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Northwest Sports Update: Donovan returns to Mariners for road trip, Seahawks ownership interest dwindling, WWU softball battles in Day 2 of GNAC tournament and more

Northwest Sports Update: Donovan returns to Mariners for road trip, Seahawks ownership interest dwindling, WWU softball battles in Day 2 of GNAC tournament and more

WWU's Alanna Wirtala winds up during the Vikings' GNAC Championships match in Ellensburg on Friday, May 8. Image courtesy of WWU Athletics. Photo: Contributed


Mariners News

The Mariners are kicking off their road trip tonight with a major reinforcement.

The team activated All-Star third baseman Brendan Donovan off the 10-day injured list ahead of their series opener against the Chicago White Sox. Donovan has been the team’s most consistent batter this season, leading them in batting average and on-base percentage from the leadoff spot.

The M’s are still sitting two games below .500 and a game and a half behind the Athletics for first place in the AL West. They’re now facing a White Sox team that owns a nearly identical record.

Emerson Hancock is on the mound as he looks to build on his 14-strikeout gem from last weekend.

Coverage begins at 3:30 and first pitch is at 4:40 on KPUG.

Seahawks News

Public interest in buying the Seahawks may not be as high as initially thought.

ESPN reports that several league sources say the franchise has been drawing softer-than-expected interest roughly three months after it was put up for sale.

Initial estimates had the team selling for up to $11 billion, but the sources now have it pegged at just over $9 billion, which would still be a record price for an NFL team.

Storm News

The Storm are tipping off their season tonight.

They’re hosting the Golden State Valkyries in their season opener.

Seattle’s coming off a rough offseason where they lost their top five scorers from last year in free agency. But their future is looking bright behind last year’s second overall pick Dominique Malonga and this year’s third overall pick Awa Fam Thiam.

Tonight’s game tips off at 7:00 from Climate Pledge Arena.

WWU Vikings News

Western’s softball team just suffered a setback in their path to securing a national tournament berth.

The Vikings fell to Simon Frasier 9-5 this afternoon on Day 2 of the GNAC Championships in Ellensburg.

Luckily for the Viks, the tournament is double-elimination, so they’re playing Saint Martin’s at 3 pm today for a spot in tomorrow’s championship game, where they’d have to beat Simon Frasier twice.

The GNAC tournament champion will book an automatic bid to the national tournament, while the loser will have to wait until the NCAA selection show on Monday to learn their fate.

Prep Sports News

District tournaments are coming into full swing for prep sports this weekend.

In boys soccer, Sehome, Lynden and Squalicum are all moving on to the 2A district semifinals after securing wins last night. Sehome will play Lynden at Civic Stadium at 1 pm tomorrow before Squalicum takes on Lakewood at 3 pm, each for spots in the district title game.

In the 1A tourney, Blaine is playing Lynden Christian and Meridian is facing Nooksack Valley at Blaine High School tomorrow in the semifinals.

Ferndale had its season come to an end in a loss to Edmonds-Woodway last night.

 

In baseball, Lynden and Sehome each won yesterday to advance to the 2A district semis. Lynden will play Anacortes at 3:30 tomorrow and Sehome will take on Archbishop Murphy at 6 in Anacortes. 

In the 1A tourney, Blaine is facing Overlake, Meridian is playing Cedar Park Christian, Nooksack is playing University Prep and Lynden Christian is playing King’s in games tomorrow being split between Sehome High School and Joe Martin Stadium. The winners will move on to the district semis, which are also being played tomorrow.

 

And in fastpitch softball, Mount Baker is playing Meridian in a loser-out match tomorrow morning. First pitch is at 11 am from Bender Fields in Lynden.

The winner will play Nooksack Valley in the 1A district championship directly after.

Whatcom County’s 2A and 3A softball teams won’t begin districts until Monday.

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