Friday, May. 22, 2009

Area baseball players have success in college

HERALD STAFF

Richland's Kyle Conley isn't the only area athlete playing some meaningful college baseball this weekend.

First, there's Lewis-Clark State College, which hosts the NAIA World Series beginning today and running through May 29. LCSC opens against Fresno Pacific at 7:30 p.m.

Kamiakin graduates Paul Martin and Dustin Willis have helped lead the Warriors to a 39-13 record this year.

Martin, an outfielder, is hitting .301 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs. Willis, a reliever, has appeared in 14 games, sporting a 6-1 record, one save and a 2.01 ERA.

Another pitcher, Nick Masters, played at Walla Walla Community College and is 4-3 with 4 saves and a 3.78 ERA. Former CBC infielder Vaughan Prow has seen limited playing time, but he's hitting .408 with two homers and 18 RBIs.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga hosts Loyola Marymount tonight through Sunday in the best-of-3 West Coast Conference championship series.

The Bulldogs (33-16) have seven players with Mid-Columbia ties, including ex-CBC pitcher Steven Ames, who is 7-1 with a 3.79 ERA and was named honorable mention All-WCC.

Drew Heid, whose hometown is Touchet, is hitting .349 with eight triples and 36 RBIs.

Richland's Brian Yardley and Jeremy Stumetz, and Kennewick's CJ McClure have also contributed this season. Joe Driver, a freshman from Kennewick, is also on the roster.

Back to the Pac-10, Oregon State sits tied for fourth in the standings with Washington at 13-11, and the Beavers finish the regular season with a three-game set against Stanford this weekend.

With a 33-16 overall mark, however, the Beavers could get an NCAA regional berth when they are announced Monday. Warden graduate Jorge Reyes is 5-2 with a 3.91 ERA as a starter for OSU.

Then there's Conley and his Husky teammates, who probably need to sweep the Cougars to get into the NCAA regionals.

Pasco's Jorden Merry is 1-2 with a 6.08 ERA as a starter for the Huskies, while Richland's Tyler Cheney is 2-2 with a 5.36 ERA.

As for the Cougars, Southridge product Chad Arnold is 6-3 with a 5.10 ERA as a starter. Southridge grad Travis Coulter, who led the Cougars in 2008 in a number of offensive categories, is redshirting after injuring his shoulder early this season.