County’s best senior baseball players competed in doubleheader at Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex
RIDGEFIELD — Nick Alder of Columbia River and Riley McCarthy of Mountain View were named MVPs of the Clark County Senior All-Star baseball doubleheader Wednesday night, and then were among those selected to represent the region at the Washington All-State Baseball games in July.
Sawyer Parkin of Columbia River also was voted by area coaches to go to Yakima. Seven other players are now in a pool with the possibility of being drafted to the all-state teams.
Those decisions were made after more than three dozen players got together at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex on Wednesday for the Clark County doubleheader, feeder games to the all-state weekend.
Like all sports this academic year, the players were just thrilled to have a season. And for baseball players, there was the extra bonus of being on the field for the county all-star games.
“It was definitely cool to be out with everyone. That was something pretty special,” Alder said. “A lot of these guys I haven’t seen in years. It was fun to reunite with people and have a go at it.”
McCarthy agreed.
“It’s awesome. It’s a bunch of familiar faces, guys you grew up playing with, playing against. It’s great to have one last memory, to be able to come out and compete and have a good time with these guys and rag on each other a little bit,” McCarthy said. “There’s nothing like baseball.”
Both players received plaques and scholarship money as MVPs in honor of Corporal Jeremiah Jewel Johnson, a former Prairie High School baseball player who died serving the country in 2007.
“It’s a huge honor,” McCarthy said. “These games, I grew up hearing about all the seniors coming to these games, competing, having a good time. Just to come out and be able to show the kind of player I am, and to be honored like that, with a hero like that, it’s a great honor.”
“We stand before every game and hear the national anthem play. It means a lot that those guys stepped up for us,” Alder said. “Cpl. Jeremiah Johnson made a big sacrifice for us. To be awarded this honor is pretty cool.”
After the games, area coaches got together, as is their custom, to determine the county’s all-state representatives and pool players.
The top three vote getters — Alder, McCarthy, and Parkin — are going to Yakima for the all-state series July 10 and 11. Alder, coaches said, is one of the best players in Columbia River’s rich history. Parkin was the league’s pitcher of the year. McCarthy was the 3A player of the year and hit .541 this season for the Thunder.
The next seven players are in the pool as potential draftees to the all-state games. In alphabetical order, they are:
Irving Alvarez of La Center
Russell Fearington of Evergreen
Tyson Lindemood of Battle Ground
Ryan McClintock of Prairie
Mikey Miller of Skyview
Kyle Olson of Skyview
Cade Reitzenstein of Skyview
