PORT ANGELES — Sierra Robinson and Lauren Lunt led the offense and Hope Wegener held North Kitsap to five hits in the Port Angeles softball team’s 13-1 victory at Dry Creek Elementary School.
The Roughriders (9-0, 17-0) remain unbeaten and are closing in on their third consecutive league championship.
They next face Olympic on the road Thursday and then host Sequim next Tuesday. The Trojans (6-2, 9-4) and Wolves (6-2, 13-3) are tied for second place in the Olympic League 2A Division.
Robinson and Lunt each went 3 for 3 at the plate in Monday’s win over the Vikings. Robinson scored three runs and stole three bases, and Lunt drove in two runs and scored twice.
Wegener went all five innings on the mound for the Riders.
“Hope Wegener had another solid outing on the mound and [our] bats gave her plenty of run support,” Port Angeles coach Randy Steinman said.
Wegener also was helped by the defense of outfielders Taylar Clark and Hunter-Anne Coburn.
“Taylar Clark and Hunter-Anne both made amazing catches in the outfield,” Steinman said.
“Taylar made a diving catch down the left-field line to end North’s rally in the third inning. Hunter-Anne made a running shoe-string catch down the right-field foul line fence to end the fourth inning.”
Port Angeles 13, North Kitsap 1,
5 innings
North Kitsap 0 0 1 0 0 — 1 5 6
Port Angeles 2 5 3 3 x — 13 12 2
WP- Wegener; LP- Smith
Pitching Statistics
North Kitsap: Smith 4 IP, 13 R, 12 H, K, BB.
Port Angeles: Wegener 5 IP, R, 5 H, 0 BB.
Hitting Statistics
North Kitsap: Rapada 2-3, RBI.
Port Angeles: Robinson 3-3, 3 R, RBI, 3 SB; Lunt 3-3, 2 R, 2 RBI; Steinman 2-2, BB, 2 R, RBI; Wheeler 1-2, RBI; Larson 1-3, 2 R; Clark 1-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI; Coburn 1-1, 2 RBI.
Baseball
Port Angeles 4, Olympic 3
BREMERTON — Eathen Boyer scored from third base on a hard-hit ball by Tanner Gochnour in the eighth inning to ensure the Roughriders a top-two finish in the Olympic League 2A Division.
Travis Paynter pitched all eight innings for Port Angeles on Monday.
He threw only 80 pitches through the first seven innings and struck out the first two in the eighth, but Olympic’s Matthew Walters finished off a nine-pitch at-bat with a single and then Tyler Aerne drew a four-pitch walk.
Riders coach Vic Reykdal, who had reliever Janson Pederson already warmed up in the bullpen, visited the mound to talk to Paynter.
“He said, ‘I can get this out, I can do this,’” Reykdal said. “Sure enough, he got [the batter] to roll ball to short, and we got them.”
Paynter struck out seven and gave up only three hits and three runs, two of which were unearned.
Gochnour gave the Riders an early lead with a two-run triple with two outs in the first inning.
In the eight inning, Boyer led off with a single and moved to third when a pick-off attempt flew into left field.
Next up was Gochnour, who brought in Boyer.
“Gochnour hit a rocket at the shortstop, about tore his mitt off, and it trickled out into left field,” Reykdal said.
The victory ties Port Angeles (9-2, 15-3) and North Kitsap (9-2, 12-4) for the league lead. The Riders and Vikings faced off for the title Tuesday in Port Angeles.
Along with the players, Reykdal praised assistant coaches Karl Myers, Wicus McGuffey and Jason Paynter.
“The assistant coaches are doing an outstanding job,” Reykdal said. “They’re a big reason why we get to play for the championship.”
Port Angeles 8, Olympic 3, 8 innings
Olympic 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 — 4 7 3
Port Angeles 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 3 3 4
WP- Paynter; LP- J. Pereira
Pitching Statistics
Olympic: Matheny 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K; J. Pereira IP, H, R, BB, K.
Port Angeles: Paynter 8 IP, 3 H, 3 R, ER, 2 BB, 7 K.
Hitting Statistics
Olympic: J. Pereira 1-3, RBI; J. Pereira 1-4; Walters 1-4.
Port Angeles: Gochnour 1-4, 3B, 3 RBI; McGoff 2-3, 2B; Hendry 1-2, BB, HBP, 2 R; Boyer 1-4, R; McGuffey 1-3; Basden 1-3.
Quilcene 12, Mount Rainier Lutheran 4
TACOMA — The Rangers wrapped up their second straight SeaTac League championship by going on the road and routing the Hawks.
Quilcene faced three pitchers and tallied 12 hits in Monday’s game.
“Our mentality is to live and die by our aggression on the bases and at-bat,” Rangers coach Darrin Dotson said.
“We look to get on by hitting not looking for a walk. Once we get base, we are at our best.”
A.J. Prater had three hits and three runs for Quilcene.
Nate Weller also had three hits and drove in two runs and stole four bases. He made several defensive plays at first base that got the Rangers out of a few jams.
Monday’s win came after Quilcene suffered its first league loss of the season, 8-2 to Seattle Lutheran last week on the back end of a doubleheader.
“We were hoping to 10-0 in league but got a reality check from a well-disciplined Seattle team,” Dotson said.
“You never want to lose a game, but a loss is always a good gut-check on a team.”
The Rangers won the first game of last Wednesday’s doubleheader. Harrison pitched all seven innings and struck out 13 while allowing four hits.
Quilcene (8-1, 12-3) will host a first-round District 1/2/4 Tournament game next Tuesday.
Quilcene 12, Mount Rainier Lutheran 4
WP- Harrison
Pitching Statistics
Quilcene: Harrison 7 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 9 K.
Hitting Statistics
Quilcene: Prater 3-5, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI; Harrison 1-2, 2B, 2 HBP, 3 R, 4 SB; Weller 3-5, R, 2 RBI, 4 SB; Reynolds 1-3, BB, R, 3 SB; Smith 2-4, RBI; Mahan 1-3, HBP; Soderberg 1-4, R; Bruner 0-2, BB, 2 R; Johnston 0-3, R, SB.
Lacrosse
South Kitsap 17, Mountaineers 7
PORT ANGELES — Mike Walton scored four goals for the Olympic Mountaineers in their loss at Agnew Fields.
Charlie Prosser, Matt Warner and Sawyer Larsen added a goal apiece for the Port Angeles/Sequim team.
The Mountaineers (1-9-0) next face North Kitsap (6-6-0) in Poulsbo on Thursday.
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Compiled using team reports. Coaches, send reports to sports@peninsuladailynews.com.
