A long road ahead
August 28, 2009 by Roger Underwood
Central football opens year with rugged trip, revamped offense//
ELLENSBURG — Now this is a road trip.
Not entirely in the literal sense, mind you, but Central Washington will get its share of white-line fever over the next six days while opening its football season.
The Wildcats’ trip, which started Thursday with a flight to Grand Junction, Colo. for tonight’s game with Mesa State, also flies in the face of every coach’s one-game-at-a-time mantra.
Central Washington linebacker Buddy Wood tackles Mesa State’s Bobby Coy during last season’s game in Ellensburg. Wood is part of an experienced defensive unit that will play a key role in determining whether the Wildcats make a third straight playoff appearance this season, which begins tonight at Mesa State in Grand Junction, Colo.//ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic file
But more on that later.
Central, ranked 14th in the initial D2football.com poll, will probably learn much about its team and its season while engaging the unranked Mavericks.
For one thing, it will likely find out if its veteran defense really is a dominant one — or at least if it has the potential. For another, it will probably get an idea as to how closely the D needs to approach that level for the Wildcats to reach the NCAA Division II playoffs for a third straight year.
Tonight, of course, will mark CWU’s first game in the era AM — meaning After Mike — meaning Mike Reilly, who started every Central game for four years and became the most decorated quarterback in school history.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Robertson will start against Mesa, but will split time with senior transfer Cole Morgan. From there, second-year coach Blaine Bennett will play it by eye, watching to see how each performs under fire.
“I wish some of those transfers would have stuck around,” Bennett said earlier this week, referring to Johnny DuRocher, Jordan Rasmussen and Nick Lomax, who came to Ellensburg from Washington, Montana State and Boise State, respectively. Each left the program, however, before the final week of preseason practice.
“They would have given us more depth,” Bennett said. “But we feel good about the two players we have competing for the job.”
He continued his praise of the defense, which figures to take on added responsibility in the absence of Reilly and others from last year’s high-profile offense.
“It’s hard to tell how good we are since we’re playing against them every single day,” Bennett said. “But we’re good up front and I think we’ll control the line of scrimmage, and our secondary should be very good since we’ve moved Anthony Stewart (from running back/wide receiver) to the corner opposite (preseason All-American) Courtney Smith.”
Among the most pleasant defensive surprises, Bennett said, has been East Valley senior Matt Snell at weak-side linebacker opposite returning standout Buddy Wood and alongside BYU transfer Matt Ah You.
“He’s just done an excellent job,” Bennett said. “He’s earned that starting spot, and his senior maturity, leadership and hard work over the last few years are really paying off. It’s fun to see a young man like that get an opportunity.”
Augmenting Central’s defense, Bennett said, should be an unusually productive special teams unit.
Senior Garrett Rolsma ranks among the best in D-II as both a placekicker and punter, Smith is a threat to go the distance with each touch as a kickoff returner, and All-American wide receiver Johnny Spevak possesses similar potential as a punt returner.
“We emphasize special teams more than anybody in the country,” Bennett said. “A lot of people give them lip service, but we spend extra time to make sure our good players are on them and are in the right positions.”
As for Mesa, which last season absorbed a 48-14 beating in Ellensburg en route to a 6-5 finish, Bennett said, “They’re a physical team that will try to run the ball on us. They won’t try to fool us. They don’t throw the ball very well, as we saw last year, but they try to be sound on defense, keep the ball in front and not give up the big play.
“They’ll try to keep their offense on the field to keep our offense off it.”
Once the Wildcats leave the artificial turf at Ralph Stocker Memorial Stadium, they’ll board a bus for a 1,304-mile ride to Duluth, Minn. and Thursday night’s duel with defending D-II national champion Minnesota Duluth.
After that game, to be televised live on CBS College Sports TV, Central will fly home for its Sept. 12 home-opener with West Texas A&M.
