6 hydroplanes to hit the Columbia River in Tri-Cities on Friday. Watch for free

By Jeff Morrow Special to the Herald

June 2, 2022 5:00 AM

H1 unlimited hydroplane drivers prepare for the first heat of the HAPO Columbia Cup & Over final in 2021. Jennifer King jking@tricityherald.com

The Columbia Cup H1 Unlimited hydroplane races are still roughly almost two months out, July 29-31.

But there is a big treat for race fans on Friday, as at least six unlimiteds will be in Kennewick’s Lampson Pits for the annual Spring Training event.

The event runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

It’s a great chance to see the boats up close, and allows the race teams to shake the cobwebs out of the boats and prep for the 2022 season.

The following boats and drivers are scheduled to be in the pits:

U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank and driver Jimmy Shane
U-8 Miss Tri-Cities and driver J. Michael Kelly
U-9 Pinnacle Peak Consulting and driver Corey Peabody
U-21 Miss Lakeridge Paving and drivers Brian Perkins and Gunner O’Farrell
U-40 Miss Beacon Plumbing and driver Dave Villwock
U-91 Miss John Goodman Real Estate and driver Jeff Bernard.

In addition, at least one Grand Prix team — the GP-20 Blown Income and driver Ed Preston — will also be testing.

A gull flies over the Columbia River as J. Michael Kelly in the U-8 Miss Tri-Cities unlimited hydroplane races to victory in front of Andrew Tate in the U-12 Graham Trucking in Heat 2A of Columbia Cup racing action in 2021. Bob Brawdy Tri-City Herald

The Water Follies also noted that parking is not available on the old highway that runs on the shoreline, but fans can watch from there. It’s suggested that people should park at the Playground of Dreams.

1B softball

Liberty Christian in Richland won the state title last Saturday in Yakima, beating Colton 4-1 in the championship.

The Liberty Christian girls softball team won the state title in Yakima, beating Colton in the championship. WIAA

The Patriots, seeded No. 1 in the tournament, opened play Friday by blanking No. 8 Darrington 10-0, then edging No. 4 DeSales 13-12 in the semifinals.

For Liberty Christian (21-2), it was an amazing season in which Edgar Rogel was hired as head coach less than a month before the season began.

“I didn’t know I would be coaching Liberty up until 3 weeks before season started,” said Rogel. “I didn’t know any of the girls and they had no clue about me. Day one of practice, I introduced myself and we started. We had no seniors and less than half the team had softball experience.”

But the players were willing to learn, and Rogel observed they had the desire to compete.

“They quickly learned and understood what I was trying to do,” he said. “They bought into the system.”

The Patriots started out winning. But it wasn’t until a mid-season doubleheader split with perennial powerhouse DeSales that their eyes were opened.

“This is when the girls and I started talking about us competing for state,” said Rogel.

The best part?

“Our team is young and all of our (13) girls will be coming back,” he said.

That includes both pitchers, Bella Rogel and Hannah Butcher, catcher Lauren Reed and star third baseman Allie Bush.

“I’m still amazed at how we set the bar high for these girls and they rose up and met all expectations,” said Rogel. “Truly a fun season. Our biggest strength was the desire to play for each other and win. There was no ‘me’ on this team. Just 13 girls looking to compete.”

▪ DeSales, after losing in the semifinals against Liberty Christian, came back to beat Naselle 12-1 to finish third in the tournament.

Class 4A softball

None of our area’s three state tournament teams placed high, but Kamiakin and Chiawana were both able to experience some success last week in Spokane.

The Braves went 2-2 — with a 6-4 win over Eastmont, and a 9-7 win over Chiawana.

The Riverhawks went 1-2, beating Emerald Ridge 12-9.

Hanford went 0-2 in the tournament. But it was a great postseason run by the Falcons, who had to win a play-in game to even get into the District 8 tournament.

Class 3A softball

Walla Walla entered the 20-team tournament as the top seed, and ended up finishing second in Lacey.

The Blue Devils opened play by beating Marysville-Getchell 2-0, pounded Yelm 16-6 in the quarterfinals, and shut down Bonney Lake 4-1 in the semifinals.

But in the finals, a tough Lake Washington team brought its bats, and the Kangaroos beat the Blue Devils 14-8 in the championship.

Kennewick, an 18 seed, fell to Auburn Riverside 5-3 in a state play-in game.

2A tennis

Othello’s Aaron Villarreal lost his first boys singles match in Yakima, but then rallied to win three straight to finish fifth.

Villarreal outlasted Jordan Allen of Foss 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 for the trophy match.

NWAC softball

CBC went 1-2 last week at the NWAC tournament in Spokane.

The Hawks opened tourney play with a 15-14 loss to Lower Columbia. But CBC rallied to beat Big Bend 12-10, before being eliminated 9-1 by Edmonds.

Walla Walla Community College ended up placing fourth in the 16-team tournament. The Warriors ended up going 4-2 — beating Centralia 14-12, pounding Douglas 13-4, ousting Lower Columbia 9-2, and edging Southwestern Oregon 10-9 — before being eliminated 3-2 by Bellevue.

WWCC’s Rylie Bennett and Haylee Brown were both named to the NWAC’s all-tournament team.

Mt. Hood ended up winning the tournament, beating Bellevue 8-7 in the championship.

NWAC baseball

CBC’s baseball team saw its season end May 20 in the super regionals, falling to Edmonds 6-2 in a loser-out game.

Brooks Rasmussen and Steven Meier each had two hits in the game for the Hawks.

Linn-Benton ended up winning the NWAC tournament title, beating Mt. Hood 4-1 in the championship game on Tuesday.

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