Kennewick, 4 others earn spots in WA high school baseball championships

Five Mid-Columbia baseball teams, leading with Class 3A Kennewick, are still alive for state high school baseball championships this weekend.

The Lions, seeded third in the first round, defeated No. 14 Snohomish 4-1 last Saturday at Roy Johnson.

Lenny Ayres’ team then took down No. 11 Enumclaw 5-4 in the quarterfinals later that day.

This is a young Kennewick team, with just three seniors on the squad: Dane Chavez, his twin brother Dierks Chavez, and Cameron Owen.

Dane Chavez will play next season for Washington State University, while Dierks will compete at Columbia Basin College.

Now everything moves to Parker-Faller Field on the Yakima Valley College campus for the semifinals and finals.

On Friday, the Lions (19-4) play No. 2 Gig Harbor (24-2) in the first semifinal at 10 a.m.

The second semifinal pits No. 4 Ballard (19-6) against top seed Mount Vernon at 1 p.m.

Mount Vernon features senior third baseman Xavier Neyens, who is projected to be a possible first-round draft pick in the MLB Draft in July.

Saturday’s third-place game will be held at 10 a.m.; the championship is set for 4 p.m.

CLASS 4A

Both Kamiakin (23-2) and Richland (19-7) lost in their respective tournament quarterfinals last Saturday to see their seasons end.

Kamiakin, seeded No. 2, opened the first round by beating No. 15 Olympic 6-0. But the Braves lost in the quarters by a 6-4 to Jackson of Everett.

Richland, the No. 5 seed and defending state champion, beat No. 12 Kennedy Catholic 5-3 in the first round. The Bombers then saw their season end, losing to No. 13 Lake Washington 5-4.

CLASS 2A

No. 5 Othello made it to the state semifinals, winning twice last Saturday in Chehalis.

The Huskies opened tournament play by beating No. 12 R.A. Long of Longview 4-1. Othello then took down No. 8 W.F. West of Chehalis 14-8.

The final four opens Friday at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham, with No. 3 Selah (23-2) playing No. 2 Bainbridge (21-4) at 4 p.m.

In the second semifinal, Sonny Garza’s Othello squad (22-5) plays No. 1 Anacortes (23-4) at 7 p.m.

Saturday’s championship is set for 7 p.m.

Semifinal losers play for third place at 1 p.m. Saturday.

CLASS 1A

No. 10 Royal was eliminated last Saturday in the first round, losing 4-3 to No. 7 Charles Wright/Life Christian.

The Knights end their season with a 16-10 record.

CLASS 2B

Jason Jarrett’s Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars are the two-time defending 2B state champions, and his team is zeroing in on a third straight title.

The Jags were seeded No. 1 in the tournament and hosted three other teams last Saturday at Southridge High School.

Prep opened play by edging No. 16 Toutle Lake 6-5, then took down No. 9 Colfax 5-1 in the quarterfinals.

The Final Four is set for Archer Field at Carlon Park in Selah.

The first semifinal on Friday pits No. 6 Jenkins of Chewelah (22-3) against No. 2 Freeman (21-2) at 4 p.m.

Then Prep (25-1) will meet No. 4 Asotin (20-6) in the other semifinal at 7 p.m.

The winners play for the state title at 7 p.m. Saturday. Semifinal losers meet for third place at 1 p.m.

▪ No. 12 River View (18-9) and No. 15 Warden (12-13-1) both lost first-round state games last Saturday.

River View lost 3-1 to No. 3 Adna, while Warden fell 5-1 to Freeman.

CLASS 1B

No. 1 Liberty Christian of Richland and No. 2 DeSales both advanced to the state semifinals after quarterfinal victories last Saturday.

The Patriots, coached by Brett Mooney, took down No. 9 Crosspoint Christian 10-0 in the quarterfinals at Richland High School.

Meanwhile, the Irish shut down No. 7 Sunnyside Christian 10-0 in their quarterfinals.

The semifinals are in Selah on Friday, with No. 3 Almira Coulee Hartline (18-3) meeting DeSales (19-4) at 10 a.m.

The second semi at 1 p.m. pits No. 4 Naselle (13-4) against Liberty Christian (16-2), which handed Tri-Cities Prep its only loss this season.

Winners play for the state title at 4 p.m. Saturday; losers meet in the third-place game at 10 a.m.

▪ Sunnyside Christian met up with DeSales after the Knights beat No. 10 Curlew 14-4 in a first-round game on May 20. The Knights finished with a 14-9 record.

No. 8 Dayton (16-9) lost its first-round game to Crosspoint Christian 3-2 on May 20.

State softball

For the second consecutive year, Walla Walla’s DeSales defeated Richland’s Liberty Christian to win the 1B state softball championship Saturday in Yakima.

The Irish, who won last year 9-3 over the Patriots, won this time 4-3.

DeSales beat Dayton 15-4 in the quarterfinals, then stopped Colton 11-6 in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, LC took down Ocosta 6-3 in the quarterfinals before edging Inchelium 5-4 in the semis.

Roundup

Richland went 1-2 in the 4A tournament at Columbia Playfield, while Hanford was 0-2. Rogers of Puyallup took down Skyview of Vancouver 10-1 in the championship. … Liberty of Issaquah defeated Garfield 6-4 to take the 3A state title in Lacey. Hermiston went 2-2 in the event, while Southridge fell short in the play-in game. … In the 1A tournament in Richland, Montesano beat Rochester 10-5 for the title. Defending state champ Royal was 1-2, while Kiona-Benton was 0-1. … In the 2B state tourney in Yakima, Adna beat Freeman 10-6 for the championship. River View was 1-2, while Warden went 0-2.