Six Basin squads reach state softball tournaments

COLUMBIA BASIN — It all comes down to this; six Basin softball teams qualified for their respective state softball tournaments, with games being hosted in Richland, Selah and Yakima beginning Thursday afternoon.

Read along for a look at where teams were seeded in their brackets as well as a look at first-round matchups.

4A State Softball Tournament - Richland

Moses Lake

Fresh off a 7-0 win over West Valley (Yakima) in the Columbia Basin Big 9 district championship game, the 19-3 Mavericks earned a No. 8 seed in this week's 4A State Softball Tournament, setting up a first-round matchup against No. 9 Emerald Ridge.

The 16-6 Jaguars finished second in the South Puget Sound 4A league this season, eventually placing fourth in the 4A District 3/4 with a 1-0 loss to Olympia in the third-place game Saturday.

Moses Lake returns to the state tournament for the second consecutive season; the Mavs were a No. 13 seed a season ago, falling to No. 4 Richland 7-1 in the opening round before suffering a 5-1 loss to No. 12 seed Eastmont in the consolation bracket.

First pitch between the Mavericks and Jaguars is at 11 a.m. Friday at Columbia Playfields in Richland. The winner advances to the second round to take on either No. 1 Skyview or No. 16 Puyallup, while the loser drops to the consolation bracket where they face the loser of Skyview and Puyallup.

2A State Softball Tournament - Selah

Ephrata

Back at the state tournament for the first time since 2019, the 18-6 Tigers earned a No. 11 seed and will take on No. 6 Tumwater, the league champions of the Evergreen 2A league this season. 

The 18-5 Thunderbirds fell to Aberdeen in last week’s district tournament but responded with a 14-1 win over Mark Morris to reach the state tournament. Ephrata lost to Othello in the Central Washington Athletic Conference district championship game May 14 but rallied with a 15-1 defeat of East Valley (Yakima) in the consolation bracket, headlined by a nine-run top of the third inning where juniors Jaemyson Durfee and Kaydence Hector both hit multi-run home runs.

First pitch between the Tigers and Thunderbirds is at 9 a.m. Friday at Carlon Park in Selah; the winner will play the winner of No. 3 Aberdeen and No. 14 Enumclaw, while the loser will play the loser of that same matchup in the consolation bracket.

Othello

After winning the CWAC district title, Othello (17-5) was given the No. 9 seed in this year’s 2A State Softball Tournament, setting up a rematch against No. 9 Olympic in the opening round Friday.

In last season's state tournament, the Trojans defeated the Huskies 11-3 as the No. 12 seed. This is the third consecutive season Othello has made it to state, bringing home second and third-place finishes each of the past two seasons. 

Olympic (18-5) finished in third place in the Olympic league this season, behind both Port Angeles and North Kitsap – both of which are in this year’s state tournament field. In the 2A District 2/3 Tournament, Olympic took second place after defeating Sammamish and Franklin Pierce before falling to North Kitsap in the championship game.

First pitch between the Huskies and Trojans is at 11 a.m. Friday at Carlon Park in Selah. The winner plays either No. 1 seed Sedro-Woolley or No. 16 Kingston, while the loser will play the loser of that same matchup.

1A State Softball Tournament - Richland

Royal

See today’s story on No. 8 Royal defeating No. 9 Klahowya in the first round of the 1A State Softball Tournament.

2B State Softball Tournament - Yakima

Lind-Ritzville/Sprague

After finishing fourth in the Northeast 2B League this spring, the Broncos finished third in last week’s district tournament to lock up their first state tournament berth since the 2018 season. 

LRS defeated Asotin 8-5 in the opening round May 14 before falling to league champion Liberty (Spangle) in the semifinals that same day. In the consolation tournament, the Broncos picked up back-to-back wins over Kettle Falls and Asotin, winning 12-10 and 16-2, respectively.

The Broncos were named the No. 11 seed, setting up a first-round matchup against No. 6 Warden on Friday in a loser-out game. First pitch is at 10 a.m. 

Warden

The 18-6 Cougars are back in the state tournament for the 10th consecutive season, winning the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference (East) league title and posting a second-place finish in the EWAC district tournament. 

Warden defeated Granger 16-1 in the opening round and Goldendale 14-0 in the semifinals of the district tournament before falling to Kittitas 7-6 in the championship game, responding with an 18-4 win over River View to punch its ticket to the state tournament. 

In the first round of state, No. 6 seed Warden takes on No. 11 LRS in a loser-out game Friday at 10 a.m. The winner advances to play No. 3 Forks at 2 p.m. Friday.

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

    Warden players celebrate after defeating Royal during a doubleheader earlier this season. The No. 6 seed Cougars take on No. 11 Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in the first round of the 2B State Softball Tournament on Friday.
  

    Royal senior Raegan Wardenaar waits for a pitch during a March 29 game against Eastmont. The No. 8 seed Royal Knights took on No. 9 Klahowya in the first round of the 1A State Softball Tournament on Thursday.
  

    Moses Lake sophomore Alina Lopez stands on second base during the Mavericks’ season opener against Mount Spokane. Moses Lake, the No. 8 seed in the 4A State Softball Tournament, takes on No. 9 Emerald Ridge in the first round Friday.
  

    Othello senior Naraiah Guzman rounds second base during an April 19 game against Prosser. The Huskies are the No. 9 seed in the 2A State Softball Tournament, facing off against No. 8 Olympic in the first round Friday.