Saturday, May 26, 2018

Edmonds stays alive at NWAC tournament

LONGVIEW -- Facing elimination, Edmonds CC Baseball used a recipe that led them to success all year -- solid pitching and timely hitting. The Tritons topped regional rival Everett 4-2 on Saturday, and stay alive at the NWAC Baseball Championship Tournament. Guthrie Morrison opened the scoring with a 2-run single with 2 outs in the top of the 2nd inning. Everett responded with a run in the bottom of the 2nd. Yugo Hamakawa roped a 2-out double into the right field corner in the 5th, and David Gibons plated him with a double of his own. Nic Sokol's sacrifice fly in the 6th inning put the Tritons up 4-1.
The Tritons celebrate their 4-2 win Saturday
Photo courtesy 9 Inning Know It All
Starting pitcher Wyatt Stanley made it into the sixth inning and notched five strikeouts to earn the victory. Trey Tiffany, who has come on of late out of the bullpen, inherited the sacks full of Trojans in the 6th and was able to limit the damage to just one run. He went on to toss two plus innings of scoreless ball. NWAC save leader Lucas Ford recorded his 15th save of the season with a perfect 9th. Guthrie Morrison finished 3-for-5; Yugo Hamakawa collected two hits.

Edmonds lost a nail-biter to Yakima Valley, suffering a 2-0 setback on Friday night. That contest was scoreless until Yakima broke through in the bottom of the 8th. With two outs, a Yaks batter was hit by a pitch, swiped second base, moved to third on an Edmonds error, and scored on a wild pitch. The Yaks added another run in the top of the 9th. The Tritons had a few chances in the game, including in the bottom of the 9th, but were unable to convert. Elliot Carney, the North Region MVP, was the tough luck loser. In 8 innings, Carney fanned 10 batters, gave up just three hits, and allowed no earned runs.

There are only four clubs left in Longview. The Tritons must wait until the winners' bracket final is decided between Lower Columbia and Yakima Valley before they will know their game time Sunday. Their opponent will be the host, Lower Columbia. That game will be played at 12:05 p.m. or 4:05 p.m. Sunday at David Story Field. Spokane defeated Lane 2-1 in the other elimination game on Saturday.

Yakima Valley box score | Everett box score | NWAC Championship website
NWAC Sports Network YouTube Channel | updated bracket | Triton Athletics Twitter


Thursday, May 24, 2018

Tritons blank Big Bend, face Yakima Friday

LONGVIEW -- The Edmonds CC baseball team won its first game at the NWAC Championships on Thursday, blanking Big Bend 2-0. Yugo Hamakawa's one out single to center field in the third inning is all the Tritons would need. Elijah Santiago started the frame with a single, Guthrie Morrison followed with a knock, and Nic Sokol's sacrifice fly to deep left field moved Santiago up to third base. Edmonds added another run in the fifth inning when Sokol scored all the way from second base on Hamakawa's fly ball to right field. The Vikings' right fielder made the snag as he went over the wall in right field.

Freshman Will Smith
Will Smith hurled seven innings of shutout ball, fanning five and scattering five hits in seven innings of work. The tall righty escaped jams in the third and seventh to keep the Vikings scoreless. The punch out of pinch-hitter Jayke Chavez in the seventh thwarted Big Bend's best chance for runs, and ended Smith's day. He handed it off to Lucas Ford, who worked the eighth and ninth for his NWAC-leading 14th save.

The Tritons (39-7) stay in the winners' bracket and matchup with Yakima Valley, the No. 1 ranked team and East Region champion, on Friday. The Yaks (42-9) topped Lane 6-4 in their opener, and feature four of the NWAC's top hitters in Zach Inskeep (.410), John Sage (.399), Cole Mckenzie (.364), and Tyler Detloff (.350). Yakima led the conference in nearly every team offensive category. If Edmonds wins Friday it will play at 5:35 p.m. Saturday against the other unbeaten team. A loss would drop them into a losers' bracket tilt at 11:05 a.m. or 2:05 p.m.

If you were unable to catch today's game online, the archives of all tournament games can be found on the NWAC Sports Network YouTube channel.

