PORT ANGELES — In a must-win game, Bob Withrow turned to his big-game pitcher. Once again, A.J. Konopaski delivered.
Port Angeles’ senior right-hander baffled Sequim hitters for seven innings Tuesday at Volunteer Field, leading the Roughriders to a 4-0 victory they absolutely needed.
Konopaski struck out 12, walked one and scattered five Sequim hits for his second complete game victory of the season.
The other, coming in a 2-1 extra-inning win over Olympic League champion North Kitsap in mid-April, turned out to be just as big for the Riders.
Without either win, they may have been forced out of the playoffs all together.
“That’s a senior playing with his heart out on his sleeve right there,” said Withrow, whose Riders are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2008. “He didn’t want to be done.
“He’s our guy. When he pitches like that, you can see why.”
As the fifth-place finisher in the Olympic League, Port Angeles (9-7 in league, 9-8 overall) qualifies for a loser-out Class 2A sub-district playoff against SPSL No. 5 Steilacoom on Friday.
Game in Seattle
The game will be played at 4 p.m. at Evergreen High School in Seattle. The winner earns a spot in the 2A Bi-District tournament.
“There was a lot riding on this game,” said Konopaski, who, along with five other Rider seniors, will be visiting the postseason for the first time.
“We just did really well as a team, keeping our composure, doing what we had to do to win.
“I’m really proud of these guys.”
Things weren’t nearly as dire for Sequim, which had already locked up a Bi-District spot as the Olympic’s third-place team.
With the Wolves (11-5, 14-6) set to play the Seamount League’s No. 2 (likely Interlake of Bellevue) in a sub-district seeding game Friday in Bremerton, Sequim coach Dave Ditlefsen used four different pitchers Tuesday.
Of course, none of them matched what Konopaski had going at wind-swept Volunteer Field.
Striking out seven of the first 10 batters he faced, the three-year starter made it clear that he was going to last a lot longer than his first outing against Sequim this season.
He tossed just three innings in that rain-filled walkfest, one that saw the Wolves rally from a 7-1 hole to win 12-10.
“I just wanted to take this one,” Konopaski said. “I didn’t feel like I did my job the last time, only going three innings.
“I wanted another chance at them, coach gave me that chance, and I’m proud of the way it turned out.”
Konopaski had command throughout, throwing 74 of his 114 pitches for strikes while walking just one batter.
Sequim’s greatest scoring threat came in the third inning after Ryan Heuter led off with a double over Rider center fielder Cody Sullivan’s head.
Unfazed, Konopaski struck out the next two batters.
And, after giving up an infield single to Weston Royall to put runners on first and third base, he then got Isaac Yamamoto to ground into a fielder’s choice force-out at second.
It marked the only time Sequim had a runner reach third base all game.
“Other than offensively, as far as what our goals were today, we accomplished most of our goals,” Ditlefsen said.
“I am disappointed with how we hit the ball, and I’ll certainly give credit to A.J. He threw a great game and kept us off speed.
“We’re going to have to improve on that for the playoffs because we’re going to see very good pitchers like that for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we can learn from this.”
Port Angeles scored its first run thanks in part to a Yamamoto error in the second inning.
Daniel Pitz began the frame with a single, then advanced to third after Yamamoto’s throw to first base on a Connor Gouge sacrifice bunt sailed over the Sequim first baseman’s head and into right field.
Marcus Konopaski followed with a sacrifice fly to left field off Yamamoto — Sequim’s starting pitcher, who ultimately was tabbed with the loss.
That gave Marcus’ big brother, A.J., all of the run support he needed.
Senior Kyler Morgan gave A.J. some breathing room in the sixth inning with a two-run double off the right field fence.
What first appeared to be a routine fly ball off reliever Drew Rickerson ended up getting carried by a stiff wind and landing just a few feet shy of a homer.
“When I hit it, I was like, ‘Ah, he’s got that, that’s a weak hit,” Morgan said. “The wind kind of caught it and took it farther than I expected, and I just ran.”
Pitz scored Morgan from third with a squeeze bunt on the next at bat for a 4-0 lead
An error from Rider third baseman Cole Uvila — the lone Port Angeles gaffe on the game — put Sequim’s lead-off man on first to open the seventh.
But Derek Crain fielded a ground ball up the middle from the next batter, stepped on second and then threw to first in time to record a double play.
Fittingly, A.J. Konopaski eventually finished things off with a strikeout looking.
His 12th of the game, it was the highest single-game strikeout total of Konopaski’s high school career.
That it came against Sequim in his final home game as a Rider made it extra sweet for Konopaski.
“I’ve had a long season with a back injury and arm injury and stuff,” Konopaski said. “Today is the best I’ve felt all season.
“It was a nice day out, I had a chance to warm up well, I got my pitches, started off strike one a lot of times [and] the defense had my back.
“It was a great game.”
Port Angeles 4, Sequim 0
Sequim 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 5 3
Port Angeles 0 1 0 0 0 3 X — 4 4 1
WP- A.J. Konopaski (3-0); LP- Yamamoto
Pitching Statistics
Sequim: Yamamoto 2IP, 2H, 2BB, 0ER, R, 2K; Campbell 2IP, H, HBP, K; Rickerson 1.1IP, H, BB, 2HBP, 2ER, 3R; Hudson 0.2IP, 0H, 0BB.
Port Angeles: A.J. Konopaski 7IP, 5H, BB, 0R, 12K.
Hitting Statistics
Sequim: Heuter 1-3 (2B); Yamamoto 1-2 (BB); Johnston 1-1; Ignani 1-2.
Port Angeles: A.J. Konopaski 1-2 (HBP, R); Napiontek 1-1 (BB, HBP, R); Morgan 1-3 (2B, 2RBI); Pitz 1-1 (HBP, R).