A look at last year’s finishes as prep sports are delayed

Gov. Jay Inslee’s order closing all public and private schools in Washington until April 24 put the brakes on high school soccer, baseball, track and and softball teams that were just about to launch in the spring sports season. 

It’s currently unknown when — and if — seasons will be played this year. 

Here’s a look at how some of the teams fared last year and what their expectations were prior to the school closures. 

Baseball

The La Center Wildcats had a relatively young team last year. With only two seniors, the team broke even in the 1A Trico league at 10-10. While the team may have graduated a low number of seniors, only three juniors were on the books to take their place, giving the Wildcats another young team to play with this year.

Last May, the Ridgefield Spudders took home their first district title in more than a decade after they defeated Columbia River 4-2 in the final round. Going 18-7 overall in the regular season, the Spuds lost out in the second round of regionals last year and graduated four seniors last June. 

Going 9-13 overall last year, the Woodland Beavers were gearing up for the 2020 season under new Head Coach Joseph Brown. Graduating seven seniors last year seemed to be no problem for the team that now has seven more, with more juniors to boot. 

The Hockinson Hawks graduated six seniors after their 5-10 season last year. While their season may have ended after a 2-1 win over Woodland in the early part of last May, the team had seven juniors last year to fill the spots of the 2019 graduates.

Local 3A team the Prairie Falcons ended their run in the regular season last year with a 7-12 record. Led by coach Cameron Chilcote, the team finished ahead of the Fort Vancouver Trappers in the league. The Falcons graduated five seniors last year and had five juniors to fill their spots. 

Battle Ground finished the 2018-19 season with a 7-11 record. Graduating eight seniors last year and only filling their spots with a prospective five players means the Tigers could have a younger team.

Softball

La Center took home second place in the 1A league after going 8-15 in the regular season. While the team was a little younger and graduated four seniors following the season, only five juniors were slated to take their place this spring. 

The Ridgefield Spudders ended their season in stride after the loss of their beloved coach Dusty Anchors last spring. While an all-out battle for the district title against powerhouse Woodland may have ended in a 3-1 loss, the Spuds still managed to bring home third-place hardware from the state tournament. The team graduated five seniors after their run, leaving Ridgefield with a younger team this year. 

For the past couple of years, the Woodland Beavers have been a powerhouse in the 2A GSHL. With back-to-back state championship wins and a 2019 season that ended with no losses the Beavers were the team to beat over the past few years. With star pitcher Olivia Grey leading the way, the Beavers never let their opponents score more than two runs last year, and most games ended in shutouts. The team graduated five seniors last year, with Grey being one of them.

Prairie took home fifth in the 3A district tournament last year after going 18-10 overall for the season. Following the district tournament in Lacey, the Falcons ended their state run after four games, the last one being a 9-6 loss against Snohomish. This year, the Falcons are running a younger team with only three seniors and three juniors. 

A 21-8 overall record in the regular season led the Battle Ground Tigers to a second-place win in the district tournament last year. Following the district win, the Tigers season ended in the third to last round of the State Tournament after a 3-1 loss to Redmond. 

Boys Soccer

La Center finished 7-11 overall in the Trico 1A regular season last year. After a run in the district tournament that ended after a 5-0 loss to Hoquiam, the Wildcats graduated four seniors. 

The Ridgefield Spudders finished fourth in districts last year after a 9-11 overall season in the 2A Greater Saint Helens League. The team graduated seven seniors last year. 

Hockinson ended their season 5-10 overall last year, placing second to last in the league. The Hawks graduated six seniors last year but had a plethora of juniors to fill their spots for the upcoming season. 

Led by Head Coach Bryan Vogel, the Woodland Beavers placed second in the district tournament last year. After bringing home the district hardware, the Beavers hit the pitch at the state tournament and won the first round before falling 4-0 to Sehome. The team only graduated four seniors last year and will be a team to look out for if games get underway. 

The Prairie Falcons ended their 9-6 season in the final consolation round of the district tournament and took sixth. This year, the team is loaded with nine seniors and six juniors leading the way for another chance at the district title — if play gets underway. 

The Battle Ground Tigers ended their 2018-19 season 4-9-2. The team graduated eight seniors and should expect a younger team this year as there were only two juniors slated to fill their spots.