Sunday, May. 17, 2009

Richland captures third straight district crown

By Kevin Anthony, Herald staff writer

RICHLAND — With three state championship banners hanging on the left-field fence at Bomber Field, it wouldn't be surprising if the Richland baseball team didn't get too excited for anything as mundane as a district title.

No such luck, CBBN foes.

There was plenty of smiling and picture-taking for the Bombers after they secured their third straight district crown with a 9-1 win over Southridge in Saturday afternoon's title game.

"Anything less than first place is a disappointment to us," said senior catcher Josh Rapacz.

The Bombers, who also won a league title for the third straight year, hope to make it three consecutive trips to Safeco Field -- and perhaps three state titles in five years -- when they host two rounds of state next Saturday. Richland (20-2) will play Kamiak (15-8) at 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, Southridge (19-5) and Kamiakin (14-10) have Tuesday games with Greater Spokane League teams to earn their berths to state.

The Suns, who beat Kamiakin 4-3 on Saturday to earn the second seed out of districts, entertain University (20-3), the GSL regular-season champion that was upset by Lewis & Clark in the first round of their district tournament. U-Hi beat Central Valley 6-1 on Saturday to qualify for regionals.

The Braves play at LC (15-8), which entered districts as the fifth seed but has won 12 of 13 games to win the GSL district title.

Both Tuesday games are at 4 p.m.

Richland took all the drama out of the CBBN district title game in quick order, clubbing Southridge with a seven-run second inning. Rapacz led off with a single and drove in the last two runs with a hit as the Bombers sent 12 men to the plate.

"Hitting is contagious," said Quinn Zorich, who ripped an RBI double in the inning and is part of the Bombers' dangerous back end -- No. 6 hitter Eric Yardley leads the team with a .480 average, Zorich in the seven hole is hitting .413, and No. 9 hitter Chris Cecil's .429 average matches that of teammate Brett Jacobs, the CBBN Cascade co-player of the year.

"That's the difference between great teams and bad teams," Zorich said. "Great teams hit all the way through the lineup."

It was more than enough support for Cody Shepherd, who threw all seven innings for Richland and struck out nine, giving up just five hits.

"His change-up and slider are key for him getting strikeouts," said Rapacz. "When they're on, he's good, and with the warm weather, he really gets it going."

Southridge had a quick turnaround, playing Kamiakin for seeding immediately after the loss. The Suns trailed the entire game, which has become a familiar feeling in the postseason for a team used to blowout victories.

Southridge has been behind in 14 of 21 innings in three district games, two of them wins over Kamiakin in which the Suns committed more errors.

"We were behind until that last inning," Suns senior catcher Kyle Sani said. "But we can always count on someone stepping up."

Saturday, it was Sani, who went 3-for-3 against Richland and then added two more hits in the second game. His two-out triple started a three-run rally in the sixth. After Cody McCary singled in Sani, sophomore Spencer O'Neil sent the ball soaring over right field for a two-run, pinch-hit homer.

Kamiakin outfielder Matt Minnich echoed a sentiment shared by the his teammates and coaches -- what do we got to do to beat these guys?

"We played well -- we just didn't come out on top in the end," said Minnich, who admitted Kamiakin's big chore on this day came in the morning -- a 9-7 win over Kennewick (16-9), knocking last year's 3A state champion out of the playoffs.

Minnich drove in five runs in that game, and his three-run blast powered a four-run fifth inning after Kennewick had closed within 5-4. Shawn O'Brien drilled a two-run shot earlier in the game for Kamiakin.

"It's neat in a way," said Kennewick coach A.J. Marquardt. "You have all three Kennewick schools and Richland, and all three of the teams moving on represent the Tri-Cities. And I couldn't be prouder of our guys."

Championship game
Southridge 010 000 0 — 1 5 1
Richland 070 002 x — 9 10 1
Spencer O’Neil, Brandon Call (2), Mike Tsoukalas (7) and Kyle Sani; Cody Shepherd and Josh Rapacz. Highlights—Andrew Mendenhall (SR) 2x4, RBI, SB; Sani (SR) 3x3; Shepherd (R) 7IP-5H-9K-3BB-0ER; Jamison Rowe (R) 1x3, 2 RBI, R, SB; Brett Jacobs (R) 2x4, R, RBI; Rapacz (R) 2x3, 2 RBI, R, BB; Quinn Zorich (R) 1x3, 2B, RBI, R; Chris Cecil (R) 1x1, HBP, SAC.

Kamiakin 201 000 0 — 3 8 1
Southridge 001 003 x — 4 8 4
Anthony Diliberto, Joey Flores (5) and Dillon Jackson; Tyler Roberts, Mendenhall (4) and Sani. Highlights—Shawn O’Brien (K) 2x4, 2R; Devan Willis (K) 3x4, 2B, 2 RBI; Mendenhall (SR) 3IP-2H-0ER-1K-1BB, 2x2; Clayton Homme (SR) 1x2, 2B, BB; Sani (SR) 2x3, 3B; Spencer O’Neil (SR) 1x1, 2-R HR.

Kamiakin 230 040 0 — 9 8 1
Kennewick 012 121 0 — 7 9 0
Garrett Anderson, Bryce Drury (4) and Jackson; Dakota Tripp, James McKinnis (5), Frank Murillo (6), Blake Eastman (7) and Tyler Morfin. Highlights—O’Brien (Kam) 3x4, HR, 2 RBI, 2R; Jackson (Kam) 2x3, 2B, RBI, 2R; Matt Minnich (Kam) 2x3, HR, 5 RBI; Trux French (Ken) 2x3, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 3R; Morfin (Ken) 2x4, 2 RBI; Trent Brown (Ken) 2x2, RBI, SAC, BB; KC Hooper (Ken) 1x2, RBI, BB.