Big Bend box score | NWAC Championship website | Link to NWAC Sports Network YouTube Channel | Updated bracket | Triton Athletics Twitter |  NWAC All-Region and Glove Teams

Monday, May 21, 2018

NWAC Softball Title Decided Today

Tritons Must Win Three to Win Championship

SPOKANE -- Edmonds' softball comeback fell short against No. 1 ranked North Idaho and if the Tritons are going to win the school's first NWAC championship since 1980, they are going to have to do it the hard way. A 7-5 setback against North Idaho in the late game Sunday dropped the Tritons into the losers' bracket. Edmonds needs to win three straight on Monday, starting with an 11 a.m. game against Lower Columbia (41-13). The Tritons beat LCC 17-10 earlier in the tournament. The winner advances to the championship round and must beat North Idaho (49-3) twice to secure the title.

Seli Aholelei leaves the yard against NIC
photo courtesy Dan Acosta
The three teams left are all region champions -- Edmonds from the North, NIC the East and LCC the South. Edmonds fell behind 5-0 against North Idaho after four innings, but closed to within two on a Seli Aholelei home run, her third of the tournament. NIC added two in the sixth and the Tritons came back with two to stay within reach going into the seventh, but Cardinals reliever Audrey Seipert retired three straight to secure the win.

Nicole Manuel continues to swing a hot bat; she went 2-for-3 with a double.

Edmonds lost designated player Kalei Cacho-Kekahuna when she slid back into first after an out and cut her lower leg, which required several stitches. Edmonds (42-7) will place in the top-three regardless of how they fare today.

Watch Edmonds and Lower Columbia live >>

North Idaho box score | Updated Bracket | Triton Athletics Twitter

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Manuel's heroics lift Tritons to winners' bracket final

Nicole Manuel
SPOKANE -- For 6 1/2 innings it looked as though the Edmonds CC softball team would drop down into the losers' bracket at the NWAC championships, but some late inning heroics sparked a dramatic comeback and propelled the Tritons to the winners' bracket final. With two outs in the bottom of the 6th Seli Aholelei launched a solo homer that cut the Everett lead to 2-1. She went on to hold the Trojans at bay in the circle with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh. In the bottom half, Edmonds worked a walk and reached base via error, which set the stage for Nicole Manuel. With Brooke Keli'iho'omalu on first base, the sophomore outfielder laced a double into the left field corner. Keli'iho'omalu trucked all the way from first base to score the tying run. Two pitches later, with Chantelle Shimabukuro up to bat, Manuel broke from third base scoring on a wild pitch to lift the Tritons past Everett 3-2.

Edmonds moves on to face the top seed, and top-ranked North Idaho in the winners' bracket final at 5 p.m. Sunday. The contest will likely start later due to the elimination games being played ahead of them. Those games feature No. 4 Walla Walla, who is battling No. 6 Lower Columbia, and No. 2 Douglas who is matched up with No. 10 Everett. Of the eight teams still alive at the tournament Sunday morning, four were from the North Region. The Tritons have assured themselves at least a top-three finish, and will play on championship Monday.

Watch Edmonds and North Idaho live >>

Everett box score | Updated Bracket | Triton Athletics Twitter

Tritons slug their way past Highline, Lower Columbia

SPOKANE -- The Edmonds CC softball team had to wait a day to start the NWAC championships, but that didn't seem to affect the team's hitters. In two games on Saturday, the Tritons plated 33 runs on 35 hits to slug their way past Highline College 16-8, and Lower Columbia 17-10. Edmonds is one of four teams to remain in the winners’ bracket heading into Sunday. They'll face another familiar opponent in Everett at noon Sunday at the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex in Spokane.

EdCC Softball, 2018 NWAC North Region Champions
Sophomore two-way stud Seli Aholelei pitched all innings from the circle, collecting both wins. She helped her own cause at the plate too going 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI in the Highline win, and 5-for-6 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBI in Edmonds triumph over Lower Columbia. Both wins Saturday were characteristic of what the Tritons have done offensively all year -- they never go away, and capitalize on big innings.

