MIKE MAYNARD

Sixers 14U go undefeated in Saturday games

MOSES LAKE – The Washington Sixers 14U team went undefeated last weekend as they were victorious over TC Bashers and LC Closers. According to head coach Rey Lopez, pitching led the way for the Sixers.

Martial arts builds dedication, character

MOSES LAKE – Matthias Kalmbach, a junior at Moses Lake High School, is nearing his sixth year at Freewind Martial Arts. Now a dedicated student and instructor, it all started as something that looked interesting at a Halloween Walk Around. “I noticed they had a punching bag out with a Michael Myers mask on, and I was like, ‘Hey, that looks pretty interesting. I'd like to try that.’ So, a few months later, I did, and then we went straight through COVID,” Kalmbach said. However, despite the pandemic causing several disruptions to normalcy, it did not prevent Kalmbach from pursuing his new interest. He attended online classes and said that a lot of content had to be revisited once in person classes returned. According to Kalmbach, since the classes were online, some things could not be learned to their fullest.

Another ‘chance to represent and compete’ at All-State game

RICHLAND – From June 22 to 23 Richland hosted the All-State baseball game where the best senior high school players in the state come together for one more weekend of competition. Kason Whitaker from Moses Lake said he was honored to wear his school uniform one more time.

Jeannie Austin and Moms Helping Moms: A couple of moms show what it means to just show up

MOSES LAKE — For Jeannie Austin, just showing up is the biggest way to impact your community. Austin is co-founder with Stephanie Blauert of a Facebook group with in-person impacts called Moms Helping Moms, where parents can trade with others and help those in need. “I just saw that there was a huge need for something in the community to bring others together who could help those who needed help,” Austin said. “We were just trying to create a safe space where people could come together, not just moms, but dads alike.” Austin didn’t start the group alone; she had help from Blauert, a close friend. They met when they were taking classes to become nursing assistants, and from there they kept in contact with each other. When Austin made a post to Facebook that she wanted to create this group, Blauert jumped at the opportunity.

Does Seattle get to celebrate a Thunder championship?

COLUMBIA BASIN – The NBA Finals this year has been one of the best fans have seen in years. The incredible back and forth matchup has to be one of the more compelling finals series since the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1 comeback. In fact, it’s the first time fans have seen a game seven since that year.

Soap Lake school district receives athletic grants

SOAP LAKE – Last week, the Soap Lake School District announced they received two grants for student athletes. Both grants total out to $17,500 and will directly benefit athletics in Soap Lake. According to Athletic Director Erin Allen, this allows them to take the financial burden off of coaches and parents.

Mavs’ Brady Jay commits to University of Montana

MOSES LAKE – On Saturday June 21, Mavericks quarterback Brady Jay announced his commitment to play for the University of Montana Grizzlies. Jay, who will be entering his senior year this fall, said he felt like he was at home when he took visits to Montana.

Knights coach Jenks closing chapter at Royal

ROYAL CITY – After eight years as the head coach of the Knights baseball team, Brandon Jenks is stepping away from his role. Balancing work, family and coaching eventually created too many obstacles, and he felt it was time to step away. “My job makes me travel a little more, so in order to make it back for practice every day, it’s been really challenging to manage all those things, to make sure I fulfill all my responsibilities on the other side, and then give the kids everything I’ve got on the field as well,” Jenks said. Jenks said it was important for him to be able to watch his two younger daughters play softball.

Sixers win 18U championship at summer classic

MOSES LAKE — The Central Washington Sixers (8-7) took care of business last weekend as they went undefeated in the Big Bend Summer Classic. Sixers owner Ryan Doumit said he was proud of what he saw out of the team last weekend. “The bats really came alive,” Doumit said. “I thought that for the most part the defense was outstanding and the pitching was solid. That’s usually what wins games, especially in a tournament type setting. When you’re playing against good teams, it usually comes down to pitching a defense with some timely hitting.

