CBC is first to set 2021 baseball and soccer schedules

Columbia Basin College is the first area school to release some sports schedules for the 2020-21 school year.

The baseball team, and men’s and women’s soccer teams have something tangible to look forward to now.

CBC announced this week its schedules for all three of those programs, and all begin play in March 2021.

The baseball team with get 28 East Region games — four games against each league opponent — all doubleheaders, with the opener set for March 14 at Wenatchee Valley.

Baseball also will be allowed up to 12 non-league games. However, each team must adhere to travel restrictions, and games could be canceled because of COVID-19 related issues.

The soccer teams will get no non-league games, but will play each team in the East Region three times.

For the CBC men, that means 18 games.

For the women, that will be 21 games — Yakima Valley only has women’s soccer.

Both teams will open their season at Spokane on March 10.

• The Northwest Athletic Conference, which oversees all sports in community colleges, announced Aug. 16 that men’s and women’s cross country for the fall season will be postponed until the winter quarter — or after the first of the year.

Training can occur until fall classes begin. Then the out-of-season period begins and runs until Nov. 20.

No dates have been posted for cross country competition just yet.

Neither CBC nor Walla Walla Community College have cross country programs. However, a number of Mid-Columbia athletes do compete for other community college programs throughout the Northwest.

Ex-Dust Devils updates

• Through games of Sunday, Aug. 23, the Colorado Rockies are 13-15.

And fans would shudder thinking about what their record would be if outfielder Charlie Blackmon wasn’t in the lineup.

Blackmon — who played for the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2008 and 2012 — is batting .405, with 4 home runs and 24 RBIs.

He’s had plenty of outstanding games.

In a 5-0 win over San Diego on Aug. 8, Blackmon was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.

In a 12-8 loss to Arizona on Aug. 10, he went 4-for-5 and scored three runs.

• Starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela (a 2013 Tri-City Dust Devil) picked up the victory on Aug. 2 when Colorado beat San Diego 9-6. In the win, Senzatela went 6 innings, struck out six batters, surrendered four hits and gave up just one earned run.

On Aug. 18, Senzatela got a no decision in the Rockies’ 2-1 loss in 11 innings to the Houston Astros. Senzatela went 8 innings, gave up no runs, scattered three hits and fanned six batters.

• Starter Ryan Castellani (a 2014 Dust Devil) has had some quality outings for the Rockies.

Despite the Rockies losing to the Padres 5-0 on Aug. 8, Castellani went 4 innings, striking out three and giving up no earned runs.

In a 3-2 loss to Texas on Aug. 14, Castellani got a no-decision, pitching 4.2 innings, striking out seven, giving up just two hits and one earned run.

• Outfielder Mike Tauchman (a Dust Devil in 2013 and 2014) went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a double, and scored two runs to lead the New York Yankees over Boston 10-3 on Aug. 14.

• Reliever Phil Maton (Tri-City 2015) has a 1.13 earned run average for the Cleveland Indians so far this season.

The majority of his outings have been strong, including Aug. 9 in a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. In that game, Maton went 1 inning, striking out two batters and giving up no runs, while earning his first win of the season.

Mitchell update

Kennewick High grad Leilani Mitchell and her Washington Mystics have struggled records-wise in the WNBA bubble in Florida, sitting near the bottom of the standings with a 4-9 record.

But Mitchell continues to play well.

The point guard had 12 points and 6 assists Aug. 19, as the Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 98-91.

Notes

• Keep an eye on Pasco High graduate Sebastian Gutierrez. The 6-foot-6, 308-pound senior is entering his final year of football at Minot State University with high expectations.

Gutierrez was a second-team all-conference offensive lineman last season – not bad for a guy who came to the school expecting to play tight end.

He’s been pegged by the website NFLDraftDiamonds.com as a guy to watch in the next NFL draft.

The website was created by Damond Talbot to help the underdogs playing the sport who might get overlooked by NFL teams because of the size of school they play for.

• Grays Harbor Community College announced last week it had signed Chiawana’s Preston Close to a letter of intent to play baseball there.

Close was also part of the Hanford Flames summer American Legion program these past few years. He’ll be vying for an outfield spot for the 2021 season for the Chokers.

• Luke Stutesman of Hanford also has signed to play baseball for Grays Harbor.

Stutesman, as a junior for the Falcons in 2019, was named first-team All-Mid-Columbia Conference as a relief pitcher.

Ex-Am update

Colton Yellow Horn, who played for the Tri-City Americans in 2006-07 and 2007-08, recently signed a one-year deal with SC Csikszereda, a team based in Romania that plays in the Erste Liga, according to the MacBeth Report.

Last season, Yellow Horn played 11 games for the Graz 99ers, an Austrian team in the same league, contributing 3 assists.

He also played for a team called Nitra, a Slovakian team in the Extraliga, where he scored 11 goals and 23 assists in 32 contests.

Yellow Horn was a prolific scorer for the Americans his two seasons here, collecting 88 goals and 86 assists in 126 games.