Prep teams have largely returned from spring break and the latter half of the spring season has begun. The fastpitch softball and boys soccer standings have already shifted in the first few days since.
Western Washington University softball extended its program-record winning streak, while women’s rowing made a trip to Vancouver, Washington for a regular season regatta.
Prep
Baseball
A few baseball teams made long trips over spring break — and those that did yielded victories.
Lynden (11-2, 7-1 Northwest Conference) played a two-game 2A state semifinal rematch against Selah, and the Lions split the series. They won the first, 8-5, on Wednesday, April 3, before dropping the second the next day, 8-3.
The Lions earned another two wins April 9–10, beating Blaine and Mount Baker by a combined score of 18-1. Against Mount Baker, senior right-handed pitcher Austin Tolsma threw a no-hitter, striking out nine Mountaineers batters and surrendering zero bases on balls in a 10-0 win.
Meridian (9-4, 4-4 NWC) also headed east over the mountains, first visiting Brewster and earning a 24-15 shootout win on Thursday, April 4. The next day, the Trojans bested Cashmere, 10-7.
League play resumed on Tuesday, April 9, and Ferndale, Lynden Christian, Meridian and Mount Baker all pulled out post-spring break wins.
Ferndale’s win over Nooksack Valley was a high-scoring, 13-9 thriller, resulting in the Golden Eagles snapping a two-game skid. LC had also won three in a row before falling to Anacortes, 10-0, on Wednesday, April 10.
Fastpitch softball
Mount Baker (8-1, 4-1 NWC) was the only team to play a game over spring break, and the Mountaineers went east to face Cashmere — emerging with a 23-3 rout on April 5.
Regular league play resumed on April 9, with Blaine being the only team to earn a victory in the return. The Borderites crushed Nooksack Valley, 17-0, to stay undefeated.
Lynden (8-1, 4-1 NWC) lost its first game of the season, 7-1, to Sedro-Woolley. The win vaulted the Cubs up the league ranks, and they now sit in third behind Blaine. Lynden fell to fourth place.
Mount Baker then won its fourth straight game with a 4-1 victory over Lynden Christian on April 10.
Boys soccer
Sehome still refuses to lose. The Mariners beat Ferndale 6-1 on April 9, moving to 8-0-0 overall and 4-0-0 in league matches.
Bellingham (7-2-0, 3-1-0) had a seven-game win streak snapped on April 9, falling 4-3 to Mount Vernon. Despite that, the Bayhawks remain in second place in the NWC behind only Squalicum (6-2-0, 4-0-0 NWC) and Sehome.
The 1A NWC race has tightened up, with Lynden Christian (3-4-1, 2-0-1 NWC) beating Meridian (5-3-0, 2-1-0 NWC) on April 8. The Lyncs went on to shutout Nooksack Valley, 4-0, on Wednesday, April 10 — moving ahead of Meridian, which was once the clear leader.
Blaine (7-1-2, 2-1-1 NWC) also shutout Mount Baker, 6-0, on April 10 to keep pace with LC.
WWU
Softball
Western softball’s winning streak is now at 13, as the Vikings most recently swept Simon Fraser April 5–6 in a four-game series on the road.
The Vikings beat Simon Fraser by a combined score of 27-6 in the series, including a 7-0 shutout in the third game.
Now sitting at 30-4 overall, Western has climbed to No. 11 in the most recent NCAA Division II national rankings. Next up for the team is another four-game road trip at MSU Billings April 12–13.
Women’s rowing
Western rowing earned two second-place finishes at the Pioneer/Pilot Invitational on Saturday, April 6, on Vancouver Lake.
The Vikings’ Varsity 4+ took second with a time of 8:41.30, finishing behind only Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Western’s Second Varsity 8+ squad also finished second with a time of 8:40.90, coming in behind the University of Portland.
The second half of the regatta was canceled due to rough water conditions.
Northwest Conference baseball standings — April 9
Northwest Conference fastpitch softball standings — April 9
| Baseball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Mount Vernon | 8-0 | 12-2 |
| Lynden | 7-1 | 11-2 |
| Anacortes | 7-1 | 10-3 |
| Oak Harbor | 6-2 | 9-2 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 5-3 | 8-5 |
| Lakewood | 5-3 | 5-5 |
| Meridian | 4-4 | 9-4 |
| Lynden Christian | 4-4 | 7-5 |
| Nooksack Valley | 4-4 | 6-6 |
| Blaine | 3-5 | 7-5 |
| Burlington- Edison | 3-5 | 5-7 |
| Bellingham | 3-5 | 5-7 |
| Ferndale | 3-5 | 4-6 |
| Mount Baker | 1-7 | 2-9 |
| Sehome | 1-7 | 2-10 |
| Squalicum | 0-8 | 0-11 |
| Softball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Burlington- Edison | 5-0 | 5-4 |
| Blaine | 4-0 | 5-0 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 4-0 | 6-1 |
| Lynden | 4-1 | 8-1 |
| Mount Baker | 4-1 | 8-1 |
| Lakewood | 4-1 | 6-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 2-3 | 4-3 |
| Meridian | 2-3 | 4-4 |
| Ferndale | 2-3 | 4-4 |
| Oak Harbor | 2-3 | 4-5 |
| Nooksack Valley | 2-3 | 2-4 |
| Mount Vernon | 2-3 | 2-7 |
| Sehome | 1-4 | 5-5 |
| Anacortes | 1-4 | 3-4 |
| Squalicum | 0-5 | 0-8 |
| Bellingham | 0-5 | 0-9 |
Northwest Conference boys soccer standings — April 9
| Boys soccer | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L-T | W-L-T |
| Sehome | 4-0-0 | 8-0-0 |
| Squalicum | 4-0-0 | 6-2-0 |
| Mount Vernon | 3-1-1 | 5-2-1 |
| Bellingham | 3-1-0 | 7-2-0 |
| Blaine | 2-1-1 | 7-1-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 2-0-1 | 3-4-1 |
| Ferndale | 2-3-1 | 2-5-1 |
| Meridian | 2-1-0 | 5-3-1 |
| Burlington-Edison | 2-1-0 | 4-3-0 |
| Anacortes | 1-2-1 | 2-4-3 |
| Oak Harbor | 1-4-1 | 2-6-2 |
| Nooksack Valley | 1-2-0 | 2-6-0 |
| Lynden | 1-3-0 | 4-5-1 |
| Lakewood | 1-4-0 | 3-6-1 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0-3-0 | 3-5-0 |
| Mount Baker | 0-3-0 | 0-4-0 |
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