Rage play first tournament of season

MOSES LAKE — Last weekend, the Washington Rage 18U (2-3) traveled to Carlon Park for their first softball tournament of the summer season. According to head coach Bob Richardson, they are a young team but were able to build chemistry over the course of the weekend. “Saturday was rough,” Richardson said. “We lost all three games, but being able to come out Sunday and flip it. We started to gel a little bit in the third game, played a little better than we had the first two games.” On Saturday, the Rage played three games and lost each of them. In the first two games, they combined for nine errors, according to Richardson. He said the main issue that plagued the team was their youth and inexperience with each other.

Warden wrestling holding annual charity golf tournament

WARDEN — On Saturday, the Cougars wrestling program will hold its fourth annual charity golf tournament at Sage Hills Golf Course in Warden. According to assistant wrestling coach Alan Martinez, all proceeds from the event will go to the wrestling program at Warden High School. “It’s been really successful the last three years, and it’s gotten bigger every year, and now it’s turned into one of the biggest tournaments that I know of in the area,” said Martinez, “It’s all for a good cause, and one of the lines that we hammered to everybody is, ‘Every cent, every dollar, goes straight to the kids.’” Martinez said that money raised from this event has helped enabled the program to buy new wrestling mats, singlets for wrestlers, camps for the youth to attend and clinicians to come to the school.

Eagles Perez takes on prestigious honor at EWU

OTHELLO – On June 12, Eastern Washington University Eagles defensive lineman Isaiah Perez earned the honor of wearing No. 4 this upcoming season. Head coach Aaron Best announced this in a team meeting, an honor that Perez was pleasantly surprised to receive.

Othello anticipates another fun year of summer sports

OTHELLO – As the summer kicks off this weekend, that calls for the start of summer sports like adult leagues and little leagues. According to Othello Parks and Recreation Coordinator Valerie Hernandez, there is plenty to look forward to.

A card for every interest at the Cardman store

EPHRATA – Darren Donoghue said he was 5 years old when he got his first pack of trading cards. He even remembers the truck he was sitting in, his parents’ 1975 Ford F150, when his mom Jeannine handed the pack of cards to him.

Rattlers softball team competes in local tournament

ROYAL CITY — The Rattlers 10U softball team competed in a local tournament in Ephrata last weekend. According to Head Coach Lisa Lawrence, this was a great opportunity to see what her players can do. “It was our first tournament of the season. So, (we’re) working out a lot of cobwebs and just seeing what the girls can do. We're still developing and growing. A lot of our players are younger, but everybody has an interest in developing and growing, both individually and as part of the Royal City program. We're happy to be able to do that through the Rattlers,” she said. The Rattlers played four games over the weekend, three on Saturday and one on Sunday. On Saturday, they opened against the Tri-Cities Diamonds. The first inning was competitive, with the score being 5-4 heading into the second inning.

Moses Lake BMX holds Race for Life event

MOSES LAKE — Last weekend, Moses Lake BMX participated in the Race for Life Double competition that was held across Eastern Washington. Track Operator Jeff Niehenke said he was pleased with how the weekend went for his riders. “This is such a community builder to have everyone united behind the cause, like raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It really unites everyone, and it takes away the competitiveness, because we’re all driving for a similar cause to raise money to support something bigger than ourselves,” Niehenke said. The event was held across four tracks over the weekend, starting with Moses Lake BMX on Friday. On Saturday morning, BMX riders raced in Walla Walla before heading to Tri-Cities in the afternoon. The event finished in Spokane on Sunday.

Mavericks volleyball showed resilience in wake of levy failure

MOSES LAKE – When the Moses Lake School District 2024 educational programs and operations levy failed for the first time, coaches like Mavericks volleyball coach Krystal Trammell were unsure what would happen if it failed a second time. What they were certain about was their dedication to the kids at Moses Lake High School.

Warden Development Council holds charity golf tournament

WARDEN – The Warden Development Council held their annual Golf Classic at the Sage Hills Golf Course Friday. The event had a high turnout of 64 golfers participating, mostly in teams of four, and raised roughly $12,000 for local causes, according to organizers.

Local martial arts studio participating in scholarship program

MOSES LAKE – On Thursday, it was announced that Freewind Martial Arts was selected as the flagship location for the California nonprofit Jonie’s Angels new scholarship program. Freewind will be able to provide qualifying youths in Moses Lake with an all-expenses-paid year of classes.

