RECAP: Basin teams conclude baseball, softball seasons

COLUMBIA BASIN – High school baseball and softball seasons across the Basin wrapped up last weekend, with four teams taking home hardware from their respective state tournaments. Read along to see how each team finished in 2023. All scores and records are according to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline

Baseball

The Warriors finished the 2023 season with a 16-2 record, reaching their fifth consecutive state tournament where they earned a No. 4 seed. ACH fell to the eventual state champion Naselle 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

ACH entered the postseason after sweeping through the regular season with a 15-0 record. The Warriors lost their first game of the year in the semifinals of the district playoffs, an 11-2 loss to DeSales in the 1B District 7/9 Tournament.

Softball

ACh took home a fourth-place finish from the 1B State Softball Tournament in Yakima, rebounding from a first-round 10-6 loss to DeSales to defeat Darrington 11-8 and Sunnyside Christian 12-1 to qualify for the third/fourth-place game. The Warriors fell 17-12 to Mossyrock in their final game of the year, finishing fourth in the 1B state tournament.

With a 13-5 record entering the postseason, ACH placed third in the 1B District 6/7 tournament to qualify for regionals, where they again moved on to state with a fifth-place finish in the tournament.

Ephrata

Baseball

Ephrata’s sweep over Prosser in the final doubleheader of the regular season helped the Tigers qualify for the Central Washington Athletic Conference district tournament, where they bounced back from an opening-round loss to Othello and defeated East Valley (Yakima) 15-3 to reach the consolation finals against Grandview. The Tigers fell 3-0 to the Greyhounds, ending their season with a 5-18 mark.

Softball

Entering the postseason with a 15-4 record and riding a seven-game win streak, the Ephrata Tigers earned the No. 2 seed in the CWAC district tournament. Ephrata fell 13-2 to Selah in the quarterfinals, dropping down to the consolation bracket against Ellensburg where they won 13-2. The Tigers finished one game shy of reaching the 2A District 5/6/8 Crossover, losing 6-5 to East Valley (Yakima) in the consolation finals of the CWAC district tournament. Ephrata finished its season with a 16-6 record.

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague

Baseball

A first-round, 4-3 loss to Kettle Falls ended the Broncos’ season with a 4-16 record, falling out of the Northeast 2B district tournament.

Softball

LRS finished its season with a 12-12 record – winning eight of its final nine games of the regular season – going 1-2 in the Northeast 2B district tournament. The playoffs began with a 2-0 loss to Liberty (Spangle), answered by a 19-11 win over Davenport in the first round of the consolation bracket. In a loser-out game against Jenkins (Chewelah), LRS fell 3-1.

Moses Lake

Baseball

Competing in its fourth-straight 4A State Baseball Tournament, Moses Lake nearly pulled off an upset of No. 4 Olympia but fell 5-4 to the Bears in the first round of the state playoffs. Moses Lake began the season with a 15-2 record, but four-straight losses down the stretch of the regular season allowed West Valley (Yakima) to hoist the Columbia Basin Big-Nine crown. The Mavs finished the year with a 16-8 record and finished second in the Big-Nine.

Softball

The Mavericks got back to state after a one-year hiatus, earning a No. 13 seed in the 4A State Softball Tournament after defeating West Valley (Yakima) 9-8 in extra innings in the consolation round of the CBBN district tournament. At state, Moses Lake fell 7-1 to No. 4 Richland in the first round, then 5-1 to No. 12 Eastmont to end the season with an 18-7 record.

MLCA/CCS

Baseball

The Lions finished the 2023 season with a 4-8 record, losing 8-5 to Waterville-Mansfield in the semifinals of the Central Washington 1B district tournament.

Othello

Baseball

The 15-8 Othello Huskies saw their season end in the consolation semifinals of the CWAC district tournament, losing 7-1 to Grandview in a loser-out game. Othello wrapped up the regular season on a seven-game win streak, beginning the district tournament with an 11-1 win over Ephrata. The Huskies fell 5-3 to Ellensburg in the next round before the loss to Grandview.

Softball

The Huskies left the 2A State Softball Tournament with hardware, placing third in the tournament after a first-round loss to Olympic and winning five-straight games in the consolation bracket. The 2023 CWAC regular season champions bounced back from a district championship loss to Selah and defeated Clarkston 9-0 in the 2A District 5/6/8 Crossover to advance to state, and finished the season with a 23-6 record.

Quincy

Baseball

The Jacks were one game short of advancing to the 1A District 6/7 Crossover, losing 8-7 to Chelan in the Caribou Trail League tournament and ending their season with an 8-12 record. Quincy defeated Omak 5-2 in the first round of the CTL tournament.

Softball

A 14-3 loss to Cashmere in the CTL district title game held the Jackrabbits out of the state tournament, ending their season with a 16-6 mark. Quincy began the year with wins in 10 of its first 11 games, also closing out the regular season with a five-game winning streak.

Royal

Baseball

The Knights finished just shy of qualifying for the 1A State Baseball Tournament, falling 11-1 to College Place in the consolation final of the South Central Athletic Conference district tournament. Royal began the tournament with a first-round loss to Naches Valley but answered with wins over Zillah (6-5) and La Salle (6-4) to reach the consolation final against College Place. The Knights finished the 2023 season with a 9-14-1 record.

Softball

Royal ended the 2023 season with a second-place finish in the 1A State Softball Tournament, defeating Lynden Christian 5-2 and Hoquiam 5-1 in the first two rounds of the tournament before losing 8-2 to Montesano. With a 24-3 record on the year, the Knights were the champions of the SCAC (East) regular season and the SCAC district tournament. Royal’s two losses in the regular season were to non-league contests against 4A Moses Lake and Eastmont, and outscored its opponents by 12.8 runs per game in its 19 regular season wins.

Wahluke

Baseball

Wahluke finished 2023 with a 1-16 mark, missing out on the SCAC district tournament. The Warrior’s win came on the road against Wapato, a 28-18 win on March 21.

Softball

The Warriors saw their season end in the first round of the SCAC district tournament’s consolation bracket, losing to Zillah. Wahluke finished the year with a 9-14 record.

Warden

Baseball

The Cougars began the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference district tournament with a win over No. 1 overall seed Cle Elum, defeating the Warriors 7-3 before a 10-0 second-round loss to Tri-Cities Prep. Warden rallied with an 18-5 win over Columbia (Burbank) in the consolation semifinals, but fell 8-1 in a rematch against Cle Elum in the consolation finals to end its season with a 14-11 record.

Softball

Warden qualified for its fifth-straight state tournament after sweeping through league contests and the EWAC district tournament where they defeated Kittitas 10-5 in the district championship game, earning a No. 2 seed in the 2B state tournament. In a matchup against Forks in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, Warden fell 10-5 to the Spartans and fell to the consolation bracket, where they lost to Pe Ell-Willapa Valley. Warden finished the season with a 19-6 record.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.