Carr makes college volleyball debut, plus news from the links, the hardwood and the diamond on this Thursday

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Rhett Workman

Good Thursday morning. A lot to get to, and we start with some volleyball.

Mount Si High School alum Courteney Carr made her college debut yesterday for Northwest University’s squad in their season-opener against Hope International, and it proved to be a modest one as the Eagles got it done.

Carr, a 2017 MSHS grad from Snoqualmie, recorded five assists and six digs for NWU as the Kirkland-based Eagles rallied from an 0-2 hole to win in five sets, 23-25, 17-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-17 over the Royals at the season-opening Summer Slam event being hosted by HIU and Vanguard down in Fullerton, CA.

The Eagles also played last night in a matchup against Cornerstone from Michigan. Carr did not play in the contest and NWU was swept 26-24, 25-22, 25-23 in a close one.

Courteney, the younger sister of Loyola Marymount junior – and fellow MSHS alum – Lindsay Carr, and her Eagle teammates will continue play in the event in SoCal through this weekend. They play again tonight against Trinity Christian at 6:00 p.m., and there will be a live webcast of the game available at HIU’s webcast service, which we have linked here for you.

Golf
Warford into round of eight at PNGA after second round win: Coming off his strong first-round performance in the match-play portion of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s junior boys’ amateur championships down in Florence, OR, yesterday, Snoqualmie’s Drew Warford looked to continue his solid play that he has shown throughout this week. And the Mount Si High School athlete did just that.

Warford broke away with two straight holes won to start the back nine, and cruised to a 5 & 3 win, meaning a 5-up score with three holes to spare, over Canadian Tyler Casper in the second round contest last night at Sandpines Golf Club. The win moves Warford into a quarterfinal match this morning against Canadian John Morrow, from Delta, British Columbia, outside of Vancouver. A win and Warford could meet the top golfer of the event this week, Bandon, OR, competitor Scott Kennon, in the semis this afternoon. This morning’s match tees off shortly with the afternoon match set to tee off at 12:30.

Warford and Casper played the first three holes of their match all square, then Casper won the fourth hole despite bogeying it (the Valleyite carded a double-bogey on that hole). Warford tied things back up on the seventh, parring that hole and winning it as a result (Casper bogeyed the hole). The Wildcat boys’ golfer then took the lead for good on the ninth hole, winning it with a par to Casper’s double bogey, then Warford finished off the match with his lone birdie of the contest on 15 to win that hole.

Baseball
North Bend’s Karalus part of pitching gem for Charlotte: Three pitchers from the Tampa Bay Rays-affiliated Charlotte Stone Crabs minor-league team combined on a one-hitter last night as the Stone Crabs blanked the Miami Marlins-affiliated Jupiter Hammerheads 2-0 in a Florida State League “advanced A” – class game in Jupiter, FL. Among the hurlers who were part of the performance was North Bend’s Reece Karalus.

Karalus, a 2012 Mount Si HS grad, pitched two innings of relief, and allowed that lone Jupiter hit breaking up what had been a no-hit bid for the Stone Crabs in the contest. The reliever though did bounce back and strike out three during his two innings, and earned his third “hold” of the season, improving his earned run average to 3.40.

Teammates Burch Smith and Dalton Moats also participated in the one-hitter, with Smith getting the win and Moats grabbing his 10th save of the season. The Stone Crabs moved to 61-59 overall on the season with the win and host Clearwater this weekend followed by three next week with Tim Tebow and St. Lucie.

Buhner in action for rookie squad: Fall City’s Gunnar Buhner saw action once again for the Philadelphia Phillie rookies yesterday in their game against the Toronto Blue Jays rookie squad in Gulf Coast “Rookie” League action in Clearwater, FL. It has been a struggle for the Mount Si HS grad this summer, and it was no different yesterday, as he was 0-1 with a strikeout in the Phillies’ 5-4 win. Buhner, who is in his first year professionally after signing with Philadelphia following his graduation from college this spring, is hitting just .135 this season for Philadelphia in limited action.

Basketball
Summer season finishes for Valley high school teams: The summer season has wrapped up for area high-school basketball teams.

Mount Si’s boys are taking the rest of the summer off after competing in two tournaments and also hitting the weight room hard, according to coach Jason Griffith. “We have had a very productive and busy off season, thus far,” he said by email to the SVSJ. The Wildcats competed in the Union High School tournament down in southwest Washington and made it to the semifinals of that event, then recently, at the Gonzaga team camp event in Spokane, they played many tough opponents and had chances to win most games but could not close the deal and fell in those contests. “We unfortunately ran out of gas in several of the games and are still learning how to close out games,” Griffith noted.

