Mid-Columbia roundup for May 19: River View, Kiona-Benton advance in softball

Cierra Sakota drove in two runs, and her twin sister, Kylie, hit an RBI single with one out in the fifth inning to help host River View defeat Zillah 10-0 in the first round of the SCAC district softball tournament Thursday.

It was the final game on River View’s field for 12th-year coach Andy Clayton, who is stepping down after this season.

“I got a couple younger kids that are involved with sports,” Clayton said. “With my wife working late, it’s hard to be in three or four places at once.”

In Thursday’s other district openers, Naches Valley rolled at home to an 11-1 win over Connell, SCAC East regular-season champion Kiona-Benton routed Granger 8-1 in Benton City, and host Cle Elum dominated Royal 25-6.

In Saturday’s district semifinals at West Valley High School in Yakima, River View will play Cle Elum, while Ki-Be faces Naches Valley.

The semis will follow the district loser-out games (Connell vs. Granger and Zillah vs. Royal), which are scheduled for 10 a.m.

Three teams will advance out of the SCAC districts to next week’s Class 1A state tournament at Columbia Playfield in Richland.

KIONA-BENTON 8, GRANGER 1: The host Bears got solo home runs from Tegan Carlson and Dainera Morgan, and sophomore Taylor Monk struck out 10 and allowed three hits against the Spartans.

Kiona-Benton coach Dave Thornton said getting back to the state tournament for the first time in a decade will require the Bears (15-6) to hit better.

“We gotta get more than five hits,” Thornton said.

CWAC: Othello beat Ellensburg 10-8 in the District 5/6 title game at Carlon Park in Selah.

Both teams will advance to next week’s Class 2A state tournament, also at Carlon Park.

Othello started the day with an 11-1 win over East Valley, while Ellensburg defeated Selah 3-1.

SOCCER

ALL-MCC PICKS: Pasco forwards Hector Magana and Jesus Meraz-Rodriguez were named the Mid-Columbia Conference co-players of the year, and Matt Potter was voted as the MCC coach of the year after guiding the Bulldogs to a 13-1 league record.

Pasco landed five players on the first team, including Magana, last season’s MCC player of the year. Chiawana got four first-team selections, Hanford landed two, and Kennewick and Richland one apiece.

Pasco (18-2), which won its third consecutive district title and finished second at regionals, will face Central Valley in the Class 4A state quarterfinals Saturday.

SWIMMING

Olympic gold medalists Amanda Beard and Dave Walters will help out Tri-City Channel Cats swimmers during a clinic from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday at Memorial Pool at Pasco.

The event is not open to the public.

Beard, 34, is a seven-time Olympic medalist. She won gold in 1996 in the 4x100-meter medley relay and in 2004 in the 200 breaststroke, an event in which she held the world record.

Walters, 28, received his Olympic gold medal as part of the Americans’ 4x200 freestyle relay in 2008.

Walters and Beard are coming to Pasco as part of the Mutual of Omaha Breakout! Swim Clinic program. The program, run by three-time Olympic gold medalist Josh Davis, sends Olympians or national team swimmers to help teams around the country.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Trevor Jones (Hanford) went 3-for-5 as Bellevue (Neb.) beat Davenport (Mich.) 6-5 to force a winner-take-all game in the NAIA Opening Round Tournament in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Bellevue (50-10), which eliminated York 4-3 earlier Thursday, will play Davenport (43-16) on Friday for a trip to the Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.

▪ Dixie State junior pitcher Mason Hilty (Richland) was a Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-West Region second-team selection.

Hilty has appeared in 13 games, starting 11, and gone 9-1 with an 3.44 ERA for the Trailblazers (38-13), who are playing in the NCAA Division II West Regional. Dixie State lost to Cal State Monterey Bay 6-3 on Thursday.

GOLF

Lewis-Clark State College senior Janci Spoo, a kinesiology major from Hermiston, was named a 2016 Daktronics-NAIA Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete.

Student-athletes must have a 3.5 grade-point average and reached junior academic status.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Mid-Columbia roundup for May 19: River View, Kiona-Benton advance in softball."