ANACORTES — The Port Angeles softball girls, playing for the first time in years without Olympic League 2A MVP Nizhoni Wheeler, used their bats and their defense to sweep a pair of opponents in their opening weekend of play.
The Roughriders pounded out 36 hits and scored 30 runs on the day.
First, the Riders went eight innings, scoring two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth to beat Sedro-Woolley 10-8, then they erupted for 25 hits in a 20-7 win over Anacortes.
Wheeler, who was almost unhittable on the mound last year, has moved on to play college softball at Lower Columbia College, but the Roughriders still have plenty of players left from their team that played for the state championship and finished second in the state last year.
That includes slugger Natalie Steinman, who appears ready to terrorize opponents at the plate again this year. Coming off a season in which she hit 11 home runs and had 52 RBIs, Steinman started off this year with two home runs and 11 RBIs in her first two games.
On the day, Steinman hit 6 for 10. She added a double to her two homers and scored five runs in the doubleheader.
Coach Randy Steinman said it was a great day all around for the girls, because they had to fight from behind against Sedro-Woolley and then their bats truly exploded in the second game against Anacortes.
“It was nice to see the girls get behind and not give up,” he said.
Coach Steinman said that in some ways, it is good for the Riders to have to play without Wheeler, who was so dominant at times last year striking out a dozen or more batters per game that the girls didn’t have to play a lot of defense.
“Sierra [Robinson] said there was a ton of action out there. The girls got challenged yesterday, they had to make plays on defense. They responded very well,” Steinman said.
Without Wheeler, “it’s a whole different scenario this year with this team,” Steinman said.
Sedro-Woolley had a lead of 7-5 in the seventh inning when Port Angeles scored two runs to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The big blow in the eighth inning came with a Steinman two-run double. Steinman finished the game with six RBIs.
In addition to Steinman’s fireworks, Erin Edwards had three doubles and two RBIs, while Sierra Robinson was 2 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Callie Hall started the game, going three innings and giving up five runs. Hope O’Conner pitched the final five innings, picking up the win, giving up just three runs on five hits and a walk.
Against Anacortes, the entire lineup erupted. Steinman hit her second home run, a 3-run job, and finished with five RBIs. Robinson went 4 for 6, Callie Hall 3 for 5 with a double and a triple and two RBIs, Edwards was 3 for 4 with three RBIs, Aeverie Politika was 3 for 3 with a double, two runs scored and four RBIs. Ella Holland had three runs scored while O’Connor had two RBIs.
Holland picked up the win on the mound, going three innings and giving up five runs on four hits. Hall pitched three innings, giving up two runs on three hits while O’Connor had a one-two-three seventh inning.
Port Angeles (2-0) next plays at 4 p.m. Thursday against South Kitsap.
Port Angeles 10, Sedro-Woolley 8
PA 2 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 — 10 11 2
S-W 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 — 8 9 1
WP: O’Connor
Pitching
Port Angeles — Hall 3IP, 5R, 4H, 3K 2BB; O’Connor 5IP, 3R, 5H, K, BB.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Robinson 2-4, 3R, RBI; Steinman 3-5, 3 R, 2B, HR, 6RBIs; Edwards 3-5, R, 3 2Bs, 2RBIs; O’Connor 1-4 2B; Cargo-Acosta 1-3 2B.
Port Angeles 20, Anacortes 7
Anac. 1 0 4 1 0 1 0 — 7 7 2
PA 5 1 2 7 0 0 5 — 20 25 3
WP: Holland
Pitching
Port Angeles — Holland 3IP, 5R, 4H, 7K, 3BB; Hall 3IP, 3H, 2R, 4K, 2BB.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Robinson 4-6, R, RBI; Hall 3-5, 2R, 2B, 3B, 2RBI; Steinman 3-5, 2R, HR, 5RBIs; Edwards 3-4, 2R, 3RBIs; Politika 3-3, 2R, 2B, 4RBIs; Holland 2-5, 3R; Folden 2-3, 2B, 2R, RBI; Cargo-Acosta 1-1, 3B, R.
