PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles baseball team won its Olympic League opener 8-0 over North Mason, getting a combined two-hitter from pitchers Rylan Politika and Bryce DeLeon and big games from Kody Williams and Nathan Basden.
Politika started Tuesday’s game at Civic Field and gave up a double to the second batter he faced. From that point on, he was perfect, not allowing another hit or a walk over the next 3⅔ innings while striking out five.
DeLeon came in to pitch in the fifth and was just as strong, giving up one hit and one walk in three innings. He struck out three. DeLeon also made a couple of great defensive plays, quickly pouncing on a pair of good bunts by North Mason hitters and throwing them out at first.
“Rylan and Bryce put in a lot of work this offseason in the weight room and it shows,” said coach Zac Moore.
Politika said he just threw strikes. “I know I have a good defense behind me,” he said.
The Riders also scored seven of their runs in the first two innings and then let Politika and DeLeon cruise to the seventh.
“It’s easy to pitch with a big lead,” Politika said. “They gave me a lot of insurance runs.”
At the plate, Basden was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. He hit a two-run double in the first inning to get the Roughriders’ on the board.
Williams, taking over this season at first base, was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Luke Flodstrom was 3-for-4, while pinch-runner Hunter Stratford had a stolen base and scored three runs. Josiah Gooding at third base also made a great diving catch in foul territory of a pop up.
The Riders bounced back after an 11-1 nonleague loss to Ingraham this weekend played in soggy conditions. Though the game was played in heavy rain, “we want to be able to play in those conditions,” Moore said. By comparison, Tuesday night’s game at Civic Field was near-perfect conditions for mid-March and it showed with the Riders making zero errors.
Port Angeles (1-0, 1-1) played at North Mason on Wednesday in a home-and-away league series, then will host Nathan Hale at Civic Field at 4:15 p.m. Friday. That game may be moved to Volunteer Field if the weather is poor. The Port Angeles JV will play at Forks at 5 p.m. today.
Port Angeles 8, North Mason 0
NM 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 2 4
PA 4 3 0 1 0 0 — 8 10 0
Pitching
PA — Politika 4 IP, H, 5 K; DeLeon 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K.
Hitting
PA — Basden 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI; Williams 2-4, 2 R, RBI; Flodstrom 3-4; Stratford 3 R, SB; Angeveine 1-3, R, BB.
Kingston 3, Sequim 2
KINGSTON — Sequim and Kingston battled in a scoreless game until the sixth inning when the Buccaneers plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull out a 3-2 season-opening victory.
Ethan Staples started for the Wolves and pitched great, going four scoreless innings, allowing five hits and no walks. He struck out seven. Bryant Laboy pitched 1⅓ innings, allowing just one hit, but two earned runs. He struck out two. Braydan White pitched the final two-thirds of an inning, allowing an unearned run on two hits. He struck out one.
The Wolves managed just three hits. White had a single in the sixth and Lincoln Bear was hit by a pitch. Devyn Dearinger singled to drive in White, and Bear was able to come around to score on an error as the Wolves took a 2-0 lead.
But they weren’t able to hold it. Kingston scored three in the bottom of the sixth on a walk, stolen base, two singles and an error. The Wolves were three up, three down in the top of the seventh.
Sequim (0-1, 0-1) hosted Kingston on Wednesday in an away-and-home series, then hosts Nathan Hale at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Kingston 3, Sequim 2
Seq. 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 — 2 3 1
K’ston 0 0 0 0 0 3 x — 3 8 2
Pitching
Sequim — Staples 4 IP, 5 H, 7 K; Laboy 1.1 IP, H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K; White 0.2 IP, 2 H, K.
Hitting
Sequim — White 1-3, R; Bear 1-2, R, HBP; Dearinger 1-2, RBI, BB.
Girls Softball Forks 12, Port Angeles JV 5 Forks 18, Port Angeles JV 11
FORKS — The Forks softball team picked up a pair of victories over the Port Angeles JV squad 12-5 and 18-11, with Chloe Gaydeski having an especially big day.
In the opener, Gaydeski pitched the entire seven innings, striking out 14, while allowing two earned runs on four hits. In the nightcap, she was 2-for-2 with a double, a triple, four RBIs and two runs scored.
Bailey Johnson also had a big day, going 3-for-5 in the two games with a double, a home run, five runs scored and three RBIs.
In the opening game, Avery Dilley was 2-for-3 with a double and a triple, a run scored and five RBIs.
In the nightcap, eighth-grader Brooklyn Rondeau was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Fynlie Peters and Kendyl Woody each hit a double.
For the Port Angeles JV, Lilly Anne Lancaster was 2-for-3 in the opening game, while Adison Richard had a double in the nightcap. Juno Rognlien had a hit and three runs scored in the second game.
Forks (4-0) next plays at Chief Leschi on Tuesday.
