Area teams prepare for state playoff matchups
The fields are narrowing dramatically as the next-to-last weekend of preps sports is upon us. Some teams have already been eliminated from early state play, others have punched their tickets and await first-round games and still more are battling it out in the last of district or regional play.
Baseball
The lone Greater Spokane League team left in play is Mead, which takes on Moses Lake at University HS at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a regional round opener. The winner will face the survivor between Chiawana and Wenatchee, which play at 10 a.m., 45 minutes after the last out of the Panthers’ game.
Mason Wells pitched Mead (16-6) past Chiawana in the District 8 title game, 11-3, on Saturday at Avista Stadium. Mead entered the district tournament as the No. 3 seed, but has won its last four games, including knocking off GSL top seed Gonzaga Prep 4-2 in the teams’ regular season finale April 27. Wells went the distance in that one with seven strikeouts.
Meanwhile at Gonzaga Prep, West Valley (15-9) takes on Steilacoom in the 2A regional round at 1 p.m. for the privilege of facing the Liberty (Issaquah)/Selah winner later that day.
West Valley’s Hunter Tiffany fired a three-hitter with eight Ks at Othello to earn an 8-1 win in a 2A crossover game to reach the state field.
At Ferris, District 7 1A champ Freeman (20-3) is set to face Kiona-Benton in a 1 p.m. game, with potential state quarterfinal game later in the day. Desmond Parisotto put the Scotties in the field on with a 10-strikeout no-hitter against Chewelah, 3-0, in the district title game at Avista Stadium on Saturday.
With both Parisotto and Michael Coumont both throwing effectively to get the Scotties into the state tournament field, Freeman will draw on a long history of state successes moving forward – finishing third the last two seasons and fourth the year before that – in their fifth straight state tournament berth.
District 7 2B champ Colfax (20-4) faces Kittitas at Wenatchee HS at 10 a.m. on Saturday, while St. George’s (17-5) and Asotin (19-4) have games in the Davis HS (Yakima) pod of the 2B regional round.
In the 1B regional round, District 7/9 champion Almira/Coulee-Hartline (24-0) plays against Sunnyside Christian (14-6) at 10 a.m. at Borleske Stadium in Walla Walla, while runner-up Odessa (19-3) tangles with Pomeroy (14-8) at 1 p.m. Colton (16-7) is in the other side of the bracket against Naselle (12-4) at 1 p.m. at Winlock HS.
In Idaho, Post Falls, Lewiston, Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and Timberlake qualified for state and have first-round games on Thursday.
Softball
The District 8 4A championship game is on Saturday at 3 p.m. featuring the top two seeds from the GSL and MCC as GSL MVP Kelsey Gumm and the Central Valley Bears (20-1) host the Richland Bombers (21-1). Both teams have qualified for state.
Gumm allowed one run over seven innings in CV’s semifinal win over Walla Walla and struck out 13 in the Bears’ first-round win over Chiawana.
University (15-7), the GSL second seed, hosts MCC second-seeded Walla Walla (19-3) in a loser-out on Saturday at 1 p.m. If the Titans can top the Blue Devils they will face the Chiawana/Hanford winner at 5 p.m. at Central Valley in the district third-place game for a seed at state.
Mt. Spokane captured the 3A district title with a 7-0 win over Southridge on Wednesday as Jessie Dupuis tossed a no-hitter, while Rogers and Shadle Park were both eliminated by MCC foes. The Wildcats await seeding for a state tournament first-round game on May 25.
Cheney (19-1) won the 2A Great Northern League tournament title on Tuesday to qualify for state, beating second-place East Valley (12-10) 10-0. EV and third-place West Valley (17-5) face Central Washington Athletic League teams on Saturday in crossover games with a berth at state at stake.
Deer Park (16-6) beat Chewelah (20-2) 6-2 on Saturday for the Northeast A League title, so Chewelah hosts Chelan and third-place Lakeside (15-6) travels to Okanogan on Saturday in crossovers against the Caribou Trail League teams and bids to state.
