Wednesday’s highlights

Kentwood’s Austin Voth emerged victorious in a pitching duel with Kentlake’s Zach Wright, leading the Conquerors to a 4-0 win. Voth fanned 15, gave up three hits and walked one in six innings, while Wright struck out 14 for the Falcons. Voth and Wright have each signed with the University of Washington.

Rayne Raven tossed a complete game, scattering five hits over seven innings, pitching Curtis to a 4-1 win at Beamer.

Bryan Burgher struck out 10 batters and walked one in a complete game shutout, leading Emerald Ridge over Bethel, 2-0.
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OK, so there is no real tournament to determine a national champion in high school basketball. The closest we’ll come, it seems, is using some soulless algorithm, as the fine folks at USA Today have done in the Virtual National Championship tournament.

Auburn Riverside, a No. 6 seed, “won” their first-round game.
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Here’s our softball preview. Here’s a feature on Steilacoom standout Marki Creger-Zier, who will play at the University of Washington next year.

And here are four story lines to follow

1. Can a 4A West Central District team end the state title drought?
It’s been eight years since a team from the West Central District has reached the softball state championship game. Since Kentridge won the title in 2002, teams from KingCo (4), Greater Spokane League (4), Greater St. Helens (5) and WesCo (1) have dominated the final round.
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What to watch today

Kentwood center Joshua Smith will play for the West in the McDonald’s All-American Game today in Columbus, Ohio.
Time: 5 p.m.
TV: ESPN

Tuesday’s highlights

Emerald Ridge’s Zack Cloe tossed six innings of one-hit ball, earning the win in the Jaguars’ 8-0 win against Decatur. Steven Blume popped a home run for Emerald Ridge.
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Curtis senior Taylor Dean leads all Boys Division I lacrosse players in scoring with 6.00 points per game. Dean has scored a division-high 19 goals and has five assists.

Teammate Colby Carr, a junior, ranks sixth in the division with 4.5 ppg, and Vashon’s Hamzah Griffin is 10th, averaging 3.67 ppg.
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Our spring sports “previews” our running this week. I used the quotation marks around preview because the season began in mid-March and unfortunately for spring sports, that’s right in the middle of the basketball state tournaments. If you read the paper or visited this site during the tournaments, you know that we go all-out on state hoops.

That said, we’re starting with our baseball preview, and softball, track and boys soccer will follow this week. We’ll dive deeper into spring sports next week and throughout the rest of the season.

Here are some story lines to follow during the baseball season:

1. No shortage of top-tier talent in the South Sound.
Central Kitsap’s Drew Vettleson leads a talented class of seniors. The power-hitting outfielder is also an ambidextrous pitcher. Vettleson has signed with Oregon State and will be joined in Corvallis, Ore., by Fife P Cam Booser and Gig Harbor P Scott Schultz. Going to the University of Washington are Kentlake P Zach Wright, Sumner C Alex Sloan, Kentwood P Austin Voth and Jefferson P Jeff Brigham. Puyallup 3B/P Sal Arena, Auburn Mountainview P Brandon Williams and Kentright INF Stetson Olson will play at Washington State. Tahoma INF Taylor Smart signed with UNLV and Bonney Lake P Brian Davis will throw at South Dakota State.
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What to watch on Tuesday

A pair of undefeated baseball teams with SPSL North title aspirations will clash when Jefferson (3-0 league, 6-0 overall) visits Kentlake (2-0, 5-0).
Time: 4 p.m.
Where: Kentlake

Auburn Riverside will try to maintain its first-place status in the SPSL North when it hosts second-place Auburn in a boys soccer contest.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Auburn Riverside

Monday’s highlights

Nate McDaneld scored twice and John LeSage tallied two assists for Rogers in its 4-1 boys soccer victory against Graham-Kapowsin.
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Kentwood senior Joshua Smith will participate in the McDonald’s All-American game at 5 p.m. Wednesday. If you can’t make it to the game at Columbus, Ohio, ESPN will broadcast the contest live.

For more information on the game, click here.