Tri-City finishes sweep of Bears
August 28, 2009 by Roger Underwood
YAKIMA — Aware, no doubt, of the intrigue presented when good pitching meets good hitting, Bears fans of late have witnessed a one-sided variation to that theme.
They’ve seen what happens when good pitching meets not-so-good hitting.
And those relieved that they’ve seen the last of Tri-City’s division-leading Dust Devils and their league-best pitching staff must now deal with the fact that they’ve also seen the last of Ryan Wheeler.
Minutes after Friday night’s 7-1 defeat at Yakima County Stadium, which before an announced 2,154 completed a six-game sweep in which Tri-City outscored the Bears 45-17, manager Bob Didier disclosed that his team’s leading hitter and Northwest League All-Star first baseman had been promoted to South Bend.
“The third out was made to end the game and I was coming around toward third base,” said Wheeler, who, fittingly, had singled in his final at-bat. “And when I came up to Bob, he had his hand out and said, ‘Congrats, you’re going to South Bend.’”
Said Didier, “I’m happy for him. I’m a fan as much as anybody, and it’s been fun to watch the kid play. And I think the people who have seen him play here realize they’ve seen someone who has a chance to become something special.
“Not only does he have some talent, he plays the game like players 30 and 40 years ago who played hard and got dirty, and so forth.”
While the Dust Devils (41-26) reduced their magic number for clinching the NWL East to three, Yakima’s losing streak reached seven — two short of its season-long skid that stretched from July 4-13.
And with nine games left, including three next week at Tri-City, the Bears (23-44) face the daunting task of needing five wins to equal the 2008 squad’s total.
Only two teams in the Bears’ modern history (since 1990) have won fewer — the 1997 squad and the infamous 2001 crew that dropped 22 straight.
“I’m not sad about losing our best hitter,” Didier said, “just like I wasn’t sad when Clayton Conner got moved up at a point when he was leading the league in home runs and runs batted in.
“We’ll put the kid (18-year-old Matt Helm) at first base and we’ll give some other guys some at bats. And we’ll play hard over our last nine games.”
As with Thursday night’s 8-1 Yakima, this one got away early.
Yakima starter Brad Wilson, dominant to the tune of 11 strikeouts in six innings Sunday at Pasco, walked the first four hitters of the second inning.
Then after a visit by pitching coach Gil Heredia, Wilson’s first pitch to Tim Wheeler was crushed well beyond the right-field wall for a grand slam — Wheeler’s fourth homer of the year and second in two nights — and a 5-0 Dust Devils lead.
They added another run that inning, plus one in the third. The Bears’ lone tally came in the fourth via successive singles by Brent Greer, Wheeler and Matt Davidson — each of whom had two hits.
Wheeler’s final safety boosted his batting average to .363 — second only to Cyle Hankerd’s .384 from 2006 in franchise history. He will also finish among the top 10 on the single-season list in doubles (20), hits (85), on-base percentage (.461, which ties for the all-time lead with Charles Latham in 1994) and slugging (.538).
In on-base plus slugging, Wheeler’s .999 ranks first in the league.
“I’m really excited to help South Bend make a playoff push,” Wheeler said while saying good-bye to his teammates and packing his bags for today’s 6 a.m. flight. “The last two days (he was named to the NWL all-star team) have really been something. A lot has happened really fast.
“I’ve had a great time here, but I wish we’d done better as a team.”
Yakima Bears update
August 28, 2009 by YH-R Sports
Next game
Opponent: Spokane Indians.
When, where: 7:05 p.m., Yakima County Stadium.
Radio: KUTI (1460).
Probable pitchers: Yakima RHP Andrew Wolcott (2-5, 4.94) vs. Spokane RHP Braden Tullis (3-2, 3.26).
Notes
CHANGE AT THE TOP: As of Thursday, there was a new name atop the Northwest League batting leaders.
Jason Ogata of Spokane suddenly emerged, seemingly out of nowhere, but it was only because he had just reached the minimum number of 178 plate appearances to qualify.
