PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles baseball team is entering a softer part of its schedule and Tuesday took advantage, getting a two-hit shutout from Kody Williams and Maeson Grice in a 9-0 victory over Bremerton.
Port Angeles, 5-6 in league play, played last-place Bremerton again on Wednesday with a chance to get back to .500 in Olympic League play and remain in third place.
These are games the Roughriders need to win to qualify for postseason. Port Angeles has had five one-run losses in league this season, including three to powerhouses Bainbridge and North Kitsap, which are battling for the league title.
Though the Riders are making a big push for the postseason, possibly needing to win out to make it, coach Zac Moore said the team is concentrating “on just playing one game at a time. We have a chance at the playoffs, but we play one game at a time.”
The game was played in near-perfect conditions. In the morning, it appeared it might be a rainout with heavy rain in the area. Moore gave credit to groundskeeper Lukas Cox for keeping the field pristine.
“The grounds crew does a phenomenal job,” he said.
Williams started and went four innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. Grice was even stronger, relying on a filthy curveball, going three innings and allowing no hits, while striking out two.
“A lot of my first pitches were strikes, and my curve was working really well today,” Grice said. “This is our chance at the end
At the plate, the Riders pounded out 12 hits, including five extra-base hits. Alex Angevine had a big day, scoring four runs. He went 3-for-3 with a triple, a double, a stolen base, a walk and an RBI. He also made a great, alert baserunning play when he ended up on second after a ground ball got through to the outfield. Two Bremerton infielders went after the ball and Angevine broke for third with no one covering the base. He slid in safely and came in to score on a Josiah Gooding single.
“That was Alex’s call,” Moore said. “He saw [no one covering third] and took advantage of it.”
Gooding ended up going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Williams hit a triple and drove in two runs. Luke Flodstrom had a double.
After Wednesday’s game, Port Angeles (5-6, 6-10-1) is at Kingston (3-8, 4-10) on Tuesday for an away-and-home series to wrap up the regular season. The Riders host the Buccaneers at Civic Field on May 7.
Port Angeles 9, Bremerton 0
Brem. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 2
PA 3 0 3 1 0 2 x — 9 12 1
Pitching
Port Angeles — Williams 4 IP, 2 H, K; Grice 3 IP 2 K.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Angevine 3-3, 3B, 2B, 4 R, RBI, SB, BB; Gooding 2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI; Williams 1-2, 3B, 2 RBI, BB; Flodstrom 1-4, 2B, R; Basden 1-3, R; Shumway 1-2, RBI.
N. Kitsap 14, Sequim 0
SEQUIM — The Sequim baseball team ran into a buzzsaw from powerhouse North Kitsap, getting two-hit and losing 14-0.
Braydan White and Duran Ward had singles.
Sequim (4-7, 4-12) played North Kitsap (10-1, 12-4) again Wednesday, then plays at Forks (7-8) at Fred Orr Park at 3 p.m. today for a nonleague game.
North Kitsap 14, Sequim 0
NK 0 6 3 2 3 x x — 14 12 1
Seq. 0 0 0 0 0 x x — 0 2 4
Pitching
Sequim — Schmadeke 3 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 2 K; Laboy 1.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 5 BB, 2 K; Doyle 0.1 IP.
Hitting
Sequim — Schmadeke 3 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 2 K; Laboy 1.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 5 BB, 2 K; Doyle 0.1 IP.
Ilwaco 10, Forks 0 Ilwaco 10, Forks 0
ILWACO — The Forks baseball team struggled in a doubleheader against first-place Ilwaco, losing both games by the identical score of 10-0.
The Spartans managed just three hits in the two games, by Connor Clark, Mason Dent and Landen Olson.
Titus Rowley also pitched well in the second game as he was hurt by five Forks errors. He went 5⅓ innings and allowedthree earned runs. He struck out one.
Forks (5-5, 7-8) will play Sequim in a nonleague game at 3 p.m. today. The Spartans currently sit in fourth place in the Pacific 2B League and await their district playoff seeding as other teams in the league wrap up their seasons.
Ilwaco 10, Forks 0
Forks 0 0 0 0 0 x x — 0 2 4
Ilwaco 1 2 0 3 4 x x — 10 8 1
Hitting
Forks — Clark 1-2; Dent 1-2.
Pitching
Forks — Olson 4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 K.
Ilwaco 10, Forks 0
Forks 0 0 0 0 0 0 x — 0 1 5
Ilwaco 4 0 0 4 1 1 x — 10 10 0
Hitting
Forks — Olson 1-2.
Pitching
Forks — Rowley 5.1 IP, 3 ER, K.
