Plenty up for grabs as MCC baseball wraps up regular season

Nearly everything is up for grabs as the Mid-Columbia Conference baseball teams head into their final games Friday and Saturday, including the all-important Class 3A and 4A top seeds into districts.

Sure, the league title makes for a nice trophy, and half of the MCC’s eight teams are alive for it. But paramount is getting the top seeds into next week’s 3A and 4A district tournaments and the automatic berth into regionals that comes with them.

And after Friday’s single games, the league season wraps up Saturday with a quad-header at Gesa Stadium.

“I think (the players) like it over there,” Southridge coach Tim Sanders said. “It sets up the tournament stuff. Everybody is in the yard; it’s high-energy. It sets the stage for next week.”

Kennewick (10-2) comes into the day with a one-game lead over Southridge, Walla Walla and Richland (all 9-3) atop the league standings.

The Lions face Hanford (3-9), which is locked into the 3A No. 4 spot. Southridge, chasing Kennewick for the top 3A spot, takes on Walla Walla and — barring a fairly unlikely sweep by Hanford — will need to sweep the Blue Devils and get some help to have a shot of pulling even with Kennewick and forcing a playoff next week.

Wa-Hi is in its own heated race with Richland, with the teams tied for the top 4A spot. The Bombers will match up with Kamiakin (6-6), which is locked into the 3A No. 3 slot and will host Hanford in the district opener next week.

The fourth matchup pits Chiawana (2-10) against Pasco (0-12). The Bulldogs not only are searching for their first league win, but also have a chance to grab the 4A No. 3 seat with a sweep.

“We played (at Gesa) in the beginning of the season,” Pasco coach Tyler Hockaday said. “Hopefully that works to our advantage a little bit.”

With the 3A and 4A state championship games at Gesa Stadium, all eight teams have hopes of finishing the postseason right where they will end the regular season.

“It’s fun, it’s special that the guys get to play on that field,” Richland coach Grant Richardson said. “I hope we get to play there again in a couple of weeks.”

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Plenty up for grabs as MCC baseball wraps up regular season."