SEQUIM — The No. 2-ranked Port Angeles softball team wrapped up its regular season with an Olympic League co-championship, easily beating a young rebuilding Sequim team 15-0 Friday to clinch the title.
Along the way to the title, the Roughriders had to win a couple of close games against tough opponents in Kingston and Olympic. Port Angeles had to score five runs in the final two innings to beat Kingston 8-5 and three runs in the sixth inning to beat Olympic on Thursday, a top 10 team in the state, 4-1.
Kennedy Rognlien had quite a week, hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning to help beat Olympic and had an RBI single in the sixth to help beat Kingston. She added a double and two RBIs on Friday.
Port Angeles’ Kennedy Rognlien hits a double to the fence against Sequim as Sequim catcher Rylie Doig watches. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
The pair of clutch victories and the win over Sequim came after the Riders were beaten by North Kitsap, with the Vikings doing almost all their damage in the final two innings. Rognlien said it was a wake-up call for the Riders, who had largely cruised through the season up to that point.
“I feel it was a good loss for us, that we can be beat,” Rognlien said. “We’re not going to go undefeated.”
Rognlien said the home run against Olympic “felt really great. Every single one of us is contributing in some way,” she said.
Coach Morgan Worthington agreed that the team has responded to that North Kitsap loss.
“We got great pitching, solid defense and we hit the ball,” Worthington said..
Port Angeles (13-1 Olympic League, 17-2 overall) will have one more game to play before the bidistrict tournament. The Riders will face co-champion North Kitsap (13-1, 15-4) at 4:15 p.m. Monday at Dry Creek Elementary in a rubber match to determine the Olympic League top seed for the district tournament. The Vikings, who are ranked No. 3 in the state, and Riders split two games during the regular season with Port Angeles winning in Poulsbo and North Kitsap winning on the Roughriders’ home field.
The Wolves (2-16), a young team that started six sophomores and had just one healthy senior in Taylee Rome, managed to keep it fairly close with the Roughriders until the fifth inning. Port Angeles scored three runs in the fifth and six more in the sixth to pull away.
After the game, there were lots of hugs for Sequim senior Taylee Rome, playing her final game for the Wolves, first from Port Angeles’ Mikkhiah Stevens, then from her coach Mike McFarlen, then teammates and family. She finished with incredible statistics in a bittersweet senior season for a rebuilding team. She hit .644 for the season (29-for-46), hit eight doubles and four home runs and finished with 20 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 18 games.
“I just wanted to be a role model,” Rome said. “I just wanted to show them to just keep powering through it and never up.”
Port Angeles’ Lynzee Reid pitched the entire game, going six innings and allowing four hits to earn the shutout victory. She struck out seven.
Sequim senior Taylee Rome is honored after Friday’s game against Port Angeles, along with her coach Mike McFarlen. Rome finished the season with a .644 batting average. (Pierre LaBossiere/Peninsula Daily News)
Abby Kimball got the Riders off to a fast start with a two-run home run in the first innings. Mikkhiah Stevens added a two-run home run in the second inning.
Natalie Robinson was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a run and an RBI. Lindsay Smith was 2-for-2 with a double and three runs scored.
Heidi Leitz had two RBIs, and Rognlien, Reid and Becca Manson all hit doubles. Ava-Anne Sheahan also made a great play on defense in right field, catching a tough fly ball then gunning out a Sequim baserunner at first base.
For the Wolves, Rylie Doig was 2-for-2 and Rome had a hit in her final game. Mia Kirner also had a hit.
The bidistrict tournament begins Saturday in Lacey. Port Angeles will likely be either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Port Angeles 15, Sequim 0
PA 2 2 0 2 3 6 x — 15 11 0
Seq. 0 0 0 0 0 0 x — 0 4 1
Pitching
PA — Reid 6 IP, 4 H, 7 K.
Seq. — Whitehead 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 K; Owens 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, K; Giddings IP, 2 H, 2 K, ER.
Hitting
PA — Kimball 1-3, HR, R, 2 RBI; Stevens 1-2, HR, R, 2 RBI; Robinson 2-4, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI; Lindsay Smith 202, 2B, 3 R; Leitz 1-3, R, 2 RBI; Rognlien 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB; Reid 1-2, 2B, 2 R; Manson 1-1, 2B, R.
Sequim — Doig 2-2, Rome 1-2, Kirner 1-2.
