STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT: Rognlien, Leitz power Port Angeles in rally past Clarkston
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026
SELAH — Kennedy Rognlien’s two-run double down the left field line gave Port Angeles the lead for the first time late in the game and freshman pitcher Allison Leitz shut down Clarkston in relief to secure a 5-3 win over the Bantams in the opening round of the Class 2A State Softball Tournament at Carlon Park on Friday.
With the win, the No. 3-seeded Roughriders (20-3) advanced to face No. 11-seed Archbishop Murphy (15-10) in a quarterfinal matchup late Friday afternoon.
Port Angeles was able to get some early hits off of Clarkston pitcher Olivia Tannahill, including a triple to the wall in right-center field by freshman Nyomie Colfax, but the Riders stranded four runners through the first three scoreless innings.
Starting pitcher Lynzee Reid had no trouble through the first few innings and punctuated the third with back-to-back strikeouts. But the Bantams worked a leadoff walk and got some breaks with a hard-hit infield single that could only be fielded and a single that deflected off Reid’s glove into shallow center field and Clarkston scored the game’s first run on an offline throw to home plate.
Reid got a ground out and had Clarkston hit into a fielders’ choice that included a snap throw from first baseman Sophia Ritchie to catcher Mariah Disque that narrowly missed being the third out of the inning.
After allowing another single, Reid was pulled for Leitz.
Leitz, the younger sister of Port Angeles’ 2025 ace pitcher Heidi Leitz, looked a bit nervous and hit the first batter she faced, but ended the inning with the first of her seven strikeouts and looked nearly unhittable down the stretch.
She allowed just one bloop single in her 3.1 innings in the circle with Clarkston batters unable to catch up with the speed of her throws.
Port Angeles got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when senior Mikkiah Stevens led off with a perfectly executed bunt halfway up the first base line and came home on Ritchie’s RBI double to the gap in left-center.
Ritchie, however, was thrown out attempting to advance to third and after a Leitz double, she was left stranded at second base.
Leitz doubled with one out to start the Riders’ sixth-inning rally.
Disque drove the next pitch to straight center and Leitz hustled hard to score from second and trim the lead to 3-2.
Reid beat out a throw to first base for an infield single in a controversial call and stole second with Rognlien at the plate.
Rognlien then deposited the go-ahead double down the left-field line to score two runs and came home later on an error by the Clarkston catcher.
Leitz had no issues in a 1-2-3 seventh to close out the victory.
