Select prep teams kicked off their spring seasons with the first games being played on Friday, March 8. Baseball and boys soccer programs have seen the most action through four days of contests.
Western Washington University rowing began its competition schedule, while the Vikings’ men’s and women’s golf teams near the end of their regular seasons.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the beginning of the spring season.
Prep
Baseball
Eight of Whatcom County’s 10 baseball teams have already jumped into their seasons, with two earning 2-0 starts.
Lynden Christian and Blaine are undefeated through their first pair of games, and both have handily downed their opponents. LC won its games (versus Bellingham and Squalicum) by a combined score of 25-6. Blaine beat Burlington-Edison and University Prep by a combined 30-6 margin.
Meridian (1-0) and Nooksack Valley (1-2) are the only other teams with a win thus far. Lynden and Ferndale have yet to play a game.
NV won its first game of the season before heading east to play Selah in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 9, and the Pioneers were outscored 17-2 in a pair of losses.
Meridian beat Coupeville, 20-6, on Monday, March 11. Juniors Lincoln Hoefer and Tristan Wang, and senior Jacob Amundson, all had two hits, while junior Jonah Aase led the team with three RBIs. The Trojans went 11-for-29 at the plate as a team.
Bellingham (0-1), Mount Baker (0-1), Sehome (0-2) and Squalicum (0-1) all have not earned a win through the first few days of the season.
Fastpitch softball
Far less fastpitch teams in the county have started the regular season. Only Lynden Christian and Squalicum have played games. Lynden’s game with Arlington was canceled on Tuesday, March 12.
LC and Squalicum’s first game came against each other. The Lyncs thumped the Storm, 27-2, in a three-inning victory on March 12. LC exploded for 18 runs in the second frame before the game was called after the third.
The Lyncs hit 10-for-16 as a team, with nine players scoring at least two runs. Squalicum had just three hits in 10 at-bats in the loss.
Boys soccer
Eight local teams have hit the pitch so far in 2024, led by a 2-0 Squalicum team. The Storm crushed Marysville-Pilchuck 6-2 in their season opener on March 9 before rolling Lynden, 5-1, on March 12.
Sehome (1-0), Meridian (1-0) and Blaine (1-0) also earned first-game victories. Meridian had the biggest win of the bunch, shutting out Lakewood 7-0 on March 11.
Sehome took on in-city rival Bellingham, fending off the Bayhawks 3-1 on March 12. Class 1A Blaine punched up and beat 2A Anacortes, 2-1, on the same day.
Nooksack Valley (0-1) and Ferndale (0-2) began their seasons with losses.
WWU
Rowing
Western rowing began its 2024 season on Saturday, March 9, with two event wins at the PLU Invitational, hosted by Pacific Lutheran University on American Lake in Lakewood, Pierce County.
The Vikings won the Varsity 4+ (8:22.60) and 2nd Varsity 8+ (8:58.36) events, edging Seattle Pacific in the former and PLU in the latter. Western finished three seconds behind the University of Puget Sound in the Varsity 8+, finishing second. Seattle Pacific took third, just three-tenths of a second behind Western.
What was originally scheduled to be a two-session regatta ended up being just one after poor weather led to choppy lake conditions.
Western’s next competition won’t be until Saturday, April 6 at the Pioneer/Pilot Invitational on Vancouver Lake.
Men’s golf
The Vikings moved up three spots on day two and finished tied for sixth out of 17 teams at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout March 11–12 at the Corica Park Golf Course in Alameda, California.
Junior Matteo Polla led the Vikings, tying for 17th with his three-round finish of 2-under-par 214. Sophomore Peter Dionne-Yahr tied for 26th with his 1-over-par 217 and junior Seth King tied for 34th with a 2-over-par 218.
Next up for Western is the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational from March 25–26 at the Turlock Golf and Country Club in Turlock, California.
Women’s golf
Western women’s golf suffered the opposite fate of the men’s team, entering day two of the Fujikura Invitational at the Shadowridge Gold Club in Vista, California tied for fifth before finishing 12th out of 15 teams.
Sophomore Emma Worgum tied for 13th out of 81 players with her three-round 13-over-par 229, and fellow sophomore Kasey Maralack tied for 24th with a 16-over-par 232.
The Vikings have just one more tournament before the postseason, and that will be at the Sonoma State Spring Invite from April 8–9 at the Foxtail Golf Club in Rohnert Park, California.
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
