The Bs

Bi-County: As with football and basketball, Lind-Ritzville’s drop back into the B ranks should shake up the top of the league’s baseball standings. Last year, the Broncos reached the quarterfinals of the State 1A tournament before losing 8-6 to Okanogan. Davenport and Wilbur-Creston also both had successful seasons last year, with Davenport finishing third in state and W-C losing to the Gorillas in the State B quarterfinals. Reardan’s baseball team began the season with a doubleheader sweep of St. George’s on Tuesday, including Shawn Westerman’s two-hit shutout in the opener.

Panorama: Curlew’s softball team may have ended last season in disappointing fashion with a 6-5, 10-inning loss in the State B first round to Sunnyside Christian, but all three all-league players return for the Cougars. This has been a year of breakthroughs for this group of girls at the school, with an enrollment only in the low 50s. The volleyball team made the school’s first state tournament and the basketball team finished third at state, the school’s first girls hoops trophy since 1978.

Whitman County: WCL baseball teams are looking to reverse last year’s disappointment, when the league had no teams in the State B tournament. For the WCL, placing teams in the state tournament is always tough because the league combines with the Blue Mountain Conference for district. One of the members of the BML, DeSales, has won 12 of the last 13 State B baseball championships. District 9 state berths haven’t been announced yet, but if it’s the same as last year, DeSales will take one and everyone else will be fighting for the second.