Friday, May. 22, 2009

Softball notebook: Richland returns to regionals

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

There were a few surprises coming out of the Columbia Basin Big Nine 4A district tournament, most notably Southridge -- the Columbia Division co-champ -- going 0-2 to end its season.

The Suns lost 5-4 to Richland in the first round Thursday, their eighth-inning rally falling one run short, and then were shut out 2-0 by Lindsey Kamphius, Kamiakin's All-Cascade Division freshman pitcher.

Another pleasant surprise: The Bombers managed to find their way back to regionals after an unusually subpar regular season (they finished 4-8 in the Cascade), going 2-2 with impressive wins over the Suns and the Braves.

Not so surprising was Walla Walla, which outscored opponents 22-1 in three games to grab the No. 1 seed to the 4A Eastern Regional tournament starting today in Yakima.

Wa-Hi, which claimed its first-ever outright league title and first district title since 1999, hopes to collect its first state trophy in softball.

In the 3A Eastern Regionals, Hanford has a solid chance at returning to the 3A state tournament. The Falcons were a fixture at state from 1992-2005 -- winning a state title in 2003 -- but missed out in 2006 and 2008.

Hanford, led by speedy shortstop Jessica Albertson and outfielder Stacey Stanhope, has the homefield advantage Saturday, but the Falcons still have the challenge of winning two more games to advance.