Rage softballers swing into athletic, personal growth

MOSES LAKE – Summer softball is upon us, and travel teams throughout the Basin are gearing up for another year of action. Heading into this summer, Head Coach Bob Richardson is hopeful for another successful season of growth. “If we get better every single game, we learn from the little things, that's a success to me, the girls are getting better, and we as a group are getting better. So as long as there's growth and progression, that's a successful season for me,” he said.

Mavericks athletics overcome levy obstacles

Community help, dedicated coaches and parental support make for a successful year of MLHS athletics.

MOSES LAKE – The school year has come to an end, the class of 2025 has graduated, and an unprecedented year of athletics has been completed. After the local levy in 2024 failed to pass twice, Moses Lake athletics and extracurriculars were faced with financial challenges like they had never seen. Loren Sandhop is the Athletic Director at Moses Lake High School and oversaw the task of making sports happen throughout the 2024-25 school year. According to Sandhop, due to a shortfall exceeding $20 million, athletics of any kind were being called into question.

Othello graduation caps off years of students’ hard work

OTHELLO – Camaraderie and cheer were in the air as the Class of 2025 took the field at Othello High School for their graduation ceremony, a momentous occasion that many expressed they worked hard to reach. Co-valedictorian Natalie Cerrillo had a fitting way to describe the event’s significance. “We all have one thing in common ... today,” she said. The events opened with the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” playing over the speakers as 328 seniors walked out onto the field. In groups of four, they gradually made their way from behind the stands through center field and to the bleachers set up at the 50-yard line. Kathryn Acheson, Othello High School’s principal, opened the ceremony with congratulations to the seniors and parents for reaching this point. She first welcomed Cerrillo for her speech and took a photo with her family. After she spoke, Acheson welcomed co-valedictorian Claire Gilbert for her speech and family photo.

Annual golf classic set for Friday to support Warden community

WARDEN – This Friday Sage Hills Golf Course will be hosting the Annual Golf Classic, put together by the Warden Development Council. They will aim to fundraise for the Warden community. Registration is at 11 a.m. and the shotgun tee-off is at 12 p.m. “I think the community of Warden really, really does appreciate it,” Pat Millard of the Warden Development Council said, “They're really happy to get the money that we give them to buy the turkeys and things for the needy families.”

Mavericks softball season recap

MOSES LAKE — The Mavericks softball team concluded the 2025 season with a 16-9 record and appearances in the 4A district title game and the state tournament. Despite not bringing home hardware, Head Coach Mike Hofheins said his team had a successful season. “I think we had confidence within ourselves that we were going to be right in it for a league title, and we were, and we were able to capture the regular season title, and we took second in districts and qualified for state,” he said. The Mavericks started off 1-2; they won their first game against Walla Walla but dropped two in a row to Mt. Spokane and Richland. Despite the losses, Hofheins said those two games showed him what his team was capable of. According to him, his team was able to hang with both of them and put up a fight.

Huskies boys soccer season recap

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies have finished their season with a 14-6-1 record and made another appearance in the state tournament. Despite hiccups along the way, head coach Bernie Garza was confident his team had the potential to reach the state tournament this year.

Warriors baseball season recap

COULEE CITY – The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors concluded their baseball season with a successful record of 19-4 and a third-place finish in the state tournament. Head coach Hunter Lee said his team met their expectations for the season.

Mavericks soccer season wrap-up

MOSES LAKE – The Mavericks boys soccer team has concluded another season, and signs of growth were felt throughout the year, according to head coach Miguel Segura.

Eagles complete inaugural season

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Eagles have concluded their first season, finishing with a winning record of 7-5-1 under head coach Tony O’Neel. This was the Eagles first year with a soccer team ever.

Knights 2025 soccer in review

ROYAL CITY – The 2025 chapter has closed on the Knights boy's soccer season. They ended their season with a 16-4 record and continued to maintain a winning culture. When they won their second straight district championship, head coach Jens Jensen said he expected this of his team. “We've been here before, and this group, especially, it's a lot of returners on this group from last year, and so, they understand their jobs,” he said.