Beginning Friday’s play Ogata led with a .387 average, followed by Yakima’s Ryan Wheeler at .361.
CONNER UPDATE: Clayton Conner, who was leading the Northwest League in homers and RBI when he was promoted to South Bend earlier this month, is doing well with the Silver Hawks.
Through 15 games he was hitting .273 with one homer and eight RBI. He also had four doubles and one stolen base for South Bend, which began play Friday 29-30 in the long-season Class A Midwest League’s second half.
Brendan Duffy, who batted .374 as Yakima’s center fielder last year, is serving in a similar capacity at South Bend and is the Hawks’ leading hitter at .308.
— Roger Underwood
Box score
Dust Devils 7, Bears 1
TRI-CITY YAKIMA
ab r h bi ab r h bi
TWheeler cf 4 2 1 4 Kacrwski rf 4 0 1 0
Sammy 2b 3 1 3 1 V Winkle c 4 0 0 0
Clark lf 5 0 0 0 Aguila c 0 0 0 0
Bowman 1b 3 0 0 0 Greer ss 4 1 2 0
Matthes rf 5 0 2 1 Wheeler 1b 4 0 2 0
Reyes dh 3 1 2 0 Davidson 3b 4 0 2 1
Feinberg 3b 4 1 0 0 Montilla 2b 3 0 1 0
Tarleton c 4 1 0 0 Canelo ph 1 0 0 0
Wong ss 3 1 0 1 Helm dh 3 0 0 0
Varnell lf 2 0 0 0
Inciarte lf 1 0 0 0
Wrthngtn cf 2 0 0 0
Rodriguez cf 1 0 0 0
Totals 34 7 8 7 Totals 33 1 8 1
Tri-City 061 000 000 — 7
Yakima 000 100 000 — 1
E—Greer. PB—Van Winkle. DP—Tri-City 2, Yakima 1. LOB—Tri-City 10, Yakima 5. 2B—Sammy 2, Matthes. HR—T. Wheeler (4). SB—Sammy 2, TWheeler.
IP H R ER BB SO
Tri-City
Musick W,2-0 6 4 1 1 0 3
Ballard 1 1 0 0 0 0
Stavert 2 3 0 0 0 3
Yakima
Wilson L,2-2 1 1-3 2 6 6 6 2
Gemberling 3 2-3 4 1 0 0 4
Hamrick 1 1 0 0 1 0
Brea 2 1 0 0 2 1
Thieroff 1 0 0 0 0 0
WP—Musick, Brea. HBP—Reyes (by Thieroff). Umpires—Shaun Lampe, Joel Brinkman. T—2:32. A—2,154.
Standings
East Division
W L Pct. GB
Tri-City (Rockies) 41 26 .612 —
Spokane (Rangers) 34 33 .507 7
Boise (Cubs) 30 37 .448 11
Yakima (D-backs) 23 44 .343 18
West Division
W L Pct. GB
Salem-Keizer (Giants) 42 25 .627 —
Everett (Mariners) 35 32 .522 7
Vancouver (Athletics) 33 34 .493 9
Eugene (Padres) 30 37 .448 12
Friday’s results
Tri-City 7, Yakima 1
Spokane 7, Boise 2
Vancouver 1, Eugene 0
Salem-Keizer 9, Everett 2
Today’s games
Spokane at Yakima, 7:05 p.m.
Salem-Keizer at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Eugene at Vancouver, 7:05 p.m.
Boise at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Salem-Keizer at Everett, 1:05 p.m.
Eugene at Vancouver, 1:05 p.m.
Spokane at Yakima, 5:35 p.m.
Boise at Tri-City, 7:15 p.m.
Local report — Central spikers win twice
August 28, 2009 by YH-R Sports
ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — Erin Norris put down 21 kills and served nine aces as Central Washington University’s volleyball team opened the season with two wins in the Seawolf Spike Tournament at Sonoma State University on Friday.
