Spring sports are officially over for Bellevue College. The Softball Championship tournament has concluded and the baseball team fell short in the Super Regional. Nevertheless, they have both had above average years and should definitely celebrate their success.
When the baseball team finished third in their division, it meant they had to play through a Super Regional with two other teams to see who would advance to the championship. On May 17, they kicked it off in a match against Chemeketa, who took the lead early on, scoring seven runs in the first four innings. That proved to be more than enough, as the Bulldogs took it 10-5. Four Bellevue players hit in two runs, with left fielder Riley Gill hitting a home run in the second inning. The real story of the game was Brock Hathaway’s performance, pitching seven innings and allowing just one earned run. He struck out an impressive 12 while walking three.
Their win advanced them to play against Yakima Valley, who placed second in their division. Heading into the eighth, Bellevue was down 3-1 before scoring two off RBIs by Dominic Marinez and Garrett Gants. This tied the game at three, and just when it looked like extra innings, Yakima Valley walked it off on an RBI single by Aina Kamaulina. Still, Nick Miller had a solid start, allowing just three runs on five hits in seven innings.
This loss bumped Bellevue to the losers’ bracket for a rematch against Chemeketa. Once again, the Bulldogs showed their superiority as they took an 11-6 lead to advance to the finals. Riley Gill and Lukas Motta both homered in their outing. Jared Maxfield took the win to help rebound from the loss in their previous game.
The finals were less than pretty. Pitcher Eric Anderson threw five innings, allowing 12 runs, although only eight were earned. Yakima Valley scored a total of 13 runs that game, while the Bellevue offense could only manage three. Dominic Marinez was the bright performer of the day, hitting a two-run home run to put their first runs on the board in the third inning. Bellevue had a good playoff run and a strong regular season. Coach Mark Yoshino did his team proud and will look to build upon his success next year.
Meanwhile, the remarkably impressive Bellevue softball team went into their own championship tournament as the number one seed overall. Just like a number one seed should, they took their first game over the number 16 seed and their division rivals in Skagit Valley. Rhaney Harris pitched a complete game en route to a 7-3 victory. Tatum Dow and Megan Marino both notched two RBIs, with Marino’s coming off a home run in the third.
Their next opponent was Walla Walla, the number nine seed. Walla Walla scored eight runs in the first inning off Carrisa McDowell and Macey Sykes, which proved to be enough to take the win on their own. Bellevue ended up losing 11-6, dropping to the losers’ bracket. Marino once again showed up, scoring three RBIs off a home run in the fourth, to somewhat narrow the score.
The first game the Bulldogs played in losers’ bracket was bound to be a tough match against the second seed in Mt. Hood, who were upset by Spokane in the first round. It was a nail-biter that went a full 10 innings before Bellevue would take the eventual 14-13 victory. A large part of this was due to an eight-run sixth inning by the Bulldogs, which included home runs by Tatum Dow and Tori McDowell. Rhaney Harris pitched 10 total innings and was credited with the win.
The victory solidified a top eight placement, but Bellevue wanted more. They entered a game against the 12th seed Clackamas and were promptly dropped in a 10-3 loss. An eight-run fourth inning took advantage of both Bellevue pitchers and proved too much to come back from. Whether it be upsetting or not, Bellevue losing would mean they share the seventh place spot with Lower Columbia as they had to watch North Idaho beat Edmonds in the grand finals.
Both teams performed admirably good and made playoff runs. Half the teams just missed the playoffs by default, so they should be proud of themselves. Still, they would surely like to carve another impressive season into Bellevue College history as the 2020 season draws closer.