Southridge grad still Northwest conference’s top hitter for CBC baseball
Columbia Basin College sophomore outfielder Steven Meier was named NWAC Baseball athlete of the week for the second time this season.
Meier, a Southridge High grad, was named athlete of the week for April 17-23 after he helped lead the Hawks over Yakima Valley Community College, as CBC won three of four contests.
In those games, Meier had 11 hits, scored 8 runs, had 5 RBIs, walked five times, hit three doubles and stole two bases.
Meier, who has committed to playing at Old Dominion University next season, is currently the top hitter in the entire NWAC.
He’s No. 1 in batting average at .408; is tops in on-base percentage at .525, and has scored a league-best 44 runs.
Meier’s 23 stolen bases are the second most in the entire NWAC.
Meier was also named baseball athlete of the week for April 3-9.
▪ Meanwhile, CBC’s baseball team won just one of four games against Spokane Community College this past week, with the one victory happening last Wednesday on the road.
In that game, Will Baker and Wyatt Lizama each hit home runs to lead the Hawks to a 5-4 win in 12 innings. It was Lizama’s home run that provided the difference in the top of the 12th inning.
Even though the Hawks dropped three of four games against the Sasquatch, they still sit in second place in the NWAC East Region standings with just two four-game series remaining.
NWAC East Region standings:
Spokane 17-3 East, 24-14 overall
CBC 12-8, 25-17
Walla Walla 12-8, 18-14
Yakima Valley 10-10, 16-26
Blue Mountain 8-12, 18-20
Wenatchee Valley 7-13, 17-25
Big Bend 7-13, 15-23
Treasure Valley 7-13, 12-26
A reminder that the top four teams in the standings advance to the postseason, with No. 1 getting an automatic berth into the final 8 bracket, which runs May 25-29 in Longview.
The remaining three teams will be seeded into regional tournaments, in which the winner of each regional advances to Longview.
The No. 2 East team would host one of those regionals.
MCC baseball
Kamiakin’s baseball team threw a wrench into Richland’s plans of sticking with first-place Kennewick atop the Mid-Columbia Conference standings on Friday.
The Braves, hosting the Bombers in a doubleheader at LaPierre Field, swept the two games by scores of 2-1 and 12-7.
What it means is Kennewick sits alone at the top of the standings with a 13-2 conference record. Kamiakin is one game back at 12-3, while Richland is in third at 11-4.
If the Lions can beat visiting Hanford on Tuesday in the final day of regular-season play, Kennewick wins the MCC title. A Kennewick loss, combined with a Kamiakin win over Hermiston, would mean that the Lions and Braves would share the MCC crown.
MCC standings:
Kennewick (3A) 13-2 MCC, 17-2 overall
Kamiakin (4A) 12-3, 16-4
Richland (4A) 11-4, 15-5
Walla Walla (3A) 10-6, 12-7
Southridge (3A) 9-6, 13-7
Hanford (4A) 6-9, 9-9
Chiawana (4A) 5-10, 6-13
Hermiston (3A) 2-13, 4-15
Pasco (4A) 0-15, 0-18
Friday, April 28 — Kamiakin 2-12, Richland 1-7; Kennewick 11-12, Hermiston 1-3; Southridge 15-17, Pasco 0-3; Walla Walla 5-3, Hanford 4-2.
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
▪ The pairings are almost completely set for the District 8 baseball tournaments, which will begin Saturday.
The eight-team Class 4A tournament will be a modified double-elimination format, with the top three teams qualifying for the state tournament.
On Saturday, May 6, Pasco will play Kamiakin at LaPierre Field; the MCC No. 3 (Hanford or Chiawana) will travel to the Greater Spokane League’s No. 2 team; Lewis & Clark visits Richland; and the MCC No. 4 team (Hanford or Chiawana) will visit the GSL No. 1 team.
All start times are set for 12 p.m.
The eight-team Class 3A tournament has a loser-out format in the first round, so the top teams need to have very few mistakes in these Saturday openers.
Mead will visit Kennewick; MCC No. 3 (either Walla Walla or Southridge) will visit University; Cheney will play at MCC No. 3 (either Wa-Hi or Southridge); and Ridgeline is at Mt. Spokane.
The top two placers advance to the 3A state tournament.
MCC softball
This will be the final week of the Mid-Columbia Conference’s regular season, with single games set for Tuesday, and doubleheaders on Friday.
Richland, with an 11-2 conference record, has the inside track to another MCC title.
Both Chiawana and Kennewick are 2 games back of the Bombers with time running out.
Here is a look at the latest MCC softball standings, through games of April 28:
Richland (4A) 11-2 MCC, 15-2 overall
Chiawana (4A) 9-4, 12-5
Kennewick (3A) 10-5, 11-7
Hanford (4A) 8-5, 10-7
Southridge (3A) 7-6, 10-7
Kamiakin (4A) 6-7, 10-7
Walla Walla (3A) 4-9, 4-12
Hermiston (3A) 3-10, 7-11
Pasco (4A) 2-12, 5-13
Thursday, April 27 — Hanford 4-0, Walla Walla 1-12
Friday, April 28 — Kamiakin 11-12, Hermiston 9-7; Kennewick 7-10, Pasco 1-2; Richland 7-2, Chiawana 6-6.
Tuesday, May 2 — Chiawana at Hermiston, 5 p.m.; Hanford at Richland, 4 p.m.; Kamiakin at Southridge, 5 p.m.; Kennewick at Walla Walla, 4 p.m.
Friday, May 5 — Hermiston at Southridge (2), 4 p.m.; Pasco at Hanford (2), 4 p.m.; Richland at Kamiakin (2), Lawrence Scott Park, 4 p.m.; Walla Walla at Chiawana (2), 4 p.m.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
