Mid-Columbia roundup for April 7: Softball tourney hits Tri-Cities

The Tri-Cities will host the National Softball Association of Washington Ice Breaker Girls Fastpitch Tournament this weekend, with more than 130 teams from the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

This is the 10th consecutive year that the Tri-Cities will host the event.

Play starts today and continues until Sunday. There will be 31 fields used in Kennewick, Pasco and Richland for almost 400 games. For more on the tournament, go to http://www.nsawa.com.

TRACK AND FIELD

Washington senior Aaron Nelson (Walla Walla) was named the Pac-12 Men’s Track Athlete of the Week for the first time.

With an NCAA-leading time of 28 minutes, 53.70 seconds, Nelson was the No. 1 collegiate finisher in the top 10,000-meter section at last weekend’s Stanford Invitational.

HOCKEY

Tri-City Americans forward Michael Rasmussen was one of seven Western Hockey League players to be named to Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 team pre-competition camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The camp is preparation for the 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship, which will take place April 14-24 in Grand Forks, N.D. Canada opens play April 15 against Denmark.

Rasmussen, a native of Surrey, British Columbia, finished his first season with the Americans with 18 goals and 43 points, putting him 14th in rookie scoring, but he was the top-scoring 16-year-old in the WHL.

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Mid-Columbia roundup for April 7: Softball tourney hits Tri-Cities."