Edmonds CC defends crown

PASCO — Edmonds coach Donnie Marbut looked exhausted, relieved and jubilant all at the same time after the NWAACC championship game against Lower Columbia yesterday at Tri-Cities Stadium.

Exhausted because his team had just finished 21 innings in seven hours over the course of two games. Relieved because the Tritons (43-7) escaped a major jam in the 10th inning of the second game to prolong the contest.

And jubilant because Edmonds scored two runs in the top of the 12th inning to take a 5-3 victory to win its second consecutive NWAACC title.

"Repeating is a lot harder," said Marbut, the conference coach of the year. "We had a great regular season, and we felt like we had a good chance coming in here to do what we did. But with the talent of the seven other teams here, it can get tough. I feel as fortunate as anybody. We got lucky."

Cody McAllister pitched four innings of scoreless relief in the final game, and Kaeo Rubin was named MVP after leading the tournament in runs, hits and runs batted in. Infielder Travis Storrer and starting pitcher Ty Taubenheim also were on the all-tournament team for Edmonds.

The Tritons, who set a record Sunday for most victories in league history, lost 4-3 in yesterday's first game with Lower Columbia.

But Edmonds scored twice in the top of the 12th of Game 2. With one out, Jake Wheeler had a pinch-hit double and advanced to third on a passed ball. With two outs, he scored when Andrew LaFave's grounder to third was booted. Tyler Mayfield made it 5-3 with an RBI double.

Notes

• All-American Brock MacKenzie leads Washington into the NCAA Division I men's golf championships today at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla.

• Three members of Western Washington's women's varsity eight shell earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/NCAA Division II honors. Coxswain Emily Davis, a Mount Si High graduate, and No. 7 seat Katie Miller of Fife were named first-team All-Americans, and bow seat Laurel Kaminski of Newport High in Bellevue, was a national scholar-athlete. The Vikings compete in nationals in Indianapolis Thursday through Saturday.

• Brian Ching, former Sounder and Gonzaga graduate, saw his first action with the U.S. Men's National Team in its 2-0 victory over Wales in a friendly in San Jose.