Tri-City schools dominate 1st round of district baseball and boys soccer tournaments
The Mid-Columbia Conference won five of the eight District 8 baseball tournament games over the weekend.
That included top-seeded Kennewick, which rolled to an 11-1 victory over Mead in the Class 3A tournament. Because there are only two Washington state tournament berths available in the 3A event, the first-round games were loser-out.
Southridge went on the road and beat University 3-1, setting up a winner’s bracket semifinal of Southridge at Kennewick, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, at Roy Johnson Field.
In the 4A tournament, Kamiakin, Richland and Chiawana all won first-round games.
Here is an update to the two tournaments:
Class 4A
Saturday, May 6
Game 1, Kamiakin 11, Pasco 0
Game 2, Gonzaga Prep 3, Hanford 2
Game 3, Richland 13, Lewis & Clark 3
Game 4, Chiawana 10, Central Valley 4
Tuesday, May 9
Game 5, Pasco at Hanford (loser out), 4 p.m.
Game 6, Lewis & Clark at Central Valley (loser out), 4 p.m.
Game 7, Gonzaga Prep at Kamiakin (winner to state), LaPierre Field, 4 p.m.
Game 8, Chiawana at Richland (winner to state), 4 p.m.
Class 3A
Saturday, May 6
Game 1, Kennewick 11, Mead 1 (loser out)
Game 2, Southridge 3, University 1 (loser out)
Game 3, Cheney 5, Walla Walla 1 (loser out)
Game 4, Mt. Spokane 11, Ridgeline 1 (loser out)
Tuesday, May 9
Game 5, Southridge at Kennewick, Roy Johnson Field, 6 p.m.
Game 6, Cheney at Mt. Spokane, 4 p.m.
Boys soccer
Meanwhile, things were even better for the MCC in the two district soccer tournaments, as area schools took six of eight games in the first round.
In the 4A tourney, Pasco, Chiawana and Richland all won their opening matches; as did Southridge, Hermiston and Walla Walla in the 3A tournament.
So on Tuesday night, no less than four MCC teams are vying for a state tournament berth.
Here’s a look at the tournament schedules:
Class 4A
Friday, May 5
Game 3, Chiawana 7, Central Valley 0
Saturday, May 6
Game 1, Pasco 3, Kamiakin 1
Game 2, Richland 2, Lewis & Clark 0
Game 4, Gonzaga Prep 4, Hanford 0
Tuesday, May 9
Game 5, Kamiakin at Lewis & Clark (loser out), Hart Field, 5 p.m.
Game 6, Hanford at Central Valley (loser out), 5 p.m.
Game 7, Richland at Pasco (winner to state), Edgar Brown Stadium, 5 p.m.
Game 8, Chiawana at Gonzaga Prep (winner to state), 5 p.m.
Class 3A
Thursday, May 4
Game 1, Southridge 2, Ferris 0 (loser out)
Game 2, Hermiston 3, Ridgeline 2 (loser out)
Game 3, Walla Walla 4, North Central 1 (loser out)
Game 4, Mead 1, Mt. Spokane 0 (loser out)
Saturday, May 6
Game 5, Southridge 3, Hermiston 2
Game 6, Mead 2, Walla Walla 0
Tuesday, May 9Game 7, Hermiston at Walla Walla (loser out), 4 p.m.
Game 8, Mead at Southridge (winner to state), 5 p.m.
Fastpitch softball
Congratulations go out to the Richland Bombers, who officially won the MCC title as the regular season ended on Friday.
Richland finished with a 14-2 MCC record, 18-2 overall, and enters the District 8 tournament as the top local seed in the tournament.
Kennewick, meanwhile, finished tied for second with Chiawana with 11-5 conference records.
Because of the that, the Lions enter the 3A portion of the District 8 tournament as the top overall seed. Chiawana will be the second MCC seed in the 4A tourney.
The top three placers in the 4A tournament will advance to the state tournament, while the top two teams in the 3A advance to state.
Here are the final MCC regular-season standings:
Richland (Class 4A) 14-2 MCC, 18-2 overall
Kennewick (3A) 11-5, 12-7
Chiawana (4A) 11-5, 14-6
Hanford (4A) 10-6, 12-8
Southridge (3A) 9-7, 12-8Kamiakin (4A) 6-10, 10-10
Walla Walla (3A) 5-11, 5-14
Hermiston (3A) 4-12, 8-13
Pasco (4A) 2-14, 5-15
Friday, May 5
Hanford 2-6, Pasco 0-0
Richland 16-12, Kamiakin 5-7
Southridge 5-7, Hermiston 1-9
Walla Walla 13-0, Chiawana 12-10
End of regular season
4A district tournament
Tuesday, May 9
Game 1, Pasco at Richland, 5 p.m.
Game 2, Hanford at Gonzaga Prep, 5 p.m.
Game 3, Lewis & Clark at Chiawana, 5 p.m.
Game 4, Kamiakin at Central Valley, 5 p.m.
3A tournament
Tuesday, May 9
All games loser out
Game 1, Ridgeline at Mt. Spokane, 5 p.m.
Game 2, GSL 3 at Southridge, 5 p.m.
Game 3, Walla Walla at GSL 2, 5 p.m.
Game 4, Cheney at Kennewick, Civic Fields, 5 p.m.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
