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“Always Set on Coming Back to Long Island”
North Thurston alum Joash Brodin was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks organization during Spring training but was welcomed back to the independent Long Island Ducks with welcome arms. The 27 year-old first baseman/designated hitter will play his third season with the Ducks, one of the class organizations of the independent leagues.
Here is a lot more on Brodin from the Long Island Ducks blog, Quack of the Bat…
Joash Brodin got the opportunity he had been waiting for his entire life during the 2013 season. The Plano, Texas native who now resides in Olympia, Washington had spent the first four and a half seasons of his professional career playing in independent baseball. He had hit .300 or better in every one of those seasons, earned All-Star appearances and even led the Frontier League in batting the 2012 campaign before coming to Long Island. Not to mention, he was leading the Ducks in several offensive categories and had just earned a starting spot in the Atlantic League All-Star Game. Yet despite all of his accolades, Brodin had never been given the chance to showcase his talents for a Major League organization. Then, the Arizona Diamondbacks came calling.
“It was awesome,” he recalled via telephone. “It was something that I had been waiting for my whole life. My parents were…
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Today (3/27): EvCo Boys Soccer All Around
Boys soccer
Tumwater vs. Aberdeen – Tumwater Stadium – 7:00 PM
River Ridge vs. WF West – South Sound Stadium – 7:00 PM
Black Hills @ Capital – Ingersoll Stadium – 7:30 PM
Oly Sports is Taking a Break
The Oly Sports computer has been on the fritz for more than a week and a new one is on the way. Blogging from my tablet hasn’t been ideal so it seems like a good time to take a break. Regular posting will return soon. My apologies for the lack of updates.
Today (3/11): Saints Softball Hosts UBC
College softball
Saint Martin’s vs. U of British Columbia (DH) – SMU Softball Field – 1:00 PM
Oly Sports is on Vacation Again
I am once again taking a mini-vacation. Good timing what with district basketball going full bore for the next two days. I’ll be back to regular posting on Tuesday night. Until then, The Olympian has the full schedule of games.
Today (2/15): Clippers, Geoducks Last Home Games, Saints Host Wolves; High School District Hoops
Women’s basketball
SPSCC vs. Highline – SPSCC Gym – 3:00 PM
Evergreen vs. Concordia – CRC Gymnasium – 5:30 PM
It’s the final home game of the season for both SPSCC and Evergreen. It’s senior night and the final home game for two starters, Sammi Clark and Jessica Denmon. Clark is averaging 15 points per game this year and averaged in double-digits in each of her three seasons as a Geoduck. It might also be the last home game for head coach Monica Heuer, who will step down at the end of the season.
Men’s basketball
SPSCC vs. Highline – SPSCC Gym – 5:00 PM
Saint Martin’s vs. Western Oregon – Marcus Pavilion – 7:00 PM
Evergreen vs. Concordia – CRC Gymnasium – 7:30 PM
Like the women, today marks the final home game for SPSCC and Evergreen. The men will honor three seniors, Kyle Calhoun, Cody Peters and Marc Taylor. Calhoun leads the Geoducks with 17 points per game this year and Taylor is averaging 11. Peters has struggled through injuries this season but averaged 11 points per game last year.
The Saint Martin’s men host a crucial GNAC game tonight when they take on Western Oregon at 7:00 PM. The Saints currently sit in eighth place in the conference at 5-8 and desperately need a win over the sixth place Wolves (6-7) to keep pace for the final playoff spot. The two teams met in Monmouth on January 18th and the Saints bested the Wolves 79-73 behind 19 points from Ryan Rogers and 15 points off the bench from Lucas Shannon.
Girls basketball
4A WCD/Bi-District playoffs
Olympia vs. Camas – Stadium HS, Tacoma – 1:00 PM
Olympia faces a loser-out game today against Camas in Tacoma.
