The Bruce Report
"A Periodic Piece of Records, History, News, Notes, and Stuff." -by Bruce Bennett
for May 16, 2012

"Golf is a game in which one endeavors to control a ball with implements ill adapted for the purpose." - Woodrow Wilson

SOFTBALL (26-2, 38-5)

Champions once more. Wenatchee Valley won its seventh consecutive league pennant to extend their NWAACC record title streak. Since 2006 the Knights have won four championships outright and shared three others. Pierce is next in consecutive titles with five (they won the West Region in 2007 to '11). Overall the Knights have won 14 championships or an average of just about one every two years for the 29 seasons they've been in business. And the 14 ties them with Spokane a for most region titles in NWAACC history. Next is Lower Columbia with 10.

In a season full of highlights, one more can be added. The Black and Silver went undefeated at home…18 games, 18 victories (14 league, 4 nonleague). The best previous record was 95.7 percent by the 22-1 team in 1991.

And how about that home field during the seven-year title run. WVC has won 88.8 percent of the games at North Rotary Field with 127 wins and only 16 losses.

With a 26-2 league record they established yet another school record. That's 92.9 percent wins breaking the old mark of 90.0 percent when the 1993 team went 18-2.

The 16-team NWAACC tournament is next at Delta Park in Portland. The Knights open with Grays Harbor (12-25) at 11:30 Friday morning. The Chokers finished third in the 5-team West Region. For the first time in this tourney a seeding system has been used. Wenatchee Valley is seeded number one and Grays Harbor number 16. WVC is 21- 10 all-time vs. the Chokers and has done pretty good recently. The Knights have won 13 straight and 19 of the last 20. They last played in 2009. Shelly Pflugrath is 3-0 against GHCC.

This will be the Knights 12th visit to the NWAACC tournament in Pflugrath's 13 seasons (missed in 2002). Last spring they placed third, and earned fourths in 2006 and '07. Pflugrath has guided teams to 19 wins in 40 games.

So far the young ladies are yielding 1.74 runs per game. The team record was set in 1994 at 1.77.

Final standings: Wenatchee Valley 26-2, Walla Walla 24-4, Treasure Valley 18-10, Spokane 17-11, Big Bend 9-19, Blue Mountain 7-21, Columbia Basin 6-22, Yakima Valley 5-23.

New school records: With a sweep of Yakima Valley Saturday records keep getting extended. Overall win streak is now 26. Old mark 17 in 1987. Home win streak is now 25. Old mark 23 in 1990-91. League winning streak is now 24. Old mark 17 in 1987. 38-5 record matches last year's squad for best 43 game start.

BASEBALL (11-17, 19-21)

Unfortunately a winning season turned into a losing season when two Wenatchee Valley wins were forfeited due to the use of an ineligible player. Both of these games were league contests so instead of a tie for fifth the Knights finished seventh in the East Region. In 44 seasons and 1,294 games these are the first forfeits WVC has ever been involved with.

The 19 wins are the seventh most in school history. Of course it was impossible in the early days to equal that number as for their first 14 years the team averaged 14.6 total games per season.

Final standings: Yakima Valley 19-9, Columbia Basin 19-9, Treasure Valley 18-10, Walla Walla 16-12, Big Bend 13- 15, Spokane 12-16, Wenatchee Valley 11-17, Blue Mountain 4-24.