SELAH — Port Angeles and Sequim both left the 2A state softball tournament at Carlon Park without a trophy.
The Wolves made an earlier than expected exit after losing both of their games in the tournament.
“Brutal,” coach Mike McFarlen said of Sequim’s tournament experience.
The Roughriders, meanwhile, opened with a 6-3 win against Granite Falls before losing to defending state champion W.F. West and Sedro-Woolley.
After rain delayed the start of the state tournament by six hours, Granite Falls opened the game with a pair of runs in the top of the first.
But, Port Angeles’ bats answered, scoring three first-inning runs, adding two more in the second and another in the third to grab a comfortable 6-2 lead.
Riders pitcher Sarah Steinman held off the Tigers after that. For the game, she struck out seven batters and allowed seven hits.
Tori Kuch and Steinman each had two hits and an RBI. Carley Gouge also had two hits.
Freshman Jaidyn Larson filled in for an ill Maddy Hinrichs at shortstop and contributed a big triple.
In the Riders’ second game, which didn’t begin until 10 p.m. Friday night, they hung with the reigning champs until the third inning when the Bearcats plated eight runs to take a 9-0 lead.
W.F. West pitcher Mattie Boucher held Port Angeles to four hits and struck out seven to earn the win.
“[Boucher] threw really hard, and they hit really well,” Riders coach Randy Steinman said.
On Saturday morning, Port Angeles faced Sedro-Woolley, which was coming off a late-night victory over Sequim.
And like their rivals, the Riders were knocked out of the tournament by the Cubs.
“They hit even better than W.F. West,” Randy Steinman said.
Port Angeles (21-6) actually out-hit Sedro-Woolley 12-10, but were doomed by a 10-run second inning outburst by the Cubs.
The Riders almost got out of the inning before things went south.
The bases were loaded, but there were two outs when an error allowed Sedro-Woolley to extend the inning.
And the Cubs took full advantage of the extra opportunity, including a three-run homer by Kaylee Lamphiear.
Port Angeles responded with a four-run third to cut the lead to 12-4, but the Cubs added a run in their half of the third and another in the fifth to put the mercy rule into effect.
Hinrichs, the Riders’ top hitter, returned to the lineup and recorded a pair of hits.
Sarah Steinman and Dove Lucas also had two hits, and each brought in a run.
Port Angeles’ only senior, Raelyn Lucas, contributed a hit in her final high school game.
“We had the bases loaded a few times, we just couldn’t get the key hit,” Randy Steinman said.
Port Angeles 6, Granite Falls 3
Granite Falls 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 3 7 2
Port Angeles 3 2 1 0 0 0 x — 6 7 0
WP- Steinman; LP- Harding
Pitching Statistics
Port Angeles: Steinman 7IP, 7H, 6K, 2BB.
Hitting Statistics
Granite Falls: Myntti 2-2, 2B; Munce 1-4, HR, 2RBI.
Port Angeles: Kuch 2-3, 2B, RBI; Steinman 2-3, RBI; Larson 1-3, 3B; Gouge 2-3.
W.F. West 10, Port Angeles 0
(5 innings)
Port Angeles 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 4 3
W.F. West 0 1 8 0 1 — 10 10 1
WP- Boucher; LP- Steinman
Pitching Statistics
Port Angeles: Steinman 2 1/3IP, 4K, 5H, 3BB; Cristion 2 2/3IP, K, 5H, 3BB.
W.F. West: Boucher 5IP, 7K, 4H, BB.
Hitting Statistics
Port Angeles: Gouge 1-1; Kuch 1-2; D. Lucas 1-2; R. Lucas 1-3.
W.F. West: L. Reynolds 1-3, HR, 2RBI; C. Reynolds 3-3, 3RBI; Graham 2-3, 2B.
Sedro-Woolley 14, Port Angeles 4
(5 innings)
Port Angeles 0 0 4 0 0 — 4 12 4
Sedro-Woolley 2 10 1 0 1 — 14 10 2
WP- Queen; LP- Steinman
Pitching Statistics
Port Angeles: Steinman 1 1/3IP, 2K, 3H, 2BB; Cristion IP, 4H, 2BB; D. Lucas 2 2/3IP, K, 3H, 2BB.
Sedro-Woolley: Dude; Dude; Dude.
Hitting Statistics
Port Angeles: Hinrichs 2-4, 2B; Steinman 2-3, RBI; D. Lucas 2-3, RBI; Reid 1-3, RBI; R. Lucas 1-4.
Sedro-Woolley: Lamphiear 1-4, HR, 3RBI.
Sequim drops two
The Wolves, who were aiming to place at state for the third consecutive year, were unable to even advance to the tournament’s second day, falling 10-4 to Selah and then being eliminated with a 5-4 loss to Sedro-Woolley.
Sequim had to open with the hometown, district-champion Vikings because it lost to Sumner in last week’s West Central District tournament, and had to settle for the district’s fifth seed at state.
“It’s all about seeding, and we didn’t play to our level,” McFarlen said.
Rylleigh Zbaraschuk blasted a two-run homer in the first inning to give Sequim an early 2-0 lead.
“Rylleigh carried us against Selah,” McFarlen said.
But, Selah put up five runs in its half of the first, and then held the Wolves’ mighty bats scoreless until the seventh inning, when Sequim plated two more runs.
“We started slow in both games, but the girls didn’t quit,” McFarlen said.
“They played their hearts out.”
On Friday evening, the Wolves and Sedro-Woolley were even at 2-2 going into the seventh inning.
The Cubs batted first, and scored three runs to take a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, the Cubs got two quick outs before the top of the order came to the plate.
Sequim catcher Bailey Rhodefer swatted a home run, and Hannah Grubb did likewise to make it a 5-4 game.
“We hit two homers, and our three and four batters [in the lineup] were coming up,” McFarlen said.
“I was thinking, this is destiny, they’re going to do this.”
But, the Wolves were unable to bring in any more runs and were eliminated from the tournament earlier than expected.
All four of Sequim’s runs against the Cubs came from solo home runs. In the two games at state, Sequim hit six home runs.
“And they didn’t just [barely] leave the park; they were bombs,” McFarlen said.
However, McFarlen said the Wolves (21-4) didn’t hit like they had throughout most of the season, when they had a .500 batting average as a team and only lost one game during the regular season.
Selah 10, Sequim 4
Sequim 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 — 4 10 2
Selah 5 1 0 1 0 3 x — 10 13 1
WP- Zerr; LP- Makayla Bentz
Hitting Statistics
Seqium: Zbaraschuk 2-3, HR, 2RBI; Besand 2-4, RBI; Lewis 2-3.
Selah: Steiner 3-3, RBI; Bersing 2-3, RBI.
Sedro-Woolley 5, Sequim 4
Sedro-Woolley 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 — 5 10 0
Sequim 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 — 4 9 0
WP- Queen; LP- Makayla Bentz
Hitting Statistics
Sedro-Woolley: Lamphiear 2-4, HR, RBI; Adams 3-3, 2B, RBI.
Sequim: Rhodefer 1-3, HR, RBI; Grubb 1-4, HR, RBI; Clift 1-3, HR, RBI.
