PREP SOFTBALL: Port Angeles, Quilcene win districts

LACEY — The Port Angeles softball girls had a wild, extra-inning come-from-behind game just to get to the West Central District III.

Once they got there, it was almost a bit of an anti-climax as the Roughriders, riding a combined four-hitter from Callie Hall and Hope O’Connor, easily slammed down North Kitsap 6-1 to win the district championship.

The crazy game came in the semifinals against Olympic, which the Riders won 14-8 with a six-run ninth inning.

The Roughriders, who had already qualified for state, fell behind 7-2 to the Trojans. O’Connor came in to relieve Hall in the fifth inning and shut the Trojans down, giving up just one run on six hits over five innings.

Meanwhile, Port Angeles clawed back into the game at the plate. Brennan Gray hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to make it 7-5, then the Riders tacked on two more runs in the sixth to tie it.

The game ended 7-7 after seven innings. The Riders scored a run into the top of the eighth to take an 8-7 lead, but Olympic came back with a run in the bottom of the inning to keep it tied.

In the ninth, the Port Angeles girls blew the game open with a runner automatically put on second base to start the inning. Jada Cargo hit a three-run home run. After an intentional walk to dangerous Riders slugger Natalie Steinman loaded the bases, Erin Edwards hit a three-run double down the left-field line.

O’Connor then shut the door in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win and the chance to go to the title game against North Kitsap.

Port Angeles racked up 18 hits in this wide-open game. Edwards finished 5 for 6 with two doubles and five RBIs, Sierra Robinson went 4 for 6, Cargo was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and four RBIs. Gray went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and three runs scored. Steinman was 2 for 4 with three runs scored and two walks.

Hall, who got knocked around in the Olympic game, atoned in the North Kitsap game, going four shutout innings, giving up just three hits. O’Connor finished up, going three innings and giving up one run on one hit.

Ella Holland was 2 for 4 with a triple, run, stolen base and 3 RBIs. Steinman was 1 for 1 with a triple, an RBI and a walk. Edwards had a double and an RBI, while Gray had a double and run scored. Cargo had a hit, a run and an RBI.

The district champion Roughriders (20-3) begin play at the State 2A tournament at 10 a.m. Friday against Sedro-Woolley in Selah.

Port Angeles 6, North Kitsap 1

NK 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 — 1 4 1

PA 0 4 0 0 1 1 x — 6 9 1

WP: Hall

Pitching

Port Angeles — Hall 4IP, 0R, 3H, 3BB; O’Connor, 3IP, 1R, 1H.

Hitting

Port Angeles — Robinson 1-4, R; Holland 2-4, R, 3B, 3RBI, SB; Steinman 1-1, R, 3B, RBI, BB; Edwards 1-3, 2B Double, RBI; Gray 2-3, 2B; Hall 1-2, R; Cargo 1-2, R, RBI.

Port Angeles 14, Olympic 8

PA 0 0 1 1 3 2 0 1 6 — 14 18 2

Oly. 2 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 — 8 13 5

WP: O’Connor

Pitching

Port Angeles — Hall 4IP, 7R, 7H, 3BB, 2K; O’Connor 5IP, 1R, 6H, 4BB, 2HBP, 2Ks.

Hitting

Port Angeles — Robinson 4-6, 2R, SB; Holland 2-5, R; Steinman 2-4, 3R, 2BB; Edwards 5-6, R, 2 2B, 5RBI; Gray 2-4, 3R, HR, 3RBI; Cargo 3-4, 2R, HR, 4RBI, HBP.

Quilcene wins district

MONTESANO — The Quilcene girls won the Tri-District 1B championship, fending off a tough Wishkah Valley team 6-5 in the title game.

The Rangers had to come back from a 5-2 deficit to beat the Loggers. Quilcene fell behind after the Loggers’ Abbi Van Blaricom hit a pair of home runs in the first three innings to drive in all of Wishkah’s runs.

“We didn’t pitch to her after that. I had seen enough,” said coach Mark Thompson.

Rangers’ pitcher Abby Weller did an outstanding job with the rest of Wishkah’s lineup. The Loggers’ leadoff hitter Megan Hall had a single and a triple, but other than her and Van Blaricom, Weller shut down the rest of the team. She only gave up six hits total and zero runs over the final four innings while striking out seven.

