The Tides roll on in boys soccer; Panthers dominate in softball

CLASS 3A

Gig Harbor 3, West Seattle 1: An early goal can really make the difference for a team. On Friday, the Tides struck first and never looked back.

In the 26th minute of the match, Chase Alire beat a West Seattle defender and put the soccer ball in the upper part of the net.

“In the second half, they came out with a little more fire,” said Gig Harbor coach Todd Northstrom. “We were ultimately able to get the ball played badly off their front guy and Sean Kimball was able to grab it and give it to Alire again in the 64th minute.”

At that point, the Tides were up 2-0 and tasting the final four berth. Once Jovani Martin scored the third and final goal for the Tides, the bench came out. The Panthers were able to score a goal, but it wasn’t enough to deter Gig Harbor.

“It would have been nice to get the shutout but we feel like we are moving the ball and finishing,” Northstrom said. “We are in the final four and it's been awhile, the kids are excited. We are a little banged up but we have the week to rest.”

The Tides will take on the winner Snohomish-Kamiakin at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 26 at Sparks Stadium.

Roosevelt 3, Central Kitsap 1: The Cougars could not find enough offense against the Rough Riders and lost in the quarterfinals of the 3A state tournament.

With the loss, the Cougars’ season is over.

3A WEST CENTRAL/SOUTHWEST

Bonney Lake 11, Timberline 1: There is just no stopping Brooke Nelson and the rest of the Panthers.

Playing two games on Friday, the Panthers beat Mountain View 11-1 as well behind the arm and bat of Nelson. Pitching both games, Nelson struck out 14 batters in both games.

“Brooke settled in and pitched really well, said Bonney Lake coach Andrew Sage. “She is good due to consistency. She's naturally talented and works really hard. She's humble and she's got a good repertoire.”

But it wasn’t all on Nelson’s shoulders as the Panthers brought their bats as well.

In the game against Mountain View, Raelyn Kimmel launched a home run to help secure the lead in that game. Against Timberline, Joey Ahern came through with a 2 for 3 day with a double and three RBIs. Gabby Jones also drove in two.

“Good players make you look like a good coach, and this year, our team has matured as a whole,” Sage said. “We feel great about what we get out of them, I think it really stemmed from offseason conditioning. They bond, they are tight, unified and someone always steps up.”

The Panthers have clinched a playoff berth and will play against Kelso at 11 a.m., May 20 at Sprinker Fields.

Kelso 5, Gig Harbor 0: The Tides split their day at the district tournament, winning in their first game against Spanaway Lake 9-4.

But it won’t be an easy road for them ahead as Jordan Adams went down in the first inning against Spanaway Lake.

“Adams, our ace, went down with a season ending back injury in the first inning in our first game,” said GIg Harbor coach Kara Dressel. “She was averaging 11 strikeouts a game.”

As the Tides were able to roll past Spanaway Lake, an error and a lack of hitting against Kelso would lead to their loss on the day.

“Maddie Potter pitched well against them, but we just couldn’t hit the ball,” Dressel said. “However, We have a lot of confidence going into the next game against Peninsula, we know we can score runs but there is a comfort level and our pitchers have to come through for us.”

The Tides have a smaller chance now to make it to the state tournament as they must win out in order to clinch their berth. But they’ve been there before as last year, they were the last team to punch their ticket in a win over Curtis in the 4A district tournament.

“I feel like we are one of the strongest teams in the losers bracket,” Dressel said. “We knew that Kelso would be tough no matter what, we’ll have to go through Peninsula and then probably Timberline, our girls will have to come out strong and and play with some grit.”

The Tides will take on the Seahawks at 9 a.m., May 20 at Sprinker Fields.

Stadium 5, Prairie 2: The Tigers were able to pull out a squeaker against the Falcons to advance to the semi-finals of the 3A West Central/Southwest district tournament.

The win gives them an automatic bid at the state tournament. They will play against Yelm at 11 a.m., May 20 at Spriker Fields.

2A WEST CENTRAL

Orting 10, North Kitsap 0: The Cardinals definitely benefited from having a first round bye in the 2A West Central district tournament.

Easily taking down the Vikings, Orting is in a prime position for a top seed in the state playoffs.

“Because we won, we made it to state and we will play for seeding,” said Orting coach Tyler Polly. “It feels good to make it back, I have a group of seniors that are making it to their fourth trip in a row.”

Having been to state all four years, this group of seniors doesn’t take the hard work lightly. In fact, they are teaching the younger players to enjoy their time and how to work hard for these kids of trips.

“The biggest thing was our pitcher, Mackenize Behnk,” Polly said. “She hurt her arm but was able to come back and it was a huge lift.”

Behnke threw a lights game through all five innings that were played, striking out nine. She also got a big boost from the offense as well.

Natalie Olivas went 3 for 3 on the night, smacking a double and driving in four on the night. Morgan Hand and Alaina McCullough also drove in two runs each.

The Cardinals will face off against Port Angeles at 11:15 a.m., May 20 at Sprinker Fields.

White River 16, Olympic 9: If it wasn’t known before, it is known now that the Hornets can score some runs.

Specifically, Ashley Long. Long went 5 for 5 on the day, knocking in nine RBIs for her team.

“ It's tough to play multiple games in one day, it was nice to rest our pitcher,” said White River coach Brandon Walker. “I like how we are playing right now. We had one rough inning, things just didn’t go our way, but the seniors brought us all together and we fought back.”

The Hornets have played themselved to a state tournament berth but will play for seeding in their final two games.

They will play Eatonville at 11:15 a.m., May 20 at Sprinker Fields.

Port Angeles 10, Steilacoom 0: A split day for the Sentinels as they won their first game against Franklin Pierce 6-3, but dropped against the Roughriders.

They will have to play against Fife at 9:15 a.m. on May 20 at Sprinkle Fields.

Eatonville 9, Sequim 1: The Cruisers were able to get some hitting out of Brooklyn Lucht to help clinch a berth in the 2A state tournament.

Lucht went 1 for 4 on the day and drove in three RBIs. Helping out was Kylie Koszykowski going 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Autumn Holt going 1 for 4 with two driven in as well.

The Cruisers will take on White River at 11:15 a.m., May 20 at Sprinker Fields.

This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 11:16 PM with the headline "The Tides roll on in boys soccer; Panthers dominate in softball."