Perfection: Cashmere baseball wins state title
YAKIMA — The victory parade began once the school bus that drove the Cashmere baseball team home from Yakima pulled into Rusty’s Drive-In at about 9 p.m. Saturday night. Two fire trucks, with sirens blaring, escorted the bus, along with roughly 25 carloads of ecstatic well-wishers, into and through downtown Cashmere, where dozens more people lined the streets or stood out on their front steps to greet the newly-crowned 1A state baseball champions with a warm smile or a declaration of congratulations. The procession then found its way to the high school’s parking lot, where the impromptu celebration climaxed with a round of fireworks. The coaches and players got off the bus to meet their family members and friends, pose for pictures and revel in a moment that they wish would have never ended.
Cascade advances to semifinals, places in top 6
RICHLAND — After posting two wins on the first day of the 1A state fastpitch softball tournament, the Cascade Kodiaks were feeling confident about themselves heading into their Saturday semifinal contest against Colville. “I think right now the girls are feeling that if they bring their ‘A’ game, they can compete with anybody,” Cascade coach Todd Gilbert said after his team’s second win Friday.
Cascade softball advances to state semis
RICHLAND — The Cascade fastpitch softball team advanced to the semifinals of the 1A state tournament with two very different kinds of victories Friday. The Kodiaks, who won the Caribou Trail League regular season championship and took third at last week’s bi-district tournament, beat Orting 19-1 in their first game at Columbia Playfield, then edged Onalaska 6-5 after Ali Schauer hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Cashmere baseball advances to state title game
YAKIMA — Colton Loomis and Mitchell Darlington are seniors on the Cashmere baseball team, but they didn’t get to be a part of the Bulldogs’ 2010 state championship squad. Both players transferred to Cashmere last year; Loomis came from Skyview (Vancouver), and Darlington from Cascade. In the past two years, both of them have proven themselves to be integral components of the Cashmere program, and it’s a near certainty that the Bulldogs wouldn’t have been able to advance to Friday’s 1A state semifinal contest against Kalama at Yakima County Stadium without their services. After the Bulldogs clinched their semifinal berth with a win over Kiona-Benton last week, catcher Kyle Weiler talked about how happy he was that Loomis and Darlington would be able to share the experience of playing in such important games considering the fact that Cashmer failed to get back to the state semifinals last year. The rest of the Cashmere upperclassmen surely felt the same way.
WVC grabs honors
WENATCHEE — Wenatchee Valley College’s Hailey Bator and Ashley Van Horne have been named to the 2012 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges All-American team. Bator, a freshman pitcher/utility player from Cle Elum, finished second in the league in earned run average (1.59) and strikeouts (228), and posted a .382 batting average with six home runs and 30 RBI.
Defense the key for unbeaten Cashmere
CASHMERE — Colton Loomis, Trenton Johnson and Alex Chipman are talented pitchers. There’s really no disputing that. But Cashmere’s trio of hurlers wouldn’t have been able to put up the gaudy statistics they’ve put up this season without the help of the Bulldogs’ exceptional defense. Cashmere, ranked No. 1 in the latest 1A Washington Baseball Poll with a 24-0 record, has advanced to the state semifinal round for the third time in the past four years, and will take on Kalama at 10 a.m. Friday at Yakima County Stadium. Coach Jeff Carlson is counting on his team’s defense to give it an advantage in the Bulldogs’ quest for a second state title in three years.
Walk-off ends Knights’ season
PORTLAND — The Wenatchee Valley College fastpitch softball team entered Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges Tournament play Saturday on a 28-game winning streak. The Knights’ season ended with a two-game losing streak.
Bulldogs get redemption
Cashmere baseball wins a pair to earn trip back to semis
EAST WENATCHEE — In Jeff Carlson’s mind, it’s only fitting that the 10 seniors on his Cashmere baseball team will be able to finish up their prep careers at Yakima County Stadium next weekend, vying for a state championship. Three years ago, the Bulldogs advanced to the state 1A semifinals. In 2010, Cashmere, featuring a number of those seniors (then sophomores) at key positions, won the 1A state title. Last season, though, the Bulldogs couldn’t get back to Yakima to defend their title, falling in a first-round state playoff game to Bellevue Christian. That loss stayed with Cashmere’s seniors, and motivated them to keep working hard with intense focus throughout this season.
WVC fastpitch wins first two tourney games
PORTLAND —The Wenatchee Valley College fastpitch softball team dominated the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges East Region this season, and entered Friday’s NWAACC Tournament opener with the top overall seed and a 26-game winning streak. They proved in their destruction of Grays Harbor, however, that they’re not going to be simply satisfied with regular-season dominance.
