Foes Steal Two From Bears

The losses were heartbreaking, but at least Central Valley’s softball team had the satisfaction of knowing its season isn’t over.

The Bears already had qualified for 4A regional play for the second straight year before steals of home resulted in tough 6-5 and 3-2 losses to eventual district champion University and Lewis and Clark.

CV plays Friday at 6 p.m. against Moses Lake, the No. 1 team from the Big Nine. Moses Lake was fourth during the regular season behind Richland and Eisenhower.

University, in a stunningly easy 13-1 rout of Shadle Park for its second district title in five years as league champ, opens against Walla Walla at 8 p.m.

All games Friday and Saturday are at Franklin Park.

On Monday, in a game to determine a district finalist, neither the Bears nor Titans were particularly sharp defensively. Of the 11 runs scored, most, said CV coach Paul Danelo, shouldn’t have.

In the sixth inning Marci Nauert started a 5-run rally with a sun-induced single to right. Following a walk, CV’s Andrea Manos and Jami Danelo laid down bunts that U-Hi failed to make plays on as prelude to Amber Shields’ bases-loaded triple.

Until that inning, nary a Bear had reached base and 10 of the 15 outs were by strikeout.

CV coach “Paul Danelo told me they were going to erupt,” said Titan coach Jon Schuh, who was CV’s coach last year. “I kind of chuckled.”

He wasn’t laughing after the inning ended, but was able to smile in relief after the Titans rallied with two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh.

It took a two-out error and rundown play and steal home to pull it off. CV lost 3-2 on a two-out, two-strike steal of home by Lewis and Clark on Tuesday, Nauert with both RBIs, but Danelo was not upset. And he’s not concerned the Bears are on the toughest side of the regional bracket.

“I don’t think we played bad, we just missed opportunities,” he said. “We’re going into regionals with no pressure on us.”

U-Hi’s Sarah Bishop, who struggled with CV’s bunts defensively, got into the run-down that resulted in Nancy Nguyen’s winning run and was one of the batting stars, along with sophomores Jennie Shollenberger and Jill Oglesbee in the Titan romp to the district title, with two hits and three runs scored.

West Valley’s 3A softball regional bid went awry in Colville the previous Saturday, a 5-run fourth inning by Cheney leading to a 6-5 upset over the Eagles.

Nauert advances in golf

Just 13th after one day of state golf qualifying, Marty Nauert, Marci’s twin brother, was in danger of having his season come to an early end.

But the Central Valley junior rallied in major fashion on his home course to finish third overall in the District 8 4A boys tourament.

Nauert had opened the tourney with a 76 at Wandermere and needed to make up three places to continue.

Monday at Liberty Lake he shared medalist honors with a 68, giving him a two-round total of 144, four strokes off the lead.

Consistent East Valley senior Jared Taylor shot rounds of 73 and 74 to place eighth and also earn a state trip.

Not as fortunate was CV senior Nik Armitage. Standing eighth entering the final round with a 74, Armitage duplicated his round.

But it left him a stroke short of state, bumped by his teammate and a pair of golfers whose Monday 71s moved them into the top 10 and state field.

Tennis players make regionals

The East Valley doubles team of Elly Smith and Sarah Shogren is headed to regionals again. This time it’s a short trip down Sullivan to Central Valley High.

The tennis duo finished fourth during District 8 4A qualifying after losing a tough three-set match in the semis to eventual champions Whitney Persch and Lindsey Scribner from Shadle Park.

The match was decided in two 7-5 and one 7-6 tiebreaker sets.

EV’s duo had won three straight set matches to reach the semis.

Meanwhile, West Valley’s Staci Heidenson and Leo D’incao are headed to the 3A regionals in Sunnyside.

Heidenson repeated as district champion and D’incao finished second in the singles finals.