PREP SOFTBALL: Roughriders remain perfect as Leitz, Worthington go deep

PORT ANGELES — Partly because of weather cancellations and partly by flukes in the scheduling, the Port Angeles girls softball season had nearly made it to midseason without playing a single home game.

This team is so good, Port Angeles fans should get out to Dry Creek to get a look at this team that is likely headed to state.

The Roughriders crushed a decent North Mason team 15-2 on Saturday, getting home runs from Taylor Worthingon and Heidi Leitz and great pitching from the duo of Cheyenne Zimmer and Lynzee Reid.

The victory pushed the Riders’ record to 9-0. Port Angeles has outscored its opponents 130-35, averaging 14.4 runs a game.

The Riders won with relentless pressure on the basepaths, stealing and taking extra bases at will, and laying down the occasional perfect bunt. They also got a five-hit, zero-walk, six-strikeout performance from their pitchers and played great defense, highlighted by a diving catch by Lily Halberg on a shallow fly ball in center field to end the game.

“It’s been a long wait,” said coach Morgan Worthington on the Riders’ mid-April home opener. “You could really feel the energy off the girls. It was a different atmosphere.”

Worthington said that despite the near-perfect game, Worthington said the Riders can get better. Port Angeles is in a very tough Olympic League with North Kitsap also perfect at 7-0 and Sequim very good at 4-2 in league. “Every game, we see things we can improve and clean up,” she said.

“It felt great” to finally play at home, said Leitz. “We felt really supported.”

Leitz, who went 3-for-3 on the day, said she simply jumped on a pitch that was right down the middle of the plate for her two-run home run.

Taylor Worthington’s home run, also driving in two, was on a low pitch just above the ankles that she managed to uppercut over the fence. “It was lower than I thought it was. I just stayed through it and finished my swing,” she said. She also had a two-run double in the first inning.

Leitz is looking forward to tougher games coming up against Sequim and North Kitsap. Many of these players all play together in the summer on travel teams, she said.

“It’s healthy competition,” she said. “A lot of us are friends.”

Zimmer went two innings, allowing one hit and striking out three, while Reid went three innings, allowing four hits. She also struck out three.

Kennedy Rognlien went 3-for-3 with a double, while Zimmer was 2-for-2 with a double. Lexie Smith was also 2-for-2.

Port Angeles (4-0, 9-0) finally gets to play Sequim (4-2, 4-3) in Sequim at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, then plays a good Olympic team (3-1 in league) in Bremerton on Wednesday. The Riders do not face North Kitsap until May, though a rained-out game against the Vikings still has to be made up.