MVPs announced, plus coaches voted for all-state representatives
RIDGEFIELD — Nikki Scott of Heritage and Colin Schiller of Prairie were named the MVPs of the Clark County Senior All-Star Baseball Games on Tuesday.
After the doubleheader, Sam Boyle of Columbia River, Tyler Howard of Skyview, and Reece Walling of Prairie were voted by area coaches as the top three players from the county who will represent the region at the all-state series June 25-26.
Look for more to join those three in Yakima, as well. The voting process allows for Clark County to select 10 nominees for the all-state series. The top three are guaranteed spots at the all-state event, while the other seven could be selected.
The other seven, listed in alphabetical order: Adam Deeney of Columbia River; Braeden Getch of Battle Ground; Drew Hancock of Camas; Kyle Memarian of Skyview; Scott from Heritage; Schiller from Prairie; and Casey Struckmeier of Columbia River.
Tuesday’s doubleheader, held at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex, showcases seniors from baseball teams throughout Clark County, all wearing their school uniforms.
For Scott, it was a memorable end to his high school career in Clark County, a career that took a long time to get started.
An injury in football led to him missing his freshman baseball season at Heritage. There was no baseball season his sophomore year as the pandemic hit. He again got injured in the abbreviated football season and missed last year’s short baseball campaign.
This year, he got to shine for the Timberwolves on the baseball diamond — his No. 1 sport.
“All I’ve been through, and all the hard work I’ve put in, it just made everything worth it,” Scott said.
He is grateful for being healthy, and it was special being named one of the two MVPs of the all-star games. He had five strikeouts in his three innings on the mound. That included striking out three in a row with a runner on third base.
Scott plans to play for St. Martin’s University in Lacey next academic year. He wants to major in computer science.
While it was frustrating to go through all of his injuries, he always knew things would work out if he continued to work hard.
“I just tried to look at the bigger picture, try not to be in the moment so much,” Scott said. “Think about how the hard work will pay off at the end.”
Also read:
- Clark County Today Sports Podcast, March 28, 2024: Have fun this spring break, a talk about spring sports scheduling, and happy opening day MLB fansGetting ready for Spring Break, we talk about spring sports and the schedule change coming next year for spring championships, plus it’s opening day in the MLB, there is some high school football news, March Madness, and we even talk old-school USFL.
- Vancouver youth now ranked No. 1 in the country by USA BoxingCain Elizondo Jr. of Vancouver has won two national championships this year, and on Friday, the official rankings were released, and he is the No. 1 intermediate (ages 13-14) 125-pound boxer in the country.
- Warm stretch of weather is just what Vancouver, and baseball players, could useCoaches and players cannot recall such a long stretch of warm, sunny days during a high school baseball season this early in the season, as the Vancouver-Portland area braces for potentially a long stretch of 70-degree days.
- Middle school girls have a wrestling tournament of their ownCascade Middle School hosts a girls-only wrestling tournament every year in hopes of mirroring the formats of high school wrestling, where boys and girls have separate state competitions.
- Clark County Today Sports Podcast, March 6, 2024: A salute to the Camas girls basketball team, and a welcome to In n Out BurgerIt is the week after state championship basketball, so we focused on the Camas girls basketball team, a salute to the Papermakers for winning the Class 4A title.