Southridge, Richland golfers win MCC honors + Baseball tournaments begin
Southridge’s Jillian Hui and Richland’s Davis Sheets were the girls and boys medalists, respectively, in the Mid-Columbia Conference’s fifth pod tournament on Wednesday at Horn Rapids Golf Course in Richland.
Hui, a senior who will play collegiately for Boise State University beginning this fall, shot 33 on the front nine, and 35 on the back.
She finished 7 strokes ahead of the runnerup, Pasco senior Jillian Breedlove, who went 38-37 for a 75. Breedlove will play for Austin Peay University in Tennessee in the fall.
Southridge’s Riley Brandt fired a 39-38 for a 77 to place third.
Others finishing in the girls top 10 were Hermiston’s Nadalie Cannell (80), Hanford’s Rose McCartney (82), Kamiakin’s Grace Gintner (82), Kamiakin’s Liv Davenport (82), Kamiakin’s Riley Larsen (84), Richland’s Riley Heidigger (84), and Southridge’s Abby Hodges (84).
Southridge took the team title with 318 strokes. Kamiakin was second at 345, while Chiawana finished third at 385.
On the boys’ side, Richland’s Sheets shot even-par 36s on both front and back to win medalist honors with a 72.
Pasco’s Jackson Cazier, who went 37-36 for a 73, placed second; while Richland’s Hunter Graney fired a 39-36 for a third-place 75.
Other top finishers were Chiawana’s Mason Castillo (76), Kamiakin’s Wyatt Hansen (76), Pasco’s Jake Raymond (76), Hanford’s Kyle Sypher (78), Richland’s Jace Woodard (78), and Walla Walla’s Carson Hutchinson (78).
Richland placed first in the team race with 304 strokes, while Pasco (314) was second and Kamiakin (318) finished third.
More prep sports
Kennewick defeated Hanford 6-2 on Tuesday to outright win the MCC baseball title.
The Lions now open Class 3A play on Saturday in the District 8 tournament. They’ll play host to Mead at noon at Roy Johnson Field. It’s a loser-out contest.
See below for all tournament first-rounding pairings for the MCC teams.
Here are the MCC standings after the regular season ended on Tuesday:
Kennewick (3A) 14-2 MCC, 18-2 overall
Kamiakin (4A) 13-3, 17-4
Richland (4A) 12-4, 16-5
Walla Walla (3A) 10-6, 12-7
Southridge (3A) 9-7, 13-8
Hanford (4A) 6-10, 9-10
Chiawana (4A) 6-10, 7-13
Hermiston (3A) 2-14, 4-16
Pasco (4A) 0-16, 0-19
Tuesday, May 2 — Chiawana 18, Pasco 0; Kamiakin 6, Hanford 3; Kennewick 6, Hanford 2; Richland 12, Southridge 7.
End of regular season
District 8 Tournament
Class 4A
All games Saturday
Game 1 — Pasco at Kamiakin, LaPierre Field, 12 p.m.
Game 2 — Hanford at Gonzaga Prep, 12 p.m.
Game 3 — Lewis & Clark at Richland, 12 p.m.
Game 4 — Chiawana at Central Valley, 12 p.m.
Class 3A
Game 1 — Mead at Kennewick (loser out), Roy Johnson Field, 12 p.m.
Game 2 — Southridge at University (loser out), 1 p.m.
Game 3 — Cheney at Walla Walla (loser out), Murr Park, 1 p.m.
Game 4 — Ridgeline at Mt. Spokane (loser out), 1 p.m.
▪ Spring sports at little Liberty Christian School in Richland are dominant this year.
Edgar Rogel’s girls softball team is the defending 1B state champion, and the Patriots seem primed for another run at the crown later this month.
LC is currently ranked No. 1 in the 1B softball Ratings Percentage Index standings, something the state tournament seeding committees will use in determining the state pairings in a few weeks.
The Patriots are 18-0 and awaiting post-season play with the 1B Southeast district tournament.
Meanwhile, the Liberty Christian baseball team finished the conference season with a first-place finish. The Patriots are 17-3 overall, and ranked No. 2 in the RPI for 1B baseball.
The title came down to a showdown on Tuesday with a doubleheader between LC and conference rival DeSales.
Liberty Christian won 8-5 and 12-0, with a latter being a 5-inning perfect game pitched by the Patriots’ Dawson Mooney.
Mooney struck out 12 batters in the shortened contest, and at the plate was 4-for-4 with a triple.
▪ Here are the latest RPI rankings (through contests of May 3) in three sports — baseball, boys soccer and fastpitch softball:
Baseball
Class 4A — 1. Tahoma, 20-0; 5. Kamiakin, 17-4; 6. Richland, 16-5.
Class 3A — 1. West Seattle, 18-2; 2. Kennewick, 18-2.
Class 2A — 1. Selah, 18-2; 10. Othello, 14-6.
Class 1A — 1. Naches Valley, 18-2.
Class 2B — 1. Cle Elum-Roslyn, 17-1; 5. Tri-Cities Prep, 12-3; 6. River View, 16-2.
Class 1B — 1. Amira-Coulee-Hartline, 15-0; 2. Liberty Christian, 17-3; 3. DeSales, 17-3; 9. Sunnyside Christian, 8-6.
Boys soccer
Class 4A — 1. Newport-Bellevue, 14-1; 3. Pasco, 15-1.
Class 3A — 1. Lincoln-Seattle, 15-0-1.
Class 2A — 1. Columbia River, 17-0; 10. Othello, 12-4-1.
Class 1A — 1. Quincy, 14-1; 9. Royal, 11-4.
Softball
Class 4A — 1. Jackson-Everett, 17-1; 5. Richland, 16-2.
Class 3A — 1. Liberty-Issaquah, 19-1.
Class 2A — 1. Ridgefield, 14-1; 4. Othello, 15-3.
Class 1A — 1. Royal, 14-1; 10. Kiona-Benton, 11-5.
Class 2B — 1. Warden, 14-2.
Class 1B — 1. Liberty Christian, 18-0; 8. DeSales, 10-6; 9. Sunnyside Christian, 9-5.
CBC baseball
Columbia Basin College’s ace pitcher, Cameron Soliz, has committed to playing next season for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — an NCAA Division I program that plays in the Southland Conference.
A sophomore, Soliz is from Kyle, Texas.
“I’m super excited about Cam,” said TAM-CC coach Scott Malone in a press release. “He’s a frontline starter and a huge add for us. He’s a Texas kid who has been a long way from home so we’re bringing him back and giving him a chance to pitch in front of family.”
Soliz’s numbers have been impressive this spring for CBC.
As of April 29, Soliz is 8-0 for the Hawks. Those eight wins rank No. 2 in the entire NWAC.
His 80 strikeouts is No. 1 in the NWAC. He’s fanned that many in just 67.2 innings.
Soliz, at 5-10 and 165 pounds, carries a 1.20 earned run average.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