Norris, a senior from Mead, pounded 16 kills in Central’s first match, a hard-fought 23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 13-25, 15-10 win over San Francisco State. The Wildcats scored seven of the final nine points and capped the win with consecutive kills from Meg Ryan and Kady Try.
Norris and Try (12 kills) combined for more than half (28) of their team’s 54 kills.
Central then swept Humboldt State 25-21, 25-17, 26-24 with 11 aces and two serving errors.
First match
Team score: Central Washington d. San Francisco State 23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 13-25, 15-10.
Central highlights: Erin Norris 16 kills, 4 aces; Kady Try 12 kills, 4 digs; Kristel Baeckel 9 kills, 5 blocks; Bri Gregory 7 kills; Carlee Marble 47 assists, 4 blocks; Brandie Vea 19 digs; Meggie Graf 12 digs, 2 aces.
Second match
Team scores: Central Washington d. Humboldt State 25-21, 25-17, 26-24.
Central highlights: Meg Ryan 9 kills, 9 digs; Kady Try 7 kills, 12 digs; Kristel Baeckel 6 kills, 3 blocks; Carlee Marble 25 assists; Brandie Vea 20 digs; Erin Norris 5 kills, 5 aces.
Yaks sweep Everett in opener
EVERETT — Yakima Valley Community College’s volleyball team opened the season Friday with an impressive 25-13, 25-8, 25-22 sweep over Everett. Individual stats were unavailable.
SEMIPRO FOOTBALL
Mavericks at Naches today
The Yakima Mavericks will continue their current homestand tonight when they host the West Sound Saints at 6 p.m. at Naches Valley High School.
Yakima (1-3) is expecting to have most of its roster available for the first time since joining the Northwest Division of the North American Football League, according to general manager Nathan Soptich.
Highlights few, far between for Bears
August 27, 2009 by Roger Underwood
YAKIMA, Wash. — Brent Greer, sporting a new pair of contact lenses, got two hits.
Matt Helm, providing some late-inning rest for newly minted Northwest League All-Star Ryan Wheeler, made a nifty backhand scoop out of the dirt at first base.
Wheeler had an RBI single, second baseman Gerson Montilla made a spectacular sixth-inning play to rob Tri-City’s Shane Lowe of a hit, and Justin Albert combined with Pedro Rodriguez to pitch three scoreless innings.
Otherwise, from a Bears perspective Thursday night, the news was grizzly at Yakima County Stadium.
Their 8-1 loss, before an announced crowd of 1,967, was Yakima’s sixth straight and left the Bears 20 games under .500 at 23-43.
In the other clubhouse, and to the other extreme, it was all good for a first-place Dust Devils (40-26) squad that has won six in a row to reduce its magic number in the NWL East to four.
“I like the way we’re playing, especially over the last week,” said T-C skipper Freddie Ocasio, who earlier in the day had been named the league’s manager of the year. “We’re performing well in all three phases of the game — pitching, defense and hitting.”
The same could not be said for Yakima.
En route to their seventh loss in eight meetings with Tri-City, the Bears managed only four hits other than Greer’s (all of which were singles), did not advance a runner past second over the final eight innings and banged into three double plays.
Houston Summers, in his first start of the season, yielded 10 hits and six runs — all earned — over four innings.
The Dust Devils reached the knuckleballer for a first-inning run on three hits, then batted around to score five times in the second.
Run-scoring singles by Jeremiah Sammy and Kevin Clark preceded a two-run double by Bo Bowman to key the uprising, which was capped by Kent Matthes’ RBI two-bagger.
“We saw him (Summers) so much in spring training, in extended it was like we hit against him every other day,” Ocasio said. “So I just reminded the guys to stay back and drive the ball, and they did.”
Though Summers held Tri-City scoreless through the third and fourth innings, Ben Dollar allowed a one-out single to Alex Feinberg in the fifth andd then a ringing, two-out homer to right by Tim Wheeler to finish the scoring.
