Shull guides Bears to state
Trevor Shull and a big fourth inning sealed the deal for the Central Valley Bears.
Shull struck out 10 batters in a complete-game effort and CV scored six times in the fourth en route to a 7-5 victory over the Wenatchee Panthers in a play-in game on Tuesday in Wenatchee for a berth in the State 4A baseball tournament.
CV (15-10) will open the state tournament against Richland at 10 a.m. Saturday at Gonzaga Prep High School. Also, top-seeded University will play Redmond at 1 p.m. Saturday at G-Prep. The two winners will play at the same field at 4 p.m. for a berth to the state semifinals.
Other state openers will be played in Kent, Everett and Tacoma.
Shull, who allowed four earned runs on seven hits and four walks, also went 3 for 4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and two runs batted in. Teammate K.C. Mack went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs.
In CV’s fourth-inning rally, Shull singled in a run and two more runs scored when Blake Bledsoe’s bases-loaded fly ball was misplayed by the right fielder, allowing two runs to score.
Golf
Chris Williams earned medalist honors and helped Moscow finish second in the State 4A boys tournament at the Jerome Country Club. Williams shot a second-round 69 to finish with a two-day total of 6-under-par 138. Moscow and Pocatello tied at 642 for the team title, but Pocatello won the tiebreaker. Moscow’s Shaun Hill tied for second place with Jerome’s Jordan Roberts – 16 shots behind Williams. Bishop Kelly won the girls title with a 628 total – 65 shots ahead of runner-up Hillcrest. Moscow, led by Nikki Tatham’s 10th-place finish – placed fourth with a 774 total. Tatham carded a 178. Olivia Weber of Hillcrest was the medalist with a 1-over 145.
•Shelley won both the boys and girls team titles at the State 3A tournaments at Clear Lakes Country Club in Buhl, Idaho. Shelley’s boys easily outdistanced runner-up Salmon 640-686. Bonners Ferry placed fifth with a 718 total. Dillon Deitz paced Bonners Ferry with a two-round total of 26-over 168. Shelley’s girls finished with a 790 total – 42 strokes ahead of second-place Kellogg. Kelsey Harden finished with a 202 total over two rounds to lead Kellogg.
•Soda Springs breezed to the boys team title in the State 2A tournament at Burley Municipal Golf Course. Soda Springs finished with a 621 total in the two-day tourney – 71 strokes in front of runner-up Nampa Christian. Wallace (762) was sixth. Zach Dekruyf of Magic Valley Christian was the medalist with a 4-over 148. Orofino (860) won the girls team title, beating second-place Wendell by six strokes. Wendell’s Jaci Lancaster was the medalist with a 21-over 165.
•Northwest Christian’s boys dominated the District 7 2B/1B tournament at MeadowWood Golf Course. NWC’s Jared Descoteaux (139), John Graham (143) and Travis McConahy (162) grabbed the top three seeds to state as the Crusaders piled up 111 team points to beat runner-up Lind-Ritzville (36.5) and third-place Wilbur-Creston (29.5). NWC had five qualify for state, while L-R qualified four and W-C three. Ian Fitch (sixth, 166) paced L-R, while Colton Berg (fourth, 163) topped W-C. Tri-Cities Prep won the girls District 7/9 1B/2B tournament at Liberty Lake Golf Course. DeSales’ Madeleine Roach earned the top seed to state with a 184 total – four strokes in front of runner-up Kira Powell of Odessa. Emma Raynor (222) paced St. John-Endicott, which finished second in team scoring with 32 points. Odessa (30) was third, followed by Wilbur-Creston (27.5). W-C’s Alison Reed finished fifth with a 221 total. The top 13 placers qualified for state.