The North Olympic Peninsula’s three other state softball teams learned their first-round opponents when the brackets were released Tuesday by the WIAA.
Port Angeles (22-0) will open the Class 2A state tournament against Lynden (18-6) on Friday at 10 a.m. at Carlon Park in Selah.
The Roughriders clinched a state berth last week by winning their first two games at the District 2/3 tournament in Tacoma. Their remaining games were rained out, and they were assigned the district’s second seed.
Sequim and Chimacum needed to win district tournament games Monday to earn their state berths.
Sequim (18-5) will face Othello (20-2) in the first round of the 2A state tournament for the second year in a row. Last year, the Huskies beat the Wolves 10-0.
If Port Angeles and Sequim have the same first-round result — both win or both lose — they will meet for the third time this season. The Riders swept the season series.
Port Angeles has yet to place at the state softball tournament. The Wolves were state champions in 2011 and placed fourth in 2012.
Chimacum (13-6) begins the 1A state tournament against Omak (14-7) at Columbia Playfield in Richland on Friday at noon. The Cowboys will then play either Lynden Christian (16-6) or La Center (23-0) later that same day.
Chimacum shared third place at state with four other teams in 2010 when the final rounds were canceled. The Cowboys placed fourth in 2007 and 2009.
The area’s other state softball team, Quilcene (19-2), opens the 1B tournament in Yakima against defending champion Liberty Christian.
The Rangers finished third at the 2015 state tournament.
Sequim wins twice to clinch state
TACOMA — McKenzie Bentz tossed a pair of complete games as Sequim advanced to its sixth straight state softball tournament.
The Wolves defeated Steilacoom 6-3 and Sammamish 5-2 on Monday in loser-out contests delayed from Saturday due to rain at the District 2/3 tournament at Sprinker Fields.
In its first game Monday, Sequim fell behind Steilacoom 3-0 in the second inning. The Wolves scored one run in the third and took the lead with five more in the bottom of the sixth.
Nicole Anders scored the first of those five runs, coming home on Bobbi Sparks’ bases-loaded single.
Adrienne Haggerty, the next batter, then hit a base-clearing triple to give Sequim a 5-3 lead. Allysen Montelius then singled home Haggerty.
Bentz struck out six, walked one and allowed seven hits and two earned runs.
Bentz had command of her pitches in both games, walking only one batter total. Of the 184 pitches she threw in the two games, only 56 were balls.
Against Sammamish, she gave up six hits and one earned run.
At the plate, Bentz had two hits and drove in two of the Wolves’ five runs.
Montelius went 3 for 4 and drove in a run. Chloie Sparks doubled and scored a run, and Bobbi Sparks scored twice. Haggerty added two more hits and a run.
A coin flip gave Sequim the district’s fifth seed at the state tournament.
First Game
Sequim 6, Steilacoom 3
Steilacoom 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 7 1
Sequim 0 0 1 0 0 5 x — 6 9 2
WP- M. Bentz; LP- Flugga
Pitching Statistics
Steilacoom: Flugga 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 3 BB, K.
Sequim: M. Bentz 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 6 K.
Hitting Statistics
Steilacoom: Onasi 2-4, 2B; Whelan 1-3, R, RBI; Spoja 1-2, 2B.
Sequim: Haggerty 2-4, 3B, R, 3 RBI, SB; Montelius 2-4, 2B, R, RBI; Anders 1-2, R; Copeland 1-2; Dennis 2-3, R, SB; B. Sparks 1-3, R, RBI.
Second Game
Sequim 5, Sammamish 2
Sequim 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 — 5 12 2
Sammamish 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 — 2 6 2
WP- M. Bentz; LP- Smith
Pitching Statistics
Sequim: M. Bentz 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, ER, 0 BB, K.
Sammamish: Smith 7 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 4 ER, BB, 4 K.
Hitting Statistics
Sequim: Haggerty 2-4, R, SB; Montelius 3-4, RBI, SB; M. Bentz 2-4, 2 RBI, SB; C. Sparks 2-4, 2B, R; Anders 1-4, 2B; Copeland 1-3, RBI, SB; B. Sparks 1-2, 2 R.
Sammamish: Hesketh 2-4, 2B, 3B, R, RBI; Smith 1-4, RBI.
Chimacum 4, Klahowya 1
TACOMA — The rain gave the Cowboys a couple of much-needed days to recover and wash away the wounds from their 18-7 loss to Bellevue Christian.
Against the Eagles, Ryley Eldridge found the strike zone, Mechelle Nisbet found the fence and Chimacum returned to the Class 1A state tournament for the second year in a row.
“Friday’s game was probably one of my team’s worst games,” Cowboys coach Junior Roberts said of the loss to Bellevue Christain.
“I think a couple days off that we had to think about the loss, I think it helped us.
“They just kind worked things out.”
Chimacum and Klahowya were supposed to face off Saturday at Sprinker Fields, but rain pushed the 1A West Central District tournament contest to Monday.
Eldridge, after walking 12 Friday, struck out 16 and threw a one-hitter Monday.
“I’m telling you, I don’t think anybody would have hit our pitcher today,” Roberts said.
“She had great command. She was throwing really hard, had a great change up.
“It was a gem. It was a thing of beauty just to sit there and watch.
“Everybody fed off of what Ryley was doing.”
Mechelle Nisbet had all three of the Cowboys hits of Klahowya starter Amber Bumbalough, including a two-run homer in the third inning.
“I think we really changed the outcome of the game,” Roberts said.
“I think that really kind of sealed it for us, because I don’t think they recovered from that.”
Chimacum went two-and-out at the 2015 state tournament.
Chimacum 4, Klahowya 1
Chimacum 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 — 4 3 0
Klahowya 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 1 4
WP- Eldridge; LP- Bumbalough
Pitching Statistics
Chimacum: Eldridge 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 16 K.
Hitting Statistics
Chimacum: M. Nisbet 3-4, 2 R, HR.
