South Kitsap rally falls just short against Federal Way in district tournament

KENT — A state tournament appearance wasn’t in the stars for the Wolves fastpitch players as they ended their season with a loss to Federal Way in the district tournament on May 18.

South Kitsap drew a tough first-round matchup against Camas and future University of New Mexico pitcher Kennedy Ferguson in game one and managed just two hits in a 5-0 loss. After scoring five runs in the first two innings against Federal Way in its second game, the Eagles came back to win 8-7.

“We probably expected more, we would have thought we would be able to go to state,” head coach Paul Cermak said. “But you know what? Like I told them, we had a good season, we created a great sisterhood.”

There wasn’t much South Kitsap could do against the buzzsaw that was Camas’s Ferguson. Her velocity generated plenty of late swings and misses as she struck out 13 hitters. Ferguson had a no-hitter going with two outs in the seventh, but Jordynn Lawrence and Kaitlyn Johnston singled in consecutive at-bats.

Despite giving up five runs, Kindra Hawkinson pitched well and the defense was solid. The Papermakers had trouble stringing together hits for a big inning; unfortunately, they managed to get a couple of timely blasts.

Ferguson herself did some damage at the plate, smashing a solo home run in the fourth inning to give Camas a 2-0 lead. Payton Bates added a two-run shot in the fifth.

“We played fantastic, I thought, in that game,” Cermak said.

It looked as though the Wolves had shaken off that game as they erupted for five runs in the first two innings in their second game. Johnston picked up an RBI single and Hawkinson drove in a pair of runs with a single to cap the four-run first as South Kitsap sent all nine hitters to the plate.

Bergstrom drew a one-out walk in the second inning, then stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Lynden Wolf struck a single to bring home Bergstrom and South Kitsap had a 5-0 lead.

But slowly, the Eagles chipped away at the lead. Emma Wren ripped a double to highlight a three-run fourth inning for Federal Way, which then took the lead in the fifth on a solo home run by Melissa Mateus.

That’s when some bad luck came into play. A routine ground ball to Teanna Lathum, which should have been the third out of the inning, took an unbelievably bad hop up and over the junior second baseman’s head to put runners on first and third. Chaelia Galapon then beat out an infield single to give Federal Way a sixth run.

“You can never take anything for granted and you can never let up on a team,” Cermak said. “Because once momentum shifts, it’s very hard to get it back.”

Down 8-5 in the seventh, a rally to tie the game fell just short. Raechelle Seil opened the final inning with a double and she was bunted over to third by Bergstrom. Wolf grounded out to score Seil, but time was running out for South Kitsap, with the score 8-6 and two outs on the scoreboard. Statia Cermak blasted a double into the left-center field gap to keep the game going, and Lawrence smashed a double of her own to cut the lead to one. But Rennick induced a groundout to end the game.

Camas 5, South Kitsap 0

SK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 0

CM 1 0 0 1 3 0 x — 5 8 1

WP: Ferguson LP: Hawkinson

Pitching

South Kitsap — Hawkinson 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 K; Milet IP, H, K.

Camas — Ferguson 7 IP, 2 H, BB, 13 K.

Hitting

South Kitsap — Lawrence 1-3; Johnston 1-3; Seil 0-2, BB.

Camas — Bates 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI; Ferguson 1-3, HR, R, RBI; Franklin 2-2, 2 R, RBI.

Federal Way 8, South Kitsap 7

SK 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 — 7 12 2

FW 1 0 0 3 2 2 x — 8 12 1

WP: Rennick LP: Hawkinson

Pitching

South Kitsap — Millet 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, K; Cermak .1 IP, 3BB; Hawkinson 2.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB.

Federal Way — Rennick 7 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB.

Hitting

South Kitsap — Cermak 3-4, 2B, 2 R; Wolf 1-4, R, 3 RBI; Hawkinson 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Seil 1-3, 2B, 2 R, BB; Johnston 1-2, R, RBI; Rogers 2-2, 2B; Lawrence 1-4, 2B, RBI; Bergstrom 1-2, R, SB, BB.

Federal Way — Mateus 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI; Rennick 2-3, 2B, 2 R, BB, RBI; Wright 1-4, 2B, R, RBI; Wren 1-4, 2B, R, RBI.

— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.

South Kitsap freshman Marisol Bergstrom looks to slap the ball to left during the district game against Federal Way. (Mark Krulish | Kitsap Daily News)