The second-year Wildcat coach adds his team, since the end of the high school season back in February, in which they made the Kingco playoffs, has been working in the weight room at Mount Si three days a week getting stronger and into top-level condition as they prep for the upcoming season.

Cedarcrest High School’s girls’ and boys also have finished their summer schedule. According to girls’ coach Brad Knowles, his team was busy this summer, with summer league and tournament action, along with a trip to Bellingham for the Western Washington University team camp. Additionally, the program drew almost 40 girls to its summer camp in June, and hosted North Creek for an exhibition last month, with the Red Wolves winning it.

The programs will be returning to action after the school year starts, with regular season practices set to start sometime in late November.

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Warford moves into second round at PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur match play with opening-round win

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Rhett Workman

Quick update on this Wednesday afternoon from Florence, OR, and that is that Mount Si High School golfer Drew Warford, from Snoqualmie, has advanced out of the opening match-play round at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship.

Warford built a steady advantage throughout his match this morning with Dylan Apodaca, from Selah, and took the contest 4 & 2, meaning he won the match 4-up with two holes to spare. The match was clinched on the 16th hole as Warford parred the par-4 hole and Apodaca bogeyed it.

The win for Warford, who came in as the fifth overall seed in the championship playoff, moved him into a second round clash which is set to tee off shortly at the Sandpines Golf Course. It will be against the winner of the first-round match between Oregon golfer Carter Lee and Canadian Tyler Casper. That match has not become official as of yet.

We’ll keep you posted as we get information from down there for you.

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Local player set to compete for regional youth golf title today despite a tough round yesterday

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Rhett Workman

Good Wednesday morning.

News from the links this morning and a Snoqualmie Valley youngster will be competing today for a regional golf championship, despite struggles in yesterday’s second round.

Snoqualmie’s Drew Warford will be seeded fifth in today’s match play rounds at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship in Florence, OR. Warford earned that fifth seed despite firing a 78 yesterday, 10 shots off his strong 68 Monday which set the table for his trip to the championship playoffs today. Warford finished with a two-over par 146 on the par-72 Sandpines Golf Course layout and tied for that fifth spot with Sam Pyon from Happy Valley, OR.

Bandon, OR, golfer Scotty Kennon held on to his first-round lead and won the stroke play with a five-under 137 for two days. He beat Sean Kato from Redmond by three shots for the stroke play title and the top overall seed. Kennon and Kato both fired 73’s yesterday – the whole field, with the exception of one golfer, had rounds over par yesterday, so that proved to be a help for Warford in maintaining his strong seeding despite his struggles.

The main differences between yesterday’s round and the round Monday for the Valley athlete were two-fold. First, in Monday’s round, Warford was aided by five birdies; he had none yesterday, and Warford also had a couple of double-bogeys in yesterday’s round as well – the first on the par-5 third, which he bogeyed Monday, then the second came on a hole he birdied in that stellar opening round at the beginning of this week, the par-4 15th.

Warford, a student at Mount Si High School who also competes for the Wildcats’ boys’ golf team, will open the match play rounds at 8:00 am against Dylan Apodaca, from Selah. Each match is single-elimination, so Warford must win to continue his push for a title. If he does win the opening match, Warford will compete against the winner of a first-round match between Carter Lee, from Tillamook, OR, and Tyler Casper, from North Vancouver, BC, Canada. That second match would tee off a little after 2:00 this afternoon.

Match play will be scored different than the stroke play. It will be scored hole-by-hole, with the player winning the most holes winning the match. For example, if Warford birdies the first hole while Apodaca gets a par on that hole, Warford would win that hole, and vice versa. If both players end up with the same score on a hole (i.e. both players par the hole), then the hole is “halved” and each player receives a half-point. If one of the players builds a large enough lead in holes won, the match could finish prior to the 18th hole. Conversely, if the two players finish tied after 18, then extra holes would decide it in a sudden-death format.

We’ll keep you posted throughout the morning on how Warford fares in his opening match.

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Mount Si grads to compete for Gonzaga baseball in 2018, plus news from the diamond and the links on this Tuesday

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Rhett Workman

Good Tuesday morning.

We have news as always from the diamond this morning, and we start with some college baseball.

A pair of infielders, both Mount Si High School grads, will be suiting up next spring for the Gonzaga baseball squad.

The school announced yesterday that North Bend’s Carson Breshears will be joining the Bulldog program, transferring from the Pac-12’s Oregon Ducks, who he played with for the past three seasons. He is a redshirt junior, and was a conference All-Academic Honorable Mention selection in 2017 for the Ducks. Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf, in comments released by the school, was thrilled to be bringing in the younger brother of former Bulldog Dustin Breshears.

“Carson comes to us as a very versatile and skilled player,” Machtolf said. “We had his older brother Dustin for two years, who we thought was one of the toughest players we’ve ever had. We think Carson is cut from the same mold.”

