Richland, Kamiakin advance to 4A baseball semifinals

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

But we’ll mention it anyway: there is a chance two Tri-City schools could play for a state championship on Saturday.

Both Richland and Kamiakin have advanced to the state semifinals in Class 4A baseball after the two squads won twice last Saturday.

If they were to both win their semifinal games on Friday — Kamiakin against Sumner at 10 a.m.; Richland versus

Gonzaga Prep at 1 p.m. — the two teams would meet for the state title at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 30.

All games this weekend are at Funko Field in Everett.

The chance meeting would mark the second time ever that two Tri-City teams could meet in a state championship game.

In 1979, Richland played Pasco in the Seattle Coliseum (now Climate Pledge Arena) for the AAA boys basketball state championship — a game Richland won 72-59.

Last Saturday, top-seeded Richland used some standout pitching in both of its games, while the Bombers’ bats came alive in their second contest.

In a 2-0 win over Skyline of Sammamish, Richland starter Michael Revell — headed to Grand Canyon University to play baseball — tossed a complete-game shutout, striking out seven batters and scattering 5 hits.

In that game, Dylan Parrott and Jackson Woodard each had RBI singles.

Advancing to the quarterfinals, Richland 10-runned No. 8 Olympia 11-1.

Braylon Edwards pitched a 6-inning complete game for the Bombers, giving up just 2 hits and fanning 6 batters. Tyler Huck hit a triple and drove in three runs for the Bombers.

Richland coach Grant Richardson said he felt he had a team to get to the semifinals — a hard thing to accomplish.

“But these guys have worked their tails off to be competitive in every moment on their way here,” he said. “This is always the goal, but we know it’s the daily grind and everyday work that gets us here.”

Richardson added this achievement wasn’t easy.

“We’ve come a long way from where we were early on,” said Richardson. “Guys have come together and matured as a group. They’re a fun group to coach and be around.”

If Richland’s pitching was impressive, Kamiakin’s might have been more-so.

The No. 6 Braves hit the road to Tahoma, beating No. 11 Eastlake 1-0 in the first round.

Braves starter Zach Vega — playing for Gonzaga next year — tossed a complete game, giving up just 1 hit, and striking out 15 batters.

Tanner Davis’ second inning RBI single was the only run Kamiakin needed.

In the quarterfinal game later that day, the Braves took down No. 14 Lake Washington 6-0.

Starter Taron Carlson (a WSU commit) went 5 innings without surrendering a hit. He also struck out seven. Davis, headed to the University of Washington to play, finished pitching the final 2 innings, giving up a hit but no runs.

Davis also had two hits, including a triple, and had two RBIs.

Kamiakin coach Steve Woods said his team is staying focused.

“The attitude is all business,” said Woods. “These guys move on quickly to what’s next and are always up for a new challenge.”

Woods thought the Braves could have a chance for the final four.

“At then beginning of the season, I knew we had a chance to make a deep run,” he said, “but it’s baseball. You never really know how things are going to play out.”

So here we are, both teams headed to Funko Field on Friday for the state semifinals.

Kamiakin will open semifinal play at 10 a.m., facing No. 2 Sumner.

“To be totally honest,” said Woods, “we really don’t care who we play. We aren’t looking for a headline. We’re just excited for the opportunity to compete this weekend and see where the chips fall.”

Richland follows at 1 p.m. with a game against No. 5 Gonzaga Prep — a team that handed the Bombers a district championship loss on May 16.

“The guys are hungry for a rematch with G-Prep,” said Richardson.

But if that Tri-City state title matchup were to happen — in Everett of all places?

“It would be even better if it were at Gesa Stadium!” said Richardson.

Here is the weekend’s schedule:

Friday, May 29

Funko Field, Everett

Semifinals

Game 13 — (6) Kamiakin vs. (2) Sumner, 10 a.m.

Game 14 — (5) Gonzaga Prep vs. (1) Richland, 1 p.m.

Saturday, May 30

Game 15 — Third-fourth place game, loser 13 vs. loser 14, 10 a.m.

Game 16 — Championship, winner 13 vs. winner 14, 4 p.m.

