BASEBALL NOTES - APRIL 27, 2010

Mid-Columbia baseball leaders through April 22nd for the CBBN Cascade division.

Batting - Minimum twenty (20) At-Bats

AB H AVG

Will Scott, Ike 40 23 .575
Calvin Campbell, Emt 36 20 .556
Seth Kline, Ike 32 17 .531
Reed Jaspers, Emt 23 12 .522
AJ Hoskins, Han 30 15 .500
Mike Ruane, Han 20 10 .500
Matt Watson, Wa-Hi 39 18 .462
Marcus Manderbach, Han 40 18 .450
CJ Edrington, Chi 29 13 .448
Gil Plath, WV 39 17 .436
Garrett Jones, Han 30 13 .433
Tygar Garces, Emt 28 12 .429
AJ Griffiths, Kam 43 18 .419
Riley Shintaffer, Han 31 13 .419
Garrett Olson, WV 36 15 .417
Chris Synoground, Han 29 12 .414
Jake Jimenez, Wa-Hi 27 11 .407
Steven Wagar, WV 37 15 .405
Konnor Wyckoff, WV 20 8 .400
Casey Croshaw, WV 43 17 .395

Home runs: Tygar Garces (Emt) 4; Seth Kline (Ike) 3; Zach Rapacz (Rich) 2; Kenton Brunson (Rich) 2; Syd Hall (Rich) 2; Will Scott (Ike) 2; Calvin Campbell (Emt) 2.

RBIs: Calvin Campbell (Emt) 18; Tygar Garces (Emt) 17; Garrett Jones (Han) 15; Steven Wagar (WV) 14; Zach Rapacz (Rich) 13; Garrett Olson (WV) 13; Gil Plath (WV) 12; Will Scott (Ike) 12; Nick Lombardi (Ike) 12; Cody Wagner (Han) 12; Casey Croshaw (WV) 12; Dan Scheibe (Han) 11; Mike Ruane (Han) 11; Boone Myers (Rich) 11; Jake Jimenez (Wa-Hi) 11.

Stolen bases: Kenton Brunson (Rich) 8; Seth Kline (Ike) 8; Hayden Hilty (Rich) 5; Justin Mathews (Wa-Hi) 4; Aaron Flippo (Wa-Hi) 4; Marcus Manderbach (Han) 4; Chris Synoground (Han) 4; Zach Rapacz (Rich) 4; Will Scott (Ike) 4; CJ Edrington (Chi) 4.

Pitching - Minimum Thirteen (13) Innings Pitched

IP ER ERA

Garrett Anderson, Kam 26 4 1.08
Travis Fuller, Rich 27 5 1.30
Matt Watson, Wa-Hi 20 4 1.40
Drew Christina, Wa-Hi 19 1/3 7 2.53
Dan Scheibe, Han 19 7 2.58
Mike Dunford, Rich 17 2/3 7 2.82
Kyle Dockins, Emt 23 10 3.04
Steven Wagar, WV 18 8 3.11
Ian Sagdal, Emt 24 11 3.21
Cody Wagner, Han 14 1/3 7 3.42

Wins: Mike Dunford (Rich) 5-0; Garrett Anderson (Kam) 4-0; Steven Wagar (WV) 4-1; Ian Sagdal (Emt) 4-x; Kyle Dockins (Emt) 4-x; Travis Fuller (Rich) 3-2; Marcus Manderbach (Han) 3-2.

Strikeouts: Dan Scheibe (Han) 27; Garrett Anderson (Kam) 25; Ian Sagdal (Emt) 23; Travis Fuller (Rich) 22; Konnor Wyckoff (WV) 22; Lucas Hinton (WV) 22; Bryce Drury (Kam) 21; Steven Wagar (WV) 21; Drew Christina (Wa-Hi) 19; Mike Dunford (Rich) 18.

Saves: Matt Minnich (Kam) 1; Kenton Brunson (Rich) 1; Luke Burgess (Chi) 1; Bryce Drury (Kam) 1.

BASEBALL NOTES - APRIL 22, 2010

When Hanford swept West Valley last week, the Falcons not only vaulted themselves into the middle of the CBBN Cascade race, but they also locked up the top seed into the postseason among the area's trio of 3A teams.

Hanford already had a sweep of Sunnyside in its pocket and finishes 4-0 in 3A play -- even though the regular season is only half over.

"It's a good thing," said Falcons coach Tom DeWitz, "but it's one of the things I don't really like about how our league is right now."

Indeed, the Falcons have already done all they can do as far as postseason positioning goes. But that doesn't mean the job is through.

DeWitz has his players thinking league title.

Heading into Friday's doubleheader at Chiawana, the Falcons are 3-3 in the cluttered Cascade Division, a game back of Richland and West Valley and two back of division-leading Eastmont.

"We can still win the division, be division champs," DeWitz said. "So that's what we're playing for right now."

