BREMERTON — The Port Angeles baseball team’s season was hanging by a thread just a few weeks ago.
Now, after the Roughriders’ 7-4 upset of KingCo power Interlake in the Class 2A bi-district quarterfinals at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds on Thursday, they’re headed to state for the first time in nine years.
Cody Sullivan pitched four innings of one-hit ball in relief, and fellow senior A.J. Konopaski blasted a two-out grand slam to carry the Riders to their sixth win in seven games.
Port Angeles (12-8 overall) will play two games Saturday at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds for the 1-4 seeds to the 2A state tournament.
That begins with a semifinal game against Lindbergh (15-5) at 10 a.m.
“It’s kind of amazing to think three weeks ago we were pretty much eliminated,” said Rider coach Bob Withrow, whose team had to win two straight loser-out games just to make it to districts.
“It’s weird all the things that had to happen did. All those breaks it seemed like we weren’t getting, we are getting now.”
Of course, the Riders are getting numerous clutch performances on the mound as well.
Nine days ago, it was A.J. Konopaski pitching a five-hit shutout against Sequim in a game the Riders needed to win to qualify for sub-districts.
A few days later, Sullivan took the hill and struck out 13 batters on the way to a 4-1 win over Steilacoom in loser-out sub-district play.
After Konopaski pitched another gem against Sequim in the first round of districts Tuesday — a 12-2 Rider win — Sullivan again came through with four strong innings in relief of starter Brian Senf.
“His fastball was electric today,” Withrow said. “He was just blowing it by people.”
Sullivan closed the door on the Saints (11-10) after taking the ball with the Riders clinging to a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The senior right-hander struck out six in four innings while giving up just one hit, one walk and zero runs.
Port Angeles scored insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings, but the real damage was done on A.J. Konopaski’s shot in the second inning.
Coming up to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded one inning after he misplayed a ball in left field, allowing two Saints to score, Konopaski smoked the ball over the left field fence.
The grand slam, Konopaski’s first homer of the season, put the Riders ahead for good at 5-3.
Kyler Morgan was also 3-for-4 at the plate for the Riders with two runs scored, a double and one RBI, and Daniel Pitz was 2-for-3 with a double.
“The two teams who beat us in football, we avenged,” Withrow said, referring to Interlake and Sequim.
The win gives Withrow the luxury of stretching out his pitching staff Saturday.
With the team’s first state bid since 2002 already in hand, the eighth-year head coach said he will make a decision on his pitching rotation today.
“We are going to go out and try and win it obviously, but I don’t know if I’m going to have anybody pitch a full game,” Withrow said.
“That’s the kind of decisions we’ll have to make tomorrow.”
Port Angeles 7, Interlake 4
Port Angeles 1 4 0 0 0 1 1 — 7 9 1
Interlake 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 — 4 5 0
WP- Senf; LP- Strother; S- Sullivan
Pitching Statistics
Port Angeles: Senf 3IP, 6K, 4BB, 4H, 3ER; Sullivan 4IP, H, 6K, BB, 0R.
Interlake: Strother 5.1IP, 6ER, 4K, 6BB, 5H; Sutich 1.2IP, 4H, ER, 3K, BB.
Hitting Statistics
Port Angeles: Morgan 3-4 (2R, 2B, RBI), A.J. Konopaski 2-4 (HR, 2R, 4RBI), Pitz 2-3 (2B), Mar. Konopaski 1-3 (2R,RBI), Napiontek 1-4 (RBI).
Interlake: Finfer 1-3 (2B, 2RBI), Button 2-2 (2B, R, RBI).
Chimacum game moved to today
COUPEVILLE — The day, site and time of the Chimacum baseball team’s next tri-district playoff game has been changed to this afternoon.
The Cowboys (19-1), the No. 1-ranked Class 1A team in the state, will play Friday Harbor at Coupeville High School starting at 4 p.m. in the tri-district semifinals.
Chimacum, Friday Harbor, Cascade Christian and Meridian all have earned state berths by making the semifinals and now will be battling for state seeding.
The two winners and the two losers will meet each other Saturday at Skagit Valley Community College in Mount Vernon in the final seeding games.
Originally, the four teams were scheduled to play doubleheaders Saturday but tri-district officials moved the semifinal games up to today because of predicted sunny weather today and predicted rainy weather Saturday.
A storm is forecast to move in some time Saturday in the Puget Sound area.
Chimacum coach Jim Dunn is not happy about the semifinal changes on such short notice.
“It makes no sense at all to make such a mess of things because you’re worried about this rain coming in,” he said.
“I have never heard about changing a game before it even gets rained out.”
At any rate, Dunn will go with his original pitching plans.
Quinn Eldridge will start today’s game with Austin McConnell set to come in late, saving super ace Landon Cray for Saturday’s showdown for the No. 1 seed if the Cowboys win as expected today.
“Hopefully, Quinn can go five innings today, and then Austin will pitch the final two innings,” Dunn said.
All pitchers are rested, healthy and ready to go, the coach added.
That’s bad news to the rest of the 1A teams at tri-district and the state.
Friday Harbor earned the semifinal berth by pounding Bellevue Christian 14-4 in the first round at Friday Harbor on Thursday, moved from Wednesday because of rain.
The Cowboys ripped Vashon Island 12-2 in five innings in their first tri-district game at home Wednesday despite playing in a rainstorm.
