Ten Lower Columbia College baseball players, including three all-NWAACC selections and the Western Division MVP, will play in the NWAACC Baseball Sophomore Showcase on Saturday and Sunday on David Story Field.

Slated to play for the Western Division team are all-NWAACC second baseman Eric Lane (Western Division MVP, .408 batting average, 27 RBIs), designated hitter Aaron Grenz (.394) and catcher Ben Grubb (.327, five home runs), all-Western Division infielder Chris Pierce (.348), and pitchers Tim Culligan (7-1, 0.86 earned run average) and Levi Dean (1-0, four saves, 1.06).

Also invited to play are pitcher Drew Pettit (1-0, 0.90), catchers Aaron Smothers (.358) and Taylor Schenck (injured in 2008), and Boise, Idaho, transfer pitcher Todd Griffiths, formerly of Wenatchee Valley (6-3, 4.03).

Infielder Cody Garner was also slated to play, but will miss the contest and possibly the season after injuring his shoulder in an ATV accident during the summer. Garner earned all-Western Division honors as a freshman after hitting .367 with two home runs and 25 RBIs.

On Saturday, the Northern and Eastern Division sophomores will play a doubleheader beginning at noon, with the Western and Southern sophomores to compete in a twinbill at noon Sunday.

The Red Devils have also scheduled a series of games beginning at noon on Saturdays in October. LCC entertains Bellevue on Oct. 3, and will entertain to-be-determined teams in Oct. 10, 17 and 24. The fall season wraps up with the annual 100-inning fundraiser on Oct. 31. The LCC players will scrimmage against themselves at 10 a.m., followed by the LCC Alumni taking the field against the Devils at 3.

Sophomore Showcase kicks off fall softball season

Three Lower Columbia College softball players have been selected to participate in the Softball Sophomore Showcase on Saturday at Portland’s Delta Park East.

Pitchers Aly Rae and Emily Sinclair, along with catcher Kim Paollili have been invited to participate in the event for the Southern Division team, which plays the Western Division sophomores at 2:30 p.m. and the Northern Division squad at 4:30.

All three LCC players earned all-Southern Division honors last season. Paollili hit .363 with 12 home runs and 39 runs batted in, Rae had a 12-3 record with a 3.31 earned run average, and Sinclair went 9-0 with a 2.15 ERA.

In addition to the Sophomore Showcase games, the NWAACC Fall Classic Tournament will be conducted on the same day at Delta Park. The tournament is 32 games contested by 18 of the league’s teams. LCC is slated to play Walla Walla at 11 a.m., followed by Columbia Basin at 12:30 and Wenatchee Valley at 6:30.

The Lady Devils will also compete in the Husky Softball Classic at the University of Washington Oct. 2-4. On Oct. 3, LCC plays Seattle University at 12:30 p.m., followed by a matchup with defending NCAA champion Washington at 2:20. On Oct. 4, LCC meets Bellevue College at 9 a.m., followed by a contest with Simon Fraser University of Canada at 11.

LCC closes out its fall season with a doubleheader on Oct. 10 at Portland’s Erv Lind Stadium. At 10:45 a.m. the Lady Devils play Concordia, which features ex-LCC players Camy Way (first base), Laura Thorp (second base) and Kayla Vickaryous (outfield). The Lady Devils also play Portland State University at 2:15, which includes ex-LCC and Kelso High standout Carri O’Neil as a senior pitcher.

Locals on NWAACC rosters

Numerous former area prep standouts are playing volleyball, soccer and running cross country in NWAACC schools during the fall season.

Ex-Mark Morris players Sarah Charette and Tara Anderson are a sophomore libero and a freshman outside hitter, respectively, at Vancouver’s Clark College. At Blue Mountain College in Pendleton, MM’s Rebecca Haight is a freshman libero, and K.C. Schmit of Kalama is a freshman outside hitter.

Kelso’s Andrea DeRosier is a freshman setter at Wenatchee Valley College, and Columbia Basin College includes R.A. Long freshman setter Brittany Weiand and Onalaska freshman outside hitter Amber Durand.

Centralia College has five area players, including Toledo’s Hilary Luhn, a sophomore outside hitter. Napavine’s Laina Potter and Chelsea Anderson are a freshman setter and outside hitter, respectively, Onalaska’s Jayme Ahmann is a freshman middle blocker, and Mossyrock’s Corissa Beairsto is a freshman outside hitter.

Astoria’s Emily Wilson is a freshman outside hitter at Pierce College in Lakewood.

Four area players are in their second year of playing women’s soccer at Clark College. Ridgefield’s Samantha Neinstadt is a forward, Julie Schmitt is a defender and Rachel Abella plays midfield, and Winlock’s Hailey Bryant is a defender. Ridgefield’s Cori Jo Young is a sophomore midfielder at Spokane College.

In men’s soccer at Clark College, R.A. Long’s Robbie Tackwell and Ridgefield’s Brock Killinger are both freshman defenders.

Toutle Lake’s Kandra Kent is a freshman with the Clark cross country team, and R.A. Long’s Amy Greenwood is a sophomore runner at Highline College.