HAND IT TO the Class 1A Nisqually League softball coaches.
The “everyone gets a ribbon” mentality that has seeped into American sports culture normally wouldn’t stand for the exclusivity that has seeped into their all-league voting.
Nine of the top 12 players in one league coming from one school?
That would be considered pure blasphemy in many circles. But not so in the 1A Nisqually; a true meritocracy if there ever was one.
“I went [to the league meeting] with the intention of at least getting the seven seniors on there,” Chimacum coach Bobby Cossell said. “I felt they deserved it.”
The case for the Chimacum seniors was not a hard one to make.
A large majority of that group started each of the past three seasons, an era that saw Chimacum win three Nisqually titles with an undefeated 30-0 record.
All seven have batting averages of .350 or better (six above .420) this season, with senior hurlers Arlie Petrick and Brittany Nelson combining for two perfect games and two no-hitters in league play.
Nelson had a hand in both perfect games — including a 17-0 mercy rule win over Vashon Island where she struck out 14 of 15 batters — and led the team with 16 RBIs going into last week.
Not surprisingly, she was named the league’s MVP, marking the fourth straight year a Cowboy has won that honor.
“I play lots of girls, but she still put up pretty good numbers,” Cossell said. “She had a good year.
“Regardless, if the teams aren’t the strongest, you still have to go out and do that stuff.”
The fact that all nine of his starters were included on the first team did surprise Cossell (named coach of the year) to some degree.
Then again, his Cowboys (10-0 in league, 15-3 overall) absolutely dominated the 1A Nisqually.
Outside of their two wins over Orting, which took two of the remaining three spots on the first team, the Cowboys were pushed to seven innings just one other time in league play.
Cray MVP
Landon Cray is halfway there.
The Chimacum sophomore pitcher/outfielder was named the 1A Nisqually League MVP for the second straight year on Monday.
And it stands to reason he’ll have a good shot at Nos. 3 and 4 during his next two years in Blue-and-White.
“I think his biggest competition was off his own team [this season],” said Chimacum coach Loren Bishop, who has coached four of the last five Nisqually League baseball MVPs.
“It was real, real tough to not have Landon there as MVP.”
Cray followed up a brilliant freshman campaign by going 5-0 with a 0.67 earned run average in league play, hitting a blistering .526 at the plate in the process.
Oddly enough, that last stat didn’t even lead his own team.
First team all-league pitcher Quinn Eldridge had a .571 batting average in league.
He was one of five Cowboys on the first team, with team RBI leader Devin Manix among the others (a complete listing the Nisqually softball and baseball teams is on Page B2).
Bishop, who won his 100th game earlier this season, was also named coach of the year for the first time in his six seasons.
And he had to share it with Charles Wright’s Tyler Francis.
Go figure.
Popsicle sticks?
I’m thinking Saturday’s “Prep Notes” column fell a bit short of explaining the entire story behind the Sequim-North Mason softball tie-breaker.
So, to rehash old news . . . Sequim and North Mason both finished 15-1 in Olympic League play.
Since each team’s loss came against the other, each of the league’s tie-breakers were rendered moot.
Under the league’s tie-breaking procedures that left district seeding to “a coin flip [or popsicle stick draw].”
Obviously, it would have been insane for something so arbitrary to determine the league’s top district seed, especially given its importance in the 2A tournament.
Luckily, administrators decided to apply a “distinct advantage” clause — mistakenly omitted from the tie-breaker scenarios — to the situation since the league’s top 2A seed is put in a much more palatable position at districts.
(The second seed in 2A districts must start with a home loser-out game, while the top seed gets a bye.)
As a result, the Wolves and Bulldogs get to decide it on a neutral field (Kingston) this Thursday.
“I think both teams are excited about it,” Sequim athletic director Dave Ditlefsen said. “It’s the way it should be done.”
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
