Weller”s early goal places Cheney near state playoffs

Cheney moved a win away from a berth in the State 3A boys soccer tournament by blanking West Valley-Yakima 2-0 in an East Regional match at Cheney on Thursday.

Mitch Weller’s goal 6 minutes into the contest proved to be the winner for the Blackhawks (13-5), who advance to play Mid-Valley League No. 1-seeded Hanford (15-2) – a 2-1 winner over Greater Spokane League regular-season champion East Valley in a shootout – Tuesday at Cheney in a winner-to-state match.

EV (11-3) took a 1-0 lead over the Falcons on Brag Burger’s goal at 57 minutes, but Hanford evened the score 5 minutes later and went on to win the shootout 3-2.

EV plays Sunnyside on Saturday at EV. Sunnyside defeated Selah 5-0 on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Prosser eliminated West Valley-Spokane 2-0 and advances to play West Valley-Yakima in the second round. The Mustangs got a goal from Edgar Garcia at the end of the first half, scoring from just inside the midfield line. The Eagles’ goalkeeper lost the ball in the sun before it trickled into the corner of the net. WV (6-12) amassed 16 shots on goal but came up empty while Prosser scored its goals on just five shots.

“In tonight’s District 8 4A playoffs at Spokane Falls Community College, Ferris plays Mead in a loser-out match at 5 p.m., followed by the district championship match at 7 between Central Valley and Mt. Spokane. The championship winner advances to the state playoffs while the loser must play the Ferris-Mead winner for a state berth Tuesday.

“Pullman clinched the Great Northern League championship by shutting out host Lakeside 8-0 at Nine Mile Falls. The Greyhounds (15-1, 11-1) took a 2-0 lead at intermission and outshot the Eagles 31-1 en route to earning a first-round bye in the District 7 2A tournament. … Riverside clinched a second-place finish by edging visiting Medical Lake 2-1 in a shootout. ML goalkeeper Brad Groce scored the Cardinals’ first-half goal on a penalty kick at 10 minutes. Jeff Thompson scored 9 minutes later for Riverside. The Rams earned a first-round bye in the district tournament.

Baseball

Keith Tappe fired a two-hitter at West Valley (11-6, 11-6), sparking Mt. Spokane to a 3-1 victory that kept the Wildcats (14-4, 13-4) atop the GSL standings. Tappe struck out 11 and helped his cause with an RBI single in the first inning. … East Valley (11-8, 10-7) knocked Shadle Park (13-5, 12-5) out of a share of first place with a 7-5 victory at EV. Brady Brunelle had two hits and two RBIs to lead the victorious Knights. Jye Lanphere’s RBI double in the bottom of the fifth scored the game-winning run. … Gonzaga Prep (9-9, 9-8) scored a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to earn a 5-3 victory at Rogers (6-12, 5-12). Center fielder Kyle Douglas made a diving, game-saving catch in the bottom of the seventh that prevented the Pirates from scoring, and drove in the game-winning run in the eighth. … North Central (11-8, 11-6) took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh at Ferris (13-6, 12-5), then withstood a three-run home run by the Saxons’ Kyle Krustangel to earn a 4-3 victory. … Adam Smith pitched a complete game to lead University (11-7, 11-6) to its ninth consecutive win, 4-3 over visiting Mead (6-11, 6-11). … In a game played Wednesday, WV scored an 11-2 win at NC behind Greg Bradley’s complete-game effort. The junior left-hander scattered five hits while striking out eight, collected two hits and drove in a run for the Eagles.

Softball

Linse Vlahovich combined with Mandy Mikelson on her third no-hitter of the season as University blanked visiting Lewis and Clark 11-0 in the GSL. The Titans (15-2, 15-2) scored six runs in the first two innings, allowing them to rest Vlahovich for Saturday’s rematch with the Tigers (2-15, 2-15). … Kim Watson scattered five hits, scored three runs and had an RBI to lead Mead to a 9-2 victory at North Central (9-8, 9-8). Katie Kine had an RBI triple in the first and Megan Thigpen collected three hits and drove in a run for the Panthers (15-3, 14-3). … Kristina DeMello gave up two hits and struck out six in five innings as Mt. Spokane (14-4, 14-3) notched a 9-0 win at West Valley (5-13, 5-12). Jackie Purser was 2 for 4 with two triples and two RBIs for the Wildcats. … Shelly Lloyd pitched a two-hitter as Central Valley posted a 10-0 win over visiting Ferris (1-18, 1-17). Katie Naueret of the Bears (13-6, 12-6) went 3 for 3 with two RBIs.

Girls tennis

East Valley’s Katy Long and West Valley’s Mel Dossey each earned berths in the regional tournament by advancing to today’s championship match in the District 8 3A tournament at EV. Long, who needed a third-set tiebreaker to get past Dossey during the regular season, was the tournament’s No. 1 seed.