Boys basketball
2A District IV playoffs
River Ridge vs. RA Long – River Ridge HS – 7:00 PM
Capital @ Centralia – Centralia HS – 7:00 PM
Tumwater @ Mark Morris – Mark Morris HS, Longview – 7:00 PM
River Ridge, Capital and Tumwater open up district play today. River Ridge plays the only home game, hosting RA Long at 7:00 PM. Capital and Tumwater each have to go on the road. Capital faces league champion Centralia in Centralia and Tumwater battles Mark Morris in Longview.
PHOTO GALLERY: Hawks Sweep Wolves in Lacey
Better late than never, but here is a photo gallery from River Ridge’s sweep of Black Hills on Friday night.
The girls game was brutally physical and River Ridge (7-3 2A EvCo) dominated the second half to take a 72-49 win and pulled to within a game of second place Black Hills (8-2 2A EvCo) in the standings. The Wolves still have first place WF West and Tumwater left to play while the Hawks finish with Aberdeen and Tumwater. River Ridge’s Jazzlynn Brewster (#24) led all scorers with 23 points while Sarah McGee (#34) knocked down 22 points in the loss for Black Hills.
The River Ridge boys jumped out to a 22-13 lead after the first quarter on Friday night and never looked back. Black Hills tried to get back into the game numerous times but couldn’t get over the hump and fell to the Hawks 66-55. Jason Kananin (#3) scored 18 points and the Hawks moved to within a half game of first place Centralia. Freshman TJ Mickleson (#11) dropped 18 points for the Wolves.
Saturday Scores: Saints Win a Pair of Important GNAC Games; Clippers Women Shear Gators
Evan Coulter
Men’s basketball
| Saint Martin’s 83, Montana State-Billings 70 – Recap | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Martin’s (4-7 GNAC, 7-12 overall) | 40 | 43 | 83 |
| MSU-Billings (4-7 GNAC, 8-11 overall) | 29 | 41 | 70 |
| SMU leader: Evan Coulter – 35 points |
Evan Coulter scored 35 points, the first 30 point performance from a Saint Martin’s player since Jeremy Green dropped 32 during the 2011-2012 season, and the Saints picked up a huge conference victory knocking off Montana State-Billings, 83-70, in Billings. The win created a three way tie for sixth in the GNAC with the Yellowjackets and Western Oregon. The top six teams make the conference tournament, which will be held at Marcus Pavilion at Saint Martin’s.
The Saints shot 52% in the first half from the field and hit eight 3-pointers to take a 40-39 lead at the break. MSUB cut the lead to five at the 11:11 mark but the Saints slammed the door and took a 21 point led with 5:45 left to play on a Tyler Copp three pointer.
Coulter was outstanding hitting 10-of-14 shots including 5-of-7 from long distance and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. He also had seven rebounds and four steals. Ryan Rogers notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards and Matt Dodson chipped in 10 points.
| Northwest 83, Evergreen 74 – Recap | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest (8-4 CCC, 17-6 overall) | 40 | 43 | 83 |
| Evergreen (2-10 CCC, 3-16 overall) | 35 | 39 | 74 |
| TESC leader: Marc Taylor – 17 points |
Five Geoducks scored in double-digits with Marc Taylor going for 17 points and 11 rebounds but Northwest held a 21-8 advantage from the free throw line and left the CRC Gymnasium with an 83-74 win. The loss drops the Geoducks to 2-10 in the Cascade Conference.
| Green River 71, SPSCC 53 – Box score | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPSCC (1-9 NWAACC West, 1-17 overall) | 23 | 30 | 53 |
| Green River (5-5 NWAACC West, 8-11 overall) | 37 | 34 | 71 |
| SPSCC leader: Slanblaytee Kaye – 17 points |
The shorthanded Clippers were outrebounded 57-29 and made just seven shots from the field in the second half en route to a 71-53 loss to Green River in Auburn. SPSCC shot just 31% in the game and went 4-of-19 from long distance. Brian Tyson, Jonathan Roberts, Keegan Liebelt and Brandon McGurkin each played 40 minutes. Slanblaytee Kaye led the Clippers with 17 points.
