Kennewick Lions, Richland Bombers to meet Friday in key MCC baseball doubleheader

A key high school baseball doubleheader takes place on Friday when Kennewick (14-1) visits Richland (12-3), starting at 4 p.m. at Richland High School.

The Lions are 11-0 in Mid-Columbia Conference play, and as of this writing are the No. 1 team in the WIAA Rating Percentage Index state rankings for Class 3A.

The Bombers, meanwhile, sit in second place in the MCC standings with a 9-2 record. Richland is also ranked eighth in the 4A state RPI rankings.

Kennewick needs just one win (with five games remaining) to clinch the MCC’s top spot in Class 3A district play.

Richland is one game ahead of Kamiakin, which has an 8-3 MCC record and sits ninth in the 4A state RPI rankings

Here are the MCC standings, through games of April 19:

▪ Kennewick 11-0 MCC/14-1 overall; Richland 9-2/12-3; Kamiakin 8-3/11-4; Southridge 6-5/9-6; Walla Walla 6-5/7-6; Chiawana 6-5/7-8; Hanford 4-8/8-8; Hermiston 2-11/2-13; Pasco 0-13/2-14

▪ The Pasco boys soccer team remains unbeaten, at 10-0, in MCC play, after it beat Walla Walla 1-0 on Tuesday.

In fact, that 10-0 record has the Bulldogs ranked second in the state 4A RPI rankings, with just a few weeks left before postseason play begins.

The MCC’s double round-robin, regular season schedule ends May 5. Then teams move on to their respective Class 3A and 4A district tournaments with schools from the Greater Spokane League.

Here are the MCC standings, through games of April 19:

▪ Pasco 10-0; 2. Chiawana 9-3; 3. Richland 8-3; 4. Southridge 7-4; 5. Kennewick 7-5; 6. Hermiston 5-7; 7. Kamiakin 2-9; 8. Hanford 2-10; 9. Walla Walla 1-10.

▪ The Walla Walla softball team beat Chiawana 9-1 on Tuesday night, and the Blue Devils now sport an 8-0 MCC record, and are 11-0 overall.

Wa-Hi is the top-ranked 3A girls team in the state, as it leads in the WIAA RPI rankings.

But the Blue Devils do have a key twinbill coming up this Friday, as they host Richland at Murr Field, starting at 2 p.m.

Just a couple weeks remain in the regular season before teams go their separate ways in the postseason.

Here are the MCC softball standings, as of games through April 19:

▪ Walla Walla 8-0 MCC/11-0 overall; 2 (tie). Hermiston 8-2/12-2; and Richland 8-2/11-3; 4. Kamiakin 7-3/10-4; 5. Chiawana 5-3/8-5; 6. Hanford 2-6/3-8; 7. Kennewick 2-8/5-9; 8 (tie). Southridge 0-8/1-12; and Pasco 0-8/0-10.

Golf

The PGA Pacific Northwest Section held its Senior Players Championship on April 12-13 at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, with Jeff Coston of Semiahmoo winning with a two-round score of 137.

That’s 7-under par for Coston.

Three area competitors — all representing Walla Walla golf courses — finished among the top 28.

Amateur Jeff Thomas of Walla Walla Country Club finished tied for 11th at 146.

Amateur Kevin Burnett of Wine Valley and pro Chris Repass of Veterans Memorial in Walla Walla both tied for 28th with 149 scores.

Badger Mountain Challenge

Issaquah’s Robert Irr was the main standout in last month’s Badger Mountain Challenge races in Richland.

Irr, 34, finished first in the marquee 100-mile race, completing the course in 17 hours, 49 minutes, and 10 seconds.

Richland’s Chad Allen, 40, was the area’s highest male placer, taking third in 20 hours, 26 minutes and 35 seconds.

On the women’s side, Eugene’s Kristi Leblanc, 38, was the top female finisher in 22:18:04.

Pasco’s Michaela Trenidad, 37, placed third in 23:48:09.

In the 50-mile race, Seattle’s Jon-Erik Jardine, 31, was the top finisher in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 20 seconds.

Eltopia’s Sam Poppe, 32, finished third among all males, with a time of 8:30:28.

Tacoma 40-year-old Lisa Wonneberg was the first woman to cross the finish line in the 50-mile race, completing the race in 8:54:54.

Richland’s Lisa Cabiles, 39, placed third in 9:17:51.

In some of the other races, Eugene’s Ryan Solberg, 39, placed first in the 50-mile ruck race in 10 hours, 12 minutes and 10 seconds.

A ruck is a race in which each competitor has to carry extra weight with them.

West Richland’s Lance Harpe, 34, placed second in the event in 12:20:38.

Richland’s Jason Heineman, 46, crossed the finish line first in the 15K event. Heineman ended with a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes and 44 seconds.

Richland’s Isabel Silva, 22, was the first woman to cross the finish line in 1:10:03.

In the 15K ruck, Richland’s Brian Nygard, 30, placed first in a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 6 seconds.

Kennewick’s Nichole Allen, 39, was the top female placer with a time of 1:50:07.

Auto racing

A quick check on the Apple Cup race weekend at Tri-City Raceway at the beginning of the month shows that Preston Peltier of Harrisburg, N.C., won the Northwest Super Late Model Series main event, which was held on April 3.

Boise’s Trevor Cristiani placed second in the race, while Moxee’s Mike Longton finished third.

Kyle Telstrom of Ukiah, Calif., finished first in the Special Tour Modifieds presented by Pit Stop USA main event.

Cristiani also finished second in that race, while Andrew Richardson of Meridian, Idaho, was third.

Travis McKinney of Yakima won the Hobby Stock 1 event on April 2, while Yakima’s Rich Peters finished first in the Hobby Stock 2 event on April 3.

Pasco’s Brad Rhoads was the Mini Stock main event champion, while Prosser’s Steve Thompson won the Pro Late Models main event.