PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles had a shot at earning a share of first place in the Olympic League 2A Division, but they will have to settle for second as they were beaten 3-2 by league champion North Kitsap in a close pitchers’ duel at Volunteer Field on Monday.
“You couldn’t ask for a better pitching performance from both teams to decide first place in the league. Four pitchers from both sides combined for 21 strikeouts. It was an impressive night on the hill from every guy that got out there,” said Riders coach Karl Myers.
“Dane [Bradow] pitched his heart out, holding the highest-scoring team in the league to just three runs and only allowing them to score in one inning. He commanded his fastball early in counts and got his breaking ball over when needed. Dane’s velocity was the best I’ve seen this season; the majority of his strikeouts came on the fastball,” Myers said.
“Brody [Merritt] came in and did his job keeping the game tight and giving our offense an opportunity to punch back. You’re really not going to see a better performance on the mound in a high school game than you saw from both teams tonight,” Myers said.
Bradow took the loss though he had a solid game with six innings, five hits, three earned runs and eight strikeouts. Merritt struck out two in one inning of work. North Kitsap’s Ryan Hecker went six innings, giving up just four hits, three walks and two runs while striking out 10 Riders.
Ethan Flodstrom was the hitting star for the Riders, going 1-2 with two RBIs. Ben Basden was 2 for 3 with a double and Luke Angevine was 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored.
The Riders had their chances to break through, stranding eight runners on base.
Port Angeles (8-3, 10-6) played Bremerton on Tuesday on the road, but they are locked in to second place in the Olympic League 2A Division win or lose.
“I am supremely confident with a few solid practices this week we’re going to be dialed in for the district tournament this weekend,” said Myers.
North Kitsap 3, Port Angeles 2
NK 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 — 3 5 2
PA 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 5 1
WP: Ryan Hecker LP: Dane Bradow
Pitching
NK — Hecker, 6IP, 4H, 2R, 10K, 3BB; Reister, 1IP, 1H, 1K, 0BB.
PA — Bradow: 6IP, 5H, 3ER, 2BB, 8K, Merritt: 1IP, 0H, 0ER, 0BB, 2Ks
Hitting
NK — Reister 2-3, 2 2B, RBI, Meek 1-3, RBI, Bower 1-3, R, Green 1-3, R.
PA — Basden: 2-3, 2B; Angevine 1-3, 2B, R; Flodstrom: 1-2, 2RBI, HBP.
Sequim 14, Bremerton 1
BREMERTON — The Wolves charged into the postseason with a 14-1 win over the Knights on the road, guaranteeing third place in the Olympic League 2A Division and a playoff slot.
Sequim is red-hot going into postseason, having won seven out of its past eight games. The Wolves’ only loss was a close 4-2 game against Port Angeles decided in the sixth inning.
As usual, the Wolves did much of their damage on the basepaths. Sequim only had six hits — and just one extra-base hit — but the Wolves used eight walks, 12 stolen bases and six Bremerton errors to score their 14 runs in Monday’s game.
Sequim got four innings of three-hit ball from pitcher Ian Miller.
Gavin Velarde had a double, two walks, scored two runs and stole three bases for the Wolves. Johnnie Young went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, a run and two stolen bases. Justin Porter went 1 for 3 with three runs, two RBIs, a walk and two steals. James Grubb and James Thayer had two RBIs each, while Grubb also pitched a hitless inning in relief.
Sequim had a 4-4 suspended game against North Kitsap that the Wolves were scheduled to finish Tuesday, but since it would not affect the league standings, the game will not be finished and the Wolves will finish league play with a 7-4 record (11-5 overall).
Sequim plays at Mount Tahoma today, then begins 2A District play against the South Puget Sound League No. 4 at Curtis High School in University Place at noon Saturday.
Sequim 14, Bremerton 1
Sequim 0 2 5 3 4 — 14 6 0
Bremerton 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 3 6
WP: Miller LP: Singer
Pitching
Sequim — Miller 4IPs, 3H, 1ER, 4K, 0BB; Grubb 1IP, 0H, 0ER, 1K.
Bremerton — Singer 4IPs, 3H, 4ER, 6BB, 4K; Infante 3H, 0ER, 2BB.
Hitting
Sequim — Velarde 1-1, 2B, 2R, 2BB, 3SB; Young, 2-3, 3RBIs, R, BB, 2SB; Thayer 1-2, 2R, 2RBI, 2SB; Porter 1-3, 3R, 2RBI, 2SB; Grubb, 1-3, R, 2RBI; Hilliard 0-3, BB, 2R, 2SB.
Bremerton — Storey 1-2, R, 2SB.
Girls Softball
Port Angeles 7, North Kitsap 1
PORT ANGELES — The Roughriders clinched their third consecutive Olympic League 2A Division championship with a 7-1 win over the Vikings.
Port Angeles, undefeated in league and holding a three-game lead over Olympic, got 14 hits, while pitchers Nizhoni Wheeler and Callie Hall gave up just three hits while striking out 12. Hall went the final five innings.
The Riders got home runs from Kylee Reid and Natalie Steinman, while Reid, Sierra Robinson, Lauren Lunt and Ashley Howell all had two hits. Both of Howell’s hits were doubles and she ended up with three RBIs.
Port Angeles (9-0, 11-1) plays at Bremerton at 3:45 p.m. today.
Port Angeles 7, North Kitsap 1
NK 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 — 1 3 0
PA 4 0 2 1 0 0 X — 7 14 1
WP: Wheeler LP: Wagner
Pitching
NK — Wagner 6IP, 7R, 14H, 1K, 2BB
PA — Wheeler, 2IP, 0R, 1H, 5Ks, 0BB; Hall 5IP, 1R, 2H, 7K, 2BB.
Hitting
PA — Reid, 2-3, HR, 2R, RBI, BB; Steinman 1-4, HR, R, 2RBIs; Howell 2-3 2 2B, 3RBIs; Robinson 2-2, BB; Lunt 2-4, R; Wheeler 1-1, 2B.
Sequim 10, Bremerton 5
SEQUIM — The Wolves got 15 hits out of their lineup and romped over the Knights to remain firmly in line for a playoff spot.
Sequim (6-4, 8-7) has the second-most wins in the league behind champion Port Angeles, but the Wolves remain a half-game behind Olympic at 5-2. Olympic has a slew of rained-out games to make up this week and Sequim gets to play the Trojans on Monday in what might be a game for second place in the Olympic League 2A Division.
Bobbi Sparks and Shleby Jones led the Wolves with three hits each, while Jordan Bentz and Adrienne Haggerty each had two hits.
Isabelle Dennis got the win with a solid five-inning performance, giving up just three hits.
Sequim fell behind early as the Wolves made two errors in the first inning, allowing three Bremerton runners to score. But, the defense tightened up and the Knights were only able to manage two more runs afterward.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
