North Kitsap’s girls softball team placed third at state beating Port Angeles 18-11 and Othello 9-3 after losing to Tumwater 5-2 May 25 in Selah.
NK beat its Olympic League foe after falling behind 9-2.
The Vikings struck first when Reyna Blackwood hit an RBI single in the first. Port Angeles hit three home runs in the inning, including a grand slam. But NK battled back with some late rallies.
Against Othello, The Vikings scored in the bottom of the first after loading the bases. Kendall Becker brought the first run in by earning a walk. Reese Anderson cleared the bases with a line drive to center field to make it 4-0. The Vikings extended their lead in the second to 8-0 but Othello found two runs in the top of the third.
Anderson hit an RBI triple to make it 9-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
NK dropped to the consolation bracket by falling in the semifinals to the Thunderbirds.
The Vikings allowed the leadoff batter to score in the top of the first on a passed ball. Tumwater scored another run in the inning to take a 2-0 lead. Tumwater added its third run in the top of the third with an RBI single.
The Vikings found their first run in the bottom of the fifth when Kendra Hawkins hit an RBI triple. Blackwood followed with an RBI single to make it 3-2. Tumwater scored two runs in the top of the sixth on an RBI triple and an error.
On May 24, the Vikings defeated Franklin Pierce 8-6 in the quarterfinals of the 2A state softball tournament.
Hannah Richards scored the Vikings first of two runs in the first inning; the second came on a wild pitch. Allison Dvorak added two more runs with a double in the second inning. She scored on Cerenity Fake’s fielder’s choice.
The Vikings added its sixth run in the top of the fifth and final two runs in the sixth. Franklin Pierce earned two runs in the bottom of the sixth and rallied in the seventh. The Cardinals cleared the bases with a three-run homer to cut the lead to 8-5. The Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs. Although the Cardinals knocked one run in, Richards saved the season on the mound with a groundout.
NK won its opening-round game against Rochester 9-7. The Warriors struck first with two runs in the top of the first, but the Vikings responded with two of their own. Dvorak reached home on a passed ball, and Richards scored after a dropped third strike.
The Vikings took a 5-3 lead in the second inning. Blackwood reached first base on an error and helped two runs cross the plate. In addition, Richards hit an RBI single.
The Vikings added two more runs in the third. Blackwood and Fake hit RBI singles. NK piled its final two runs in the fifth and held onto the lead. Rochester answered with four runs in the sixth but fell short.
Kingston
Kingston faced top seed Sedro-Woolley and fell 9-3. The Cubs scored in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. The Bucs responded with two runs in the top of the third.
Brooke Steele began the inning with a double and Tegan Stanford followed with an RBI double. Joey Castillo gave Kingston the lead with an RBI double. Kingston’s lead did not last long as the Cubs scored three runs to take a 4-2 lead.
The Cubs tallied three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kingston’s final run came in the top of the sixth. Stanford hit an RBI triple and Steele scored.
In the consolation bracket, Kingston battled Olympic but lost 9-8 in 10 innings to be eliminated from the tourney.
Kingston pressured the Trojans early. The Bucs took a 4-3 lead in the second inning when Steele and Stanford hit RBI doubles. The Bucs scored two more runs when Aadie Goller hit an RBI double and Cadence Robles moved the runners up on a groundout. Kingston loaded the bases but failed to score.
Olympic responded with a run in the bottom of the third. However, Goller reached base safely on an error and scored Neveah Sullivan. Kingston fended Olympic off until the sixth inning as the Trojans tied it at 7-7.
The game then went into tiebreaker rules in the ninth inning with a runner starting at second base. Castillo scored on a passed ball to give the Bucs the lead in the top of the ninth. But Olympic scored on a passed ball to tie the game.
Kingston loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the 10th but stranded the runners with a strikeout, flyout and fielder’s choice. Olympic scored in the bottom of the inning to win.
Olympic
Olympic dropped its first match to Othello 6-1. An RBI single gave the Huskies an early 1-0 lead against the Trojans. Morrison held the Huskies until they scored their second run in the top of the fourth. Olympic scored its run in the bottom of the fourth when Beya Richmond hit a solo home run. The Trojans bats went silent as the Huskies extended their lead until the seventh inning.
Olympic bounced back against Kingston in the first round of the consolation round and won 9-8 in 10 innings. The Trojans took an early lead. However, Kingston fired back and took over until Brenda Morrison took the mound in the fourth inning. Although the Trojans trailed 7-4, they rallied back. Hannah Linn hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 7-6 game.
Olympic kept it close despite allowing Kingston two runners on base with one out. A ground ball to Morrison became a double play and gave the Trojans momentum. Richmond tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with a line drive up the middle for an RBI double. Olympic loaded the bases in the eighth with two outs but failed to score.
The game went into tiebreaker rules in the ninth inning with a runner starting at second base.
Kennedy Haas hit a line drive single into center field. She later came around and scored on a passed ball to tie the game. Linn became the hero in the bottom of the 10th with a line drive to leftfield to win the game.
However, the Trojans were eliminated in their third game of the day against Aberdeen, falling 12-2 in five innings. The Bobcats made a statement early scoring six runs in the first inning, including a three-run home run. Aberdeen rolled along in the second inning by scoring another four runs with a three-run home run and an error.
Central Kitsap
After an incredible run at districts, Central Kitsap fell short in the opening round of the 3A state tournament, losing 7-5 to Auburn Mountainview.
Ava Day led the game off with a solo home run. However, the Lions tied it in the bottom of the inning. Central Kitsap took a 3-2 lead in the third thanks to Day reaching home on a passed ball and Alexandria Berg’s RBI double. Auburn Mountainview scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to retain the lead. Yet, the Cougars tied it at 4-4.
Central Kitsap added another run in the fifth, but fell short.
Klahowya
Klahowya lost in the first round of the 1A state playoffs against Royal, falling 10-0. Royal picked up its first run in the bottom of the second inning. The Knights added three more runs in the third with an RBI triple and a two-run home run.
Royal added a three-run homer, and the Knights put the mercy rule into effect with two runs in the fifth to secure the victory.
Olympic’s Evelynne Abbay celebrates while running to first base.