The long ball was the third for leadoff man Wheeler, who scored three times.
Matthes and Feinberg led the Devils’ 14-hit assault with three each while Wheeler, Sammy and Bowman added two apiece.
Yakima, last in the league in scoring, has averaged just two runs a game this season against Tri-City.
Yakima’s Wheeler named an all-star
August 27, 2009 by Roger Underwood
YAKIMA, Wash. — While the Bears have easily the worst record in the Northwest League this season, they also have one of its very best players.
First baseman Ryan Wheeler, who leads the league in four offensive cate-gories including batting average, was named to the NWL all-star team Thursday.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, a fifth-round draftee from Loyola Marymount, became Yakima’s first all-star since Clayton Conner and Mark Hallberg were so honored in 2007.
“Coming into the season, I wasn’t thinking about being an all-star,” Wheeler said before Thursday night’s game with Tri-City. “I just wanted to play, learn and improve, and for the most part I think I’ve done that. But on the other hand, I’m not satisfied.”
Wheeler’s selection should have surprised no one, despite the Bears’ 23-42 record which was seven games behind the next-worst mark, shared by Boise and Eugene.
In addition to being among the league’s best-fielding first sackers, Wheeler began play Thursday with NWL-best figures of .362 in batting average, .462 in on-base percentage, 1.004 in OPS (on-base plus slugging) and 27 extra base hits.
He was also tied for the lead in doubles with 20, and had hit five homers while driving in 35 runs and scoring 44. Wheeler had also stolen seven bases in 11 attempts.
Last summer, Wheeler was an all-star in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League.
Drew Biery of Salem-Keizer, who made the NWL elite at both third base and designated hitter, was Most Valuable Player, and Tri-City’s Freddie Ocasio was Manager of the Year.
The team was selected by the league’s managers.
8/28/09 Yakima Bears update
August 27, 2009 by Roger Underwood
Next game
Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils.
When, where: 7:05 p.m. tonight, Yakima County Stadium.
Radio: KUTI (1460).
Probable pitchers: Yakima RHP Brad Wilson (2-1, 3.77) vs. Tri-City LHP Wes Musick (1-0, 1.88).
Notes
EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE: Brent Greer was initially scratched from Thursday night’s lineup because of an infection in his left eye. But when he got a phone call that a new pair of contact lenses were ready, as the Bears were taking batting practice, the shortstop was installed at his accustomed No. 2 spot in the batting order.
In other health news, relief pitcher Clayton Suss will be sidelined for an indefinite period with an injury to his left oblique muscle.
Box score
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Northwest League Standings
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Thursday’s results Spokane 4, Boise 2 Today’s games Boise at Spokane, 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s games Salem-Keizer at Everett, 7:05 p.m. Sunday’s games Salem-Keizer at Everett, 1:05 p.m. |
A Golden opportunity for Selah’s Rocha
August 27, 2009 by Dave Thomas
YAKIMA, Wash. — Jose Rocha is a Junior Golden Gloves champion, and it doesn’t matter that he didn’t have to do anything in the ring to earn the belt last month.
That’s because Rocha was confident that the work he logged leading up to the July 22-25 event in Mesquite, Nev., would’ve allowed him to be successful no matter what happened once he got there.
“When I went in, I told myself that I was ready because I had been working out, running a lot and preparing for this fight,” said Rocha, who earned the 176-pound belt in the 13-14 age group. “It was disappointing (I didn’t get to fight) but it’s happened before.”
Rocha did get a chance to prove his ring credentials at the event, when he moved up to the 15-16 age class for an exhibition fight. He was dominating his older opponent, according to his father John, until all bouts were stopped when a fighter in another ring was seriously injured.
Jose Rocha is awarded the Junior Golden Gloves belt for his division last month in Mesquite, Nev. (Photo courtesy of Evans Boxing Club)
“He really showed how good a boxer he is in that fight,” John Rocha said.
