Prep baseball playoffs: Mead advances to District 8 title game
Mason Wells went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBI and visiting third-seeded Mead (15-6) beat second-seeded Richland (12-10) 8-5 in eight innings in a District 8 4A semifinal on Saturday.
Mead advances to the district championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m. against fourth-seeded Chiawana. Both teams have advanced to state.
Richland faces Central Valley on Thursday at 4 p.m. in a loser-out game.
Richland rallied for three runs to tie it in the bottom of the seventh and Mead put together a rally of its own in the eighth.
With one down, Braeden Cordes singled and went to third on a hit-and-run single by Chris Taylor. Thomas McKenna drove in a run with a single and Taylor went to third, then scored on a balk.
Wells was intentionally walked and Kameron Kinder found a soft spot in short left to drop a single to drive in the third run of the inning. Cordes, Taylor, McKenna and Wells combined to go 10 for 18 in the win.
Michael Demand picked up a couple of strikeouts in the bottom half to cement the victory.
Chiawana topped eighth-seeded Walla Walla 12-4 in the other semifinal.
Ferris 5, Hanford 2: Eric Mast hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and the visiting seventh-seeded Saxons (13-10) topped the sixth-seeded Falcons (11-11) in a loser-out game in the District 8 4A tournament.
Ferris’ Evan Current went 4 for 4 with a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
The Saxons hosts Walla Walla in a loser-out on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Central Valley 3, Gonzaga Prep 2: Matt Schwartz ripped a two-run double in the sixth inning and the visiting fifth-seeded Bears (15-7) eliminated the top-seeded Bullpups (17-4) in a loser-out game.
Kyle Clay allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings for Central Valley. Jack Leary induced an inning ending groundout in the sixth to stall a Gonzaga Prep bases loaded threat and later earned the save.
West Valley 11, Pullman 9: Connor Whitney went 3 for 4 with a grand slam and six RBIs and the visiting second-seeded Eagles (14-9) beat the top-seeded Greyhounds (15-6) in the District 7 2A championship game.
Spencer Shipman went 3 for 3 with three RBIs for West Valley and Zane Wilson hammered a solo home run for Pullman.
West Valley will next host a crossover game against the Central Washington Athletic Conference fourth seed next Saturday at 1 p.m., while Pullman will travel to the CWAC No. 3 seed at 1 p.m.
West Valley 9, Clarkston 2: Blake Transue slugged a three-run home run and the Eagles (13-9) eliminated the Bantams (10-7) in a District 7 2A semifinal game at Pullman HS.
Nick Jones went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and Hunter Tiffany hurled a complete game for West Valley. Koby Blunt muscled a solo home run for Clarkston.