Kyle Nobach not only played like an MVP, he dressed like one.
Nobach, an infielder from Marysville Pilchuck High School, was named the All-State Offensive MVP Sunday after leading Team Baker to the championship of the annual Senior All-State Baseball weekend in Yakima.
Batting in the leadoff spot Saturday, Nobach scored twice and drove in a run as Team Baker defeated Team Adams 9-3 to advance to the title game. At the event’s banquet that evening, Nobach was the only one of the 72 players to wear a tie.
“My grandma made me do it,” he told the Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper. “She thought it was the right thing to do.”
On Sunday, Nobach led off the championship game with a double, sparking a four-run first inning. He singled in the second and scored a run in the fourth as Team Baker beat Team Rainier 7-2.
“I moved up to batting leadoff this year and I really like it,” he told the Herald-Republic. “I’m usually an aggressive hitter and I look for any way to get on base and get things started. It’s challenging and fun to be in that position.”
The only hitch in Nobach’s weekend was getting thrown out at home after Sunday’s leadoff double. He fell victim to a strong throw from right field by Kentwood’s Tanner Wessling and a quick sweep tag by Archbishop Murphy catcher Alex Galgano … or did he?
Nobach, an all-state defensive back on MP’s football team, had a different view.
“I was safe,” he told the Herald-Republic. “It was close but I got in there.”
Justin Vernia of Issaquah was named the All-State Defensive MVP. Pitching for Team Baker, he threw four scoreless innings in the championship game, allowing just two hits and striking out six.
WWU honors Allen
Senior John Allen was named the 2013 co-Male Athlete of the Year last week at the annual Dub-Dub-Blue Awards Ceremony at Western Washington University.
Allen led the Vikings men’s 2012-13 basketball team to a 31-3 record, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season title and a berth in the NCAA Division II semifinals. He averaged 17.1 points and 4.1 assists per game.
He was named the GNAC Player of the Year and earned first-team Division II Bulletin and Basketball Times All-America honors. He was named a third-team All-American by Daktronics.
Allen, a graduate of Mountlake Terrace High School, shared the Male Athlete of the Year award with senior golfer Jake Webb.
Mullins named All-American
Snohomish High School graduate Nate Mullins was named a first-team All-American last week by the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association.
Mullins, a junior third baseman for Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb., hit .387 with nine home runs and 50 RBI as he led the Bruins to a 45-10-1 record and the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. He was named the MCAC Player of the Year.
Mullins played his first two seasons of college baseball at Everett Community College. He’s playing this summer for the Everett Merchants of the Pacific International League.
Dorcas helps Knights win title
Sophomore outfielder Rae Dorcas helped Wenatchee Valley College win its first Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges softball title last month in Portland, Ore. The Knights defeated Douglas College 6-5 in the championship game on May 20. Dorcas was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in the title contest.
For the season, she hit .380 with one home run and 35 RBI. She was named a first-team Eastern Region All-Star for the second straight year and also made the conference’s 2013 All-Academic Team.
Dorcas, a graduate of Cascade High School, plans to continue her softball career next year at Corban University in Salem, Ore.
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