Mid-Columbia roundup: Andrews’ amazing day lifts Richland softball to state berth

Brandi Andrews was simply overwhelming with her team’s season on the line.

The Richland junior homered and drove in six runs to lead the Bombers to a 14-7 win over University on Saturday in the winner-to-state, loser-out game at the MCC/GSL 4A regional softball tournament at Walla Walla.

That after an earlier game in which she cracked three home runs at the plate and struck out 10 batters in the circle in a 6-1 victory over Lewis and Clark.

“It was unbelievable watching that,” Bombers coach Casey Emery said.

Richland advances to the 4A state tournament next week in Spokane.

The Bombers trailed U-Hi 5-3 before they erupted in the fourth. A bases-loaded hit batter and a ground out to second scored two runs, and Andrews followed with a two-run single as Richland took the lead.

A walk and a couple of errors led to two more runs.

Richland had plenty of offense up and down the lineup. Addison Pettit also cracked a homer and added a double in a 4-for-4 performance, and Miranda Camacho tripled and drove in two runs.

Camacho also tripled and drove in two runs against LC, but Andrews dominated the day. She homered her first three times up to bat and was walked with a base open in the sixth.

On the flip side, she recorded her first six outs via strikeout, including two with the bases loaded in the first to escape scot-free.

WALLA WALLA 5, UNIVERISTY 3: Kamryn Coleman went the distance in the circle, and the host Blue Devils made the most of their five hits thanks to five U-Hi errors in the MCC/GSL 4A regional title game.

Wa-Hi grabbed the region’s first berth to state.

JUANITA 4, KAMIAKIN 2: The visiting Braves outhit the Rebel but couldn’t stack the offense together and saw their season end in a crossover game one step short of state.

Mya Moore had Kamiakin’s only RBI. Andria Skeels gave up just five hits in five innings but was tagged for four runs.

TRI-CITIES PREP 14, LIBERTY BELL 8: Lexi Peenstra, Destiney MacRoberts and Emily Dickson each drove in a pair of runs as a diverse offense led the Jaguars to a win in the 2B regional at Ephrata and claim the bracket’s fifth berth to state.

Six players had two hits each as Prep piled up 15 hits in the game. Maddie Brandner’s triple was the only extra-base hit.

TRI-CITIES PREP 14, LAKE ROOSEVELT 4: Dickson went 3-for-5 and drove in five runs, and Valarie Nunez had a double among her four hits and two RBIs to lead the Jaguars to a big win in their 2B regional contest.

MacRoberts also had three hits and drove in a pair of runs as Prep piled up 15 hits in the contest.

In an 8-1 loss to Brewster earlier in the day, Nunez went 3-for-3 for the Jaguars.

Baseball

PUYALLUP 11, CHIAWANA 1: After a thrilling start to their day, the Riverhawks saw their season end at the hands of the top-ranked Vikings.

Michael Spellacy threw six innings of two-hit ball for Puyallup in the 4A quarterfinals at Heidelberg Park in Tacoma.

CHIAWANA 4, GLACIER PEAK 3: Brayde Hirai filled out the role of “hero” just fine for the Riverhawks, smacking a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to lead the Riverhawks to a win in their state opener.

Chiawana’s rally started with one out in the seventh when Trent Simpkins lined a single to left. He was forced at second on his brother Troy’s grounder. Bristol McElroy followed with his second hit of the day to set the table for Hirai.

Collin Favor came in to run for McElroy, and with the Riverhawks’ season down to its final strike, Hirai found open field in center to deliver a double. Favor scored all the way from first, and it was time to celebrate.

Hirai also got it done on the mound, going five-plus innings while giving up just five hits and one run. He walked three and struck out five.

McElroy also doubled and drove in a pair of runs.

SKYVIEW 1, WALLA WALLA 0: A brilliant pitching day continued in the 4A quarterfinals for Wa-Hi, with Nick Zehner going the distance and giving up just six hits and one run while striking out five at Yakima County Stadium.

But the Blue Devils simply couldn’t get any offense going against Skyview’s Daniel Copeland, who went six-plus and only gave up five hits and no runs.

WALLA WALLA 3, WENATCHEE 0: Dexter Aichele threw a four-hit gem, and Mitch Lesmeister was in the middle of a three-run first inning for the Blue Devils, who won their first-round game.

Lesmeister singled in Scott Golden and Mason Knowles and scored on Zehner’s two-out single as Walla Walla got off to a quick start. And those three early runs stood tall behind Aichele, who cruised through the Panthers’ lineup.

TRI-CITIES PREP 3, ASOTIN 2: Jared Hartwig and Carter Ritala combined for seven sparkling innings, and Max Nelson, Sam Harlow and Logan Mercado had key singles in the Jaguars’ three-run fourth inning as Prep moved into the 2B state semifinals with a pair of victories at Davis High School in Yakima.

The Jaguars’ next game will be against Napavine at 4 p.m. Friday at Wheeler Field in Centralia.

Ritala singled with one out in the fourth and scored on a two-out error with Jacob Amato hitting. Nelson and Harlow had back-to-back hits to score Amato, and Nelson scored on Mercado’s sharp single to center.

