PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles softball team showed little rust after an unusual two-week break in their schedule, getting plenty of hitting, pitching and defense in a 10-1 win over Sequim at Dry Creek Elementary.
Roughriders’ Aeverie Politika and Kiana Watson had huge games Thursday. Politika had a home run and a two-run single, totaling four RBIs while Watson went the distance, spreading out four hits over seven innings.
“I thought we played great,” said Riders coach Randy Steinman. “They hadn’t played for two weeks, they were ready to play. It was much better than expected.”
Steinman thought the girls came out fired up, scoring four quick runs in the first inning, with the big blow in the inning a two-run double by Madi Roening. “Sequim is a good team. We really took the wind out of their sails there,” he said.
He also said Watson’s pitching was “spectacular.”
Politika said she was surprised her bomb in the fifth inning went out of the park. She not only hit it out, she hit it out by several yards … and straight into the teeth of a stiff wind.
“It was a little inside … I got the barrel on it. I wasn’t expecting that to be a home run,” Politika said.
She said the home run and a two-run single that came later felt good because she had a bases-loaded strikeout early in the game.
“After a rough start, everything fell back into place once I got into it,” she said.
Sequim coach Tim Lusk said his team is capable of playing much better and thought his team was simply flat. The Wolves came into Thursday’s game coming off a big 9-2 win over North Mason.
“We were just flat, we didn’t come to play. If we had played today like we had played against Forks [a 5-1 Sequim victory on March 14], I think it would have been a real tight game. PA is a great ballclub, I don’t want to take anything away from them,” said Lusk.
“We’re going to have more intense practices. Tomorrow will be a different practice. It’s still a lot of season left,” Lusk said.
Sequim pitcher Isabelle Dennis kept the Wolves reasonably close for much of the game, but the Riders started tacking on runs in the fifth inning. Dennis pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third inning with a groundout and two fly outs.
The fourth inning started with Politika’s deep home run over the left-field fence. After that, Dennis got three straight outs.
In the fifth, Sequim pitcher LeeAnn Raney nearly got out of a jam. The Riders loaded the bases again with no out. Raney struck out the next two batters, but then Politika hit a clutch two-out single to make it 9-1 and essentially put the game out of reach.
Port Angeles (1-0, 2-1) played a doubleheader Friday against East Valley and Ellensburg, while Sequim (1-1, 2-2) plays Mount Tahoma at 3 p.m. Saturday at home.
Box Score
Port Angeles 10, Sequim 1
Seq. 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 4 1
PA 4 2 0 1 2 1 x — 10 18 2
Pitching
Sequim — Dennis 4IP, 13H, 7R, 2K; Raney 2IP, 5H 3R, 4K
Port Angeles — Watson 7IP, 4H, 0ER, 2K, 2BB.
Hitting
Sequim — Fili 1-3; Julmist 1-3; Grubb 1-3 BB; Nute 1-4, RBI; Sparks BB.
Port Angeles — Politika 3-4, HR, R, 4RBI; Roening 2-4, 2B, 3RBI; O’Connor 3-5, 2R, RBI; Holland 3-4, 2R, SB; Cargo-Acosta 1-4, R, RBI, SB; Folden 2-4, R, RBI; Smithson 2-3; Rudd 2-3, R.
