Kennewick National team finishes 3-2 in pool play at Cal Ripken World Series
The Kennewick National 12-year-olds finished with a 3-2 record in pool play at the Cal Ripken Major70 World Series in Branson, Mo.
With that record, Kennewick finished just short of advancing to the championship bracket that began Wednesday.
Only the top two teams in its division advanced. But Kennewick will play in the Iron Man bracket consolation tournament. KN will get Wednesday off, awaiting the winner of a game between a team from Denver and Florence, Ala.
Kennewick will meet the winner at 9:30 a.m. Pacific on Thursday.
In pool play on Monday, KN lost 2-1 to West Fargo, N.D.
Colt Miller, Levi Pease, Dylan Gale and Tre’Shaun Lowe each had a hit for Kennewick.
Kennewick finished pool play with a 3-1 win over Hot Springs, Ark., on Tuesday.
In that game, Gale picked up the win by pitching 4 innings and striking out seven batters. Kellen Brost earned the save by tossing 2 innings of shutout relief.
Gale, Miller, Jacob Hilker and Luke Hagensen each had hits in the game.
▪ The Kennewick American 9-year-olds went 6-0 a few weeks ago at the Pacific Northwest Regionals for Cal Ripken baseball.
Because there is no world series for 9-year-olds, Kennewick American’s squad has an open invitation to play in the Cal Ripken World Series for 10-year-olds in 2024.
KA beat Kelso 8-6 in the regional final. The team ended up with a 25-3 record in postseason play.
Signings
Kamiakin graduate Alex Swaney, who spent the past few seasons playing second base and shortstop for the Wenatchee Valley College baseball team, has signed a letter of intent to play baseball this next season at Corban University.
Swaney played 31 games this past season for the Knights in the NWAC.
▪ College Place senior Jacob Courtney, a pitcher, has signed a letter of intent to play baseball beginning next spring for Bushnell University in Oregon.
▪ Kamiakin grad Cade Carter has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Columbia Basin College, beginning with the 2024 season.
▪ Always been a proponent for college kids to play their sport for as long as they can. They’ll have the rest of their lives to work.
So it’s pretty cool that Columbia-Burbank graduate Jenn Jacobo has moved on from Edmonds Community College to play at the University of Antelope Valley — an NAIA school in California.
Jacobo was a deadly shooter from the 3-point line in high school, spent a season at CBC before transferring to Edmonds last season. She came off of the bench in 20 games and averaged 2.0 points a game.
Golf
Chiawana graduate Clayton Whitby finished his sophomore season at Columbia Basin College in the spring, and he’s one heck of a golfer.
Whitby placed second at the NWAC Men’s golf championships in May at AppleTree Golf Course in Yakima, by shooting rounds of 72 and 71 for a 1-under par 143 total.
Only North Idaho’s Josh McCartain was better, winning with a 70-70–140 for 4 under.
But Whitby has stayed hot.
On Monday, he set a blue tee course record at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco with a 63.
That included a 29 on the front nine, where he had birdies on 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
He stumbled on 10 with a bogey, but rebounded with birdies on 11 and 12.
Her parred out — except for one more birdie on 15 — to finish for the record.
Pretty impressive.
Coaches
CBC baseball coach Stefan McGovern has added two former players as assistant coaches for the 2024 season.
Former infielder Will Baker and pitcher Shane Martin will work for the Hawks.
Baker was with the Hawks last season, while Martin — a Hanford High grad who finished his college eligibility last spring at Northwest Nazarene University — was a standout ace for CBC a few years ago.
CBC has a number of former athletes who have come back to the Pasco school to be assistant coaches.
The softball team has added Amanda Brown and Kenzie Lowry as assistant coaches. Dani Chang, who finished her eligibility at Montana State University Billings, will be an assistant coach this fall for the Hawks’ women’s soccer team.
▪ Kyler Bachofner, who has led the Prosser girls basketball team to consecutive third-place finishes at the Class 2A state tournament, is leaving the program to take over at Lake Stevens, according to Jeff Place.
Hydroplanes
Darrell Strong seems confident that the number of H1 Unlimited races will go back up in the near future.
The Tri-Citian owner of the U-8 Beacon Electric and U-9 Beacon Plumbing seems to think the schedule could double in the next few years.
“I honestly think we can get up to eight races soon,” Strong said in the Lampson Pits in Kennewick last Friday. “Hopefully Detroit is back on the schedule next year. I think San Diego or another California race, without saltwater, could happen.”
Something needs to be done about the Eastern swing he said.
“It’s gonna be ugly to do Guntersville, Madison and Detroit on consecutive weeks,” said Strong. “I wouldn’t mind everyone going back east a couple of times, but we need to get a fourth race back east.”
Jeff Morrow is former Sports Editor for the Herald.
