Richland Bombers score top seed for MCC soccer playoffs. Kamiakin earns baseball title
Mike Pardini’s Richland boys soccer team beat Pasco 1-0 on Friday night, giving the Bombers a perfect 8-0 Mid-Columbia Conference record and the regular-season title.
The Bombers also beat powerhouse Chiawana 1-0 on April 25, giving Richland conference victories over both Pasco schools.
Richland, playing both of those contests on its home grass pitch, was able to slow down both the Bulldogs and Riverhawks.
So now the Bombers enter District 8 Class 4A tournament play as the top MCC seed, and they’ll open district play at home Thursday against Ferris. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.
Second-place Chiawana also will host a first-round on Thursday, as Mead comes to play at 5 p.m.
And Pasco, which finished third in the MCC standings, already won its first-round district match on the road, shutting out Gonzaga Prep 2-0 on Wednesday night.
In that match, Joel Diaz scored 12 minutes into the contest. In the second half, Pasco’s Ernesto Jimenez scored off an assist from Gabe Mendoza-Olvera at the 61-minute mark.
The Bulldogs await the winner of the Ferris-Richland matchup for a winner’s bracket semifinal on Saturday.
The top two teams in the 4A tournament advance to state, as do the top three teams in the 3A tourney.
Here is a look at the final MCC standings, as well as all of the first-round district pairings:
MCC BOYS SOCCER
Richland (4A) 8-0 MCC, 11-4 overall
Chiawana (4A) 7-1, 14-1
Pasco (4A) 6-2, 13-4
Kennewick (3A) 4-4, 10-5
Hermiston (3A) 4-4, 5-9
Southridge (3A) 3-5, 4-11
Hanford (4A) 2-6, 6-9
Kamiakin (4A) 1-7, 4-12
Walla Walla (3A) 1-7, 3-13
May 1 — Hermiston 3, Kamiakin 2.
May 2 — Chiawana 3, Kennewick 0; Richland 1, Pasco 0; Southridge 3, Walla Walla 0.
End regular season
4A District 8 tournament
Wednesday, May 7 — Game 2, Pasco 2, Gonzaga Prep 0
Thursday, May 8 — Game 1, Ferris at Richland, 5 p.m.; Game 3, Mead at Chiawana, 5 p.m.; Game 4, Hanford at Lewis & Clark, ONE Stadium, Spokane, 6:30 p.m.
3A District 8 tournament
Thursday, May 8 — Game 1, Cheney at Central Valley, 6:30 p.m.; Game 2, Mt. Spokane at Hermiston, 5 p.m.; Game 3, Southridge at Ridgeline, 6:30 p.m.; Game 4, North Central at Kennewick, 7 p.m.
MCC baseball
Kamiakin finished off the regular season by going 15-1 in Mid-Columbia Conference play to earn the baseball title this spring.
The Braves finished two games ahead of both Richland and Kennewick, which had 13-3 MCC records.
Now the postseason begins on Saturday, May 10, as the District 8 tournaments in both Class 4A and Class 3A start.
In the 4A tourney, Kamiakin and Richland will open play at home in the first round. There are two state tournament berths available in the 4A event.
In the 3A tournament, Kennewick and Southridge get first-round home games. The top three placers advance to the state tournament.
Here are the final MCC standings and first-round district tournament games:
MCC BASEBALL
Kamiakin (4A) 15-1 MCC, 19-1 overall
Kennewick (3A) 13-3, 15-4
Richland (4A) 13-3, 14-5
Hanford (4A) 9-7, 12-7
Southridge (3A) 7-9, 11-9
Chiawana (4A) 7-9, 11-10
Walla Walla (3A) 4-12, 6-14
Hermiston (3A) 2-14, 4-16
Pasco (4A) 2-14, 4-16
May 2 — Chiawana 13, Pasco 1; Chiawana 16, Pasco 1; Kamiakin 8, Southridge 3; Kamiakin 15, Southridge 8; Kennewick 10, Hanford 0; Kennewick 12, Hanford 6; Richland 11, Walla Walla 1; Richland 17, Walla Walla
May 6 — Kamiakin 4, Pendleton 0
End of regular season
4A District 8 tournament
Saturday, May 10 — Game 1, Mead at Kamiakin, LaPierre Field, 1 p.m.; Game 2, Hanford at Ferris, 1 p.m.; Game 3, Lewis & Clark at Richland, 11 a.m.; Game 4, Chiawana at Gonzaga Prep, 1 p.m.
3A District 8 tournament
Saturday, May 10 — Game 1, Ridgeline at Central Valley, 12 p.m.; Game 2, University at Southridge, 2:30 p.m.; Game 3, Walla Walla at Mt. Spokane, 1 p.m.; Game 4, Shadle Park at Kennewick, Roy Johnson Field, 11 a.m.
District softball
Not sure if this has ever happened before, but Mid-Columbia Conference softball teams went a perfect 7-0 against their Greater Spokane League opponents in Tuesday’s District 8 tournaments.
What it means in the Class 3A tournament is that Kennewick meets Mt. Spokane on Friday in a winner-to-state game.
Meanwhile, Hermiston visits Southridge on Friday for another 3A state berth.
In the 4A tournament, all four MCC teams — Richland, Kamiakin, Hanford and Chiawana — all won their openers. One of those teams will win the district title next week and earn a state 4A berth.
4A District 8 tournament
Tuesday, May 6 — Game 1, Richland 17, Gonzaga Prep 0; Game 2, Kamiakin 14, Ferris 0; Game 3, Hanford 10, Lewis & Clark 3; Game 4, Chiawana 11, Mead 5.
Friday, May 9 — Game 5, Gonzaga Prep at Ferris (loser out), 4 p.m.; Game 6, Lewis & Clark at Mead (loser out), 5 p.m.; Game 7, Kamiakin at Richland, 5 p.m.; Game 8, Chiawana at Hanford, 5 p.m.
3A District 8 tournament
Tuesday, May 6 — Game 1, Mt. Spokane 12, Cheney 0; Game 2, Kennewick 9, Ridgeline 4; Game 3, Hermiston 10, University 4; Game 4, Southridge 2, Central Valley 1.
Friday, May 9 — Game 5, Cheney at Ridgeline (loser out), 5 p.m.; Game 6, Central Valley at University (loser out), 4 p.m.; Game 7, Kennewick at Mt. Spokane (winner to state), 5 p.m.; Game 8, Hermiston at Southridge (winner to state), 5 p.m.