PORT ANGELES — Just when the game was getting interesting, Erin Edwards made a diving catch to end it.
Sequim’s Bobbi Sparks came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh inning and hit a shot to the then-open space in far-left field.
Edwards tracked down the ball with her feet and then dove to make the game-ending catch and seal Port Angeles’ 5-0 victory that clinched the Olympic League 2A Division title.
“Spectacular catch. She got a great read on it, laid out completely, and just made a wonderful catch,” Roughriders coach Randy Steinman said.
“Great way to end the game. Because, yes, it was getting interesting. [Sequim was] one or two hits from tying the game.”
If the ball drops, the Wolves probably would have scored a pair of runs and had their best hitters coming up.
“That girl doesn’t make that catch, we’re back in it and we’re at the top of the order,” Sequim coach Mike McFarlen said.
But Edwards did make the catch, just as the Riders did everything necessary to win Tuesday’s game and claim their third consecutive league championship.
“It gets us pumped, winning this,” Port Angeles second baseman Natalie Steinman said of the title.
Tuesday’s rivalry showdown was the annual Pink It Up game between the Riders and Wolves. Both teams wore pink uniform tops to raise awareness for the fight against cancer.
The shutout was the Riders’ second against their rivals this season (they won 6-0 on April 27), but it wasn’t easy. Sequim pitcher McKenzie Bentz was hitting her spots, so Port Angeles had to manufacture runs.
“We did some small ball there to get them to throw the ball around a little bit, and took advantage of some of their mistakes,” Randy Steinman said.
“And we didn’t hit the ball great like we usually do, but give credit to McKenzie Bentz, who kept the ball on the corners and changing speeds.”
Port Angeles’ Kylee Reid reached on an error and then scored the game’s first run in the second inning when she went from first to home on Brennan Gray’s sacrifice bunt attempt.
Reid advanced to second, as was the plan, and then went to third after an overthrow to first base. Noticing a hole in Sequim’s defense, Reid crept down the line toward home, and then she took off and barely beat the throw.
“We knew it would be a bang-bang [play], and they threw it in the dirt, and [Reid was] safe and everything,” Randy Steinman said.
“So it worked out. Again, we took advantage of the situation, trying to create things, make things happen, make them throw it around.”
The Riders added three more runs in the third inning.
After leading off with a infield single, Natalie Steinman was aggressive on the base paths and made it from first to third on Sierra Robinson’s bunt single.
Robinson then stole second, and she and Steinman scored on Lauren Lunt’s ground-rule double.
Lunt came around to score when Nizhoni Wheeler hit an opposite-field single to shallow right, making the Riders’ lead 4-0.
Another Sequim error allowed Robinson to score from third with two outs in the fifth inning.
“I thought we played really well, most of the game,” McFarlen said.
“We had a little letdown the first couple innings there, we had a couple errors, but the girls bounced back pretty well.
“We played pretty well the rest of the way, we just didn’t hit the ball.
“We got beat by one girl today, and that was the girl throwing.”
Wheeler pitched all seven innings for the Riders. She struck out 10 and walked five while allowing three hits.
Jordan Bentz was the only Sequim batter not to strike out. Instead, she drew two walks and hit into a fielder’s choice.
“Nizhoni did great. She’s been playing really well,” Lunt, Port Angeles’ catcher, said.
“She was hitting her spots, and it was showing, they couldn’t hit her.”
The Riders (11-0, 19-0) will try to finish off their second consecutive undefeated regular season when they host Bremerton (1-10, 2-13) today at 4 p.m.
Sequim (7-3, 14-4) plays at Kingston (5-6, 5-9) today and then concludes the regular season at North Kitsap (5-5, 6-7) on Monday.
The Wolves are essentially tied for second place in Olympic League 2A. They’re a half-game back of Olympic (8-3, 12-5), which has one game remaining, today at home against North Kitsap.
Port Angeles 5, Sequim 0
Sequim 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 3 3
Port Angeles 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 — 5 8 0
WP- Wheeler; LP- M. Bentz
Pitching Statistics
Sequim: M. Bentz 6 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, BB.
Port Angeles: Wheeler 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 10 K.
Hitting Statistics
Sequim: M. Bentz 1-3, 2B; Montelius 1-3; Anders 1-3; J. Bentz 0-1, 2 BB.
Port Angeles: Steinman 1-4, R; Robinson 2-4, 2 R, 2 SB; Lunt 3-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, SB; Wheeler 1-4, RBI; Edwards, 1-1, SB.
________
Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
