Bears continue undefeated season

One down, two to go for unbeaten Central Valley in its quest for the school’s first Greater Spokane League soccer championship.

The Bears last week defeated Mt. Spokane. Friday and Wednesday they face East Valley and Ferris, two other teams in the four-team chase for the title.

After that there are other obstacles, in rival University and resurgent Gonzaga Prep and Mead, still waiting in the wings.

“It’s not over by any means,” said CV coach Brandon Deyarmin after the 2-1 win over Mt. Spokane in a match of the last league unbeatens last Friday. “Every game’s been tough.”

“This league’s so tight, I honestly thought at the beginning that I didn’t see a team going undefeated.”

So far, however, the Bears have a chance. They improved to 7-0 on Monday with a 3-0 victory at Rogers and faced Clarkston at home Wednesday before facing a pair of tough teams.

The Knights, suffered just their second loss, 1-0 to Mead on Monday. Ferris hasn’t lost since its season-opener against Mt. Spokane and is defending district champion.

One need look no further than junior-oriented CV’s defense to get to the roots of its success. The Bears (8-1-1 overall) have allowed more than one goal in only one match, a 2-0 nonleague loss to Pasco.

Against Mt. Spokane, CV players – defender Taylor Fyhrie, midfielders Lucas Chesher and Blake Trimmer among them – blunted attempts at a Wildcat attack.

“They’re very confident,” said Deyarmin, said of a unit together for the second year. “It’s a very good group. They’re strong tackling one-on-one, clear the ball when they need to or work it back up field and very rarely get multiple goals scored on them.”

Jay Vela leads the Bears offensively and is co-leader in the GSL with 10 goals and 13 overall.

EV (6-2, 5-2) suffered its first shutout of the year against Mead and hosted Mt. Spokane on Wednesday. The Knights play Cheney next Wednesday to determine top seed among 3A teams.

Cole Abramson leads the team with six goals, Ben Funkhouser has five goals and five assists.

U-Hi (5-4, 4-3) is among four GSL teams vying for the remaining two district playoff berths. The Titans have scored only eight goals in seven league matches this year.

The Titans beat West Valley (3-6, 1-6) 3-1 on Monday, Sean Pierce and Christian Holloway with goals. Landon Page scored for the Eagles.

Eagles sweep Valley rivals

West Valley’s baseball team swept East Valley in the first of three successive home and home series against Spokane Valley schools.

Today and Friday the Eagles travel and are home against University. Next Thursday and Friday they host, then travel to Central Valley.

The 5-4 and 11-9 wins over EV were significant in that both are jockeying for 3A postseason advantage. West Valley (6-3, 5-2; after beating Gonzaga Prep 6-2 on Tuesday) is two games ahead of North Central and three up on the Knights (5-6, 4-5) in the loss column.

Transfer Matt Peterson had six hits and Greg Bradley five in the three wins, Peterson with two doubles, and Bradley with a double and three triples.

The Knights rebounded by stunning previously unbeaten Ferris 6-1 behind pitching ace Bret Riggin, who also had four hits in the three games for EV, including his third home run this year.

Central Valley’s bid to remain among the 4A playoff contenders hinges on back-to-back teams against Shadle Park this week. The Bears (7-4, 5-4) split with Mead and lost Tuesday to North Central.

Kyle Renz had six hits in two games against Mead, three of them doubles, and doubled against NC.

University (3-7, 3-6) needs wins against WV and Clarkston to get back into the GSL hunt. In two losses to league leader Mt. Spokane, 7-3 and 3-0, and Tuesday’s 15-0 win over Cheney, Matt Fuller had six hits, including a triple and three RBIs against the Blackhawks.

Softball teams contend

University and Central Valley softball teams continue among Greater Spokane League title contenders.

The Titans (7-1) share first place with Shadle Park, and the Bears (6-2) are tied for third with two other teams.

They play at Shadle on Friday in the first of a series of games that will determine the league’s outcome.

Four straight dates, beginning April 28, will determine postseason aspirations for the two Valley 4A teams.

East Valley (5-4, 4-4) beat West Valley (2-7, 2-6) 5-2 and has the best record among five GSL 3A schools. The Knights lead North Central and Clarkston by a game, with the Eagles and Cheney another game back.

First league statistics were released this week.

U-Hi’s Tonya Schnibbe was leading the GSL in hitting with a .667 average, including two triples, and teammate Angie Boardman was hitting .565 with four doubles and two triples. She’s fourth in RBIs.

WV’s Gabi Lobello was third with a .579 batting average, had driven in nine runs, walked nine times and stolen 10 bases, both league leads.

CV pitcher Whitney McDaniel had a league-best 0.58 earned run average and is hitting .417 with 10 RBIs. Linse Vlahovich was third in ERA at 0.92 and had a league-best 78 strikeouts.

Among other top hitters were Eagle Lindsay Hood at .450, a league-high 13 runs scored and with nine stolen bases, CV’s Katee Nauert (.444 and eight stolen bases) and Titan freshman Riki Shiermeister (.400).

Brandle to nationals

Valley gymnast Amy Brandle has qualified for the Level 10 Junior Olympics Championships in Ontario, Cal., May 13-15.

Brandle posted her career-best all-around score of 37.8 in the Senior C age division Region 2 championships in Whitefish, Mont.

Included was a 9.7 regional floor exercise first-place routine. She tied for fourth at 9.45 on vault and scored 9.525 on balance beam.

At Level 9, Juliet Law won vault at 9.3 in the Junior D regionals, was second on bars at 9.45 and her 36.625 all-around score placed third. Meghan Ballou was fourth at 36.6, finishing second at 9.55 in floor exercise.

Both will compete in the J.O. Western Nationals in St. Louis, May 5-8.

Level 8 gymnasts ended their season, Katya Finta finishing second all-around in Junior C age group with a 37.275 regional total. Renee Messling won floor exercise at 9.575, was fourth on beam at 9.4 and eighth all-around with a 37.0 total. Lianne Walker won vault at 9.45 and tied for fifth at 9.35.

They all compete for Northwest Gymnastics Academy, coached by Mike and Nancy Armstrong.