Bowling: USBC Wenatchee Valley Association
Awards handed out May 10
Strength in arms
Knights’ pitchers dominate as freshmen
Pitchers Hailey Bator and Kirstie Thomas haven’t allowed a lot of baserunners this season for the Wenatchee Valley College fastpitch softball team, but on the rare occasions when they do get in tight jams, some of their best qualities start to emerge. Bator and Thomas are freshmen, but one wouldn’t guess it to watch them pitch. If their teammates make an error behind them, or if their usually impeccable control momentarily deserts them, they don’t get distracted. They simply focus on what they need to do — get outs. Most of the time, that’s exactly what they end up doing.
State soccer: Cascade out, Chelan to semis
LEAVENWORTH — The Cascade boys soccer team certainly encountered its share of adversity this season, but through it all, the Kodiaks managed to persevere because of one overriding thought: They believed that they had a legitimate chance at winning a state championship, and nothing — not the sudden death of a beloved coach, or playing on the road and practicing indoors for the first three weeks of the season due to snow — could take that away from them. That’s why the Kodiaks’ shootout loss to Royal on Wednesday in a first-round 1A state playoff game stung them so badly. All season long, head coach Pete Spiegel told his players to emphasize positives instead of dwelling on negatives, and he attempted to do just that after the contest was over.
Osborn’s ineligibility
Osborn’s ineligibility Wenatchee Valley College baseball player Jordan Osborn was ruled ineligible earlier in the season due to a error committed by the school, athletic director Greg Franz said Friday.
East champs streak into postseason with sweep
WENATCHEE — Of course, the Wenatchee Valley College fastpitch softball team wants to win the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges tournament, which will begin Friday in Portland. The Knights, who have been ranked No. 1 for most of the season in the NWAACC coaches’ poll and are currently on a school-record 26-game winning streak, might even be considered a favorite to take the championship. But it’s important for head coach Shelly Pflugrath to keep her players’ mentalities in proper perspective.
Hawks rain on Knights’ dedication
CBC sweeps at refurbished Paul Thomas Sr. Baseball Stadium
WENATCHEE — Greg Franz stood near the third base concourse area at the newly-refurbished Paul Thomas Sr. Baseball Stadium on Wednesday after the Wenatchee Valley College baseball team’s doubleheader against Columbia Basin College and pointed toward the field with a smile on his face. “Now that this (complex) has been restored,” the school’s athletic director said, “we think it’s one of the best junior college parks in the Pacific Northwest.”
Locals win Apple Blossom races
WENATCHEE — Two Wenatchee High School students won the men’s and women’s 5K races at Saturday’s Apple Blossom Run.
WVC softball extends winning streak
The Wenatchee Valley College fastpitch softball team extended its school-record winning streak with four wins Friday and Saturday, but it wasn’t easy. The Knights will gladly take wins any way they can get them, however, as they’re closing in on their seventh consecutive Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges East Region championship.
Friday roundup: Cashmere baseball clinches CTL title
CASHMERE — There is one statistic that illustrates just how dominant the Cashmere baseball team has been this season, and it’s pretty unfathomable. The Bulldogs have allowed seven runs this season. Of those seven runs, only three have been earned. Over the course of its 15 Caribou League Trail contests, Cashmere allowed its opponents to cross home plate twice.
WHS wins sports med title
The Wenatchee High School sports medicine team won its third straight title at the Washington Career and Technical Sports Medicine Association State Championships on April 28.
WVC splits with WW
WALLA WALLA — The Wenatchee Valley College baseball team split a doubleheader with host Walla Walla on Wednesday.
CTL baseball: Cascade heads into showdown vs. Cashmere
On April 10, the Cascade baseball team lost to Cashmere 11-0. The Kodiaks haven’t lost since. Cascade (13-5, 11-2) has won nine straight games and clinched second place in the Caribou Trail League. In fact, the Kodiaks still have a chance at winning the league title, although they’d have to beat the unbeaten Bulldogs (19-0, 4-0) twice Friday in both teams’ regular-season doubleheader finale.
WVC baseball can't sweep Big Bend
WENATCHEE —After starting losing its first five Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges East Region contests, the Wenatchee Valley College baseball team has been near the bottom of the east standings. Therefore, the Knights have needed to rack up some doubleheader sweeps — preferably, for them, against teams ahead of them in the region — over the past couple of weeks to have any chance of catching up with Walla Walla, the team that currently occupies the East’s fourth and final playoff spot.
Weiler, Brissey honored
Cashmere’s Kyle Weiler and Ephrata’a Kayla Brissey were named as Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association state athletes of the week for the week of April 8-14.
Prep roundup: WHS boys track ties for 1st at Viking Classic
LAKE STEVENS — Wenatchee’s Nicholas Boersma ran a personal-best time in the 800 meters and Isaiah Brandt-Sims won or shared in four first-place finishes, but it was only good enough for a tie atop the team standings at the Viking Classic Invitational on Saturday. The Panthers tied with Arlington at 127 team points apiece despite winning 10 events.
