LEWISTON, Idaho -  The 2026 Bushnell baseball season came to a close on Sunday as the Beacons were knocked off by the University of British Columbia in the semifinals of the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament presented by U.S. Bank.
 
Bushnell gave up four runs in the top of the first inning and were never able to recover, finding it difficult to make any headway against the Thunderbirds Miles Chamberlain (10-1) who struck out five batters over the first six innings, giving up just two runs on four hits.
 
The Beacons best source of offense, as it so often was over the weekend, was senior Caleb Richter who batted 2-for-3 with a home run, a solo shot in the fourth inning that gave Bushnell their first run of the game with their only extra-base hit of the contest. Richter finished his weekend batting 9-for-14 with three home runs, eight RBI and five runs scored, capping off his career with a bang.
 
Loreto Siniscalchi took the loss for the Beacons, going 0.1 innings and allowing four runs on four hits. Four relievers combined to give up just three earned runs over the final 8.2 innings, including Griffin Sanchez who went 1.2 innings and recorded all five outs while facing just four batters.
 
"These days never get easier," said second-year head coach Jamie Womack. "I am proud of this group and the loss of these seniors will not only be heavy on the field but more importantly in the clubhouse. The whole team left everything out there this weekend and that is something they will be able to look back at and hold their heads high.
 
Bushnell finishes out the season at 27-27, after setting numerous school records in the fifth year of the program. It was the best season yet for batting average (.297), hits (543), runs (365), RBI (338), doubles (107), and triples (8). The 2026 squad broke the single-season strikeout record by 66, finishing with 441 and the team nearly doubled the previous record for stolen bases, collecting 92 in 54 games.
 
Individually it was also a season full of records, especially for senior slugger Albert Jennings. The outfield tied Bushnell's single-season records for batting average (.396) and on-base percentage (.488) whilst setting new records for hits (78), doubles (20), extra-base hits (27), RBI (52), slugging percentage (.604) and OPS (1.092). He finished the year leading the Cascade Conference in hits and RBI and led all full-time players in batting average, making him one of the front-runners for the CCC Player of the Year award.
 
Other school records were set by Nigel Fahland (7 sacrifice hits), Danny Womack (22 stolen bases), Max Richards (13 runners caught stealing), Kai Keamo (14 starts), Austin Wolfe (7 wins), and Tristan Mallari (1.99 ERA). The former strikeout record of 54 was broken by three players: Keamo (74), Wolfe (69), and DJ Kauahi (63).