CK stuns No. 1 Timberline; 5 of 6 Kitsap teams to state

Six Kitsap County teams competed in the 1A, 2A, 3A or 4A West Central District 3 softball tournaments May 16-18, and five secured spots in state tournaments, while South Kitsap fell just short after losing 2-1 in eight innings.

Highlights were: 16th seed Central Kitsap upsetting top seed Timberline; and North Kitsap beating Olympic for a district crown.

North Kitsap

North Kitsap won its second-straight district title by defeating Olympic 5-4 May 18.

Despite having no runners with two outs in the bottom of the first, the Vikings found a way to take a 3-0 lead. Hannah Richards scored Cerenity Fake on a double. Kendall Becker followed with an RBI double, and Reese Anderson hit an RBI single.

Anderson stepped onto the mound and held the Trojans until the third inning. Anderon allowed four runs, including two by walks and one on a wild pitch.

NK tied it in the fifth when Reyna Blackwood grounded out to score Maddie Syverson. The Vikings’ game-winning run came from Kasey Wallace’s RBI double.

Fake looked to finish the game on the mound in the top of the seventh with a one-run lead. She allowed runners on second and third base with one out. But she struck out two straight batters to win the game.

NK began the tournament against Fife and won 5-3, qualifying for state. The Trojans scored a run in the top of the first but Vikings Cerenity Fake responded with a 2 RBI double in the bottom of the frame. Fake and a few Vikings added three more runs in the bottom of the second before the bats went quiet. Reese Anderson took over on the mound for NK. Fife scored one run and had a runner on first with one out in the top of the seventh. Fife was destined to tie the game until one of the Trojan runners obscured a Viking, causing a runner interference out. Anderson finished the game with an infield fly ball to secure the victory.

The Vikings then sought revenge against No. 1 seed Port Angeles, defeating the Roughriders 5-3 and advancing to the district final.

Kingston

Kingston came into the tournament with its two top pitchers injured. Yet, the Bucs punched their ticket to Selah for state. Kingston battled in its first game against No. 2 Franklin Pierce, losing 8-1. The Bucs were unable to score until the top of the seventh. However, Kingston responded in its second game, defeating White River 8-7 in walk-off fashion.

The Bucs trailed 7-6 heading into the bottom of the seventh. In her first game back from a month-long knee injury, Jayla Moon hit a game-tying solo home run. Cadence Robles followed with a single, and Tavyn Belgarde hit an RBI single to win the game. Kingston had a much easier time in its second game, scoring 13 runs in the first inning on the way to a 30-1 trouncing of Sammamish.

Olympic

Olympic fell in the district title game to North Kitsap 5-4. Brenda Morrison struggled on the mound in the first inning. Beya Richmond hit an RBI single while another run scored on a wild pitch. Maddie Miller and Shaeinna Cherry walked in runs with bases loaded.

Olympic began its tourney defeating Sammamish 11-0 to capture a state berth. Pitcher Morrison started the momentum early with a pair of strikeouts in the top of the first. The Trojans followed with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Olympic piled up four more runs in the fifth and three in the sixth. The Trojans followed with a 14-3 victory against Franklin Pierce.

Klahowya

Klahowya beat Seattle Christian 6-0 to claim a berth to state. Klahowya scored early, with five runs in the first three innings. Klahowya earned its sixth run in the final inning then returned to the field against Cascade Christian for 9:30 p.m. game. The Eagles won 4-2. Cascade Christian scored the first run on an error at second base. However, the Eagles responded in the top of the fourth. Cascade Christian took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth by scoring a run. Klahowya took over in the top of the fifth to make it 4-2.

Central Kitsap

After a big first day, CK struggled on the second. Although the Cougars qualified for state, they dropped to fourth place after Prairie mercy-ruled the Cougars 13-2 in the semifinals, and Gig Harbor battled through with an 8-5 victory against CK.

Central Kitsap entered the tournament with an 8-14 record and the 16-seed facing No. 1 Timberline. A 16-seed has not beaten the top seed in 3A in at least a decade. However, the Cougars broke the streak and began its Cinderella run with a 7-5 victory. Timberline hit several home runs and took a 5-0 lead after three innings. However, Central Kitsap scored four runs in the fourth inning to slim the lead and tied it in the sixth. In the top of the seventh, Alexandira Berg hit a fly ball that was dropped by Timberline’s shortstop, scoring the two winning runs.

Central Kitsap’s story didn’t end there as the Cougars upset No. 9 Heritage 14-3.

South Kitsap

Battle Ground eliminated the Wolves in the third round of the district tournament, defeating SK 2-1. Battle Ground capitalized early with a handful of runners on base and scoring a run in the top of the first. The Wolves responded with a run a few innings later to make it 1-1. The scored stayed that way until extra innings as Battle Ground won in the eighth.

SK won its first game in the 4A district tournament against No. 5 Tahoma 8-1. Kamdyn Haggerty returned to the mound at full strength and only gave up a run in the first inning. SK responded with four runs in the first. The Wolves returned to the field against No. 4 Skyview and lost 6-3. The Storm took an early 3-0 lead through the first three innings. Skyview found its fourth run in the bottom of the fifth while South Kitsap responded with three runs in the top of the sixth, including a two-run home run.