Hot CBC baseball team begins postseason journey this Friday. Hydroplanes set practice

A month ago, the Columbia Basin College baseball team was on the outside looking in when it came to making the NWAC playoffs.

But the Hawks finished the regular season by going 10-0, clinching the fourth and final postseason berth in the NWAC East. Now, on Friday, CBC will take on Edmonds at noon at Pierce Community College in Lakewood in a loser-out game in the NWAC Super Regionals.

If CBC was to win that contest, the Hawks when then take on Pierce in a best-of-three series to determine a berth into the NWAC Baseball Championship, and eight-team, double-elimination tournament that begins next Thursday at Lower Columbia Community College.

The Hawks have plenty of big hitters: Brooks Rasmussen (Meridian, Idaho) is batting .335 and has a team-best 41 RBIs; Steven Meier (Southridge) is hitting .329 and has driven in 27 runs; while Payton Kallaher (Pullman) has 31 RBIs, and Isaac Haws (Meridian, Idaho) has 27. Nick Grade (Southridge) is batting .283, and Meier (32 stolen bases) and Haws (29 stolen bases) add some speed to the team.

But as good as CBC’s offense is, its pitching might be even better. Josh Aribal (Pearl City, Hawaii) is the Hawks’ ace, with 6 wins, 102 strikeouts and a 2.49 earned run average. But Ian Hughes (Twin Falls, Idaho) is right behind with 6 wins, 98 strikeouts and a 3.61 ERA. Sebastian Munoz (Othello) adds 6 wins, 53 strikeouts and a 3.13 ERA.

▪ Here are the final East Region standings: 1. Spokane 23-5 East, 31-12 overall; 2. Big Bend 19-9, 25-18; 3. Yakima Valley 19-9, 31-17; 4. CBC 18-10, 35-15; 5. Treasure Valley 13-15, 18-28; 6. Wenatchee Valley 12-16, 16-35; 7. Walla Walla 6-22, 8-34; 8. Blue Mountain 2-26, 4-44.

▪ Four teams have already made the final eight tournament for winning their respective regular-season division titles: Everett, Linn-Benton, Spokane, and Tacoma. The remaining four teams will come out of the super regionals this coming weekend.

Prep roundup

• In 4A state soccer Wednesday night, No. 13 seed Chiawana fell short on the road, losing 2-1 to Newport of Bellevue in the first round of the tournament to end its season. Danny Franco scored the Riverhawks’ lone goal off an assist from Clayton Calderon.
• Camas, an 8 seed, beat host (and No. 9 seed) Lewis & Clark 1-0 in the first round of the 4A state tournament Wednesday. That means Camas must play in the state quarterfinals at No. 1 Pasco. The game is tentatively set for 1 p.m., Saturday, at Edgar Brown Stadium. Winner advances to the state semifinals next weekend. Loser’s season is done.
• Walla Walla softball beat Mt. Spokane 10-1 on Wednesday in the District 8 tournament to clinch a 3A state tourney berth. University beat Hermiston 9-3 in the other district semifinal, clinching a state berth in the process. Wa-Hi and University will play in Spokane on Saturday for the district title.
• Meanwhile, Kennewick stayed alive in the tournament, beating Cheney 7-4; while Mead eliminated Ferris 14-3.

Everyone now moves to Spokane this Saturday to determine the final available state 3A berth. Hermiston will meet Kennewick in a loser-out game, while Mead and Mt. Spokane do the same. Winners of both contests then play for the third state berth.

Hydroplanes

Before the H1 unlimited hydroplane fleet — or most of it, anyway — makes its way to the Tri-Cities on Friday, June 3, for the annual Spring Training event, four of the boats will be in Vancouver, Wash., for an exhibition on Friday, May 20.

It’s a chance to shake the cobwebs from the boats, and at the same time, give the locals a look at what these boats are all about. And maybe, there might be a chance to add a Vancouver race to the H1 schedule in 2023 or 2024.

The four boats and drivers attending Friday’s exhibition are the U-8 Strong Racing boat with driver J. Michael Kelly; the U-11 Unlimited Racing Group and driver Jamie Nilsen; the U-40 Bucket List Racing boat and driver Dave Villwock; and the U-91 Miss Madison, Inc., boat and driver Jeff Bernard. The four teams will be running on the Columbia River between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Friday.

More college baseball

Northwest Nazarene University’s baseball team is getting a shot at winning the NCAA Division 2 title. NNU got an at-large berth to the regionals and will open tournament play Thursday against Cal Poly Pomona. The tournament, which has three teams, is hosted by Point Loma California.

NNU is 30-21, and has four Mid-Columbia athletes on its roster: senior outfielder Ryan Dearing (Kamiakin/CBC), junior pitcher Nick Irwin (Kamiakin), junior pitcher Shane Martin (Hanford/CBC), and junior pitcher Spencer Schwehr (Walla Walla CC).

Western Oregon University, 34-18, is also in a regional tournament this weekend. The Wolves, who won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament to earn a national berth, have former Walla Walla CC pitcher Mike Peterson on their roster.

College track and field

A few former MCC athletes fared well at last weekend’s Big Sky Conference outdoor Track and Field Championships at Idaho State University, and all of them attend Eastern Washington University. EWU men’s pole vaulter Braydon Freitag (Kamiakin) placed third in his event, clearing 16 feet, 1 inch.

EWU sprinter Joe Gauthier (Hanford) placed third in the men’s 100 meters dash final, crossing the finish line in 10.62 seconds.Eastern’s Katie Petsch (Kamiakin) finished in a dead tie for fourth in the women’s 100 meters dash final, clocking in at 11.74 seconds.

And EWU’s Hally Ruff (Walla Walla) placed third in the women’s pole vault with a height of 12 feet, 8 inches.

▪ Walla Walla High School graduate Mitch Jacobson finished second in the men’s high jump event last weekend at the PAC-12 Conference Track and Field Championships. Jacobson, competing for WSU, cleared 7 foot, 1 inch.

▪ The Great Northwest Athletic Conference track and field championships were this past weekend, and a couple of local men did well. Central Washington University’s Austin Albertin (Kennewick) placed second in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, running the event in 53.91 seconds.

In the men’s 4x100 relay, Northwest Nazarene won the event in 41.77 seconds. Kamiakin grad Sylvanus Hunt ran the anchor leg for NNU. Finishing second in 41.79 seconds was CWU, and Albertin ran the anchor for the Wildcats.