Women’s basketball
| Saint Martin’s 59, Western Oregon 56 – Recap | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Martin’s (6-4 GNAC, 12-7 overall) | 20 | 39 | 59 |
| Western Oregon (2-8 GNAC, 5-13 overall) | 19 | 37 | 56 |
| SMU leader: Chelsea Haskey – 12 points |
Megan Wiedeman’s layup with 1:37 left to play gave Saint Martin’s a 57-55 lead and Brooke Paulson converted a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left to seal the deal and the Saints escaped Monmouth with a 59-56 win over Western Oregon.
The Saints shot just 29.8% in the game and hit just two three pointers and the big difference in the game turned out to be at the line. Saint Martin’s hit 23-of-32 while Western Oregon converted 15-of-25 free throws.
Chelsea Haskey led the Saints with 12 points and 11 rebounds, her first double-double since December 5th. Brooke Paulson and Megan Wiedeman each chipped in 11 points.
The Saints now sit in sixth place in the GNAC at 6-4
| SPSCC 76, Green River 64 – Box score | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPSCC (3-7 NWAACC West, 4-15 overall) | 29 | 47 | 76 |
| Green River (0-10 NWAACC West, 2-17 overall) | 41 | 23 | 64 |
| SPSCC leader: Sofia Guerra – 17 points |
Sofia Guerra and LaKeisha Anger each notched double-doubles in SPSCC’s 76-64 win over Green River. Guerra led the Clippers with 17 points with 11 rebounds and Anger added 16 points and 15 boards. Maria Jesse and Dramiha Skaar each scored in double-digits with 13 and 12 points respectively.
The Clippers held the Gators to just six field goals in the second half, outrebounded them 50-37 and forced 21 turnovers for 23 points.
| Northwest 76, Evergreen 73 – Recap | |||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest (8-4 CCC, 16-8 overall) | 37 | 39 | 76 |
| Evergreen (6-6 CCC, 10-9 overall) | 40 | 33 | 73 |
| TESC leader: Sammi Clark – 26 points |
Sammi Clark’s jumper with 1:37 left tied the game at 69 but on the next possesion, Ashley Coila’s knocked down a jumper of her own and made the and-1 free throw after she was fouled and Northwest hung on the rest of the way and took home a 76-73 important Cascade Conference win.
Clark scored 26 points in the loss and Jessica Denmon chipped in 13 points and eight assists but the Geoducks dropped to 6-6 in the CCC and are currently sixth in the standings with eight teams making the conference tournament.
College softball
| Cal Baptist 9 Saint Martin’s 7 |
|||||||||||
| Game 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | / | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMU (0-1 overall) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 4 | |
| CBU (1-0 overall) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | X | 9 | 11 | 1 | |
| W: Renne (1-0) L: Munger (0-1) |
| Cal Baptist 9 Saint Martin’s 3 |
|||||||||||
| Game 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | / | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMU (0-2 overall) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |
| CBU (2-0 overall) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 9 | 16 | 2 | |
| W: Hatch (1-0) L: Lawson (0-1) |
The 12th-ranked Saint Martin’s softball team opened up 2014 in Riverside, California and dropped a pair of games to Cal Baptist by the final scores of 9-7 and 9-3. In both games, the Lancers scored five runs in the first inning and opened up big leads that the Saints were unable to overcome.
In game one, Taviah Jenkins hit a grand slam in the top of the sixth inning of game one to bring the Saints to within 7-5 b but Cal Baptist answered back with a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the inning. Lacey McGladrey, Sam Munger, Kaylie Hull and Megan Miller each had two hits. Munger went the distance in the circle and was charged with the loss.
In game two, Cal Baptist opened up a 9-0 lead before Miller drove in a pair of runs and Jenkins singled in Miller. But it was all the Saints could muster in a 9-3 loss.