Preps: Kodiaks play long ball
Cascade hitters lead way to sweep of Goats
CHELAN — One of the main reasons why the Cascade fastpitch softball team is having a successful season is the depth of its lineup. While most of the Kodiaks’ opponents may feature one or two consistent power threats, the majority of Cascade’s starting players are capable of going deep. If a pitcher doesn’t hit routinely hit her spots for seven innings, more than likely one or several Kodiak hitters will take advantage of their opportunities and put runs on the board in bunches.
Freshman delivers for WVC baseball
Knights split with Timberwolves behind Bryce Drury’s four-hitter
Wenatchee Valley College freshman pitcher Bryce Drury lost his confidence after he got roughed up in his first start of the season against Green River on March 11. He got pounded again in his next two starts, after which he was pulled from the rotation. “(That first start) got in my head,” he said. “It was a mental thing.”
Pulver’s hot hitting helps Cats to split
EAST WENATCHEE — Once its big first baseman got healthy, things started falling into place for the Eastmont baseball team. Recovered from a knee injury that cost him the first few weeks of the season, senior Dalton Pulver continued his torrid hitting for the Wildcats Tuesday, going 3-for-3 in Eastmont’s 2-0 win over Southridge at Dan White Field.
Rams fall late to Bellingham
EAST WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Valley Rams almost pulled off a big upset Saturday. The Rams led the Pacific Football League’s Bellingham Bulldogs, the 2010 North American Football League champions, for most of their contest at Wildcat Stadium, but the Bulldogs scored two touchdowns in the game’s final eight minutes to escape with a 21-17 win.
Record-setting day for Panther girls golf team
WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee girls golf team certainly enjoyed the comforts of home Monday. The Panthers shot a team score of 369 at the Big Nine 4A pod held at Three Lakes Golf Course, a total which broke the Panthers’ previous course record of 389.
Low numbers, high enthusiasm for Okanogan baseball
OKANOGAN — Last year, the Okanogan High School baseball team’s season came to an end early because the Bulldogs couldn’t field nine eligible players. The program has regrouped behind a new coach for this season, but the Bulldogs have been playing for most of the year with just 10 players.
Panther boys second at Pasco Invite
PASCO — Nicholas Boersma won the 800 and 1600-meter races and helped the Wenatchee boys 4x400-meter relay team to a first-place finish at the Pasco Invitational on Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium. Also for the Panthers, Isaiah Brandt-Sims won the 100 meters and missed out on a 200-meter title by .03, as Mead’s Wes Bailey nipped the Wenatchee sophomore at the line.
Cashmere crushes Chelan twice
CASHMERE — Earlier in the season, Cashmere baseball coach Jeff Carlson was a bit concerned about his team’s offense and its ability to produce runs on a consistent basis. Needless to say, he’s worrying about that a lot less these days.
WVC softball sweeps No. 1 Walla Walla
WENATCHEE — Despite losing twice to Walla Walla Community College last month, the Wenatchee Valley College fastpitch softball team was confident heading into its doubleheader with the top-ranked Warriors on Saturday. “We’ve come a long way (since losing to Walla Walla),” Knight shortstop McKensie Stanton said after the team swept visiting Columbia Basin College on Friday. “Absolutely (we’re a better team since we played them the first time). We’re all pumped up.”
Bulldog Mentality
When Mike and Ann Marie Loomis decided to move their family to Cashmere from Vancouver, Wash., a couple of years ago, their son, Colton, wasn’t happy about the decision. Colton, a junior at Skyview High School at the time, was naturally reluctant to leave his friends behind and start over in an unfamiliar, smaller town. There was one element that made the prospect of moving seem a bit less daunting to Colton, however — baseball. Colton started playing when he was 6 years old and developed a strong passion for the game right away, and he knew that the Cashmere team he would be joining had won the state 1A championship in 2010.
WVC softball sweeps CBC
WENATCHEE — McKensie Stanton’s main goal for this season is a simple one. “I (want) to finish stronger than I started,” she said.
Preps: WHS fastpitch can’t hold late lead
Chiefs capture sweep as WHS pitcher departs
WENATCHEE — Not a lot of things went right for the Wenatchee fastpitch softball team Wednesday in its Columbia Basin Big Nine 4A league-opening doubleheader against Moses Lake at Walla Walla Point Park. The Panthers’ top pitcher, Bri Craddock, had to take herself out of the opener after two innings because she was feeling dizzy. Wenatchee, with reliever Emile Holzerland in the circle for the rest of the evening, went on to lose the first game 14-4 in five innings, and allowed the Chiefs to score eight runs in the top of the seventh inning of the nightcap to lose 16-10.
