PORT ANGELES — Last year, the Port Angeles softball team graduated superstar Natalie Robinson, who won the Olympic League MVP after hitting .483 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Robinson helped lead the Riders to a fourth-place finish at the state 2A tournament.
This year? The Roughriders might actually be better.
The Riders have won eight straight since they were outslugged by Olympic 11-9 on April 28. They didn’t just win the district tournament, they completely dominated it, outscoring their opponents 22-1. They beat a very good North Kitsap team 8-1 in the semifinals and in the finals, they faced their Olympic League rival Olympic, which had handed the Riders their only loss since March.
The championship game wasn’t even remotely close. The Riders got their revenge with an 8-0 shellacking over the Trojans, who are ranked No. 5 in the state in Ratings Percentage Index.
The Riders go in to state with a 19-2-1 record and a No. 3 RPI ranking. Only Tumwater (19-3) and Mark Morris (21-1) are ranked higher. Port Angeles’ other loss was to a 3A school, Liberty, which has a solid record of 17-9. They also tied a 4A school, Battle Ground.
This is the 11th straight trip to the state tournament for the Riders softball team (Dating back to 2012 with two years lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the most remarkable and consistent level of success by any program on the Olympic Peninsula perhaps short of the Neah Bay girls basketball program.
This year’s team
Above and beyond Robinson’s graduation, this team came into the season relatively young. A slightly down season would have been understandable looking at the Opening Day roster — four freshmen and four sophomores on the varsity roster. And just four seniors. Usually a 19-2-1 team with serious aspirations for a state championship has more than four seniors.
No one in the lineup came close to Robinson’s 43 RBIs from last year, but coach Morgan Worthington said that one of the team’s strengths is that it got contributions up and down the lineup. Seven players had at least 12 RBIs and five players had multiple home runs.
The Riders have a murderer’s row of hitters up and down the lineup — Abby Kimball, .536, Lynzee Reid .509, Kennedy Rognlien, .474; Mariah Traband .452; Heidi Leitz, .421; and Lexie Smith, .419.
Worthington took over the program from Randy Steinman, who had taken the Riders to state numerous straight years. She said one of the things Steinman and other previous coaches gave her advice about was how to keep the program successful year after year.
“One of the things they always said is we don’t rebuild. We reload,” she said. “We’re a hard team to beat up and down the lineup. I’d much rather have a full team one through nine.”
Worthington said this team has taken the challenge of everyone having to contribute.
“No position here is given. They work hard for themselves and for the team,” Worthington said. “They know they have to show up and play Rider softball.”
One of the leaders of the team is pitcher Heidi Leitz. She has powered the Riders by striking out a staggering 147 batters in 88 innings this season.
“We’re so excited. We’re held to a pretty high standard,” Leitz said. “I think we’re more feeling more excitement than nervousness.”
Catcher Kimball added that not only is the team excited but “hungry.”
Kimball also gave a lot of credit to one of those young sophomores, Morgan Politika (Called “MoPo” by her teammates), who took over Robinson’s spot in the lineup. Politika has contributed a .364 batting average this season.
“She’s worked really hard and picked us up,” Kimball said.
Port Angeles begins play at 10 a.m. Friday against No. 14 seed Cedarcrest (12-12). Later on Friday, the Riders play either Woodland or East Valley of Yakima at 1:30 p.m. (consolation bracket) or 3:30 p.m. (championship bracket).
If the Riders are still in the championship bracket, they play in the state semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday with the finals at 2:30 p.m., all at Carlon Park in Selah.
It’s impossible to predict how the team will do at state. The Riders should place, at worst, but a hot pitcher can change everything. The players are confident and the juniors and seniors have all been there before. Beyond Leitz, the Riders have another solid pitcher in Reid. They have made just 12 errors all season. There are few, if any, weaknesses to the team.
“When our team is firing on all cylinders, it’s going to be hard for any team to beat us,” Worthington said.
