OLYMPIA — The Port Angeles boys baseball team now has a time and location for its first two games in the state 2A tournament that begins Saturday.
The Roughriders (19-6, No. 7 ratings percentage index) will travel to Vancouver to play W.F. West (18-6, No. 6 RPI) at 2 p.m. The Riders, who finished third in the bidistrict tournament, are a No. 10 seed and W.F. West is a No. 7 seed. The game will be played at Propstra Stadium.
Interestingly, W.F. West is the highest-ranked team the Riders could see Saturday. If Port Angeles wins, the Riders would face the winner of Columbia River and White River 45 minutes after the completion of the W.F. West game. Columbia River (18-6) is a No. 2 seed in the tournament even though the team is ranked No. 12 in RPI. White River is 14-10 and a No. 15 seed. White River is ranked 18th in RPI.
All of the games in Vancouver are single-elimination loser-out.
If the Riders are able to win two games Saturday, they will be in the state semifinals which will be held May 24 in Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham. Enumclaw, the No. 1 team in the state at 22-1 that handed the Riders their only loss (8-3) in the district tournament, is in the other bracket and the Riders would not see them until the state finals. It is possible Port Angeles could face North Kitsap for a fourth time this season in the state semifinals.
Forks softball
The Forks softball team, Pacific 2B League champs and ranked No. 6 in the state, begins play in the District 4 2B tournament Wednesday. Forks will play the winner of Ilwaco and Rainier at 2 p.m. at Fort Borst Park in Centralia. Win or lose, the Spartans will play a second game at 6 p.m. against either Toledo, Toutle Lake or Ocosta. That game is also at Fort Borst Park. The District 4 championship game and consolation semifinals are Saturday.
Port Angeles softball
The Port Angeles softball team will have to wait until after its tiebreaking game against North Kitsap on Monday to find out where it will be seeded and which team the Riders will be playing at the bidistrict tournament that begins Friday at the Regional Sports Complex in Lacey. Those decisions will likely be made today.
The Riders (18-2) are ranked No. 2 in the state in RPI while North Kitsap (15-4) is ranked No. 3, so regardless of Monday’s outcome, Port Angeles should easily be seeded in the top eight teams at bidistrict. They could be seeded No. 1.
