The Clark College baseball team’s postseason hopes remain alive entering the final weekend of the regular season.
The Penguins split a pair of doubleheaders against Pierce College last weekend. At 9-11 in the Northwest Athletic Conference’s West Region, Clark is one game behind Pierce (10-10) in the race for the last of the region’s four postseason berths.
The Penguins conclude the regular season with four games next weekend against Olympic (8-12), starting with a doubleheader Friday in Bremerton. Clark then will salute its sophomores with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Kindsfather Field.
Against Pierce, the Penguins showed resilience in earning a split of Saturday’s doubleheader. After losing the opener 19-4, Clark rebounded 12-4 in the nightcap.
After falling behind 3-0, Clark took advantage of three Pierce errors to score five runs in the bottom of the first. That was enough support for Tyler Ramelli, who allowed just five hits over seven innings to improve to 3-0 on the season with his third complete game. At the plate, Kaiden Hernandez went 3 for 5 while Andrew Israel and Kobin Mullins each had two hits.
Sunday in Tacoma, the Penguins against bounced back by winning 8-4 after being held to four hits in a 6-0 loss in the opener. Jase Pashales went 3 for 4 including an RBI double that kick-started Clark’s six-run second inning.
Softball
Record: 12-26, 8-16, fifth NWAC South.
Last week: The Penguins split a home doubleheader against Centralia on Friday before losing two at Gray’s Harbor on Saturday.
After losing the opener to Centralia 13-3, Clark bounced back to win the nightcap 7-5. Gabby Ventura went 2 for 4 with three RBI and a double while leadoff hitter Delaney Bollman scored three runs, thanks in part to drawing three walks.
On Saturday, Clark fell to Gray’s Harbor 8-7 and 9-1. The Penguins nearly clawed back from a 8-4 deficit in the opener by scoring three runs in the sixth.
Ashlynn Runnels went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBI while Ventura doubled twice.
This week: The Penguins conclude their season with a busy week. Clark hosts Southwestern Oregon for a doubleheader Tuesday and Chemeketa for a doubleheader on Thursday. The season ends Saturday with a road doubleheader at Mt. Hood.
Track and Field
Last week: Koynn Williamdyke further established himself as a championship hopeful, posting a new NWAC-best in the 400 meter hurdles. The freshman from R.A. Long set a personal best of 53.33 seconds Saturday at the Oregon State High Performance meet in Corvallis.
The hurdle duo of Max Ensinger and Jackson McQuain also lowered their personal bests in the 110 meter hurdles. McQuain finished second in 14.81 seconds for the No. 2 time in the NWAC this year. Ensinger’s time of 15.14 seconds ranks fourth in the NWAC.
This week: Clark heads into the postseason Saturday at the NWAC Southern Regionals at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore.
