Young Chiefs ready to start season

MOSES LAKE — Fresh faces dotted Larson Field during practice as Moses Lake prepared for its season-opening jamboree this Saturday.

Eight senior starters walked off the field after last year’s loss to Walla Walla in the first round of the state tournament. Now, a new batch of Chiefs look to create their own history.

“That’s a key thing that we’ve really tried to stress to these guys going into this year,” head coach Quintz Whitaker said.

Cade Tunstall and Jason Cole slide into the top two spots in the rotation. Tunstall threw several innings last season and combined with Hunter Boyd to no-hit Eisenhower.

Cole had an exception summer as a closer for the Central Washington Spuds.

Seth Alvarado takes over behind the plate catching for the Moses Lake hurlers.

“He gained a lot of experience sitting behind Nathan Ball,” Whitaker said.

Center fielder Cameron Duke will also provide range in the outfield and speed on the base paths.

Moses Lake travels to Walla Walla for a jamboree on Saturday before hosting back-to-back games against Graham-Kapowsin on March 18 and Woodinville on March 19.

“We want to see these guys get out and compete,” Whitaker said.

With most of its state tournament team back, Wenatchee looks to be a front runner to repeat as Columbia Basin Big Nine champions. However, Whitaker said not to count any team out this season, including his own.

“I think we’re a pretty scrappy bunch,” he said.

Othello, Ephrata retooling in the CWAC

Othello and Ephrata both made the CWAC district tournament in 2015, but both will have to rely on some new players to return to the postseason in 2016.

The Tigers return the speedy Tyler Lutz who will move from the outfield to first base. Also, pitcher Logan Moss, middle infielder Parker Ball and outfielder Joey Mihelich.

“I think this team can be competitive once they get their legs underneath them,” Ephrata head coach Jason Laugen said.

Last season, Ephrata struggled early before winning its last five games to make districts. This year, Laugen hopes for a quicker start.

“I would like to see more consistency,” he said. “Early on we lost some games that we shouldn’t have.”

Othello also has some new players coming into the fold, but also returns a core of contributors from last year’s team. Alix Garcia, league MVP in 2015, returns and head coach Larry Gonzales hopes for more improvement from his shortstop.

“I know he’s worked hard,” Gonzales said. “He worked hard in the offseason and he had a good summer.”

Catcher Alfredo Carreno, first baseman Anthony Ruiz, third baseman TJ Martinez and pitcher Oscar Munoz also will be key players for the Huskies.

Gonzales expects the CWAC to continue to be a difficult league.

“We’re going to have to work for the wins that we get,” he said. “We’re going to have to play fundamental baseball.”

First-year head coach Andy Harris takes over a Quincy program that made the district tournament and scored big wins over Ellensburg, Othello and East Valley a season ago.

Kaeden Murphy, an impact player for the Babe Ruth World Series champion Columbia Basin River Dogs, returns for the Jacks.

Warden returns solid lineup, Soap Lake eager to improve

Warden returns the bulk of its lineup and will be the favorite in the Central Washington 2B South league.

Tyson Yamane, Zach Askin, Drake Hansen, JR Delgado and Guillermo Gonzalez will lead the way for the Cougars.

“I have pretty high expectations for us,” Warden head coach Dan Caballero said. “I have a pretty talented senior class that’s coming back.”

Yamane is the big arm for the Cougars, but Caballero said he has several players who can pitch.

Riverside Christian should compete with Warden for the league championship. At the district level, Brewster and Okanogan should be strong teams in the North.

Austin Chamberlin takes over Soap Lake’s program and is eager to erase the memory of last year’s one-win season.

“This year what I’m seeing is a lot of kids excited about baseball,” he said.

Seth Holden, Brayden Winters and Michael Allen look to help the Eagles. Allen participated in track and field last year before making the switch to baseball.