Mavericks’ Valdez signs with Oregon Community College

MOSES LAKE – Thursday was a special day for Jaciel Valdez as he signed his letter of intent with Southwest Oregon Community College and will join their cross-country team this fall. Head coach Larry Dagnon knew this day would come for Valdez.

Basin baseball represented in all-star game

RICHLAND – Players from Moses Lake and Othello joined their peers from Yakima at the Columbia Basin Series All-Star Game Wednesday in Richland. “It was really nice and bittersweet to end my high school career here. I'm going to go play college baseball, and hopefully I'll see some of these guys, but it was nice to play against guys that I have played the last 10 years of my life,” Mavericks player Cooper Hancock said.

Basin schools represented at state track meet

YAKIMA – The state track meet was held on Saturday for 1B, 2B, and 1A schools at Eisenhower’s Zaepfel Stadium. Basin schools were well represented at the meet with runners from Lind-Ritzville, Moses Lake Christian Academy, Royal, and Wahluke.

ACH Warriors softball season recap

COULEE CITY – The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (15-7) wrapped up their season with a state tournament appearance. According to head coach Faye Butler, her players took themselves far beyond expectations. “We were a super young team, they learned a lot, and we watched the championship game, and they're like, ‘yeah, we want to be there,’ so I feel that they're ready to go for next year,” she said. After placing second in the district tournament, the Warriors earned the fourth seed and a first round bye in the state tournament. They would play Colton and be defeated 13-7. From there, they were moved into the consolation bracket where they played Dayton and won 11-6 before moving on to face Inchelium. They were defeated 11-3 and officially eliminated from the tournament.

Knights baseball season recap

ROYAL CITY – The Royal Knights (16-10) have concluded the 2024-2025 season, and the young team gets a little younger with three seniors graduating. Head coach Brandon Jenks reflects on his team’s performance this season.

Congrats to Huskies baseball

OTHELLO – Congratulations are in order for the Huskies baseball team after what they have accomplished this season. They saw major improvement this year, improving from 18-6-1 to 21-6 and a final four appearance. After losing their home opener, the Huskies fired off eight straight wins, including six straight shutout wins. What we saw from the Huskies this season was truly impressive. Though they may not have won the district championship, they brought their all to the crossover game where they had to win in order to reach the state tournament, to the very end when they defeated Selah for the third-place spot. The Huskies displayed great control over their opponents defensively, which allowed their offense to shine. A prime example is the game against W.F. West where they hung 14 runs on their opponent. They allowed eight runs, but six of them came in the first couple innings, and the Huskies shut them down for the rest of the game.

Huskies’ Cabrera ready for next chapter

OTHELLO – Othello Huskies boys soccer player Jose Cabrera idolizes Lionel Messi, a world-renowned soccer player who used to play for the Barcelona Football Club. He can remember from a young age a play that followed the superstar athlete to this day.

Huskies finish third in 2A state tournament

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies (22-6) finished third in the 2A State Tournament after falling to Anacortes 3-0 on Friday and defeating Selah 3-1 on Saturday. Head coach Sonny Garza said he was happy to see his team go out on top on Saturday.

MLHS girls golfer makes appearance at state tournament

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake girls golf has officially wrapped up for the year after a state tournament appearance for Lilliana Roylance. After playing through the district tournament and qualifying for states, she made it to day one but was unable to move onto day two.

Ephrata girls golf places third at state

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tiger girls golf team finished in the top three at the 2A state tournament, with six players making an appearance. Head coach Tracy Pickeral was pleased with her team's performance.

Knights fall in second round of state tourney

WHITE SALMON, Wash. – The Knights boys soccer (16-4) was defeated 2-1 by King’s High School (13-5-2) at Columbia High School on Friday. Head coach Jens Jensen spoke about his players struggles against King’s. “We didn't really have the opportunity to show our ability to move the ball, our ability to have some creativity. There was really no provision for speed, because there's nowhere to go,” he said.

