PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles softball team locked up sole possession of the Olympic League championship, taking care of business against a decent Kingston team 10-1 to close out the regular season.
The Roughriders (13-1 in league, 16-2-1 overall) needed to win the game as second-place Olympic (12-2) beat North Mason 8-0 on Monday. Port Angeles is assured a first-round bye in the District 3 tournament that begins Friday and will likely be the top seed in the tournament with the No. 3 ranking in the state in Ratings Percentage Index. The Riders have been steadily climbing in the RPI rankings over the past month.
Monday’s game was relatively tight until the sixth inning when Port Angeles blew it open with five runs, with the inning punctuated by a two-run home run by Lexie Smith.
Smith finished the game 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Heidi Leitz also led the way with another amazing pitching performance. She went the entire seven innings, allowing just three hits and striking out 15.
Kennedy Rognlien has been hot down the stretch. She had a double and a triple, scoring two runs and driving in two.
Lynzee Reid was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, while Abby Kimball was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The district tournament schedule had not been set by press deadline. The Riders likely begin district play at noon Friday at the Regional Athletic Complex. Win or lose, they play again at 5 p.m. Saturday. If they remain alive, their final game would be at 7:15 p.m. Saturday. Port Angeles, Olympic and North Kitsap can be expected to dominate, along with one very good team out of the South Puget Sound League, Franklin Pierce, which is 14-1 and ranked No. 7 in RPI.
Port Angeles 10, Kingston 1
King. 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 — 1 3 0
PA 2 0 2 0 1 5 x — 10 15 1
Pitching
Port Angeles — Leitz 7 IP, 3 H, ER, 15 K.
Hitting
Port Angeles — Smith 4-4, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI; Rognlien 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI; Reid 2-3, 2 RBI; Leitz 2-3.
Forks 9, Toutle Lake 3
MONTESANO — The Forks softball team moved into the double-elimination phase of the District 4 2B tournament, getting huge games from Fynlie Peters and Avery Dilley in walloping Toutle Lake 9-3.
Peters went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. Dilley was 4-for-4 with a home run, a double and two runs scored.
In the circle, Chloe Gaydeski pitched the entire game, striking out nine and allowing five hits, two walks and one earned run.
The Spartans had 19 total hits with seven players collecting multiple hits.
Gaydeski and Kendyl Woody were each 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. Kat Clark was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Bailey Johnson was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI and Sophia Calderon was 2-for-4.
Forks (10-9) moves to play at least two more games at Fort Borst Park in Centralia today. The Spartans first play Napavine (13-3-1) at noon today, then play either Rainier (12-6) or Pe Ell/Willapa Valley (16-4) at 4 p.m.
Forks 9, Toutle Lake 3
TL 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 — 3 5 5
Forks 5 0 0 1 0 3 x — 9 19 4
Pitching
Forks — Gaydeski 7 IP, 5 H, 9 K, ER, 2 BB.
Hitting
Forks — Dilley 4-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, RBI; Peters 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI; Woody 2-4, 2B, R; Gaydeski 2-4, 2B, R; Clark 2-4, RBI; Calderon 2-4, Johnson 2-4, R, RBI.
Bremerton 13, Sequim 9
SEQUIM — The Sequim softball team pounded out 13 hits, but lost 13-9 when Bremerton pushed across nine runs in the final three innings.
Mia Kirner had a big game in defeat. She went 5-for-5 with a double and a triple, two runs scored and five RBIs.
Kylie Winter was 2-for-5 with two runs scored while Mikki Green was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
In the circle, Green pitched 5⅓ innings, allowing eight hits and three earned runs while striking out four.
The Wolves (2-11, 3-13) wrap up their season hosting Bainbridge (1-12, 1-12) at 4:15 p.m. today with a chance to end the season on a winning note.
Bremerton 13, Sequim 9
Brem. 2 0 0 2 3 3 3 — 13 11 3
Seq. 1 1 3 1 0 2 1 — 9 13 5
Pitching
Sequim — Green 5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 4 K; Whitehead 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 K.
Hitting
Sequim — Kirner 5-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 5 RBI; Winter 2-5, 2B, 2 R; Green 2-4, 2B, 2 R.
Heidi Leitz pitches her game at the Dry Creek field where the Port Angeles girls beat the Kingston Bucs on Monday. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
