Snoqualmie Valley Sports Journal Archive Edition

Well, we anticipated this earlier, and it is now official. No game today at Mount Si, however, if the rain subsides enough the two teams have agreed to switch the game to MI’s home field at South Mercer Playfield. This facility has artificial turf on the infield.

Here are directions to the field, according to Google Maps:

Take I-90 to exit #7, Island Crest Way. This is the normal exit to take to go to events at Mercer Island High School.

Follow Island Crest Way all the way down to S.E. 68th Street, past both the turnoff to the high school (at SE 40th) and Island Crest Park, where the MI baseball team plays. At S.E. 68th Street, turn right, and follow that road a short distance to 84th Avenue S.E., and turn left. At the corner on your left is a small shopping area which includes a Starbucks. Follow down 84th Avenue S.E. until it begins to turn right and become S.E. 72nd St. In the middle of this turn is a turnoff to stay on 84th Avenue S.E. Turn left at this turnoff and head down this street. Since Islander Middle School is on this street, chances are there will be signs for both the middle school and playfield at this intersection, so look for those signs. (We’ve never been there, so we aren’t sure of this, but be on the lookout for those anyway incase they exist.)

Go past the school to S.E. 78th St. and turn right, and on your right will be the playfields and the parking area.

All of this is contingent on the rain subsiding enough to allow for the game to be played; that will not be determined until later so we’ll keep you posted.

Not any news of note this morning, so to keep things fresh, some random thoughts as we’ve now made it a month into spring sports:

-Mount Si’s baseball and softball teams are both off to good starts, and you can credit offense for that. The Wildcat baseball team, after their blowout loss to Redmond to open the season, have won four straight, outscoring opponents 39-11 in the process. And the thing is, multiple people are stepping up. Senior catcher Robb Lane is hitting over .400 right now. Fellow senior infielder Dustin Breshears is hitting .375. Another senior, Tim Proudfoot, may be only hitting .278 but he smacked two home runs in two straight games during this streak. Max Brown has hit one. So have Breshears and Robb’s brother Trevor. And Proudfoot, Brown and Trevor Lane lead on the team in RBIs (6), a category that has 10 different guys with numbers in it. One thing we’ve begun to wonder about is this: If you took this year’s offense and combined it with last year’s pitching (then-senior aces Frank Tassara and Josh “Kimbo” Kimborowicz, both of whom are pitching CC ball this spring), how far could this team possibly go? As you may know, the Seattle Times has ranked Mount Si #8 this week in the 3A baseball poll. We suspect that if you could do what we suggest above, there’s probably no stopping this team from making it to the #1 spot, a place not seen by this program since the amazing season of 2005 under former coach Gary McGregor.

Now as for softball, the rain has stopped them cold, as their game with Sammamish was rained out Tuesday and today’s scheduled game with Mercer Island is very likely out too thanks to the inclement weather. But this is a program on the rise, too, and many of the same offensive characteristics of baseball’s success lie here as well. Case in point – the two-homer day Monday from freshman Rachael Picchena at a field which has higher fences than most in this league because of it being boxed in by both a parking lot/street and the Interlake HS stadium. Picchena drove in five RBIs in that 10-5 win over the Saints, but she is not the only one who has made noise this year. Junior star Maura Murphy had a 4-4 game going in Wenatchee a couple weekends ago against Eastmont, with four RBIs, before she hurt her ankle. Sophomore Tamarra Crowe had a 3-RBI effort over there in the game against Moses Lake. Several hitters are currently working averages at .500 or better. And even the bottom of the order can produce, just ask senior Kassidy Maddux, who went 3-4 in the Interlake game Monday with an RBI and run scored. So as you can see, this program is getting along just fine without some of the veteran leaders from last year’s team who decided not to turn out this spring, and will be that much better when both Murphy and senior IF Carly Weidenbach return from their injuries; that should be coming in the next couple of weeks.

We would suggest you come out and watch a game or two of both teams in the next few weeks and also read our coverage of the games right here on SVSJ for all the latest news and analysis on two teams that will be making some noise come the end of this season.

-Meanwhile, the Times has a story today about a meeting which took place between the WIAA and state basketball coaches over the format for the state high school basketball tournament. We’ll get some feedback from both Mount Si coaches and maybe have an item and comment about this issue at some point before the weekend. Speaking of which, if you go to the Times high school chat room, there’s a discussion thread there concerning track that you might all want to have a look at and comment on. What is being claimed by posters in that chat thread could become a bigger story at some point, we shall see.

