Community roundup: Ladines leads Kent St. to NCAA Regionals
Published 1:30 am Monday, May 15, 2017
If ever a player carried a team to a surprise championship, it was Ronnie Ladines this past weekend.
The Arlington High School graduate, now a senior at Kent State University, was named the MVP of the Mid-American Conference softball tournament after her heroics led the Golden Flashes to the tournament championship and a spot in the NCAA Regionals.
Ladines did everything for Kent State, the tournament’s No. 4 seed. She pitched in all six of the Golden Flashes’ games, earning four wins and a save. She also was devastating at the plate, going 9-for-17 with four home runs.
Ladines saved her best for Saturday, the tournament’s final day. Kent State found itself in the losers bracket, needing to win three straight elimination games to claim the title. Ladines started the first game against third-seeded Northern Illinois, throwing four innings and getting the win in a 9-3 victory. In the second game, she tossed a perfect seventh inning to earn the save in a 1-0 victory over second-seeded Ohio. Then in the final winner-take-all game against Ohio, Ladines tossed a six-hit shutout and also slugged a two-run first-inning home run as the Golden Flashes won 3-0 to claim the title.
“It was a long ride, but I think our momentum just kept us going straight through,” Ladines said in an interview posted on the tournament website. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.
“I just have to say it’s all with my teammates,” Ladines added. “They helped me push through every inning, every out, of every game. Even when we got in the losers bracket they supported us all the way through and we just knew we were going to come through and win.”
Kent State (32-26) was made the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Regional in Waco, Texas. The Golden Flashes open the double-elimination tournament against host Baylor, ranked 15th nationally, on Friday. The Regional also includes James Madison and Oregon State.
Everett CC wins North Region
The Everett Community College baseball team claimed its second straight NWAC North Region championship by sweeping four games from Shoreline over the weekend.
On Saturday, the Trojans swept a doubleheader at home, winning 9-1 and 7-2. Then on Sunday, Everett won two at Shoreline by scores of 15-0 and 12-9. The highlights included Dalton Chapman throwing a seven-inning no-hitter in the 15-0 victory, and Trent Tinglestad and Cameron McGrath each collecting nine hits over the four contests.
Everett finished the season 19-5 in league and is assured of finishing ahead of second-place Bellevue, which was 16-6 with two games remaining. The Trojans, who finished 33-11 overall, will be the North Region’s top seed to the NWAC Baseball Championships, scheduled for May 25-29 in Longview.
Hatch helps Western reach nationals
Kamiak High School graduate Chris Hatch played a major role in helping the Western Washington University men’s golf team qualify for the NCAA Division II national championships.
Hatch, a senior at Western, tied for 15th at the West/South Central Super Regional played last week at Brookside Country Club in Stockton, California, finishing with a three-round score of 5-under-par 211. He was second among Western’s five participants as the Vikings finished in a tie for third in the team competition. The top five teams advanced to nationals. The national tournament begins Monday at Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Florida.
Washington Rush headed to regionals
The Everett-based Washington Rush boys 2001 team will compete at the US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships on June 19-25 in Redmond. The Rush earned the honor by claiming the boys 16-U championship at the US Youth Soccer Washington State Championships in February.
The team, coached by Andy Machin, includes Kaleb Ruiz, Noah Venditto, Jaxon Baker, Connor Ruis, Harrison Rohrbough, Dante Bianco, Sebastian Figueroa, Jonathan Passey, Zach Stancik, Max Stultz, Kevin Giessler, Ethan Fuerte, Drew Polly, Jake Williams, Andrew Shin and Graham Colar.
If you have an idea for a community sports story, e-mail Nick Patterson at npatterson@heraldnet.com.
