PORT ANGELES — Senior Ella Holland tossed a five-inning no-hitter and Port Angeles pounded out 20 hits in a 16-0 Olympic League softball win over Bremerton on Tuesday.
“My dropball was working,” Holland said. “I usually struggle with it a little bit but have been working on it a lot at practice. And I was hitting my spots with the fastball.”
Holland struck out six and walked a batter but ended up facing only the minimum 15 batters.
“No-hitter, missed a perfect game by a walk,” coach Randy Steinman said of Holland’s performance in the circle. “We did pick the girl off, so she did face the minimum. She pitched great, that was nice to see. She needed that outing and we needed a game like today. Hit the ball, get good pitching, play defense and get back on track again.”
The Roughriders did all the damage they would need offensively in a 10-run first inning.
Three of Port Angeles’ first four batters collected hits on two-strike counts to open the game.
Leadoff hitter Hope O’Connor singled, Zoe Smithson singled on a 3-2 count to drive in O’Connor and after a Madi Roening double, Olivia Nevaril took an 0-2 pitch down the line in right field for an RBI triple.
“Coming out, protecting the plate and hitting the ball, that was nice,” Steinman said.
“That was a good one, the triple there. A good piece of hitting.”
Freshman Peyton Rudd hit a home run, a two-run shot to left center, as the Riders kept it up at the plate in the first inning.
“That was Peyton’s first-ever home run,” Steinman said.
Ava Brenkman reached base in all four of her at-bats.
“Ava did a great job,” Steinman said. “She told me she had four hits driving it right up the right side there.”
The Riders added a pair of runs in the second on a sacrifice fly by O’Connor and a Peyton Hefton RBI single.
Port Angeles put four more runs across in the fourth, as Smithson hit an RBI double, Teagen Clark blooped an RBI single and Lucah Folden and Emi Halberg added RBI singles.
The final margin could have been even more lopsided but Steinman held advancing base runners to one base to avoid running up the score.
“I never try to go over 15 [runs against an outmatched opponent],” Steinman said. “I’m not going to beat a team up like Olympic did, 39-0 vs. Kingston. I’m not going to do that.”
Folden made a good play on a hard grounder at third to get the final out and preserve Holland’s no-hitter
“It was a little bit far that way [to the right of the third-base bag],” Holland said. “I was hoping she could make the play and when she threw it I knew she had it.”
Port Angeles (6-3, 8-6) visited North Mason late Wednesday and hosts Sequim (7-3, 9-4) in a nonleague contest today at Dry Creek Elementary School.
Port Angeles 16, Bremerton 0
Brem. 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 4
PA10 2 0 4 X — 16 20 0
WP: Holland LP: Falotico
Pitching
Port Angeles — Holland 5IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 6K.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Roening 2-2, 2 2B, 2R, 3RBI; Rudd 2-4, R, HR, 2RBI; O’Connor 2-2, 2 SF, 2R, 2RBI; Smithson 2-4, 2B, 2R, 2RBI; Holland 2-3, 2R; Folden 2-4, 2R,
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News Port Angeles’ Peyton Rudd, right, is greeted by her teammates as she approches home plate after batting a two-run homer in the first inning against Bremerton on Tuesday at the Dry Creek athletic fields near Port Angeles.
