Could these two Tri-Cities baseball teams end up sharing the regular season crown?
We’re coming down to the final stretch of the Mid-Columbia Conference baseball regular-season race, with Kennewick and Richland tied atop the standings.
Both squads are 11-2 in MCC play, and frankly, the Lions have the inside track for the title.
Here’s why: Kennewick beat Richland 4-2 on March 21, then won 5-4 on March 28.
Still, if both teams were to win out, they would share the MCC crown.
Kennewick has a twinbill at home this Friday against Hermiston, plus a single game next Tuesday at home versus Hanford.
The Bombers have a tough doubleheader this Friday against Kamiakin, at LaPierre Field, starting at 2 p.m. The Braves, who lost a lot of talent to graduation last season, have done a great job of staying near the top of the standings this season.
Richland will also finish the regular season next Tuesday with a 5 p.m., single game, at Southridge.
It’s turned out to be another great MCC baseball season, and Kennewick — which placed second last year in the 3A state tournament — will be the MCC’s top seed into the District 8 Class 3A tournament.
And it will either be Richland or Kamiakin as the top MCC seed into the District 8 Class 4A tournament.
Both of those district tournaments will begin on Saturday, May 6.
MCC standings:
Kennewick (Class 3A) 11-2 MCC, 15-2 overall
Richland (4A) 11-2, 15-3
Kamiakin (4A) 10-3, 14-4
Walla Walla (3A) 8-6, 10-7
Southridge (3A) 7-6, 11-7
Hanford (4A) 6-7, 9-7
Chiawana (4A) 5-10, 6-13
Hermiston (3A) 2-11, 4-13
Pasco (4A) 0-13, 0-16
Tuesday, April 25, scores: Chiawana 13, Pasco 1; Kamiakin 18, Hermiston 0; Kennewick 11, Hanford 0; Richland 10, Southridge 0
Friday, April 28: Hanford at Walla Walla (2), Murr Park, 2 p.m.; Hermiston at Kennewick (2), Roy Johnson Field, 4 p.m.; Pasco at Southridge (2), 4 p.m.; Richland at Kamiakin (2), LaPierre Field, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, May 2: Hanford at Kennewick, Roy Johnson Field, 5 p.m.; Hermiston at Kamiakin, LaPierre Field, 4 p.m.; Pasco at Chiawana, 5 p.m.; Richland at Southridge, 5 p.m.
End of regular season
College signings
▪ Defender Raymundo Curiel, a Moses Lake graduate who helped lead the Columbia Basin College men’s soccer team to an NWAC title last fall, is headed to Evergreen State College to play for the men’s soccer team there starting in August.
▪ College Place senior Makiah Stepper has signed to play women’s volleyball this coming fall for Walla Walla University.
▪ Alanna Haney — a standout wrestler for Chiawana who won a state 4A title as a junior and is nationally ranked — will compete collegiately starting this fall for the University of Providence women’s team in Montana.
▪ Ashley Walker, a Connell High grad who also played at Corban University, has transferred to Evergreen State College, where she’ll play volleyball starting in August.
▪ Charly Scherbarth has signed and transferred to Northwest University in Kirkland. Scherbarth is a midfielder and will be playing women’s soccer. The Kamiakin grad was part of the Columbia Basin College women’s team last fall that finished in the top four in the NWAC.
▪ Keena Kay, a sophomore infielder for the CBC softball team, has signed a letter of intent to play softball next season for the College of Idaho. Kay is a graduate of Sentinel High School in Lolo, Mont.
▪ Kate Hollenberg, a senior at Kamiakin, has signed to play women’s soccer this coming fall for Montana State University Billings.
▪ Softball standout Lauryn Bergevin, a senior at Walla Walla High School, will be playing softball starting next school year for the Northwest Nazarene women’s team.
▪ Maralyne Pacheco, a Hermiston High grad who has played the past two seasons for Blue Mountain Community College, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Evergreen State women’s team starting this fall.
▪ Chiawana senior Isaiah Medina, a two-time state champion, has signed to wrestle for the Evergreen State men’s wrestling team.
Women’s basketball
The Mid-Columbia region had three athletes who were named to the Cascade Collegiate Conference’s women’s basketball all-conference team last month.
Holly Golenor, a 6-foot senior forward who plays at Corban University, was named to the first team. Golenor went to high school in Idaho, but she spent her first two seasons of college ball at Walla Walla Community College.
She averaged 11 points and 6.9 rebounds to place her among the CCC leaders. Golenor was also No. 6 in the CCC in offensive rebounds with 2.6 per game; she was seventh in blocked shots with 1.3 a contest; and was eighth in field goal percentage at 46 percent.
Golenor’s Corban teammate, Maddie Godwin, was named honorable mention.
Godwin played at Liberty Christian School in Richland, then spent the next two seasons playing at Wenatchee Valley College.
This season, as a junior at Corban, Godwin averaged 11.6 points a game and was 10th in the CCC with 1.8 3-point field goals a game.
Finally, Eastern Oregon University’s Sailor Liefke was named first-team all-CCC.
Liefke is a graduate of Sunnyside Christian, then spent the next two seasons at Walla Walla CC (as a teammate of Golenor) before going to EOU.
Liefke, a senior, averaged 13.0 points for the Mountaineers, and she was ranked fourth in the CCC in 3-point field goal percentage at 37 percent.
Boys soccer
Pasco and Chiawana have one final showdown this Thursday at Edgar Brown Stadium (7 p.m. start) for the Mid-Columbia Conference title.
The two teams met earlier this season, with Pasco winning at Chiawana 3-2.
With the Bulldogs sporting a 14-1 record, a win Thursday over the visiting Riverhawks would give them another MCC regular-season title. A loss would keep Chiawana’s chances alive of getting a share of the MCC title.
The Class 4A District 8 tournament begins Saturday, May 6; while the Class 3A District 8 tourney starts Thursday, May 4.
MCC boys soccer standings
Pasco 14-1 MCC, 14-1 overall
Chiawana 12-2, 12-2
Walla Walla 7-7, 8-7
Richland 7-7, 7-7
Southridge 7-7, 7-7
Hanford 5-9, 5-9
Hermiston 4-10, 4-10
Kennewick 4-10, 4-10
Kamiakin 4-11, 4-11
Tuesday, April 25: Hanford 1, Walla Walla 0; Pasco 3, Kennewick 1; Richland 3, Kamiakin 0; Southridge 3, Hermiston 0
Thursday, April 27: Chiawana at Pasco, Edgar Brown Stadium, 7 p.m.; Kennewick at Hanford, 7 p.m.; Southridge at Richland, 7 p.m.; Walla Walla at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Monday, May 1: Hanford at Chiawana, 7 p.m.; Hermiston at Kennewick, 7 p.m.; Kamiakin at Southridge, 7 p.m.; Richland at Walla Walla, 4 p.m.
End of regular season
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