-Back to softball, and speaking of today’s game against Mercer Island, if they get it in, look for a lot of mass substitutions and a lot of JV players getting varsity playing time for Mount Si. Why? See this. Interlake, fresh off its Monday loss to the Wildcats, did a number on the Islanders. MI has been at the bottom of the league in softball for years now, and games Mount Si has played against them have been one-sided. So much so that to coach Larry White’s credit, he in past years has used games against the Islanders as a way to get junior varsity players a chance to play at the varsity level, and also try to keep the games respectable for the opponent in the interest of sportsmanship. White runs a program which has commanded great respect from parents and the community because not only is his program successful, he does it with class, something which is reflected in the players. Can anyone remember the last time anyone from this program has been tossed out by an umpire during a game for arguing or other unsportsmanlike conduct? We would guess it’s been at least a few years. And that’s just on the field. The things he, and the program, are doing off the field, are just as tremendous. The life lessons he is teaching the girls with the community service activities he puts together for them will help the kids grow up to be responsible and productive citizens in the adult world. And that is, at the end of the day, what high school sports should be about in our view.

Thoughts? Post a comment or send us an email, snovalleysports@gmail.com.

Things continued to be a bit challenging for Montana State-Billings’ men’s golf team yesterday as they completed play in the Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invite down in suburban Phoenix. MSUB finished 18th out of 18 teams, carding a team round of 339 to add to the two rounds from Monday we told you about earlier yesterday. They finished with a team score of 989. As for MSUB’s freshman from Snoqualmie Bradley Harrelson, he continued to struggle, firing a round of 87 which left him with a tournament score of 248, +32 over par on the par-72 Wigwam Resort layout they are playing at in Goodyear, to the west of downtown Phoenix.

Harrelson and Co. are off until April 11, when their next tournament begins in California.

            Mount Si’s boys soccer team has had a tough start to the season, coming into last night’s game with Lake Washington having lost two straight, and looking to get the offense going. The Wildcats did just that, and may have sparked their season in the process.

            Dane Aldrich scored a pair of goals, and three other Mount Si players also scored a goal each in a 5-0 blowout of the Kangaroos in the rain at Mount Si High School. The win evened the Wildcats’ league mark at 2-2, with their overall mark now being 2-3-1.

            “We have a lot of confidence in the guys. We had to keep things in perspective and know it was just a matter of time,” Mount Si coach Darren Brown said. “I love this team. I love what we have to offer and you’re going to see more of these things to come.”

            The scoring started early. In the12th minute, Alex Censullo passed the ball to Kody Clearman, and the sophomore fired a laser past LW goalkeeper Devin Lewis to start things off on the scoreboard. Senior Kyle Bauman made his way onto the scoresheet late in the first half. He was the lucky recipient of a rebound which he fired back into the net in the 38^th minute, and that goal enabled Mount Si to go into halftime up 2-0.

            Aldrich scored his two goals just a few minutes apart early in the second half, in the 49^th and 52^nd minutes. His first was off the left goalpost and into the net, while his second one was ripped right past Lewis. These goals came after he narrowly missed scoring just minutes before after he broke free from the defense and got an open shot on net.

            With the score 4-0, Mount Si’s star junior, Davis Karaica, made sure to put the cherry on top emphatically in the 59^th minute, when he blasted a shot past Lewis into the top of the net. “It was a great ball from Eric (Baumgardner). Just set a perfect ball up and (I went) one on one with the keeper and just hit it home,” Karaica said. After that goal was scored, Lewis came out of the game and was replaced in goal by sophomore Taylor Fawcett, who continued to get pressure from the Wildcat offense, but held his own down the stretch to keep it as respectable as possible for his side.

             The Wildcats’ five-goal onslaught was the most goals they’ve scored in a game since last May’s 5-1 pasting of Auburn Mountainview in the opening round of the 2010 3A state playoffs.

            Mount Si plays Friday night at home against Juanita. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

                Mount Si’s softball team may be developing the most dangerous offense in Kingco 3A, led by maybe this entire league’s newest big bat. Interlake appears to have found that out the hard way yesterday.

                Freshman Rachael Picchena hit two monster home runs and drove in five RBI’s as the Wildcats doubled up the Interlake Saints 10-5. Mount Si scored five runs in the first two innings and did not look back despite a three-run fifth for Interlake which made things temporarily interesting.

                Fellow freshman Celine Fowler also continued her strong start to the season, going 3-5 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. Senior Kassidy Maddux provided nice protection at the bottom of the order, going 3-4 with a run and RBI. Junior pitcher Kendra Lee again showed her experience, only giving up one earned run on the afternoon.

                The win was Mount Si’s third in a row (the Wildcats are now 4-2 on the season), and they look to make it four in a row this afternoon with a game at Sammamish. Weather permitting, the game begins at 4:30 p.m.

News from Bellingham is that the WWU women’s rowing team, which includes junior Katie Woolsey, from North Bend, is ranked number one in the first coaches’ poll of the season for NCAA D-II women’s rowing. Western got all five first-place votes. The number two team is Nova Southeastern out of Miami, FL. Seattle Pacific is third.