Saint Martin’s, Evergreen and SPSCC Basketball Standings
Great Northwest Athletic Conference
NCAA Division II
| Men’s basketball | ||
| Team | GNAC | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Pacific | 7-2 | 16-4 |
| Western Washington | 7-2 | 13-4 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 7-2 | 12-5 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 5-4 | 12-8 |
| Central Washington | 5-4 | 9-8 |
| Montana State-Billings | 4-5 | 8-9 |
| Western Oregon | 3-6 | 10-9 |
| Saint Martin’s | 3-6 | 6-11 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 3-6 | 5-12 |
| Simon Fraser | 1-8 | 8-9 |
| Top six teams make the conference tourney |
Halfway through the GNAC season and Saint Martin’s is once again on the outside looking in at the conference tournament to be played on their home court. But Michael Ostlund’s team has been competitive in every league game except the Montana State-Billings and Alaska losses. The MSU-Billings game was a home game that they desperately needed to win and the Alaska game was in front of the largest crowd of the season and on ROOT Sports, a game that going in seemed very winnable despite the Nanooks surprising second place status.
The offense is still a bit of a head scratcher and I can’t imagine that playing four guards at a time will mean sustained success, but the Saints live by the three and die by the three, so anything can happen, as was the case when they upset then #11 Seattle Pacific.
They will need to have a healthy Riley Carel and Lucas Shannon to make any kind of run. Carel missed Thursday’s game with a torn meniscus and it was thought he could miss the rest of the season. But he came back on Saturday and looked pretty good. Shannon suffered a concussion on Thursday and didn’t play Saturday and because of Rei Jensen wasn’t effective (hard to be when you don’t get to play much anymore), the Saints played five guards with 6-4 Brad Norman filling the post position.
The Saints play five of their last nine games at Marcus Pavilion but hit the road this weekend with games at Seattle Pacific and Montana State-Billings and the annual Alaska trip is still looming.
| Women’s basketball | ||
| Team | GNAC | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Montana State-Billings | 7-2 | 14-5 |
| Western Washington | 7-2 | 11-6 |
| Seattle Pacific | 6-3 | 13-4 |
| Simon Fraser | 6-3 | 12-5 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 5-4 | 12-5 |
| Saint Martin’s | 5-4 | 11-7 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 4-5 | 11-6 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 2-7 | 8-9 |
| Western Oregon | 2-7 | 5-12 |
| Central Washington | 1-8 | 6-11 |
| Top six teams make the conference tourney |
A hot, hot start for Saint Martin’s has cooled off dramatically with three straight losses and a drop from alone in first place to teetering on the edge of missing the conference tourney again.
Before the season, the biggest question for the Saints was who would step up as a second scorer behind Chelsea Haskey. Angela Gelhar or Krista Stabler have become solid scorers, but during their slide, Haskey has been a non-factor scoring 2, 6, 9 and 15 in her last four games. Though her 15 points on Saturday were her most since January 4th, Haskey only scored six points in the second half when Seattle Pacific blitzed the Saints to take home the win.
The Saints play four of their last nine games at home and thankfully have just one game this week, at Western Oregon on Saturday night.
————–
Cascade Collegiate Conference
NAIA Division II
| Men’s basketball | ||
| Team | CCC | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| College of Idaho | 9-2 | 18-5 |
| Concordia | 7-3 | 18-4 |
| Southern Oregon | 7-4 | 18-5 |
| Northwest | 7-4 | 16-6 |
| Warner Pacific | 6-4 | 12-10 |
| Northwest Christian | 6-5 | 12-9 |
| Oregon Tech | 5-6 | 12-11 |
| Eastern Oregon | 3-8 | 12-9 |
| Corban | 2-9 | 6-14 |
| Evergreen | 2-9 | 3-15 |
| Top eight teams make the conference tourney |
Evergreen has improved in conference play in each of the last two seasons after bottoming out without a win during the 2011-2012 season. Of course improvement means one conference win last year and now two conference wins this year with seven very difficult games still left on the docket.
Dre Taylor and Jordan Dam each played their first game of the season on December 20th and have made a huge difference for the Geoducks. They went from dropping all but two games by double-digits to two wins and close, competitive losses since the new year and find themselves just a game back of the conference tournament.