EdCC scored 6 runs in the 3rd and another 6 in the 4th to pull away from Highline, ending the game after the 5th inning. After falling behind to Lower Columbia 1-0, Edmonds responded with a 9-spot in the the top of the 2nd to jump ahead. Their 4-run 7th inning sealed their win over the NWAC south region champs. Offensive stars for Edmonds on Saturday (two games) were:

  • Chantelle Shimabukuro: 6-for-8, 5 runs scored, 8 RBI, HR
  • Chasity Stalcup: 5-for-8, 6 runs scored, 5 RBI, 2 HR
  • Tamia Hirano: 6-for-9, 6 RBI, 2B
  • Kalei Cacho-Kekahuna, Kamalei Labasan, Nicole Manuel, and Taylor Shigeta also recorded multiple hits in at least one game. 

Edmonds (41-6) took all four games from Everett (30-16) this year, but the final scores did not reflect the tight contests that were played in each game. On April 10 at Everett, the Tritons prevailed with 7-2 and 6-2 victories. On May 12, both teams closed out the regular season at Edmonds with the Tritons topping the Trojans 7-1 and 3-2 in 9 innings. Watch the game live on the NWAC Sports Network.

With a win the Tritons would advance to the winners’ bracket final at 5 p.m. against the winner of (1) North Idaho vs. (4) Walla Walla. If the Tritons lose, they'll get the winner of (2) Douglas vs. (5) Bellevue at 2:30 p.m. and would need to win again at 5 p.m. to advance to Monday.

Highline box score | Lower Columbia box score | Link to Live Stats

NWAC Softball Championship website | Updated bracket | Triton Athletics Twitter

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Women's Soccer Adds 12 to fold

LYNNWOOD -- New Edmonds CC women's soccer coach Adam Fenster and his coaching staff have hit the ground running, signing 12 new freshmen for next fall. There is a strong base of decorated local players with a mix of out of state flavor. "We are very excited about bringing in a new class of freshmen that should compete from the get go," said Fenster. "We have a lot of local talent, and a few from out of the area that should add to our team dynamic."

Women's Soccer Signing Class

Oshinaye Taylor - Marysville Getchell HS - MF/F - 1st Team Wesco 4A Forward
Kailee Carrizosa - Waianae HS (HI) - DF
Paige Peterson - Hillcrest HS (UT) - DF
KC Gonzalez - Sultan HS - DF
Lexia Ramirez - Lake Stevens HS - DF - 1st Team 4A Wesco Defender
Katy Ewoniuk - Hillcrest HS (UT) - MF - Honorable Mention 6A All-State 
Jocelyne Lopez - Hillcrest HS (UT) - DF - Honorable Mention 6A All-State
Jazmin Nunez - Edmonds Woodway HS - MF - 2nd Team 3A Wesco Midfielder
Julia Hart - Mountlake Terrace HS - F - 1st Team 4A Wesco Forward
Kailin Wiley - Kamiak HS - F - 1st Team 4A Wesco Forward
Mariah Davis - Meadowdale HS - F 
Sammy Miller-Foy - Holy Names HS - GK - transfer from Austin Peay State University

Erikah Ledesma
The team will return six players from last year, including keeper Erikah Ledesma (Yakima, Wash.) and midfielder Alex Modica (Shoreline, Wash.). Ledesma was one of the main goal keeper's last year and understands the league. Modica was the starting center midfielder. Fenster added, "It's always nice to have that base player." Midfielders Karla Olsan (Spanaway, Wash.) and Nataliya Datskiv (Lynnwood, Wash.), and defenders Victoria Hunter (Edmonds, Wash.) and Audriawna Andrade (Lynnwood, Wash.) round out the sophomores. "I'm really pleased about the sophomores who are coming back. They will continue to rebuild the culture of our program."

Fenster has finalized his coaching staff -- veteran Val Seid and keeper coach Aaron Johnson, who assisted the past two years, will help in the development of the women's soccer program. "Seid has a real connection to the local soccer community. He's been a coach in club soccer for many years, and has four-year coaching experience," said Fenster. "Aaron Johnson will take over as our keeper coach." Fall sports begins official practices on August 1. The first chance to see the Tritons will be a scrimmage at Northwest University on August 21.