WWU is the defending national D-II women’s rowing champion.

Woolsey and the Vikings are back on the water this weekend so we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

 Action wrapped up late Sunday afternoon in Spokane for all the teams, including the ones we have been following for you with local players, competing in the girls’ club volleyball Pacific Northwest Qualifier tournament. Here is a wrapup of what happened.

U15 Club

Island Thunder of Mercer Island (MSHS fr. Ashley Wingsness) had a nice finish to the tournament, winning all three games in their playoff bracket to end up 35^th. ITVC beat teams from Seattle, Bothell and Sandpoint, ID, all in very tough three-set matches, to take the crown. The Northwest Juniors 15s Elite Gold (Cedarcrest freshmen Hanna Halverson and Kendall Berens) took 42^nd overall after splitting a pair of playoff games. NWJ beat a Seattle team but fell to one from Tulsa, OK. Neither ITVC or NWJ qualified for the national tournament.

U17 Club

Bellevue’s High Velocity Volleyball, coached by ex-Cedarcrest assistant Desi Polejewski and which features Mount Si junior Danielle Warnke, came into Sunday having not won a single game in the tournament. That quickly changed with an opening-round playoff win over Puyallup’s Puget Sound Volleyball Academy. HVVB, however, was not able to spark themselves off that successful result, as they fell in their next playoff game to a Seattle team and finished tied for 25^th. HVVB did not make nationals.

U17 Open

Both Open divisions (U17 and U18) saw excellent results for teams with local players. Case in point, the Kent Juniors (KJ) U17s. This team, with Mount Si junior Sarah McDonald, took ninth after winning its playoff bracket Sunday. KJ beat the Spokane Splash to set up a rematch of a game from Saturday night against the Skyline 17s from Dallas. The Dallas girls won Saturday, but KJ won Sunday in three, giving them the ninth place spot. That was not enough, however, for a national berth.

U18 Open

The Open success was also evident in the U18s, as all three teams with Mount Si talent finished in the top 15. This was led by the Mercer Island-based Island Thunder Black, with Wildcat junior Krista Galloway. They took sixth after  going 1-1 in early playoff play Sunday, then they fell to Skyline’s 18s from Dallas in three to close out the tournament.

Washington Volleyball Academy, a Seattle-based crew with Mount Si seniors Aubrey Larion and Zoe Gogan, finished ninth after falling in their lone playoff match Sunday, to a team from Denver.

Kent Juniors (KJ) 18s, with Wildcat senior Catie Fry, took 15^th after splitting a pair of playoff games against local teams. KJ beat a team from Mount Vernon but fell to one from Olympia.

None of these teams qualified for nationals.

Even though no one made it to nationals out of this past weekend’s event, all of these clubs will have additional chances to punch tickets later this spring at other regional tournaments. We wish all these teams luck as their seasons continue.

Montana State-Billings’ men’s golf team is in suburban Phoenix for the Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invite. Play wraps up today and for the Yellowjackets and their freshman star, Snoqualmie’s Bradley Harrelson, they will look to improve. MSUB as a team fired rounds of 329 and 321 yesterday to leave them in 18th place among 18 schools in the event with a 650. As for Harrelson, he carded rounds of 78 and 83 for a total of 161, +17 over par on the par 72 Wigwam Resort Gold layout in Goodyear, west of downtown Phoenix.

The Mount Si baseball team closed out their opening stretch of non-league games with another victory courtesy of an offensive onslaught.

A five-run third inning combined with strong pitching propelled the Wildcats to a 5-2 win over the Ellensburg Bulldogs of the 2A CWAC league from eastern Washington. Dustin Breshears went 2-4 with a run to lead the Mount Si cause, but while coach Elliott Cribby may be pleased, he says this team wants more.”I’m happy, but we’re moving on and we see the bigger picture ahead and we’re definitely not satisfied,” Cribby said. “Four wins in a row is something special and we’re just going to keep adding on.”

The Bulldogs broke out to an early 1-0 lead in the first, when their top hitter, Kramer Terrell, took a pitch from Mount Si starter Trevor Taylor and hit it over the left center field fence for a solo home run. Taylor settled down from there and pitched three solid innings, striking out four and giving up just three hits. The junior got the win, which was his first of the season. For Taylor, knowing he has a strong offense in his corner makes him feel more comfortable. “It feels nice. (It) relieves a lot of pressure off of you when you get those runs to back you up,” he said.

The Wildcat bats unloaded in the third. Derek Welsh started it off with a single, then after a strikeout by Shane Dixon, Dustin Breshears walked, followed by a hit by pitch by Robb Lane, his second straight of the game to that point. Tim Proudfoot walked to load the bases, then Trevor Lane singled to score Welsh and Breshears to put Mount Si in the lead. Max Brown then singled to score Robb Lane and Proudfoot, then Reece Karalus singled to score Trevor Lane. Brown attempted to score but was picked off third. Nate Sinner then grounded out to short to end the inning.