However, four of the final seven games are on the road and their three home games are against top-5 teams.
| Women’s basketball | ||
| Team | CCC | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Oregon | 10-1 | 18-5 |
| Oregon Tech | 7-4 | 19-4 |
| Northwest | 7-4 | 15-8 |
| College of Idaho | 7-4 | 10-9 |
| Southern Oregon | 6-5 | 17-6 |
| Evergreen |
6-5 | 10-8 |
| Corban | 6-5 | 11-12 |
| Warner Pacific | 2-8 | 6-15 |
| Northwest Christian | 2-9 | 5-14 |
| Concordia | 1-9 | 4-18 |
| Top eight teams make the conference tourney |
The Evergreen women have done two things this season that have never been done in program history: sweep Concordia and Warner Pacific in Portland and win four straight conference games. The Geoducks are riding that four game streak right now and sit in a pack of six teams fighting for second place at either 7-4 or 6-5 in league play.
Sammi Clark is a consistent, fierce guard that is averaging 14.6 points per game and Brittany Gray has established herself as a solid presence in the front court. Jessica Denmon has two straight double-doubles from the guard position and they have had two bench players explode during their last four games. Uriah Thomas went for 22 points against Warner Pacific and LaNiecia Weatherspoon led the way with 15 points against Corban.
————–
NW Athletic Association of Community Colleges
West Division
| Men’s basketball | ||
| Team | West | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Clark | 8-0 | 16-1 |
| Pierce | 6-2 | 13-5 |
| Highline | 5-3 | 14-5 |
| Green River | 4-4 | 7-10 |
| Lower Columbia | 4-4 | 6-11 |
| Grays Harbor | 3-5 | 6-12 |
| Centralia | 3-5 | 3-13 |
| Tacoma | 2-6 | 7-11 |
| South Puget Sound | 1-7 | 1-15 |
| Top four teams make the NWAACC Championships |
Defections and injuries have plagued South Puget Sound this season and the Clippers are down from 12 healthy players at the beginning of the season to dressing seven players, playing six and running five of them for 38+ minutes per game. No surprise they have managed only one win.
Early starters Joseph Johnson and Oly’s Michael Champlin and new head coach Aaron Landon’s first signed player, Chris Williams, have all left the program. Austin Bonds went down with a broken hand and is out for the season.
Brian Tyson and Slanblaytee Kaye lead the Clippers in scoring at 14.9 and 14.5 points per game respectively and Kaye dropped a triple-double on Grays Harbor with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.SPSCC has eight games remaining, four at home and four on the road, and face Lower Columbia – the only team they have beaten this season – in Olympia on Wednesday.
| Women’s basketball | ||
| Team | West | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Clark | 8-0 | 16-2 |
| Lower Columbia | 7-1 | 14-5 |
| Highline | 6-2 | 15-5 |
| Centralia | 5-3 | 9-9 |
| Pierce | 4-4 | 7-11 |
| Tacoma | 3-5 | 9-9 |
| South Puget Sound | 2-6 | 3-14 |
| Grays Harbor | 1-7 | 3-13 |
| Green River | 0-8 | 2-15 |
| Top four teams make the NWAAC Championships |
Though they have managed just three wins this season, the SPSCC women have improved dramatically since last season. During the 2012-2013 season, they shot just 26% and scored an average of 36.9 points per game, dead last in the NWAACC.
This season the Clippers are shooting 37% and are averaging 58.7 points per game thanks to the emergence of sophomores Maria Jesse (14.1 ppg) and LaKeisha Anger (13.0 ppg, 9.43 rpg) and some semblance of a full, consistent roster.
Today (1/14): Hawks Travel to Tumwater With Third Place on the Line
Boys basketball
Pope John Paul II vs. Firm Foundation – St. Michael’s – 7:00 PM
Capital vs. WF West – Capital HS – 7:30 PM
River Ridge @ Tumwater – Tumwater HS – 7:30 PM
A pair of 2A EvCo games highlight the schedule tonight when Capital hosts WF West and River Ridge travels to Tumwater.
WF West is tied with Centralia for first place in the conference at 4-0 while Capital has struggled and sits at 1-3. Meanwhile, Tumwater (2-2) is a half game back of River Ridge (3-2) for third place. Both games tip at 7:30 PM.
Girls basketball
Tumwater @ River Ridge – River Ridge HS – 7:30 PM
Oly Sports 