CBC baseball team off to fast start; Hawks softball starts NWAC play with 3-1 record 

Despite the fact that Stefan McGovern’s CBC baseball team dropped three of four games this past weekend, the Hawks are off to a great start and are one of the top NWAC squads in the Northwest.

CBC carries a 14-4 record into this coming weekend’s final non-league action of the year. The Hawks will play at home both Saturday and Sunday, with Chemeketa taking them on in a Saturday doubleheader that starts at noon.

On Sunday, the two teams meet again in a single game at 10 a.m. Then Bellevue swings by at 4 p.m. for a single game.

CBC opens East Region play next Tuesday with a twinbill at Treasure Valley in Ontario, Ore. First pitch is 1 p.m.

Southridge High grads Nick Grade and Steven Meier are leading the Hawks at the plate.

Meier is carrying a .478 batting average and leads the team with 12 stolen bases; Grade is batting .431 and has 13 RBIs.

Other offensive standouts right now include Isaac Haws (Idaho) with 10 stolen bases; Payton Kallaher (Pullman) with 16 RBIs; Brooks Rasmussen (Idaho) with a .358 batting average; and Hunter Tiffany (West Valley-Spokane) with 14 RBIs.

On the pitching side, Josh Aribal (Hawaii) is 4-0 and has 31 strikeouts, Ian Hughes (Idaho) has 44 strikeouts, and Sebastian Munoz (Othello) has 22 strikeouts.

CBC softball

▪ Montessa Califano’s CBC softball team is off to a 3-1 NWAC East Region start after splitting with Wenatchee Valley last weekend, before sweeping Yakima Valley.

The Hawks are 9-6 overall, and host two twinbills this upcoming weekend: a 2 p.m. start Friday against Spokane; and a 12 p.m. Saturday first pitch against North Idaho.

Offensively, the Hawks are led by a dynamic trio: Ashlynn Nixon (Montana) leads CBC with 7 home runs, 23 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. She is also hitting .463; McKenzie Lowry (Kamiakin) has 4 homers, is batting .450, and has 11 RBIs; and Harley Raymond (Moses Lake) has 4 homers, is batting a team-best .590, and has 19 RBIs.

In the circle, Richland High grad Amanda Brown is the team’s ace, with a 4-1 record, 11 strikeouts, and a 4.25 earned run average.

Pitcher Macao Jackson (Montana) has 13 strikeouts.

Men’s basketball

▪ The Columbia Basin College men’s basketball team saw its season end late Thursday night, when the Hawks lost 70-51 to Tacoma in the first round of the NWAC Basketball Championships at Everett Community College.

CBC head coach Anthony Owens watched his team fall behind 27-3 before the Hawks could mount a comeback.

Tacoma just couldn’t miss the first 10 minutes of the game, sinking its first five 3-point field goal attempts.

Amar Rivers led CBC (which finished its season with a 16-12 record) with 18 points.

The final four NWAC men’s team that are alive — and will play this coming Saturday at Everett CC — are Bellevue, Olympic, Wenatchee Valley, and Yakima Valley.

The final four in the women’s tournament at Clackamas, Lane, Lower Columbia and Peninsula. They also play Saturday, and both championship games are set for Sunday.

All-star basketball

▪ The East Region all-star basketball teams were also released last week.

CBC freshman Tyler Kurtz (Richland) was named to the first team for East Region men, as was Walla Walla Community College sophomore Jander Cline.

Wenatchee Valley sophomore Isaac Jones was named East Region MVP, while WVC’s Jeremy Harden was East Region Coach of the Year.

Cooper DeWitt — a Chiawana grad who is a sophomore at North Idaho College — was named second team in the East. DeWitt has already committed to playing for IUPUI next season.

On the women’s side, WWCC sophomore Brie Holecek was named East Region MVP, while WWCC’s Bobbi Hazeltine was named Coach of the Year.

Two Mid-Columbia athletes were named to the first team: Wenatchee Valley sophomore Maddie Godwin (a Liberty Christian grad), and Spokane freshman Maddie Gebers (Kennewick).

Joining them on the first team is WWCC sophomore Kortney Trappett.

WWCC sophomore Makayla DeBry was a second-teamer.

Trappett was also named the East Region Defensive Player of the Year.

Richland basketball

▪ The future is looking bright for Richland High School boys basketball.

The 8th grade Richland Gunners won the 2022 Washington Middle School state boys basketball championships in Spokane this past weekend.

The Gunners represent Richland High and won the School division, which consisted of 24 high school feeder teams from throughout the state.

The team went 5-0 with its closest game being a 15-point victory.

The Gunners also beat the two westside league champions, first topping Newport 49-34 in the semifinals, and then rolling past Edmonds-Woodway 43-24 in the championship.

The team also had wins over Mt. Si, Roosevelt, and Bothell.

Gunners players are consists Andre Chang, Braylon Edwards, Lance Horntvedt, Sylen Kiesel-Kahaune, Layne McClure, Nathan Moore, Landen Northrop and Caden Schulz.

Dust Devils

▪ Major League Baseball announced last week that it is allowing the minor leagues to go back to using their original names this coming season.

For the Tri-City Dust Devils, that means the High A West once again becomes the Northwest League for 2022.

By the way, we’re under a month before the season starts.

The Dust Devils open the 132-game schedule at Hillsboro on April 8.

Tri-City’s home opener is Tuesday, April 12, against the Vancouver Canadians. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.