Meanwhile, the Rangers’ batters got themselves back in the game. With the score 5-4, Erin Macedo drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run home run. Macedo finished the game 3 for 3 with two doubles and three RBIs. Sydney Brown was 2 for 3 with two doubles and two runs scored, while Marissa Kieffer and Allie Speer each went 2 for 2, with Speer driving in a run. Pearl Munn and Madison Coffey also both added hits.

Thompson said Wishkah Valley was a good team that played well defensively. One of the differences in the game is Weller didn’t allow the Loggers’ four through nine hitters to do any damage.

“It was one of those game we were fortunate to win,” said Thompson.

In the district semifinal game, Quilcene won easily 18-3 over Naselle on Thursday. This was an odd game as the Naselle pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone. The Rangers tallied just six hits, but got 20 free passes with 16 walks and four hit batsmen. The game was called after three innings due to the 15-run rule at district.

Madison Coffey went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Weller was 1 for 2 with three RBI, Munn 1-1 with three RBI, Speer 1-1 with two RBI, while Gina Brown hit a double and had two RBI.

Weller pitched a solid three innings, giving up two earned runs and striking out four.

Quilcene (14-6) begins 1B State Tournament play at 1 p.m. Friday at Yakima against an opponent to be determined.

Quilcene 18, Naselle 3

Naselle 2 1 0 — 3

Quilcene 7 7 4 — 18

WP: Weller

Pitching

Quilcene — Weller 3IP, 2ER, 4K

Hitting

Quilcene — Coffey 2-3, RBI; Weller 1-2, 3RBI; Munn 1-1, 3RBI; Speer 1-1, 2RBI; G. Brown 1-1, 2B, 2RBI.

Quilcene 6, Wishkah Valley 5

WV 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 — 5

Quilcene 1 1 2 0 2 0 x — 6

WP: Weller

Pitching

Quilcene — Weller 7IP, 5R, 6H, 7K

Hitting

Quilcene — Macedo 3-3, HR, 2 2B, 3RBI; S. Brown 2-3, 2 2B, 2R; Kieffer 2-2, Speer 2-2, Munn 1-3, Coffey 1-4.

Forks comes up short

CENTRALIA — The Forks girls pulled off one big upset at the Southwest District 1A Tournament, but they couldn’t pull off another.

Forks beat league rival Hoquiam 10-5 Saturday to remain alive in the district tournament, but fell 7-2 to a very solid Elma squad in the third-place game that would have sent the Spartans to state.

Forks has the misfortunate of playing in one of the toughest 1A softball leagues in the state. League champion Montesano is the defending state champion and favored to win it again this year, while Elma is likely to place at the state tournament.

But, the Hoquiam win was huge for the program. Not did Hoquiam beat Forks twice this year, coach Dennis Dean could not remember the last time Forks beat the Grizzlies. He said the Grizzlies had beaten the Spartans at least 10 straight times behind their all-league pitcher English Hyde.

This time, the Spartans got to Hyde and the Grizzlies in a hurry, with Bailey Queen and Jaden Olson hitting two-run home runs in the first inning (Olson’s was over the fence, while Queen’s was inside the park).

Britney Dean pitched the victory, striking out seven while walking none.

Queen finished the game 2 for 4, while Olson had two walks to go with her home run. Myah Rondeau and Bailee Kratzer each hit 2 for 3.

“The girls were pretty excited,” Dean said. He thinks that the fact that Forks traveled to Centralia the day before the game and spent the night in town left them fresh and “amped up,” for the Hoquiam game.

Against Elma, coach Dean said too many walks hurt the Spartans. Freshman pitcher Chloe Leverington gave up just six hits and struck out four, but she walked eight going up against disciplined Elma hitters that wouldn’t swing at pitches off the zone. And four of those walks came home to score on two Elma 3-run home runs.

“When you play a team like that, you can’t walk anyone,” Dean said.

The Spartans hit a pair of home runs of their own. Olson hit her second homer of the day, while Julie Lausche also hit a home run. The difference in the game? Elma got six runs off its two home runs, while both of Forks’ home runs were solo shots.

Forks ends the season 11-10, but the Spartans’ record is a little misleading. They were 8-3 outside of Evergreen 1A teams. They beat a 1B Quilcene team that won its district tournament and is going to the state tournament and they beat a Sequim team that came within one win of making it to the 2A state tournament.

The good news for Forks is this is a very young team full of freshmen and sophomores. Only three seniors — Kratzer, Queen and Taegan Counsell — graduate.

Next year’s goal? This year, the Spartans finally knocked off Hoquiam. Next year, they want to try and beat Montesano, Dean said.