CBC baseball team earning accolades

PASCO — The Columbia Basin College baseball team is getting some lofty praise even before the season gets under way.

The Hawks were recently ranked 24th in the preseason Perfect Game junior college rankings, the top-ranked team from the Northwest. Lower Columbia is ranked 36th and Mount Hood is 49th.

CBC is ranked third in the NWAACC coaches’ preseason poll and eighth in the ABCA Junior College Pacific Associations Division preseason poll. In both polls, the Hawks are ranked behind Mount Hood and Lower Columbia.

The Hawks, who compiled an NWAACC-record 48 wins last season and a second-place finish at the NWAACC tournament, are loaded with top prospects this season — including outfielder Tym Pearson, who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 35th round out of Thurston High in Oregon.

He batted .390 with two home runs and 21 RBIs and stole 22 bases while leading Thurston to the Class 5A baseball title last June. He is rated the 56th-best junior college prospect by Perfect Game.

The Hawks also have former East Valley standout Kevin Komstadius, who transferred from Washington.

Cody Shepherd, the former Richland standout, also left Washington to play at CBC.

According to Perfect Game, the Hawks also have two of the best Idaho prospects, led by 6-foot-8 pitcher Nico Lytle, who had a scholarship to play at Washington State.

And the list goes on ….

CBC opens the season at home against Mount Hood on March 6.

-- The CBC softball team was ranked just out of the top 8 in the first NWAACC coaches’ poll released last week. Walla Walla is ranked third behind Mount Hood and Lower Columbia. Wenatchee Valley is fourth and Spokane is seventh.

-- Ben Reynolds: 509-582-1509; breynolds@tricityherald.com