ACH headed to final four

COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (16-3) are back in the final four of the 1B State Tournament after defeating Wahkiakum 7-3 in the first round Saturday. According to head coach Hunter Lee, getting back to this point has been the goal all season. “We definitely expected to be here, because we were in the state championship game last year, so if we didn’t make the Final Four, I think that would not have met our expectations,” he said. ACH will play the defending state champion DeSales in the semifinals. DeSales defeated the Warriors in the 2024 state title game. The Warriors started the game against Wahkiakum with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. ACH was able to work through their batting rotation during the inning. An error gave them their first run, Carter Pitts executed a single that scored a run, and Brody Pitts singled and scored two runs. Wahkiakum responded at the top of the second with two runs of their own but would be held to no runs for the next three innings.

Huskies fall short in quarter final

OTHELLO — The Huskies soccer team (14-6-1) was defeated 3-2 in a heartbreaker against Columbia River. It was win or die trying for the Huskies, according to Head Coach Bernie Garza. “Win or die trying and leave it on the line that way. When you win the game, you say, ‘I gave it my best,’ or if you happen to lose, you’re not regretting anything. It was devastating,” he said. The Huskies were able to get on the board first in the first 10 minutes after Eric Cruz passed the ball to Asaph Alfaro, who lined up his shot and fired away. Alfaro fired a right-footed shot from the left side of the goal and threaded the needle in the upper right corner of the net.

Tigers fall to Woodland on day two of state tourney

EPHRATA – The Tigers softball team fell to the Woodland Beavers 6-2 on day two of states at Carlon Park. On Friday, they lost in the first round to the Olympic Trojans and were bumped to the consolation bracket. “They have rallied every game, they never said die,” head coach Heather Wood said.

Tigers moving on to day two of state play

EPHRATA – The Tigers softball team has begun its state tournament competition. Heading into round one, they were set to face the Olympic Trojans. In the beginning, the Tigers kept it competitive but gave up seven runs in the fifth inning, which allowed Olympic to run away with a final score of 12-4, and the first-round win.

All-conference teams announced for Basin fastpitch

COLUMBIA BASIN – The Central Athletic Conference has announced their All-Conference teams for fastpitch softball. Basin softball saw two teams represented across the first and second teams.

Mavs’ boys golf places 7th at state tourney

MOSES LAKE – The Mavericks boys golf team finished seventh at the state tournament, with all of their players appearing for the team.

CWAC announces boys soccer all-conference teams

COLUMBIA BASIN — The Central Washington Athletic Conference has announced its All-Conference teams for boys soccer. The first, second, and honorable mention teams were announced including offensive and defensive players of the year, officials announced Tuesday. The Offensive Player of the Year is Jose Cabrera from the Othello Huskies. Cabrera has scored 25 goals this season and could add to that total as the Huskies begin state tournament games this week. “This is his year, it’s like a dream come true for him, like saying he finally got it, he was first team two years in a row,” Huskie Head Coach Bernie Garza said, “so it’s a confirmation from the coaches voting for him and giving him that recognition.”

BASIN BASEBALL ROUNDUP: May 21, 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN — District tournament play has wrapped up and state tournaments will begin later this week. See below how Basin baseball played in the last week and who punched their ticket to state.

Moses Lake BMX hosts Gold Cup qualifier tournament

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake BMX had a busy weekend May 17-18 with two days of action-packed bike competition. The two-day affair saw over 400 riders each day of competition, according to Moses Lake BMX Track Operator Jeff Niehenke. “The event went incredibly well; we have a huge group of volunteers that really executed well, even despite the huge rain delay. Everything ran smoothly, and we ran a very quick event, which is hard to do with that many riders and the logistics involved,” Niehenke said. On Saturday, the event for the day was the double-point state qualifier, which saw around 450 riders compete. The races started at 1 p.m. and were running smoothly until a thunderstorm rolled in and caused delays. The rain made the track too muddy to be safe for riders, so Niehenke and the BMX crew had to delay the second half of races until the next morning.

Tigers victorious over East Valley, advance to state

EPHRATA — The Tigers softball team, 21-10, defeated East Valley, 19-5, with a final score of 17-1 Saturday. The Tigers’ second and fourth inning efforts propelled them to victory. “We hit the ball really well, we played some pretty errorless defense,” Head Coach Heather Wood said, “They had a goal in mind, and they achieved it.” The Tigers opened the game on fire, scoring two runs in the first inning and exploding for six in the second. A two-out rally against East Valley boosted their efforts in the second inning.