OLYMPIA — The Port Angeles softball team picked up a No. 7 seed in the bi-district softball tournament, meaning the Roughriders start off in double-elimination.
Meanwhile, Sequim is in an opposite bracket as a No. 9 seed, meaning the Wolves must win their first game Friday against Lindbergh in order to move on. Sequim and Port Angeles have no opportunity to play each other the way the seedings are set.
Port Angeles, which finished tied for second in the Olympic League with an overall record of 15-4, will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at the Lacey Regional Athletic Complex by playing No. 2 seed Orting (17-1).
Orting, the South Puget Sound League champion, has the No. 2 Ratings Percentage Index ranking in the state. Port Angeles is ranked No. 9 in RPI.
The Riders find themselves in a similar situation as the Port Angeles baseball team, which qualified for state by winning two games at its district tournament. While Port Angeles has a seemingly difficult first-round game, the path gets easier afterward for qualifying for state. The other good news is top-ranked and unbeaten North Kitsap is in the other bracket of the tournament and out of the way of the Riders potentially qualifying for state.
If the Riders beat Orting, and remember Port Angeles played No. 1-ranked North Kitsap fairly tough in two games, they automatically move on to state and at that point are playing for state seeding position.
If the Riders lose to Orting, they play the winner of a game featuring a couple of lower seeds, either No. 15 North Mason (6-10) or No. 10 Franklin Pierce (10-9), to move on to the fifth-place, winner-to-state game. That game could be against No. 6 Fife, No. 11 Highline or an unnamed No. 14 seed. At worst, it could be No. 3 Sammamish.
If the Riders move in to the consolation bracket, their second game is at 2 p.m. Friday and their potential third game is at 5 p.m. Friday.
If Port Angeles beats Orting, the Riders will play either Fife or Sammamish at 4 p.m. Friday, then play a third game at 5 p.m. Saturday for either first place or third place.
Sequim’s (9-7) road to state also doesn’t look bad. The fourth-place team out of the Olympic League gets to play the bottom seed of the tournament, No. 16 Lindbergh (8-7) at 10 a.m. Friday. Sequim’s RPI is No. 25 and Lindbergh’s is No. 36. If the Wolves win, they play the loser of No. 1 North Kitsap (18-0) vs. No. 8 White River (11-6) at 2 p.m. Friday. Lose, and they go home.
If the Wolves win their second game, also a loser-out game, they can qualify for state in a fifth-place game at 5 p.m. Friday against No. 13 Tyee, No. 12 Kingston, No. 5 Olympic or No. 4 Enumclaw.
Forks at District 4
Forks (13-5), the co-champion of the Pacific 2B League, is a No. 2 seed out of the league and begins play in the District 1/4 tournament at noon today at Fort Borst Park in Centralia. The Spartans begin by playing Kalama (9-10), which won its opening game 2-0 over Rainier.
Win or lose, Forks moves on to a 4 p.m. game today either in the winners’ bracket or the consolation bracket against Raymond/South Bend (10-9) or Adna (18-2).
If the Spartans win two straight, they qualify for the state tournament and play for the district championship Saturday. Even if they lose one of their games today, they are still alive and continue playing Saturday at Fort Borst Park in the consolation bracket for one of two slots still open for state.
Quilcene
The Quilcene Rangers (8-2) also have a chance for state. If the Rangers beat Muckleshoot Tuesday after press deadline, in the 1B District 2 tournament, they move on to the state 1B tournament. The Rangers beat Muckleshoot 28-8 and 14-4 earlier this year.
