Softball team shows improvement
By Mark McKenna, Herald staff writer
The Columbia Basin College softball team dropped its first six games of the season and nine of its first 11. But toward the end of the ugly start, coach Eric Weisgerber saw a bright spot in a 5-1 loss to Lower Columbia.

"We played good, solid softball," Weisgerber said of the Hawks' performance against the Red Devils, the top-ranked team in the NWAACC. "Even though we lost, we did things the right way. We had good at-bats and we played good defense. I knew if we carried that over to league play, we'd be OK."

The Hawks have certainly come together, and as the midway point of the East Region's 28-game schedule hits, Weisgerber's club owns a respectable 10-14 overall record and a 7-5 league mark (in a virtual tie with Spokane and Blue Mountain for third place). The top four teams qualify for the postseason.

 "I tell our girls not to look at our nonleague record," Weisgerber said. "We specifically played a tough schedule early to prepare for the East. It's definitely the most competitive region."

Fortunately, the Hawks have one of the NWAACC's biggest bats in sophomore outfielder Brittany Cherry. The Pasco High graduate, who led the CBC basketball team to the NWAACC title last month, is batting .633 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs -- all team highs.

"I think all the success Brittany had in basketball has helped her in softball," Weisgerber said. "She has so much confidence every time she steps to the plate. She's just ripping the ball."

Cherry has had plenty of support. Sophomore third baseman Jennie Harp is batting .364 with eight home runs, freshman shortstop Amy Woodland is batting .403 with 16 RBIs, and freshman catcher Daisy Cardenas is hitting .344.

"The strength of our team is the middle of the order," Weisgerber said. "We knew coming into the season that we'd have to score a lot of runs to win games, and we've done a pretty good job so far."

The Hawks will need their offense to click this weekend as they play two key doubleheaders. CBC meets Blue Mountain at 2 p.m. today in Pasco, then plays host to Treasure Valley at noon Saturday.

"Our goal this season is to make it to the tournament," Weisgerber said. "In the past, a .500 league record has been good enough. We still have a long way to go, but if we continue to improve, we've got a good shot."

-- The CBC baseball team is in a dogfight of its own. The Hawks (22-6, 6-4), who entered the week as the top-ranked team in the NWAACC, split a pair of games at Treasure Valley on Wednesday and now find themselves in a three-way tie for second place in the East standings. CBC, Treasure Valley and Walla Walla trail league leader Wenatchee Valley by one game, two in the loss column.