to next weekend’s Region IV tourney at Walla Walla. T-O is No. 2 to the Region III tourney at SFCC.

Waitsburg (17-5) earned the other regional seed by defeating Touchet. Waitsburg will also play at WW.

The day opened with Waitsburg eliminating Colton 12-3 and Touchet eliminating Garfield-Palouse 4-1.

Waitsburg’s Chris Pearson was 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs against Colton. Blake Wolf of the Wildcats (16-5) struck out seven.

Brandon Ingham’s two-run single during a three-run third lifted Touchet (16-7) over Gar-Pal (9-11).