The Northeast 2B settled things on Tuesday, with Northwest Christian (23-0) capturing the tournament championship with a 15-0 win over Colfax (15-7). Liberty (16-6) and Lind-Ritzville/Sprague (12-11) finished third and fourth and qualified for state. For the Lancers, it’s the first time they’ve reached the state tournament since 2008.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline (21-2) takes on Inchelium (16-6) in the District 5/6 & 7/9 championship game on Saturday, with both qualified for state, while Colton (17-3), Selkirk (9-12) and Pomeroy (11-7) are among others trying to sort out the third and fourth seeds.
In Idaho, Lake City, Post Falls, Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry, Timberlake and St. Maries qualified for state and have first-round games on Friday.
Soccer
Lewis and Clark edged Davis 1-0 on Wednesday in a state 4A opening-round match. The Tigers – the last Eastern Washington soccer team left standing – travels to face Pasco at Edgar Brown Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Golf
District 8 4A boys and girls third and final round is at Liberty Lake today and the state golf tournaments begin on Tuesday.
The 4A boys tournament will be held at Canyon Lake GC in Kennewick, while 4A girls play at Sun Willows GC in Pasco – the same course where the state crowns its state cross country champions.
The 3A boys and girls will play at the Creek at Qualchan and at Indian Canyon, respectively. The 2A boys and girls will be at Columbia Point and Horn Rapids in Richland, respectively.
The 1A boys tournament will be at Liberty Lake while the 1B/2B boys and the 1B/2B/1A girls play at Hangman Valley.
Tennis
The 4A regional tournament is Friday and Saturday at Mead HS, while the 3A regional is at Shadle Park on Saturday.
The 2A regional is on Saturday at Pullman HS and the 1A is tourney is on Friday and Saturday in Yakima.
The Idaho state tennis tournaments are Friday and Saturday at venues across the state.
Track and Field
State berths in all classifications will be decided this weekend.
The two-day District 8 4A and 3A meets will be held at Spokane Falls Community College. GSL and MCC 4A athletes will be chasing three state berths in each event while 3A athletes determine two per event.
Action begins Friday at 2:30 and Saturday at 10:30.
On the boys side, Joseph Heitman of Mead is the top-seed in the 400 meters and CV’s Will Grassel enters as the runner to beat in the 800.
Riley Moore of Richland and Ryan Kline of CV should have a great duel in the 1600. Moore has a beat time of 4:18.19 and Kline on his heels at 4:18.28.
Gabe Romney of CV has the top time coming into the meet in the 3200.
The 4x100 and 4x400 relay finals should both be a battle between Ferris and Chiawana.
The boys long jump final should be thrilling with eight jumpers clearing 21 feet this season, with Michael Ervin of Ferris knocking on 22.
Lewis and Clark sprinter Anna Rodgers is the clear favorite to win the girls 4A sprints and is also a triple threat with a PR of 18-feet, 10 1/2 inches in the long jump. LC’s Katie Thronson, headed to Tennessee on cross country scholarship, is the favorite to win the 800, 1600 and 3200.
LC is the favorite in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays while CV has the fastest 4x400 time coming into the regional.
CV’s Samara Nelson is a clear favorite in both throws. Her PR in the shot put is four feet farther than her nearest challenger. In the discus, her nearest competitor is eight feet back.
CVs Hailey Christopher has a personal best mark of 5-6 1/2 in the high jump, a half-inch higher than Ferris’ Annika Briggs.
The one-day 2A Regional featuring GNL and CWAC athletes is Friday at Ephrata HS, beginning at 3:30. The top four finishers in each event earn state berths.
The two-day District 7 1A meet is at Riverside HS. The top two finishers in each event advance to state. Action begins Friday at 3 and Saturday at 11:30.
The two-day District 7 2B meet and two-day 1B Regionals will be held at Central Valley HS. In 2B, the top three placers advance to state while in 1B the top three boys and top four girls move on to state. Action begins on Friday and Saturday at 11:30.
Ashley Sande, a senior at St. George’s, is the defending 200 state champion and leads all running categories from the 100 to the 800 by large margins. At the subdistrict she broke school records in the 100, 200 and 400. She also anchors the Dragons’ 4x4 relay, which has won three straight titles.
Sande will attend the Washington on an academic scholarship and hopes to walk on as an 800 runner.
The State 4A, 3A and 2A meets are May 24-26 at Mount Tahoma HS in Tacoma.
The State 1A, 2B and 1B meets are May 24-26 at Eastern Washington University’s Roos Field.