This former Tri-Cities Dust Devil is pitching for the Astros in the World Series

Kamiakin senior post Tyler Bilodeau announced on Twitter Wednesday night that he is committing to play men’s basketball at Oregon State beginning next school year.

It’s a great deal for the 6-foot-8 standout, who was named the Mid-Columbia Conference Player of the Year back in the spring season as a junior.

But it also got me thinking about what a good job Oregon State University’s athletic department is doing around the Mid-Columbia.

The Beavers seem to be on a roll in attracting some of this region’s top talent in the past few years.

Current Chiawana senior Isaiah Anderson has already signed a letter of intent to wrestle for the Beavers men’s wrestling squad beginning next year.

The baseball team got Tri-Cities Prep pitching and hitting star David Grewe to come to Corvallis this past summer.

McKenna Martinez, a Tri-Cities Prep graduate who also starred for the Richland Bombers girls soccer team, is now a standout as a freshman for the OSU women’s soccer team.

Hermiston grad Jazlyn Romero is now in her second year in Corvallis, throwing the javelin for the women’s track and field team.

For the past two seasons, Kamiakin grad Korbin Sorensen has been part of the offensive line for the Beavers football team, after transferring over from Portland State.

Talia von Oelhoffen graduated early from Chiawana, then joined the OSU women this past January. She was able to help the Beavers get to the NCAA Women’s Tournament. The best part for her was that because of the pandemic, the NCAA allowed von Oelhoffen to enroll and play early and still not lose any eligibility. She is still a true freshman when the season begins next month.

Finally, Richland High grad Ryan White is a true freshman for the OSU volleyball team and has played in every set as a defensive specialist and libero for the Beavers, contributing immediately.

Great job by the Beavers around here.

Maton in the big show

Former Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher Phil Maton is playing this week in the World Series.

Maton started his minor league career with the Dust Devils in 2015, when he was a 22-year-old reliever. That season, he was 4-2 with an earned run average of 1.38.

Back then the Dust Devils were a San Diego Padres affiliate in the short-season Northwest League.

Maton eventually made the big club’s roster in 2017, but has been traded twice since. In 2019, the Padres sent the righty to Cleveland.

And at the July 31 trade deadline this summer, the Indians sent Maton to the Astros in a deal.

He’s pitched in the first two World Series games for the Astros.

Game time change

If you’re planning on going to the Richland at Kennewick MCC football showdown on Friday night at Lampson Stadium, don’t.

On Wednesday, the game was moved to 11 a.m. Saturday, still at Lampson.

The reason, said Kennewick High athletic director Anna Harris, was a lack of availability of officials.

Harris said that this game drew the short straw for the move. All area games are thrown into a hat, so that it’s fair for all classifications.

Be that as it may, it’ll still be a great matchup. Both the Bombers and Lions are 6-1 in MCC play, 7-1 overall. So this is the battle for second place as the regular season winds down this weekend.

Both teams have qualified for postseason play, with Richland heading into 4A regionals next week, and Kennewick qualifying for the 3A state Round of 32.

CBC sports on a roll

Something must be in the water at Columbia Basin College.

All three of the Hawks’ fall sports programs have had successful regular seasons.

The men’s soccer team has clinched the East Region title. Head coach Martin Ramirez has led the Hawks to a 10-4-2 record, and CBC will host an NWAC quarterfinal playoff match on Nov. 6.

The CBC women’s soccer team, led by head coach Omar Anderson, beat Yakima Valley 3-0 on Wednesday to clinch the East Region title.

Now boasting an 11-2-2 record, the CBC women will also play host to an NWAC quarterfinal match on Nov. 6.

And with three matches remaining in its regular season, CBC’s volleyball team sits atop the East Region with an 11-2 record and 17-7 overall.

While head coach DiShondra Goree’s Hawks haven’t quite clinched the East Region title, they did clinch a postseason berth with Wednesday’s win over Walla Walla, and currently sit in first place.

If the Hawks can finish first, they would host the East Regional, to be played at CBC, and which is set for Nov. 13-14. It would involve the East’s top seed, and three other playoff teams from the other regions. The top two teams out of that regional would advance to the Elite Eight the following weekend.

Good times at CBC right now.

Signings

▪ Hermiston High senior Katelyn Heideman, who has been an outstanding 3-point shooter for the Bulldogs the past two seasons, signed a letter of intent to play women’s basketball for the University of Providence Argos program in Great Falls, Mont.

Heideman is the latest Mid-Columbia athlete to play for the Montana school.

Grad student Emilee Maldonado (Sunnyside) is back for another season at guard, and was recently selected by Frontier Conference coaches as the pre-season MVP.

Junior guard Kenedy Cartwright and freshman Delaney Pink are both Chiawana graduates, and junior post Alicia Oatis is a Kennewick High grad.

▪ Richland football standout Elijah Rodriguez announced this week he will be playing next fall for Eastern Washington University.

Rodriguez has been a force for the Bombers at both running back and defensive end, especially the last two seasons.

But the Eagles are planning to use Rodriguez as a linebacker.

▪ One of the top javelin throwers in the Northwest, if not the country for his age group, Walla Walla senior Dash Sirmon, has committed to the University of Washington for track and field.

▪ Natalie Ruzauskas, Richland’s standout distance runner, has committed to EWU to run. Cross country and track.

Ruzauskas finished second at the Class 4A state cross country meet as a sophomore in 2019 — this after dropping soccer for cross country — and she should be one of the favorites in the 4A girls race when the WIAA state cross country meet is held at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco on Nov. 6.