PREP PLAYOFFS: Peninsula teams prepare for district, state tournaments

QUILCENE — Quilcene softball, champions of the Sea-Tac 1B League will get to host its first-round Bi-District playoff game at 4:15 p.m. Thursday.

The Rangers will play the winner of Pope John Paul II and Wishkah Valley. The next round will move to the Kitsap County Fairgrounds on Saturday. Quilcene will either play for the district championship at 3:15 p.m. or for third place at 1 p.m.

As Sea-Tac 1B champion, Quilcene gets a bye in the district tournament and with four teams from district going to state, have already qualified for the state 1B tournament. At this point, they are playing for seeding position.

Other postseason updates:

Track and field

Sequim and Port Angeles will compete in the West Central District III 2A meet on Friday and Saturday at Bremerton High School, with numerous members on each team having the potential to go to the 2A state meet.

The top six boys and girls finishers in each event go to state.

Port Townsend and Chimacum compete in the The West Central District III 1A meet is also Friday and Saturday at Bremerton High School. It will be much tougher for Redhawk and Cowboy athletes to the make the 1A state meet as only the top two finishers in each event qualifies for state.

2A softball

Port Angeles and Sequim begin play in the West Central District III 2A Tournament, which begins Friday at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey. The Roughriders and the Wolves played Tuesday to see who would be the No. 2 seed. The No. 2 seed will play River Ridge (8-5, 10-8) at noon, while the No. 3 seed will play Steilacoom (6-7, 8-11), also at noon.

Win or lose, Sequim and Port Angeles will play two games Friday. Winners will play at 2 p.m. against either Eatonville (13-0, 21-2) or Fife (11-2, 16-6), while the consolation bracket games are set for 5 p.m. (Opponents to be determined).

Baseball

Port Angeles and Quilcene begin play in the State 2A and 1B tournaments on Saturday.

Port Angeles (12-0, 19-4), champions of the Olympic League 2A Division and the West Central District III Tournament, will play Sehome (10-3, 16-9) at 1 p.m. at Auburn High School. The first two games at state are loser out.

If the Roughriders win, they next play at 4 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Columbia River (11-1, 18-5) and West Valley (Spokane) (4-4, 10-7). If the Riders can get through Saturday unbeaten, they will be in the State 2A semifinals, which will be played May 24.

Quilcene (6-5, 8-9) will play Colton (11-1, 14-6) at WF West High School at 10 a.m. Saturday in the State 1B Tournament. If the Rangers win, they play a second game at WF West at 4 p.m. against either Odessa (12-2, 16-2) or Naselle (6-0, 16-3).

The Rangers made state by winning six out of their last seven games, including two out of three at districts.

Tennis

Sequim and Port Angeles tennis players begin play in the West Central District III 2A Tournament at the Kitsap Tennis & Athletic Center in Bremerton on Friday.

The Sequim tandem of Kalli Wiker and Jessica Dietzman won the Olympic League 2A Tournament and are the defending WCD III champions from last year. Joining them is Port Angeles’ Summer Olsen, who qualified for district as a singles’ player. Sequim’s McKenna Hastings and Ashley Rosales finished fifth at the league tournament and will be the first alternate at districts.

The WCD III 1A Tournament begins today at the Sprinker Recreation Center in Tacoma. The Chimacum duo of Grace Yaley and Renee Woods qualified as the Olympic League’s No. 1 seed, while their teammate Makela Caskey advanced as the league’s No. 3 singles player.

Port Townsend’s Madison Hess qualified as the No. 2 singles player.