3A baseball

The Kennewick Lions, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, edged No. 15 Monroe 5-4 on Saturday in a first-round contest at Roy Johnson Field.

Brady Mattson’s RBI double in the bottom of the fifth gave the Lions the lead for good. Teammate Bradley Parker added a two-run single for Kennewick.

But the Lions ran into a buzzsaw in the quarterfinals, as No. 7 O’Dea beat them 3-0.

Irish starter Nolan Burnett went 6.1 innings, holding the Lions to just 3 hits and striking out 6 Kennewick batters.

Kennewick’s season ends with a 20-6 record.

Southridge saw its season end, losing 3-1 in the first round to Kentlake.

Nick Wade and Leomar Gonzalez each had two hits for the Suns, who end their season with a 14-12 record.

2A baseball

Othello fell just short of advancing to the final four.

Hosting a regional, the Huskies opened first-round play by beating Chief Sealth 1-0 in 10 innings.

Xzyyvn Martinez pitched 8.2 innings, scattering four hits, surrendering no runs, and striking out 16 batters.

Aiden Garza pitched the final 1.1 innings for the Huskies to get the victory.

Zayvier Olazcon drove in the winning run with a sacrifice run in the bottom of the 10th.

But the Huskies ended up losing 8-7 to CWAC rival Selah in the quarterfinal game. The Vikings scored 5 runs in the sixth inning to take control.

R Jay Garza led Othello with two hits, three RBIs and a home run.

2B baseball

Tri-Cities Prep is back to where it always seems to end up: in the Final Four.

Jason Jarrett’s Jaguars, the top seed, opened state play with a 16-1 win over No. 16 Orcas Island.

Sam DeLeon led the Jags both on the mound and in the batter’s box. DeLeon pitched 5 innings, gave up just 1 hit and 1 run, and struck out 8 batters. He also went 3 for 4 at the plate, scoring three times and driving in four runs.

In the quarterfinals, Prep edged No. 8 Asotin 4-3 to advance to the semifinals.

TCP scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead.

DeLeon was 2 for 3 and scored two runs. Aiden McCabe added a double and two RBIs.

Meanwhile, River View’s season ended with a 6-1 first-round loss to Adna.

Dre Dimond led the Panthers with a scoreless 4.1 innings of relief, scattering 2 hits and fanning five batters. Dimond also hit a triple.

Panthers coach Brian Eisenbarth is set to retire from River View, concluding a long and successful career.

Here is the weekend schedule for the 2B semifinals and finals:

Friday, May 29

Carlon Park, Selah

Semifinals

Game 13 — (10) Toutle Lake vs. (3) Napavine, 10 a.m.

Game 14 — (4) Northwest Christian (Colbert) vs. (1) Tri- Cities Prep, 1 p.m.

Saturday, May 30

Game 15 — Third-fourth place game: loser 13 vs. loser 14, 10 a.m.

Game 16 — Championship: winner 13 vs. winner 14, 4 p.m.

1B baseball

Three of the final four teams in the 1B tournament all come from the Southeast 1B League.

That includes big rivals Liberty Christian School of Richland and Walla Walla’s DeSales.

Seeded 11th in the 12-team tournament, DeSales bulled over No. 6 Quilcene 6-1 in the opening round on May 19.

Then the Irish hit the road again on Saturday to outslug No. 3 Almira Coulee Hartline 11-8.

Top-seeded LC, meanwhile, played host to No. 9 Wahkiakum on Saturday in a quarterfinal game at Southridge High School. The Patriots won 10-1.

Ethan Butcher had two hits for LC, including a triple. He also had four RBIs and scored twice.

Levi Marlow pitched 6 innings, giving up just one hit and striking out seven batters.

Here is this weekend’s schedule:

Friday, May 29

Carlon Park, Selah

Semifinals

Game 9 — (11) DeSales vs. (2) Naselle, 4 p.m.

Game 10 — (4) Dayton vs. (1) Liberty Christian, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 30

Game 11 — Third-fourth place game: loser 9 vs. loser 10, 1 p.m.

Game 12 — Championship: winner 9 vs. winner 10, 7 p.m.

-Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.