Tri-Cities baseball, soccer teams begin march toward WA state titles

The state high school baseball and boys soccer playoff pairings came out Sunday, and the qualifying teams from the Mid-Columbia will be spread out all over the state.

Here are those pairings for baseball:

▪ Class 4A: The Mid-Columbia Conference qualified three teams in the 16-team field.

District 8 champion Richland is a No. 4 seed, and the Bombers will host one of the four regional tournaments at Richland High School.

At 10 a.m., (12 seed) Curtis takes on (5) Moses Lake. Richland will play (13) Mount Si at 1 p.m. Both games are loser-out contests, and the two winners meet soon after the second game in a quarterfinal matchup and a chance to advance to the state final four (which, by the way, will be at Gesa Stadium in Pasco on May 27-28).

Meanwhile, Kamiakin (which lost to Richland in the District 8 final) earned a No. 6 seed by the state committee. The Braves will play at 10 a.m., Saturday, against (11) Sumner at Yakima County Stadium.

Host (3) West Valley of Yakima will take on (14) Skyline at 1 p.m., and the two winners will meet after that contest.

Finally, Chiawana knocked off Greater Spokane League champion Gonzaga Prep this past Saturday to qualify for the state tournament. The Riverhawks were given the 16 seed, and they’ll play No. 1 seed Olympia at 1 p.m., Saturday, at the Regional Athletic Complex in Olympia.

If Chiawana can win, it would play the winner of the day’s first game, (9) Camas vs. (8) Issaquah, for a chance to play in Pasco.

▪ Class 3A: Because there are so many Class 3A schools in the state (79), this state tournament features 20 entries.

And despite falling to Walla Walla 4-3 in the 3A District 8 championship game this past Saturday, the Kennewick Lions’ complete body of work was enough for the state seeding committee to reward them a 3 seed.

So Kennewick first has to wait to see who wins Tuesday’s play-in game, (19) Silas or (14) Eastside Catholic, to find out its opponent.

Then the Lions will host that winner at 10 a.m., Saturday, at Parker Field in Yakima. A big reason is that Roy Johnson Field, with a shaky light standard in right field, is unable to be used for regionals. Thus the game in Yakima.

The winner of that game will await the winner of the 1 p.m. game — (11) Peninsula against (6) Lincoln of Seattle — for the quarterfinal matchup later in the day.

Walla Walla, meanwhile, was awarded an 8 seed, and the Blue Devils will open tournament play against No. 9 Bonney Lake at 1 p.m., Saturday, at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.

The winner will play in the late afternoon quarterfinals against either (17) Stanwood, (16) Kelso, or (1) West Seattle.

▪ Class 2A: No Mid-Columbia teams qualified for the 2A state tournament.

▪ Class 1A: College Place is a 6 seed, while Royal got No. 10.

College Place is headed to Wenatchee High School, where the Hawks will meet (11) Klahowya at 1 p.m., Saturday.

The winner will take on the victor in the 10 a.m. game — (14) Meridian or (3) Chelin — in the late afternoon in the quarterfinals.

Royal will meet No. 7 La Center at 10 a.m., Saturday, at Anacortes High School in one first-round game. The winner takes on either (15) Elma or (2) Bellevue Christian in the quarterfinals.

▪ Class 2B: Tri-Cities Prep earned the No. 6 seed from the state committee, and the Jaguars will head to Shadle Park High School in Spokane, where they’ll meet No. 11 Okanogan at 10 a.m., Saturday.

The other half at that site features (14) Toledo and (3) Jenkins of Chewelah. The quarterfinal should be played around 4 p.m.

Warden also has qualified as a 15 seed, and the Cougars will play at No. 2 seed Brewster at 10 a.m., Saturday. The winner will play in the quarterfinals against either (10) Friday Harbor or (7) Kalama.

On another note, the EWAC bracket website had Columbia-Burbank advancing to the state tournament. But the Coyotes did not get a berth.

▪ Class 1B: This 12-team tournament starts Tuesday with four play-in games.

That includes 12-seed Sunnyside Christian playing 5-seed Liberty Christian, at a time and site yet to be announced.

The winner would play 4-seed Crosspoint at 1 p.m., Saturday, at Borleske Stadium in Walla Walla.

DeSales, the top seed in the tournament, will also be at Borleske on Saturday, playing at 10 a.m. against either (9) Riverside Christian or (8) Odessa.

Winners of those two Saturday games play in the late afternoon in the state semifinals.

Boys soccer

Here are the pairings for our area teams, with many dates, times and locations yet to be announced:

▪ Class 4A: Pasco earned the top seed of the 16-team tournament, and the Bulldogs will match up against 16 seed Bothell.

Chiawana is a 13 seed, and the Riverhawks will take on 4-seed Newport of Bellevue.

Both games have to played either Tuesday or Wednesday, but as of Sunday night nothing is set.

▪ Class 3A: Kennewick qualifies as the 20th seed, and the Lions will have a play-in game against 13 seed Gig Harbor, at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, at Roy Anderson Field in Gig Harbor.

▪ Class 2A: Othello earned a No. 9 seed in the 16-team field, and the Huskies will take on (8) Clover Park at 6 p.m., Tuesday, at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood.

▪ Class 1A: Connell earned a 6 seed, while Wahluke is 10th in the 20-team field.

Connell will take on (11) Bellevue Christian on Saturday at Quincy Jackrabbit Stadium. No time has yet been set.

Meanwhile, Wahluke plays No. 7 Lakeside on Saturday. But the time and site has not been determined.