Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

  LAKEWOOD -- Normally, if Lynden coach Drew Smiley found out that his team’s playoff hopes rested on a loser-out match against a Northwest Conference team that hadn’t beaten his Lions in four years, he’d be thrilled. Ironically, that team happens to be top-seeded Bellingham.
  “We’re seeing a little bit too much of them, I think,” Smiley said after finding out that, like his boys, the Red Raiders lost 2-1 in the first round of the 2A district tournament, forcing a rematch of Lynden’s 1-0 shootout victory on April 28. The game will be at 5:30 p.m on Thursday at Mount Vernon High School.

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

  EVERSON -- Three Nooksack Valley seniors took the mound to try and keep their season alive for another game, but the Pioneers came up short offensively in a 5-1 loss to Overlake on Monday.
  "This was a really hard loss for us, especially with this group of seniors," said Pioneers coach Dan Vander Kooi. "They showed such leadership and character. It was hard on them, but they have bright futures ahead."

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

  ANACORTES -- While it doesn't show up in the win column, Ryan Martin kept his team in the game by allowing just two earned runs in five innings.
  It was the unearned runs that did in Lynden's senior pitcher, and the Lions, as two errors proved to be costly in a 6-1 opening-round loss of the bi-district tournament on Monday.

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter
  I just realized that a year and a half have gone by since I last wrote a column about a sports cliche.
  For all of the cliche statements made by athletes and coaches after games (by my guess, easily over 60 percent), I find this hard to believe.
  In 2006, I wrote a football column detailing exactly how defense can win championships, while relating it to the Meridian and Lynden football titles.

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

Lynden's Aaron Mattox (right) watches as shortstop Aaron Libolt (left) tries to throw a Sehome runner out at first base.

LYNDEN -- Lions coach Cory White was impressed with Sehome after the Mariners defeated his team 7-6 in the final Northwest Conference game of the season Friday.

Travis Sherer

Huante is congratulated by his teammates, including goalkeeper Eric Kodama (red stripes).

LYNDEN -- Out of all 15 players on Lynden coach Drew Smiley’s team, Daniel Huante was the last one that he thought would score from a corner kick.

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

  LYNDEN -- It seems that a showdown between Lynden and Burlington-Edison looms no matter what the sport is this year.
  And although the Tigers have made a habit of coming out on top this year, you won't see the Lions talking about Burlington in baseball, yet.
  "We can't look forward at all because I think we figured out that any team in this league can beat you at any time," said Lynden coach Cory White. "In the game against Meridian last week we were all but done, but we were somehow able to pull one out."

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

  BELLINGHAM -- When Mount Baker's Shanli Dillard came to the plate for the first time in the seventh inning of a 2-2 game against Squalicum with the bases loaded and no outs, she had the advantage.
  Even more, she had something else on Storm pitcher Emily Cyr. Something that comes from being a pitcher's teammate.
  “I used to play on her team a couple years ago at Nooksack Valley,” Dillard said. “So I knew what to expect.”

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

  LYNDEN -- On Friday, Lyndenite Caden Lair went to the Seattle Mariners game against Anaheim wearing his Angels gear.
  Meeting a superstar athlete isn’t anything new to Cal Ripken League player Caden, 10, but anybody would be star-struck by his previous weekend.
  Caden, along with his mom and dad, Melanie and Rick, flew to California to present Angels all-star center fielder Torii Hunter with his seventh Rawlings Golden Glove award.

Travis Sherer
Tribune sports reporter

  BELLINGHAM -- For coach Trey Ballard and Lynden's girls tennis team, the regular season is all about preparation for the postseason.
  Of course, no coach whose team is 3-7 on the season will say that everything is going according to plan, but Ballard is confident that his girls are doing what they can now to be successful when it counts -- and that doesn't mean in league play.