Ilwaco golf

Swinging in the rain

SURFSIDE — Local varsity golf squads squared off in a rain-saturated start to the season on Tuesday, March 18, in Surfside.

First-place winner Willapa Valley senior Aiden Sliva delivered the lowest score overall (47), followed by Ilwaco senior Westin B. (53), and teammates Zeke Sanchez (55), Aiden Bradshaw (58) and Blake Bell (60). Willapa Valley senior Nathan Fluke tied for 4th (58).

“Overall I am happy with their performance,” said Ilwaco head Coach Keaton Burnett.

“This is the first year for about half of our boys and I think they all did well taking that into consideration. We had 10 boys play at the first meet and they were all within about 10 strokes of each other. The future of the program looks promising.”

After a relatively pleasant start, players endured bouts of heavy rain and strong winds, beginning with the third hole.

“Although it is technically spring, it still feels like winter out there most days and the weather conditions definitely added a challenge for them,” Burnett said.

“As the weather and course conditions slowly get better I expect to see scores improve in tandem. All in all, I am happy with everyone’s performance and I look forward to seeing them all continue to build off of the progress they have already made.”

Up next: Ilwaco will head to Cathlamet March 26 to face Wahkiakum along with Adna, Winlock and Three Rivers Christian.

Ilwaco softball

Ilwaco senior pitcher Megan Dille struck out 13 batters and allowed only one hit as teammate Bailey Womack drove in five runs to lead the Lady Fishermen (1-0) to an impressive 14-4 season-opening league victory over Ocosta on Wednesday, March 19, in Westport.

“She had some good velocity on her fastball, and made some adjustments on her change up to account for the weather,” said Ilwaco head coach Barbara Patana regarding ace Megan Dille.

Patana was also pleased with the team’s performance at the plate, driving in five runs in the top of the first and again in the top of the seventh to put the game away.

“I was so proud of the girls for coming out and swinging the bat,” Patana said.

“Everyone got a bat on the ball against a good pitcher, and they put the fundamentals into practice that they work on every day. The team was mentally prepared for the game, and kept pushing from start to finish. It was a huge win for us and I’m so proud of the effort that every single player put into their role.

Ilwaco finished with 12 hits in the win, led by Womack with three. The Lady Fishermen only committed one error on defense.

Up next: Ilwaco (1-0) will host Pe Ell/Willapa Valley (1-1) on March 25, followed by an away game at Hoquiam on March 26.

Naselle softball

The Naselle softball team opened the season with a 19-5 non-league loss to Knappa on Tuesday, March 18, in Naselle.

The Loggers (1-0) jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first inning, then added 11 more in the third to pull away from the Comets, ending in a 19-5 mercy-rule victory after five innings of play.

Up next: Naselle (0-1) will travel to take on Wahkiakum on March 25, followed by a home game against Ocosta on March 28.

Raymond/South Bend softball

The Raymond/South Bend softball team opened the season with a 19-11 shootout victory over Centralia.

The Ravens (1-0) were led offensively by catcher Ava Pine, going 3-for-5 with a double, four runs scored and a solo home run.

The Ravens subsequent game, against Toledo on Friday, March 21, was cancelled due to weather.

Ilwaco baseball

The Ilwaco junior varsity baseball team kick-started the season with back-to-back wins over Warrenton, including 5-0 shutout in the first game and a 13-12 comeback victory in the second in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 18, in Long Beach.

Up next: Ilwaco will travel to take on Pe Ell/Willapa Valley on Match 25, followed by a home game against Raymond/South Bend on April 1.

Naselle baseball

The Naselle baseball team opened the season with a 17-1 non-league victory over Tenino (0-1) on Tuesday, March 18, in Tenino.

The Comets were led offensively by senior Jack Strange, who went 4-for-5 at the plate, including two doubles.

Up next: Naselle (1-0) will travel to take on Wahkiakum on March 25, followed by a home game on March 27 against Raymond/Bend.

Pe Ell/Willapa Valley baseball

The Pe Ell/Willapa Valley baseball team opened the season with a 15-2 win over Ocosta on Wednesday, March 19.

Up next: Pe Ell/Willapa Valley (1-0) will host Ilwaco on March 25, then travel to take on Onalaska on March 31.

Raymond/South Bend baseball

The Raymond/South Bend baseball team is still searching for their first win of the season after losing their first three games.

The Ravens (0-3) fell to Toledo 17-2 to start the season, then suffered back-to-back losses last week, including a 13-3 loss to Wahkiakum and a 17-5 loss to Northwest Christian.

Up next: Raymond/South Bend (0-3) will next travel to take on North Beach on March 25, followed by an away game at Naselle on March 27.

Ilwaco and Naselle track and field

Eleven individual wins for track athletes

SOUTH BEND — Ilwaco and Naselle track teams secured 11 individual event wins Thursday at a meet featuring six other schools.

In team scoring, Ilwaco boys placed second with Naselle fourth; for the girls. Naselle placed second with Ilwaco fourth. North Beach boys’ and girls’ squads placed first.

For Ilwaco, two freshman led the way. Elsa Linquist won the 800 meters in 3:03.56 and the 1600m in 6:18.83. Classmate Taylor Morrison won the 400m in 1:12.07, just ahead of Naselle’s June Miller. Morrison also won the long jump with 14.11. All four Fishermen wins were personal bests. Miller won the high jump with 4.6. NHS freshman Halle Miller won the 100m hurdles in 18.55.

Comet junior Mylee Dunagan finished second in three events, the 200m, long jump and javelin; freshman Karsen Green placed second in triple jump.

For the boys, Ilwaco freshman Connor Ryden won the 800m in a PR of 2:27.64, ahead of senior teammate Sammy Lloyd; Ryden placed second in high jump. Senior Skyler Salzman won the discus with 91.7 and classmate Caleb Brundage won the javelin with 108.4, leading a field of 44.

In the 1600m, Comet sophomore Caesar Garcia won in 5:52.40, ahead of three Ilwaco finishers including second-place Blake Eisbrenner. Eisbrenner, a freshman, won the 3200m in a PR of 13:15.10, ahead of IHS sophomore Druv Athmanathan.

Eisbrenner also figured on the winning 4x400m relay squad with Sammy Lloyd and classmates Ryden and Thendrix Besin. The IHS girls’ relay team of Linquist, Morrison, Mya Cunningham and Madison Key also won.

In triple jump, NHS freshman Gus Burkhalter leaped 37.3 for second place.

Next for both squads is the first of two Ilwaco home meets Thursday, March 27.

Ilwaco soccer

The Ilwaco boys soccer team lost to Forks (1-1) 9-0 on Thursday, March 20, in Forks.

Up next: Ilwaco (0-1) will next host Rochester (4-1) on March 24.