Tri-Cities area baseball teams battled it out in state tournaments

Tri-City high school baseball teams had a great season, ending on high notes battling it out for a shot at a state title.

Richland defeated Kamiakin 4-3 on Saturday at Everett’s Funko Field to earn the 4A third-place trophy.

Kamiakin finished fourth.

Both teams lost in their state semifinal contests on Friday.

In the opener, Sumner beat the Braves 6-1, as Wyatt Plyler pitched six innings of shutout ball for the winning team. Plyler surrendered just one hit, and he struck out 10.

Kamiakin’s Tanner Davis had a double and RBI.

Meanwhile, Richland lost its semifinal, falling 5-2 to Gonzaga Prep.

The Bullpups’ Anthony Karis had two hits.

Braylon Edwards gave the Bombers a solid relief outing, working 4 innings, surrendering no hits or runs, and striking out five GP batters.

Richland’s Dylan Parrott added two hits.

In the third-place game Saturday, Richland took the lead for good by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third inning, as Jackson Woodard, Michael Revell and Jaren Lee each drove in a run.

Lee had two RBIs on the day, while Revell scored twice and hit a triple.

Kamiakin’s Taron Carlson took the loss, despite pitching well over five innings. He had 5 strikeouts, scattered four hits, and gave up just one earned run.

Richland finishes the season with a 25-3 record. Kamiakin ends its season at 22-7.

Sumner defeated Gonzaga Prep 7-0 to win the state championship.

Class 2B baseball

Tri-Cities Prep’s bid to win its fourth consecutive state title fell short on Saturday, as Napavine beat the Jaguars 10-5 in the championship game at Selah.

The Tigers scored five runs in the fifth inning to snap a 5-5 tie.

Beckett Landrum led Napavine with a double, triple, three runs and three RBIs.

The Jaguars (26-3) were led by Colten Schorer’s two hits and two runs scored.

Prep advanced to its fourth straight title game on Friday, when it shut down Northwest Christian of Colbert 10-1 in a semifinal matchup.

In that game, Schorer pitched 7 innings, scattered 6 hits, and struck out two batters while surrendering just one run. He also had a base hit and scored two times.

Aiden McCabe had a hit, scored twice and had three stolen bases for the Jags; while Tilden Shumway added a hit and two runs.

Class 1B baseball

Dayton (20-3-1) earned its first ever state baseball title last Saturday in Selah, taking down Naselle 7-4.

The Bulldogs took advantage of a three-run sixth inning to snap a 4-4 tie. Naselle had an error that scored two runs, followed by an RBI single from Colton Steinhoff.

Steinhoff finished with two hits and scored twice. Jordan McCowen pitched 5 innings, and he struck out 9.

Dayton edged Liberty Christian 5-4 the day before in the semifinals. Trailing 2-1 going into the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs scored four runs to take a 5-2 lead.

The Patriots (24-1) rallied in the bottom of the seventh to score twice before falling short.

Steinhoff had two hits, including a triple. McCowen added two RBIs.

For LC, Ethan Butcher pitched 6 innings, scattered four hits and gave up just one earned run. He struck out 11 batters, and he also hit a double at the plate.

Liberty Christian bounced back Saturday to beat DeSales 1-0 in the third-place game.

Levi Marlow pitched 6.1 innings for the Pats, giving up just two hits and no runs, while striking out 13. Trenten Ralston had the game’s lone RBI, and he pitched the last two outs of the game to get the save.

Sam Kolb led DeSales (13-12), pitching 5.2 innings, striking out 8.

Boys soccer

Both Chiawana and Hanford were eliminated in the first round of the 4A state tournament.

The Riverhawks, seeded second, lost 2-0 to visiting No. 15 Mount Si.

Hanford, seeded 16th, lost at No. 1 Stadium 5-0.

In the 3A tournament, both Kennewick and Walla Walla went 1-1. The Lions, seeded 16th in the 20-team tournament, beat No. 17 Bellarmine Prep 3-2 in the opening round of play. Kennewick then fell 4-1 in the second round to top seed Mercer Island.

Wa-Hi, a 13 seed, shut down No. 20 North Thurston 4-0 in the first round. But the Blue Devils lost 3-2 to No. 4 Gig Harbor in the second round.

Although seeded 16th, Wahluke played five games in the recent 1A state tournament.

The Warriors beat No. 17 Eastside Prep 2-0, before taking down top-seeded Cascade of Leavenworth 4-0.

The Mattawa-based team then stopped No. 8 Fort Vancouver 5-1 to advance to the Final Four.

In the semifinals, Wahluke lost 1-0 to No. 12 Meridian; and then fell 3-0 in the third-place game to Cedar Park Christian.