Welsh thinks this offense is ready to shine in the Kingco portion of the schedule. “I think we are and I think this preseason that coach Cribby has set up for us has really set us up well for our season play and for our post season,” the senior said.

The Wildcats threatened to break it open some more in the fourth, but with the bases loaded and one out, Proudfoot struck out on a controversial call by umpires, a call protested by Cribby and Mount Si fans. Trevor Lane then grounded out to second to end that frame and Mount Si did not make much noise offensively the rest of the way.  But that didn’t worry the Wildcats.

Mount Si relievers Travis Hilleary, Hudson Luxich and Griffin McClain came in down the stretch and shut down the Bulldog bats. The bullpen pitched four innings, giving up only one run, three hits while striking out four, with McClain pitching the seventh very well to pick up his first save of the season.

The Wildcats next week open the league schedule, with games at home next Monday against Bellevue and next Friday against Juanita, and on the road next Wednesday at Mercer Island. The home games begin at 4:30 p.m., and the road game @ MI begins at 6:00 p.m. at Island Crest Park at the south end of the island.

Time now to wrap up the action from this past weekend involving local college athletes.

-The action last Friday was in Kansas, where Mid-America Nazarene baseball split a pair of games with Avila, falling in game one 6-0, but winning game two 2-1. MNU’s starting pitcher in game one was Cedarcrest grad Kyle Olson. The MNU sophomore had a decent outing, going six innings, giving up just five hits and four earned runs while striking out three, but Avila scored four times in the fifth to blow the game open. MNU also split a pair last Thursday with Culver-Stockton.

-Saturday’s action was on the track, where six Valleyites representing five schools competed in the Spring Break Open in Seattle. Northwest senior Chelsea Miller, a graduate of Bellevue Christian High School who is from Snoqualmie, took third in both the women’s 400m (1:00.30) and 200m (26.46 seconds). UW freshman Georgia Reynolds, from North Bend and a Mount Si grad, competed in the women’s pole vault as an “unattached” competitor, and finished in a tie for fifth, leaping 10’4″, Evergreen freshman A Chittenden, a Cedarcrest grad from Duvall, also competed as an “unattached” in the women’s 1500m and finished 16th with a time of 5:26.48.

On the men’s side, Central Washington sophomore Brandon Roddewig, from Fall City and a Mount Si grad, competed in three events. He finished third in the men’s 110m hurdles (16.03 sec.), but took 16th in the men’s 100m (12.28) and 17th in the long jump (18’1.5″).  Fellow Wildcat teammate Colin Alexander, a junior from North Bend who transferred in from PLU, took sixth in the 400m hurdles, running it in a time of 57.91. Rounding out the men, Seattle Pacific senior Jace Derwin, a Mount Si grad from North Bend, took fifth in the men’s javelin, with a throw of 171’6″.

Also, at the Peyton Invite in Tacoma, it was a huge day for PLU sophomore Ryan Ransavage, from North Bend. The Mount Si grad won both the men’s shot put (48’3.25″) and discus (133’5″) and finished second in the men’s hammer throw (165’4″).

-On the diamond Saturday, Missouri Western baseball took two from Washburn, winning game one 14-3 and taking the nightcap 5-1. Griffon infielder Ian Atkinson, senior from North Bend and a Mount Si grad, unloaded in the first game, going 4-5 with two runs scored and he drove in three runs. Atkinson singled in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th innings. His single in the third scored Andrew Pieper, while the two late singles, in the fifth and seventh, scored teammate Jason Solma. Atkinson scored in the first on a wild pitch and in the seventh as part of an Isaac Rome home run. He went 1-4 in the second game, and scored a run in the seventh of that contest.

 George Fox took two from Whitman, winning game one 15-2 and the nightcap, which finished yesterday due to rain, 12-5. Bruin senior Derek Aldrich, from North Bend, cleaned up at the plate in both games, going 4-5 with three RBIs in game one. His single in the second scored teammates Sam Stahl and Dan Winterstein, and a single in the fifth scored Taylor Hunter. Aldrich went 1-4 in game two, scoring one and driving in another.

-Sunday saw more action from the diamond.

Missouri Western baseball won a weather-shortened game with Washburn 6-2, with Atkinson scoring another run in this one. Softball saw Central Washington fall to rival Western Washington in a doubleheader, with the Wildcats losing 3-0 in game one and 5-4 in the nightcap. CWU sophomore Kyleen Sweepe, Mount Si grad from North Bend, saw limited action in game one, pinch-running but not scoring in the fifth, then did not play game two.

 George Fox closed out the weekend with Whitman winning 10-2. Aldrich went 0-2, but scored a run.