Prep softball and baseball teams enter the final push to postseason seeding, while Bellingham-area boys soccer teams are in a jumble at the top of the Northwest Conference standings.
Western Washington University softball recorded a four-game sweep of Montana State Billings, as track and field notched five event wins on the road at Central Washington.
Don’t miss these highlights from Whatcom County’s prep and college sports teams over the past week.
Prep
Baseball
After winning its last six games, Lynden finds itself in firm contention for the conference title.
The Lions (13-5, 10-2 NWC) are just a game back from league-leading Anacortes (14-3, 11-1 NWC) with one week remaining in the regular season. Ferndale and Blaine are also in the mix.
A rough start to April put Ferndale in a slight skid, but the Golden Eagles responded to the tune of three wins last week over four days.
Ferndale outscored its opponents 24-2 over the three wins, returning to early-season form. Senior Dylan Strom and junior Camden Raymond each belted home runs in an 11-0 win over Mount Baker on April 21.
Strom, in the same contest, pitched all five innings and allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out 13 batters.
Blaine has won five in a row, including three victories last week. The Borderites kept their strong run alive in a narrow 9-8 win over Squalicum on April 21 — Blaine’s second straight win by such a score after beating Nooksack Valley 9-8 the day prior.
Junior Alejandro Moser-Hernandez homered in the April 21 win for Blaine, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI.
Meridian has lost four of its last five games, dropping the Trojans to seventh place in the league standings. Their lone win last week was an 11-0 win over Mount Baker on April 19.
Fastpitch softball
In yet another unbeaten week, Blaine is now 9-0 (8-0 NWC) on the season.
The league-leading Borderites beat Lynden 8-4 on April 18 and Ferndale 7-0 on April 21. The shutout win over the Golden Eagles saw junior pitcher Emersyn Bakker toss all seven innings and allow just three hits while striking out 14.
Mount Baker saw its six-game win streak halted on the road at Lakewood, losing 7-6 to the Cougars on April 21. The Mountaineers remain in contention for the league title, sitting at 9-4 overall (6-2 NWC).
Lynden, which had lost three of its last four entering an April 22 game with Class 3A Lake Washington, managed to beat the Kangs 8-2. Junior Kasi Thomas led the Lions offensively, finishing 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs.
Meridian has lost three in a row, sliding down the NWC ranks after losses to Lynden Christian and Squalicum last week. The Storm, as a result, moved up to ninth in the league standings after snapping its three-game losing streak.
With more than two weeks remaining in the regular season, nothing is decided among the NWC’s top teams.
Boys soccer
Ferndale’s Josh Ruble stops a kick by Sehome’s Hayden Longwell in the second half April 11 as Sehome shutout Ferndale 5-0. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
Sehome, Squalicum and Bellingham are all within the top-five teams in the NWC with just over a week remaining in the regular season.
The defending 2A state champion Storm (9-0-3, 5-0-1 NWC) still does not have a notch in the loss column, and they earned two wins over Ferndale last week — each a 5-0 result.
Bellingham has found its rhythm, going 5-1 since March 25. The Bayhawks beat Sehome, 1-0, on April 17 and then bested Sedro-Woolley on April 20, 5-0.
Sehome failed to get a win last week, losing to Bellingham and tying Anacortes 1-1 on April 19. The Mariners will look to get back on track and hand the Storm their first loss of the season at home on April 24.
At the 1A level, Meridian and Blaine — each 4-1 in league — are battling for the top district seed.
The two teams met on April 20, with Meridian claiming a 2-1 victory. They will not face each other again until a potential meeting in districts.
WWU
Softball
The Vikings enjoyed their best four-game series of the season April 22–23, sweeping Montana State Billings to move back into fourth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
Originally a home series for Western, the four games were moved to the Gateway Sports Complex at Kiwanis Park in Yakima to ensure forecasted Bellingham rain did not become a factor.
Western outscored MSUB 17-8 over the four games, including a 2-0 shutout victory in game three. Senior pitcher Mareena Ramirez, now 15-6 on the season, did not allow a single earned run in 14 innings pitched over two games in the series and surrendered just seven hits.
Sophomore pitcher Joie Baker also went 2-0 in the series, improving to 5-4 on the season.
Western (23-20, 12-10 GNAC) will have a chance to move up to the third spot in the league standings when it goes on the road to Saint Martin’s (22-14, 9-7 GNAC) in the Vikings’ final doubleheader of the regular season on April 26.
Track and field
Western track and field posted five event wins at the CWU Open at Central Washington University April 22.
Freshman Elie Bassett won the women’s 800-meter run, clocking a time of 2:16.35. Fellow freshman Laura Halsell captured first in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:35.42, while junior Matty Lagerway notched a win in the women’s long jump (5.59/18-4.25)
Junior Alex Ritter won the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with his time of 9:52.58, and sophomore Trent Kibler’s 1.95/6-4.75 mark in the men’s high jump earned him the victory.
Next up for the Vikings is the Ralph Vernacchia Invitational, their only home meet of the season. The meet will be hosted at Civic Stadium, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 29.
Prep baseball, fastpitch softball standings — April 25
Baseball, Northwest Conference
| Baseball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Anacortes | 11-1 | 14-3 |
| Lynden | 10-2 | 13-5 |
| Mount Vernon | 10-2 | 13-4 |
| Ferndale | 9-3 | 13-3 |
| Blaine | 8-4 | 11-4 |
| Burlington-Edison | 8-5 | 10-6 |
| Meridian | 7-5 | 11-6 |
| Oak Harbor | 6-6 | 9-7 |
| Lynden Christian | 6-7 | 7-9 |
| Squalicum | 5-7 | 7-8 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 4-8 | 6-10 |
| Bellingham | 3-9 | 6-10 |
| Nooksack Valley | 3-9 | 4-12 |
| Sehome | 3-9 | 3-12 |
| Lakewood | 2-10 | 4-12 |
| Mount Baker | 2-10 | 2-13 |
Fastpitch softball, Northwest Conference
| Fastpitch softball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Blaine | 9-0 | 10-0 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 8-2 | 11-3 |
| Burlington-Edison | 6-1 | 8-4 |
| Mount Baker | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| Lynden | 6-3 | 9-5 |
| Oak Harbor | 5-3 | 7-6 |
| Squalicum | 5-3 | 6-6 |
| Mount Vernon | 5-4 | 5-8 |
| Meridian | 4-4 | 7-4 |
| Lakewood | 4-4 | 4-7 |
| Lynden Christian | 4-5 | 6-8 |
| Nooksack Valley | 3-6 | 6-8 |
| Ferndale | 2-7 | 4-10 |
| Anacortes | 1-8 | 3-9 |
| Sehome | 1-8 | 2-10 |
| Bellingham | 0-8 | 0-13 |
*Standings were updated on April 25 at 10:23 a.m. to reflect the outcome of the April 24 games.
