SILVERDALE — The Port Angeles baseball team got seven strong innings from pitcher Rylan Politika and a clutch two-run single from Nate Basden in the fourth inning to beat Steilacoom 3-2 late Saturday to earn a third-place trophy at the bidistrict tournament.
Earlier in the day, the Roughriders went up against the No. 1-rated team in the state in Enumclaw and gave the Hornets a hard time, down just two runs in the sixth inning. Enumclaw, which has a 21-1 record, scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to help seal an 8-3 victory.
In the same tournament, Sequim fell to Olympic League foe Kingston 9-1, ending the Wolves’ season and bid for a state tournament bid.
The Roughriders had already qualified for the state 2A tournament and the final two games Saturday at Central Kitsap High School were for seeding.
Port Angeles is a No. 10 seed at state and begins play in the state tournament as a No. 10 seed against No. 7 seed W.F. West.
W.F. West (18-6) finished second in the Evergreen 2A League and second in the District 4 tournament. This should be an evenly matched game as W.F. West is ranked No. 6 in ratings percentage index, while Port Angeles (19-6) is ranked No. 7.
The time of the game has not been set nor the location.
Saturday’s games
In the Steilacoom game, the Riders found themselves locked in a tight pitchers battle until the bottom of the fourth tied 1-1 when Port Angeles loaded the bases after Bryce Deleon and Josiah Gooding were hit by pitches and Brandt Perry hit a single. Basden then came up with his huge two-run single to give the Riders a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Politika went the distance, allowing just four hits while striking out five. He really had to work for it at the end, however, as Steilacoom got an RBI double from Drew MacDonald to make it 3-2. He then moved to third with just one out on a fly ball. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Politika struck out the final two batters, one on a dropped third strike that required a throw to first from catcher Luke Flodstrom, to end the game.
Alex Angevine was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base and Jordan Shumway was 2-for-3. Ezra Townsend had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Against Enumclaw, the Riders were down just 5-3 against a team that is moving to 3A in September. A trio of Port Angeles pitchers allowed just seven Enumclaw hits, but the Hornets’ Karson Holt was a problem for the Riders with three doubles and three RBIs.
The Riders managed just four hits against Enumclaw’s powerful pitching. Angevine had a hit, a run scored, an RBI, a walk and two stolen bases. Townsend had a hit, a run scored and two stolen bases. Kaleb Mullen had a hit and a run scored and Shumway drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
On the mound, Brian Guttormsen went four innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. He struck out three.
Enumclaw went on to beat North Kitsap 9-6 in the bidistrict championship game.
Port Angeles 3, Steilacoom 2
Ste. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 4 1
PA 1 0 0 2 0 0 x — 3 8 0
Pitching
PA — Politika 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 K.
Hitting
PA — Angevine 2-3, R, SB; Shumway 2-3, Basden 1-3, 2 RBI; Townsend 0-2, RBI, SF.
Enumclaw 8, Port Angeles 3
PA 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 — 3 4 2
Enum. 1 3 0 1 0 3 x — 8 7 1
Pitching
PA — Guttormsen 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 K; Martin 1.1 IP, H, 3 ER, K; Grice 0.2 IP.
Hitting
PA — Angevine 1-3, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB; Townsend 1-4, R, 2 SB; Mullen 1-3, R; Shumway 0-3, RBI, SF.
Kingston 9, Sequim 1
TACOMA — While Port Angeles had already qualified for state, Sequim was attempting to make state in the hardest way possible — by winning three straight games at the bidistrict tournament.
The Wolves nearly pulled it off. They beat Tyee 8-1 and Fife 7-3 to make it to the qualification game, but fell to league opponent Kingston 9-1.
The Wolves played the Buccaneers evenly for most of the game, but they were undone by a bad fourth inning in which Kingston strung together six hits and a couple of walks to score eight runs. Kingston had just two hits the rest of the game.
The Wolves were limited to just three hits by Zeke Schmadeke, Ethan Staples and Bryant Laboy. Schmadeke scored the Wolves’ lone run.
Sequim is finished with its season with a record of 12-12, which includes a couple of postseason wins. This is a young team that should get even better as the Wolves fielded seven sophomores this season. Ayden Holland is the only graduating senior.
Kingston 9, Sequim 1
Seq. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 3 0
King. 0 0 0 8 1 0 x — 9 8 3
Pitching
Sequim — Schmadeke 3.1 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 K; White 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 K.
Hitting
Sequim — Schmadeke 1-4, R; Staples 1-3; Laboy 1-3.
