Today (7/6): Reign face Portland in IBL final four
The red hot Olympia Reign continue their quest for an International Basketball League title this evening when they face the #2 seed Portland Chinooks at Whatcom Pavilion in Bellingham.
The Reign are riding a four game wining streak and are 5-3 since an ill-fated trip to Canada at the beginning of June. Much of the Reign’s success can be linked to the reemergence of Nate Menefee’s game. In the last eight games, Menefee has scored 24.5 points per game and has been the floor general dishing out 6.5 assists per game. Mike Ward has continued his solid season scoring 22.5 points per game during the stretch and newcomer Gjio Bain has taken control of the center position pulling down 13 rebounds per game in his five games with the Reign. In those five games, the Reign are 4-1.
Olympia and Portland met four times in the regular season. The Reign won the first game 138-127 in Clackamas but the Chinooks took the next three meetings.
Tip-off in Bellingham tonight is scheduled for 5:00 PM. Updates on the game can be found on the IBL Or Bellingham Slam Twitter pages.
Thursday scoreboard: Reign upset Energy again; Linx, A’s win
International Basketball League
Earlier this season, without three of their top five scorers, the Olympia Reign were rocked by the Edmonton Energy in a two game series in Edmonton losing by a combined 91 points. Since those two losses to the Energy, the Reign have gone 5-2 and have scored two straight upsets over the 14 win and #3 seeded Energy including tonight’s 101-89 victory in the first round of the IBL playoffs. Mike Ward scored 27 points and both Nicholas Moore and Gjio Bain posted double-doubles to lead the the Reign. The Reign are 4-1 since they picked up Bain, a seven foot center from Southern Miss, from the Orlando Venom on their trip to Florida.
Next up for the Reign is the #2 seed Portland Chinooks in the IBL final four tomorrow at 5:00 PM at Whatcom Pavilion in Bellingham.
Puget Sound Collegiate League baseball
West Olympia Linx 3, Nisqually Silvers 1
Olympia Athletics 4, Hawks Prairie Cardinals 3
Today (7/5): PSCL doubleheader
Puget Sound Collegiate League baseball
West Olympia Linx @ Nisqually Silvers – 5:00 PM
Hawks Prairie Cardinals @ Olympia Athletics – 7:30 PM
Olympia Reign vs. Edmonton Energy photo gallery
The Olympia Reign beat the Edmonton Energy 118-111 on Tuesday night.
Timberline’s Weldon steps down
Timberline’s Derek Weldon stepped down as head coach of the Blazers on Monday after five seasons at the school and two years at the helm after taking over for Mark Rubadue in 2011. From the Timberline Baseball Facebook page…
“To Whom It May Concern:
I regret to inform you that I will be resigning from my positions at Timberline High School. My wife and I are taking job opportunities in Oklahoma to be closer to our family in Texas. My resignation is effective immediately to prepare for our move at the end of July.
This is a very bittersweet decision for me and my family. I will deeply miss THS, the Timberline baseball program and all of the high character and talented kids involved with it, the Timberline baseball alumni, as well as all of the great friends we’ve made over these last five years. I look forward to watching this program have a ton of success in the upcoming years. To the returning players: keep grinding and working relentlessly to be the best player and teammate you can be; that state championship that we’ve worked so hard for the last few years is within the crosshairs.
I want to thank current and past players for your investment in our program. Thank you for taking the challenges I set with our strength and conditioning program, “plus” program, and tireless in-season work. I want to thank current and past parents for your support, encouragement, and investment in this program as well.
Coaches Johnston, LaPalm, Gottbreht, and McCusker will work together to take over the day to day operations during the transition to fill the position. The summer and early schedule will remain the same including the “plus” program, the remainder of the HAX schedule, the 6th Annual Timberline Baseball Golf Tournament, and the Fall baseball program which will start up towards the end of August.
Thanks again to the Timberline baseball family. EARN IT!
Sincerely,
Derek Weldon”
In two seasons as head coach Weldon led the Blazers to two 3A Narrows League titles and a 35-11 overall record. The Blazers went 15-7 in 2012, won the Narrows League title, lost in the district championship game and finished fifth in state.
Tuesday scoreboard: Menefee’s triple-double upsets Energy; Cards, Silvers win in extras
International Basketball League
Nate Menefee’s 28 point, 12 assist and 10 rebound triple-double and Mike Ward’s 30 points led the Olympia Reign to a 118-111 overtime win over the Edmonton Energy in the regular season finale at Little Creek Casino. Before tonight’s upset, the Energy beat the Reign by a combined 91 points in two games in Edmonton at the beginning of June.
The Reign jumped out to a quick 16-8 lead to open to game, led by as many as 21 in the first half and took a 59-46 lead in the locker room at halftime. But the Energy chipped away at the lead in the third quarter outscoring the Reign 28-17 to trail by just two going into the fourth quarter. The Energy quickly took the lead in the fourth quarter and held an 87-83 lead with six minutes left. But the Reign reeled off seven straight points to regain the lead at 90-87 and held a 97-95 lead with 52 seconds left. After the Energy tied the score at 100 with 18 second left, the Reign lost control of the ball and following a scramble could only manage a wild shot to end regulation.