That was enough with Hartwig and Ritala dealing. Hartwig went the first five and gave up six hits and two runs, striking out five. Ritala slammed the door, giving up just one hit over the final two innings.

Earlier, Trent Mercado struck out seven and gave up just three hits for the shutout, and Nelson cracked a three-run double during a five-run first inning as the Jaguars cruised to a 10-0 win over Pe Ell/Willapa Valley in the first round.

Nelson drove in four runs, and Amato went 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored for Prep, which faced Asotin in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon. Chase Wilson had three hits at the top of the order.

Tennis

Richland’s Quincy Fisher placed second in singles at the 4A girls regional tennis tournament at Hanford High, pacing the Bombers to second in the team standings.

Hanford’s Celest Pe finished third to draw an alternate spot into next week’s state tournament in Richland. Lewis and Clark’s Brooke Fager won the singles championship, and Spokane teams swept the top three spots in doubles.

▪ Richland’s Nathan Lipton and Gray Evans won the boys doubles at Southridge, beating Edward and Eric Liu of Mead 6-4, 7-5 to lock up a state berth.

Hanford’s Will Thompson also will play at state after placing second in boys singles, losing to Lewis and Clark’s Kyle Fager 6-2, 7-5 in the final.

CWAC DISTRICT/CROSSOVER: Othello’s Zoee Roylance finished second in girls singles to advnace to next week’s 2A state tournament in Seattle.

Roylance lost 6-3, 6-4 to Selah’s Mary-Francis Ballew in the final.

Othello’s Collin Freeman and Kyler Villarreal placed second in boys doubles to advance to state, losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to East Valley’s Aidan Fallstrom and Jask Khinda.

and the Huskies added a third entry when Tanaya Anderson and Katie Walker placed fourth in girls doubles, winning their final match 7-5, 6-4.

SCAC DISTRICT: The East teams didn’t have a lot of luck in the tournament at Connell.

Only the host Eagles qualified a team from the East: Colin Poe and James Coclasuer finished fifth in boys doubles.

Connell’s Matthew Dipasqualie placed sixth in boys singles and is an alternate. The top five boys placers and top four girls automatically are into next week’s tournament at the Yakima Tennis Club.

Track and field

3A CROSSOVER IN SEATTLE: Kennewick’s Johan Correa won the 800 meters in 1:55.15 at the District 2-5 crossover meet in Seattle..

The top seven in each event advance to state.

Kennewick won the 4x400 relay, with AJ Templeton, Ronny Loomis, Correa and Austin Albertin finishing in 3:23.94.

Southridge’s Ethan Ellsworth was second in the 110 hurdles (14.80) and placed sixth in the 300 hurdles (41.55).

On Friday, Kamiakin’s Jonah Franco won the 1,600 meters in 4:20.96, and Kennewick’s Brendon Villasenior was third in the shot at 48-3.

Other state qualifers:

Kamiakin’s Kyler Lee (7th 1,600, 4:22.86), Franco (5th 3,200, 9:32.27), Ryan Child (6th 3,200, 9:32..78), Parker Morgan (7th 110 hurdles, 15.59; 3rd 300H, 40.94), Benson Smith (7th 300H, 41.84), 4x400 relay (Colten Chelin, Smith, Cameron Gutierrez, Braxton Gutierrez 6th in 3:28.36) and Brayden Freitag (4th pole vault, 13-6); Southridge’s Antonio Garcilazo (7th 800, 1:59.53); and Kennewick’s 4x100 relay (Issa Musa, Loomis, Albertin and Keyshawn Owens, 4th 43.92), Loomis (3rd javelin, 163-10) and Owens (3rd long jump, 21-0.5).

On the girls side, Kennewick’s Geraldin Correa-Cambino placed second in the 400 (59.53), just ahead of Kamiakin’s Mirannda Shulman (59.54).

Kamiakin’s team of Isabelle Conover, Britney Donais, Katherine Petsch and Shulman finished second in the 4x200 (1:44.84) after placing second in the 4x100 (49.06) on Friday.

Sam Westermeyer finished second in the javelin (116-2) for the Braves, with Kennewick’s Breanna Shaffer fourth (114-2). Kamiakin’s Allison Stapleton was second in the triple jump (38-5) after placing third in the long jump (18-1 1/4) on Friday. Teammate Kylie Scherbarth placed sixth in the triple (35-8 1/2).

Other state qualifiers: Kamiakin’s Katherine Petsch (4th 100, 12.38), Shulman (6th 200, 25.94), Britney Donais (4th 300 hurdles, 47.02), Olivia Mancinelli (6th pole vault, 10-6) and Chanceler Williams (3rd discus, 119-0); Southridge’s Brooke Hansen (6th 800, 2:19.79), Hailey Reiboldt (3rd 100 hurdles, 15.54), and the 4x400 relay (McKaley Goffard, Hannah Kotlan, Lindsey Wooley and Brooke Hansen, 7th in 4:12.68); Kennewick’s Kidera Miller (6th shot, 36-6.5) and Monica Kaylor (7th high jump, 5-0)..

This story was originally published May 20, 2017 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Mid-Columbia roundup: Andrews’ amazing day lifts Richland softball to state berth."