Dustin Breshears played for GU in 2015 and 2016, hitting a solid .263 in his senior season in 2016 as the starting second baseman for the Bulldogs and aiding their run to the NCAA tournament that season. Carson is a 2014 Mount Si HS graduate, while Dustin graduated from MSHS in 2011.

Carson Breshears will join incoming freshman Mason Marenco as the Valley representation with GU. We reported earlier this month that Marenco has signed with Gonzaga after having initially committed to Lower Columbia College for next season. Marenco graduated from Mount Si back in June and is from Snoqualmie. Machtolf also is excited to be bringing in this top former Wildcat as well. “Marenco brings a blue collar, tough-nosed mentality to our ball club,” the coach said. “He’s a state champion wrestler who plays the game with the type of toughness that we look for in our infielders. We are very excited about Mason’s future as a Zag.”

GU is part of the NCAA Division I’s West Coast Conference.

Also this morning from the diamond:

North Bend’s Lane notches first save in “Advanced A” ball: North Bend’s Trevor Lane made his first pitching appearance last night for the New York Yankees-affiliated Tampa Yankees “advanced A” Florida State League squad since his eventful outing over the weekend, which made national headlines after he hit the former football star – and current New York Mets minor leaguer – Tim Tebow in the head with a pitch. Last night’s outing was much less eventful for the 2012 Mount Si High School grad, and Lane also accomplished something special.

He notched his first save as a member of the Tampa squad, pitching two-thirds of an inning and striking out one, as the Yankees doubled up the host Florida Fire Frogs, affiliated with the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 in Kissimmee.

The save was his third of the season, split between Tampa and class “A” Charleston, SC, who Lane started the year with before being promoted a few weeks ago by the New York Yankees organization. Thus far, he’s 6-3 this season between the two minor league teams, with a stellar 1.38 earned run average, allowing just nine earned runs on 42 hits, with 15 walks and 64 strikeouts.

Lane is in his second season of pro ball, having been drafted by the Yankees last summer from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Tampa is 74-46 on the season after their win last night, so a postseason appearance is likely for Lane this fall.

Buhner takes field for Philly rookies: Fall City’s Gunnar Buhner hit the field for the Philadelphia Phillies rookies yesterday as they fell to a New York Yankees rookie team 3-1 in Gulf Coast “Rookie” League action at the Yankees’ facility in Tampa, FL. Buhner played second base and was 0-2, dropping his batting average to .139 on the season. Buhner, who signed with Philadelphia as a free agent after being undrafted in this year’s Major League Baseball draft following his senior season with Lewis-Clark State in Idaho, is a 2013 Mount Si High School graduate.

Other news:

Golf
Warford in contention at PNGA tourney: As we mentioned yesterday, Mount Si High School boys’ golfer Drew Warford, from Snoqualmie, fired a 68 and sat in a tie for second place following his opening round at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ Amateur tournament down in Florence, OR. Well, he went into the clubhouse last night still in that tie for second with Portland golfer Austin Carnese, both two shots back of first-round clubhouse leader Scotty Kennon from Bandon, OR, who carded a 66 yesterday. Warford, who goes into today’s second round leading all Washington boys in the event, tees off this afternoon at 1:30 at the Sandpines Golf Links in Florence seeking to finish in the top 64, which should happen if he plays a similarly good round today. The top 64 advance into match play rounds starting tomorrow.

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Snoqualmie’s Warford delivers strong opening round at PNGA tourney

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Rhett Workman

A Snoqualmie youth golfer appears to be establishing himself as a potential contender for a major regional championship after a strong first round effort today.

Mount Si High School’s Drew Warford fired a four-under par 68 and, at the moment with a number of golfers still yet to finish their rounds today in the opening round of action, sits in a tie for second place overall at the Pacific Northwest Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ championship tournament at the Sandpines Golf Links down in Florence, OR, on the Oregon Coast.

Most of Warford’s action came early in his round this morning. He opened with a par on the par-4 first hole, then birdied the par-4 second. After a bogey on the next hole, the par-5 third, he responded right away and birdied the fourth hole, also a par-4. From there, he birdied the 12th, 15th and 18th holes on the par-72 layout, and looks now to maintain his spot tomorrow and clinch one of the top 64 slots into the match play rounds at the event which start on Wednesday.

As of right now, Warford is the top Washington participant in the field, with Bandon, OR, competitor Scott Kennon holding a two-shot lead over Warford and Portland golfer Austin Carnese at six-under par after carding a 66 in his round today.

As noted, there’s still a number of golfers out on the course, so the final leaderboard is not yet official, and likely will not be until later this afternoon. We’ll be sure to have a full wrapup for you in the morning along with a second-round preview for you.

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