The Warriors earned the fourth-place trophy.

Prep tennis

Kamiakin sophomore Kate Berg placed fourth in girls’ singles at the Class 4A tournament recently in Kennewick.

Berg went 3-1, beating Aspen Austen of West Valley-Yakima 2-0 in the opening round, before losing 2-1 to Puyallup’s Kayla Duong in the quarterfinals.

In the consolation round, Berg bounced back to beat Olympia’s Emma Meyer 2-0. She then earned fourth place by stopping Evalyn Kim of Auburn-Riverside 2-0.

Meanwhile, Hanford senior Lily Deng placed fifth in the same girls’ singles tournament. Deng opened tournament play falling 2-0 to Issaquah’s Muskaan Chaudry in the first round.

That was the last time she lost. She won her next three matches to place fifth: topping Teegan Bridgman of Jackson-Everett 2-1; stopping Mount Rainier’s Audrey Brown 2-0; and beating Skyview’s Annie Sheppert 2-0.

Prep golf

Here are the top area boys golfers at the recent state tournaments: 1, DJ Ramos, soph, Richland, 71-77–148 (+4), tied for 6th at 4A tournament, Eagles Pride Golf Course, DuPont

2 (T), Rhett Braman, fr, Grandview, 80-69–149 (+5), tied for 7th at 2A tournament, Tumwater Valley Golf Course

2 (T), Colby Lerten, sr, Hermiston, 74-77–151 (+9), tied for 42nd at 3A state tournament, Indian Canyon Golf Course, Spokane

2 (T), Cormac Meinshausen, jr, Hanford, 75-74–149 (+5), tied for 9th at 4A tournament, Eagles Pride, DuPont

2 (T), Cole Nighswanger, jr, Hanford, 75-74–149 (+5), tied for 9th at 4A tournament, Eagles Pride, DuPont

6, Kasen Haff, so, Kamiakin, 75-75–150 (+6), tied for 11th at 4A state, Eagles Pride, DuPont

7, Easton Stokes, fr, Grandview, 71-80–151 (+7), tied for 12th at 2A state, Tumwater Valley

8, Jake Warwick, soph, DeSales, 78-71–149 (+9), won state 1B tourney at Liberty Lake Golf Course

9, Grady Braman, jr, Grandview, 76-81–157 (+13), tied for 24th at 2A state, Tumwater Valley

10, Nile Dumser, sr, Walla Walla, 74-82–156 (+14), tied for 54th at 3A state, Indian Canyon

Here are the top area girls golfers at the recent state tournaments:

1, Avery Beck, jr, Kamiakin, 74-74–148 (+4), 10th at 4A state tournament, The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie — The Links, Lacey

2, Violet Scott, so, Kamiakin, 77-80–157 (+13), 20th at 4A state, Hawks Prairie

3, Sophie Brooks, fr, Kamiakin, 85-79–164 (+20), tied for 33rd at 4A state, Hawks Prairie

4, Emma Best, jr, Richland, 86-84–170 (+26), tied for 50th at 4A state, Hawks Prairie

5, Reagan Schwartz, sr, Kamiakin, 93-88–181 (+37), tied for 63rd at 4A state, Hawks Prairie

6, Bella Cha, jr, Prosser, 86-95–181 (+39), 14th at 2A state tournament, Riverside Golf Club, Chehalis

7, Kennedy Stewart, fr, Southridge, 90-98–188 (+44), 69th at 3A state tournament, Deer Park Golf Club

8, Eileen Garza, jr, Othello, 94-93–187 (+45), tied for 21st at 2A state, Riverside Golf Club

9, Caroline Koskinen, so, Tri-Cities Prep, 93-93–186 (+46), 10th at 1B/2B state tournament, Liberty Lake Golf Course

10, Gemma Morell, jr, College Place, 95-96–191 (+47), 29th at 1A state tournament, MeadowWood Golf Course, Liberty Lake

College baseball

Keep an eye on the Little Rock at Troy NCAA Super Regional series this weekend.

There are three former Columbia Basin College baseball players involved in this, and at least one of them will play in the NCAA College World Series.

Little Rock boasts former Hawks shortstop Lance Anderson and pitcher Brayden Wells, while Troy has centerfielder Steven Meier — who also starred at Southridge High School.

Troy knocked off highly ranked Florida 10-2 in last weekend’s regional final in Gainesville, Fla.

The Super Regional series is best-of-3, with game 1 set for 2 p.m. on Friday on ESPNU.

Game 2 is at 12 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.

Game 3 will be determined after Saturday’s game.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Herald.