Still, there was some disappointment that Jose didn’t get a chance to put on a bigger display, especially since the reason they entered the open event was to find more competition, which is scarce in this region for a fighter his size and age.
Jose Rocha started boxing at age 10 with Eddie Ford at the Evans Boxing Club and he turned 15 on July 31. When he started, he weighed 115 pounds, but he’s quickly shot up and is now about 6 feet tall and weighs about 175.
“At his weight and age, there’s just not a lot of competition,” John said. “That was part of the reason why we went (to Nevada). He’s fought everyone he can (here). We were trying to find other competition.”
Unfortunately, that didn’t materialize at Nevada, although the trip still proved beneficial for the young fighter.
“It was definitely a different experience,” Jose said, comparing it to other meets he’s been in. “But it was good seeing different fighters and their different styles. I watched a lot of other people fight, and seeing their styles helped because if I go down again next year, I may fight them.
“It was also good seeing what other teams are doing with their fighters as far as training.”
One reason Rocha has been successful that, despite his size, he’s quick on his feet, his father said.
“He kind of floats,” John Rocha said. “It’s a Muhammad Ali style; he jabs and is quick on his feet.”
Growing so quickly in a short span hasn’t affected that agility.
“I just wake up and work out the same every day. It doesn’t bother me that I’ve gotten so big,” said Rocha, who credits cross country with enhancing his boxing training.
“It’s a lot of running, and that’s helped build my stamina and agility,” said Jose, who took up the sport last fall as a freshman at Selah High School.
Although Rocha didn’t get the ring time he wanted in Nevada, he did return home with added confidence and a renewed commitment to training for more national events.
“That was a great experience,” Jose said, “and now I’m just going to get back to training and getting ready for next year.”
Santos, Nodine run to 1-2 finish for CWU
August 27, 2009 by YH-R Sports
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Manuel Santos and Matt Nodine finished 1-2 to help Central Washington University’s men’s cross country team tie Alaska 29-29 on Thursday.
Santos, a junior transfer from Clark College who attended Davis High in Yakima, covered the 5,000-meter course on the West Ridge trails in 17 minutes, 57 seconds,
Nodine, a sophomore from Ellensburg who attended Whatcom College last season, checked in at 18:27. Teammate Tom Johnson was fourth.
The same two teams will race again Saturday on a 3,000-meter course.
MEN
Team score: Alaska 29, Central Washington 29.
Winner: Manuel Santos (CW) 17:57.7. Central runners: 2, Matt Nodine, 18:27.7; 4, Tom Johnson, 18:33.8; 11, Scott Power, 19:52.4; 16, Wes Hargrove, 20:34.8.
WOMEN
Team score: Alaska 15, Central Washington 46.
Winner: Theresia Schnurr (A) 20:46.1. Central runners: 7, Stephanie Cooke, 22:58.6; 8, Kelsey Kreft, 23:08.6; 9, Mary Bakeman, 23:14.6; 11, Adiana Mendoza, 23:36.0; 14, Shannon Vreeland, 26:29.4.
Central soccer falls 4-0
August 27, 2009 by YH-R Sports
LOS ANGELES — Central Washington University’s women’s soccer team opened its season with a 4-0 loss to Cal State-Los Angeles on Thursday at Jesse Owens Stadium.
Central’s senior goalkeeper Amber Easterbrook made seven saves, but the Wildcats were outshot 17-8.
“It was a tough start for us,” said CWU coach Michael Farrand. “We missed two of our primary defenders who went down with injuries, which compounded our difficulties defensively throughout the whole game.”
The Wildcats resume play Saturday against 18th-ranked UC San Diego.
First half: 1, CS, Amanda Matthews, 14:43.
Second half: 2, CS, Liz Franco, 47:02; 3, CS, Alex Conley, 48:14; 4, CS, Ann Marie Tangorra, 74:15.
Saves: Amber Easterbrook (CW) 7, Jesse Walworth (CS) 4.