Cashmere's Loomis honored
Cashmere baseball player Colton Loomis has been named as one of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association athletes of the week for the week of April 1-7. Loomis, a senior, went 1-for 3-with a run driven in and a stolen base in a 2-0 win over Blaine April 6. On April 7, he threw a one-hitter and struck out five against Meridian in the Bulldogs’ 15-1 win. Loomis was also 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and two RBI.
Cashmere baseball stays unbeaten with rout of Meridian
MERIDIAN — Even though the Cashmere baseball team won its Friday game against Blaine, the Bulldogs weren’t very happy with their performance, especially offensively; they recorded just three hits. They were bound and determined to generate more offense Saturday in their game against Meridian. They ended up generating much, much more.
WVC softball sweeps Spokane
WENATCHEE — Ashley Van Horne entered the Wenatchee Valley College fastpitch softball team’s Friday doubleheader with Community Colleges of Spokane with six home runs, a total which ranked second in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges. However, the Knights third baseman had been in a bit of a slump over the last couple of weeks; she had collected just one hit in her previous 14 at-bats during the team’s past four contests. Van Horne knew, though, what she needed to do in order to rediscover her stroke.
Wednesday’s community college box scores
Wednesday’s community college box scores
WVC earns split, first East victory
WENATCHEE — One day last month, Jordan Osborn dropped by Dustin Willis’ office and asked the Wenatchee Valley College coach for a chance to earn a spot on the Knights’ roster. Willis told Osborn that the odds wouldn’t be in the ex-Eastmont star’s favor; after all, the Knights had just completed their first four games of the season, and their depth chart was nearing full capacity. Osborn didn’t care about the odds, though. He just wanted to play baseball again.
Snow alters routines for Cascade squads
LEAVENWORTH — On the first day of spring sports practice in late February, Cascade High School’s soccer field was buried under 16 inches of snow. Initially, first-year head coach Pete Spiegel hoped that he might be able to shovel the snow off the field with the help of his players. He quickly deduced, however, that that idea wasn’t going to work once he saw up-close just how much snow they would be dealing with.
WHS pitching dominates Ike in sweep
WENATCHEE — Dustin Driver and C.J. Gettman have been playing baseball together for many years, as members of select summer squads and the Wenatchee High School team. They’ll be playing together again this summer for the Seattle Stars U-18 team. They’re good friends and constantly strive to make each other better. On Friday, they showed why they have the potential to form the Columbia Basin Big Nine 4A league’s best 1-2 top-of-the-rotation punch this season, as each of them turned in dominating performances on the mound.
Winter 2011-12 prep all-league teams
Winter sports prep all-league teams
Loomis, Cashmere shut out Wenatchee
WENATCHEE — The season couldn’t have started much better for Colton Loomis and the rest of the Cashmere baseball team. The Bulldogs defeated a Columbia Basin Big Nine team for the second time in a week Friday, as Loomis tossed a four-hitter in Cashmere’s 6-0 victory at Recreation Park.
2A, 1A, and B track and field at a glance
The following track and field athletes advanced to the state meet last year and return for this season:Central Washington Athletic Conference (2A) Boys
Ex-Fire player hopes to lead Chelan to another CTL title
CHELAN — A couple of years ago, Jamie Richards knew that his soccer playing days were coming to a close. His passion for the game, however, hadn’t nearly been depleted. He surmised that the best way to stay in the game was to seek out a high-school coaching position. Fortunately for Richards, who played and coached professionally with the Wenatchee Fire in the 2005-06 and 2007-08 seasons, he didn’t have to do a lot of searching. Before the 2011 season, Chelan offered him its head coaching position, which he willingly accepted.
Kodiaks CTL favorite once again
LEAVENWORTH — There’s no doubt that the Cascade fastpitch softball team should be considered an overwhelming favorite to win its fifth consecutive Caribou Trail League championship this season. After all, the Kodiaks haven’t lost a league game since 2008, although they did lose to Chelan in a winner-to-state contest in district play last season. Cascade returns virtually its entire roster of players from a year ago, which obviously makes head coach Todd Gilbert smile.
No surprises: ’Dogs CTL favorite
Hard-hitting Cashmere aims for 4th straight league championship
CASHMERE — A year after winning the 1A state baseball championship, Cashmere realized how tough repeating really is last season. The Bulldogs lost to Bellevue Christian 1-0 in the state quarterfinals last season, but instead of having his players forget about that loss, coach Jeff Carlson wants them to keep that memory fresh in their minds.
WHS softball team drops pair of non-leaguers
MOSES LAKE — The Wenatchee fastpitch softball team lost a pair of non-league contests Saturday, falling to Bothell and Kamiakin as part of the Eastmont Mix N’ Match. The event, originally slated for the Sterling Fourplex, had to be moved to Moses Lake due to inclement weather.
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