The Reign slammed the door on the Energy in overtime scoring nine straight points in the first minute and a half and never allowed the Energy to get within five points the rest of the game. The Reign picked up just their seventh win of the season while Edmonton dropped to 14-4.
Nick Moore chipped in 18 points and 13 boards for the Reign while Gjio Bain also added a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds in the win. The Energy were led by Steve Sir’s 22 points and Robbie Sihota’s 18 points and 19 rebounds.
The two teams meet again on Thursday in the first round of the IBL playoffs hosted by the Bellingham Slam at Whatcom Pavilion. The match-up between the #6 seed Reign and the #3 seed Energy tips off at 5:00 PM.
Puget Sound Collegiate League baseball
Hawks Prairie Cardinals 8, Olympia Athletics 8 – 10 innings/Cardinals win
Nisqually Silvers 2, West Olympia Linx 1 – 10 innings
Oly Sports road trip: Yakima County Stadium
The Oly Sports road trip took me to Yakima last night to see the Yakima Bears top the Spokane Indians 7-3. My reason for making a long trip to Yakima is simple, I had never been to a Bears game and wanted to see one before the team relocates to Hillsboro, Oregon next season.
And after seeing Yakima County Stadium, I can understand why the Bears ownership feels that the stadium is no longer a viable MiLB park. It certainly is past it’s prime and hasn’t been well maintained. That’s both the fault of the county, who have been resistant to putting big money into the facility, and an ownership group that doesn’t want to put money into the stadium because the county won’t make the big changes necessary to keep the Bears in town.
So what does this have to do with Olympia? Well, once the Bears move from Yakima, the West Coast League will probably move to town and Yakima County Stadium will be one of the nicest facilities in the league. A new ownership group that wants to be there will come in and work with the county to put a fresh coat of paint on things, spiff it up and make it look pretty and probably add some features that it has been lacking. A new beginning that doesn’t have the pressure of MiLB standards is just what Yakima County Stadium needs.
For Olympia, the West Coast League is the only option we will ever have for spectator baseball and it is a good option. But we lack a proper facility and with Yakima County Stadium becoming a part of the league and possibly Gesa Stadium in the Tri-Cities if Milwaukie, Oregon gets their wish of building a second stadium in the Portland area for a Northwest League team, the stadiums of the WCL will only get bigger and better and a new ballpark in Olympia only gets costlier and costlier and less likely.
Today (7/3): Reign wrap it up; PSCL doubleheader
Good morning from beautiful downtown Yakima and Northtown Coffee’s working WiFi. While I’m sitting in this nice coffee shop, I’m staring at what I can only assume is a very large jail, a great addition to any downtown scene. Anyway, we now return you to your regularly scheduled Olympia sports scene…
The Olympia Reign’s regular season comes to an end tonight when they host the Edmonton Energy at the Skookum Events Center at Little Creek Casino at 7:00 PM. Both teams are bound for the IBL playoffs in Bellingham starting on Thursday. With a win the Energy would secure a first round bye (don’t quote me on that, though, as the seeding process is a bit of a mystery). Win or lose, the Reign are bound for a first round game on Thursday. The Energy dropped the Reign to their worst loss of the season on June 1st in Edmonton, 126-69. The Reign rallied the next night and only lost 138-104. Tip-off tonight is at 7:00 PM. Tickets are just $7 or $5 with a Little Creek players club card.
Meanwhile, the Puget Sound Collegiate League features two games tonight at the RAC. The Hawks Prairie Cardinals take on the Olympia Athletics at 5:00 PM and the West Olympia Linx face the Nisqually Silvers in the nightcap at 7:30.
Monday scoreboard: Senators take 3rd; Brewers, Cardinals split
Puget Sound Collegiate League baseball
Seattle Studs 6, Thurston County Senators 3
Thurston County Senators 12, Kamloops Blaze 1
The Thurston County Senators dropped their first game 6-3 to the Seattle Studs in the semifinals of the Canada Weekend Baseball Blast but came back and took third place with a 12-1 win over the Kamloops Blazers.
Hawks Prairie Cardinals 10, Tumwater Brewers 9
Tumwater Brewers 7, Hawks Prairie Cardinals 4
Today (7/2): Brewers, Cardinals kick of PSCL second half
The Puget Sound Collegiate League second half gets underway this evening with a doubleheader between the Tumwater Brewers and Hawks Prairie Cardinals at the RAC. The two teams have met three times already this season and the Cardinals took two of the three from the Brewers in a series that started on June 20th. Both teams sit at 4-4 in the league portion of the schedule, two games behind the Lacey Saints for first place.
First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 PM.
Oly Sports 