-- Elsewhere in the Cascade on Friday, Richland (4-2) entertains Kamiakin (3-3) for a pair, Walla Walla (3-3) plays at West Valley (4-2), and Eastmont (5-1) plays at Eisenhower (2-4).

Kennewick is the last team holding an unbeaten division record in the CBBN, taking its 4-0 mark in the Columbia into a doubleheader at home against Davis. Pasco (2-2) plays at Moses Lake (2-4), and Sunnyside (0-4) is at Wenatchee (4-2). Southridge (4-2) has the bye.

BASEBALL NOTES - MARCH 26, 2010

A look at the CBBN 4A/3A baseball leagues:

2009 league champions: Richland (Cascade); Kennewick, Moses Lake, Southridge (Columbia). 4A district champion: Richland. 3A regional champion: West Valley.

Returning all-league players: Columbia first team: RP -- Dylan Signorelli, sr., Moses Lake. OF -- Drew Loftus, jr., Kennewick; Dylan Signorelli, sr., Moses Lake. DH -- Spencer O'Neil, jr., Southridge.

Cascade first team: 2B -- Ian Sagdal, jr., Eastmont; Utility -- Tygar Garces, jr., Eastmont.

Columbia second team: RP -- James McKinnis, sr., Kennewick. C -- Tyler Morfin, jr., Kennewick. SS -- Seth Lochridge, sr., Pasco. OF -- Jackson Marquis, jr., Davis; Cole Matthiesen, sr., Wenatchee. DH -- Tanner Lowry, sr., Moses Lake.

Cascade second team: SP -- Garrett Anderson, jr., Kamiakin; Ryan James, sr., Walla Walla. RP -- Kyle Dockins, sr., Eastmont. C -- Seth Kline, sr., Eisenhower. 1B -- Kyle Dockins, sr., Eastmont. 2B -- Will Scott, sr., Eisenhower; Dusty Petragallo, sr., Kamiakin; Justin Mathews, sr., Walla Walla. OF--Chris Cecil, sr., Richland; Ryan James, sr., Walla Walla.

Outlook

It will be a different kind of team Richland fields than the ones that brought home state hardware five times in the last eight years, including titles in 2005, '07 and last season. But that doesn't mean the Bombers are ready to be knocked off their perch atop of the Tri-City baseball scene coming off an 11th straight 20-win season.

"This is not a bad Richland team," said longtime coach Ben Jacobs. "We have good solid pitching, and I know we're going to hit the ball fairly well. We just have to shore up the defense a little."

What Richland doesn't have is one of those MVP types like Brett Jacobs last season or Tyler Thompson in '07 that put up eye-popping offensive numbers, nor a lineup that's going to score 10 runs a game like in '08.

OF Chris Cecil (.429 BA, 16 RBIs regular season) and Zach Rapacz (DH last season) are the only regulars returning. They'll be bolstered by a group that went 36-4 at the JV level the last two seasons.

Kamiakin could be poised to push Richland for the Cascade title despite the retirement of coach Rex Easley after 34 years -- 22 as head coach -- and 485 wins. Former Walla Walla coach Ryan Carter takes over a team that returns P Garrett Anderson and an experienced lineup with the likes of senior OF/P Matt Minnich and junior SS A.J. Griffiths.

Eastmont could be a darkhorse challenger. The Wildcats return a pair of first-team juniors up the middle in 2B Ian Sagdal and SS Tygar Garces, who hit .446 last season (tops among Cascade returners).

Hanford lost most of the punch in the middle of its lineup but still has a solid group led by senior OF/P Marcus Manderbach and junior IF Dan Scheibe and Riley Shintaffer.

Former Pasco coach Gary Jonas moved over to Chiawana, but the Riverhawks will be hard pressed to hold their own in their first season without any seniors in the lineup.

Kennewick, Moses Lake and Southridge all finished tied for the Columbia title last season, and it could be a close race again.

Southridge, loaded with seniors last season, faces the prospect of breaking in a lot of varsity newcomers, though there's plenty of talent there from a team that won the AA Legion state title last summer. OF/P Spencer O'Neil (.410 BA, 23 RBI) earned all-state honorable mention as a sophomore, and junior 2B A.J. Henderson was a starter by the end of the season.

Kennewick has plenty of returning talent in the field -- junior OF Drew Loftus also was an all-state honorable mention after hitting .472 with 25 RBIs and 10 stolen bases, junior C Tyler Morfin (.371, 20 RBIs) is considered a top prospect, and sophomore SS Trek Stemp is a slick fielder. But the Lions have to find a lot of arms to throw alongside James McKinnis (4-1, 3.32 ERA).

Moses Lake was hit hard by graduation but has a great player to build around in senior Dylan Signorelli (.453, 32 RBI, ), the Columbia's top closer and a first-team all-leaguer in the outfield.

Splitting into two schools didn't do any favors for Pasco, though the Bulldogs return their top player in SS Seth Lochridge (.471) and have some promising freshmen.