NWAC teams return to the diamond

NWAC baseball and softball teams are getting back on the field.

The Columbia Basin College and Walla Walla Community College softball squads will play Saturday and Sunday in the NWAC preseason crossover tournament at Columbia Playfield in Richland.

The Hawks, who went 28-23 overall and 14-14 in the NWAC East last spring, are coming off a fifth-place finish in the conference championships. Eleven of the 16 players on the roster are from the Mid-Columbia. Half the team is back from last year, including Eastern Region first-team selections Kayla Andrews (pitcher, Richland High School) and Sarah Gilliam (outfielder, Southridge).

Andrews, who along with Gilliam has signed to play softball next year at Central Washington University, also was selected as an NWAC National Fastpitch Coaches Association Softball All-American at utility.

Walla Walla (17-29, 11-17) missed the NWAC tournament last year. The Warriors have one Mid-Columbian on their roster, former Walla Walla High player Jacie McDaniels.

CBC and Walla Walla open the regular season March 4. The Hawks will face Everett to start a string of seven consecutive home doubleheaders, while the Warriors will host Clackamas.

The CBC baseball team will host an exhibition doubleheader against the Gonzaga baseball club at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Hawks kick off the regular season with Tuesday’s doubleheader against Blue Mountain in Pasco. They will spend almost a month at home.

Outfielder Spencer Bennion (Chiawana) and former Prosser teammates Kooper Blair and Wyatt Wentz are on CBC’s roster. Last year, the Hawks took third in the NWAC East with an 18-10 record, but they fell short of the NWAC tournament and finished 32-15 overall.

Walla Walla (31-17, 19-9 NWAC East) was second in its region last spring, but the Warriors went 0-2 in the NWAC tournament, losing to Mt. Hood and Edmonds. They open their 2016 campaign March 5, hosting a doubleheader against Clark. Six former Kennewick High School players — Larry DeWitt, Steven Sordahl, Jarrod Molnaa, Dylan Wilbert, Josh Kutzke and Quentin Lafontaine — are on the WWCC roster along with Garrett March (Richland); Austen and Connor Morfin (Southridge); Zach Zehner, Reid Magnaghi and Blake McKinney (Wa-Hi); and Lowden Smith (Dayton).

This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 5:50 PM with the headline "NWAC teams return to the diamond."