Campbell, Valley earn All-Kitsap honors

The team was compiled by the sports writers for the Bremerton Patriot, Central Kitsap Reporter, Bainbridge Island Review, North Kitsap Herald and the Port Orchard Independent. Candidates for the team are nominated by the writers for their respective areas. The nominees are then voted on by the writers; the top vote getters make the teams. Up to three honorable mentions are also selected from each school for each sport. The teams include the best players from area schools that not only performed well individually, but played a role in the success of their team. Klahowya Secondary School, Olympic, Central Kitsap, Bremerton, Kingston, North Kitsap, South Kitsap and Bainbridge high schools are included.

The team was compiled by the sports writers for the Bremerton Patriot, Central Kitsap Reporter, Bainbridge Island Review, North Kitsap Herald and the Port Orchard Independent. Candidates for the team are nominated by the writers for their respective areas. The nominees are then voted on by the writers; the top vote getters make the teams. Up to three honorable mentions are also selected from each school for each sport. The teams include the best players from area schools that not only performed well individually, but played a role in the success of their team.

Klahowya Secondary School, Olympic, Central Kitsap, Bremerton, Kingston, North Kitsap, South Kitsap and Bainbridge high schools are included.

P — Christopher Campbell, Olympic, senior: Campbell was not only the best player on his team, he’s also one of the top all-around athletes in the Olympic League, coach Nate Andrews said. The Trojans’ standout, who has an invitation to walk on next season at the University of Washington, led Olympic with five saves. He totaled a 0.31 ERA and struck out 42 batters in 22 1/3 innings on the mound. Opposing hitters were .175 against Campbell. He also hit .435 and had 30 hits and 25 RBI.

P — TJ Reitan, North Kitsap, senior: Reitan was among a deep crop of pitchers in the North Kitsap School District this year. He finished with a 6-1 record and a 1.48 ERA, while striking out 21 batters in 28 innings. Offensively, Reitan had a .385 batting average and 13 RBI.

P — Alex Smith, North Kitsap, senior: Smith combined with Reitan to give the Vikings a formidable combination on the mound. He finished with a 5-1 record and a 2.72 ERA, while striking out 32 batters in 36 innings. Offensively, Smith had a .458 batting average, two home runs and 13 RBI.

P — Nick Torento, Kingston, senior: Coach Scott McKay said Torento’s pitching was the Bucs’ biggest strength this season.

He finished with an 8-1 record and a 1.05 ERA this season. Torento also struck out 35 batters. Offensively, he had a .362 batting average, one home run and 15 RBI.

C — Nick Benish, North Kitsap, senior: Benish has been one of the cornerstones of the Vikings’ program.

He finished the season with a .491 batting average, four home runs and 19 RBI to help North Kitsap to the Olympic League title.

1B — Mike Nelson, South Kitsap, junior: Nelson, who hit third on the Wolves’ state-playoff squad, moved to first base after mostly catching as a sophomore.

He hit a team-best .523 with 12 doubles, five home runs and 25 RBI. Despite his power production, Nelson only struck out five times.

2B — Tanner Romo, South Kitsap, senior: Romo served as the Wolves’ lead-off hitter finished with a .375 batting average, two home runs and 10 RBI. He also only committed two errors. Romo plans to play next year at Everett Community College.

3B — Brett McDonald, Central Kitsap, senior: The Cougars missed playing in the Class 3A state tournament, but McDonald (pictured) led the squad through a tough Narrows League schedule, which included Olympia, Gig Harbor and South Kitsap high schools. 

McDonald hit .417 and had a .453 on-base percentage. He finished with 25 hits, eight RBI and 11 runs for the Cougars.

SS — Zac Smit, North Kitsap, senior: Smit stood out at a position that arguably was the strongest in the Olympic League. Smit, who signed with Grand View University, finished with a .420 batting average.

OF — Josh Kreifels, Central Kitsap, senior: Kreifels finished with a .400 batting average and a .486 on-base percentage. The Cougars’ standout also had 24 hits, 13 RBI, 19 runs and a home run. Kreifels plans to play next year at Olympic College.

OF — Theo Robinson, Bremerton, sophomore: Robinson helped lead Bremerton’s resurgence, and despite still missing the postseason, the Knights relied on his performances at the plate to win games. Robinson hit .388 with a .482 on-base percentage. In addition, he had 19 hits, 12 RBI and 12 runs.

OF — Joe Valley, Klahowya, senior: The Eagles struggled for most of the season with Valley providing the lone bright spot in the lineup.

He had a breakout year, hitting .390 with a .419 on-base percentage. Valley also racked up 23 hits, 15 RBI, 14 runs and six home runs.

Coach of the year — Jim Fairweather, South Kitsap: The Wolves have lacked a healthy, overpowering starting pitcher since Brad Johnson in 2007.

That left Fairweather to again mix-and-match pitchers and a lineup devoid of seniors.

In addition, South was limited to only a handful of outdoor practices because of cool, rainy weather during the spring.

Despite those challenges, the Wolves were strong defensively and produced enough offensively to reach the Class 4A state tournament for a third time in the last four years.

South finished tied with Gig Harbor for second place behind Olympia with an 11-3 league record and were 13-7-1 overall.

 

Honorable mentions

SS Patrick Middleton, Olympic, senior; 1B Joe Stevick, Olympic, senior; OF Matt Noll, Bremerton, sophomore; SS Kaden Tomlinson, Bremerton, sophomore; OF Alec Anderson, Central Kitsap, sophomore; SS Josh Sontag, Central Kitsap, junior; SS Patrick McGuire (pictured), Klahowya, senior; UTIL Robbie Ackerley, Bainbridge, junior; SS Spencer Hogger, Bainbridge, sophomore;  1B George Marinan, Kingston, junior; 3B Richie Sander, Kingston, junior; C Curtis Wildung, Kingston, senior;  1B Steffen Jeffcoat, North Kitsap, senior; 3B Zane Minder, North Kitsap, senior; OF Alex Nettleton, North Kitsap, senior;  C Alex Sablan, South Kitsap, junior; SS Vince Sablan, South Kitsap, junior; P Kellen Traxel, South Kitsap, sophomore.

 

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