PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles baseball team has had more than its share of tough losses this season.
They were due for a tough, hard-fought win. And on Wednesday they got it, a tense 5-4 victory over first-place and previously unbeaten in league North Kitsap. The win was also important for the Roughriders in that it keeps Port Angeles in the thick of the playoff hunt with a chance for third in the Olympic League.
“They were willing to fight. We’ve had so many close games and they stayed locked in,” said coach Zac Moore. “That was the determination today. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves in those close games.”
Port Angeles had to come from behind in this game and they relied on their speed, savvy baserunning and a dramatic strikeout to do it, as the Roughriders kept taking advantage of some wild North Kitsap throws to first base.
Down 3-0 in the third inning, the Riders began battling back. Trae Hanan was hit by a pitch. Bryce Deleon, who had a great all-around game, laid down a sacrifice bunt. A bad throw to first allowed Hanan to come all the way home from first base. Deleon ended up on third.
After a Nate Basden walk, Luke Flodstrom hit a long fly ball to drive in Deleon to make it 3-2. The Riders had scored two runs without a hit.
In the fourth inning, it was a near-repeat. Brandt Perry hit a grounder and ended up on second base on a throwing error. Rylan Politika laid down a bunt, and North Kitsap made another throwing error allowing Perry to score to make it 3-3.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jordan Shumway got a solid hit, a double down the left-field line. He moved to third on a wild pitch. Perry hit a slow chopper to shortstop. It would have been a tough play, but the ball was bobbled and it was scored an error, allowing Shumway to come in.
Showdown situation
Then came the most dramatic moment in the game. North Kitsap rallied and threatened to blow up the game with a big inning in the top of the sixth. The Vikings loaded the bases with two outs and up came Blake Sohlberg, a longtime Port Angeles Roughrider who starred in football and basketball. He is now the starting shortstop for the Vikings.
Brayden Martin, who pitched well, was brought out of the game after a four-pitch walk and Hunter Stratford came in. Sohlberg got down in the count 0-2, but worked it to a 3-2 count. With all the runners moving, Stratford finally struck him out to keep the score 4-3.
“I knew I was going up against my buddy [Sohlberg],” Stratford said. “I was pretty nervous, but I stayed locked in and tried to just focus on him rather than the situation.”
Port Angeles tacked on what turned out to be an important insurance run. Josiah Gooding led the inning off with a single and Ian Smithson went in to pinch run. Deleon laid down a nice sacrifice bunt, but again, there was a wild throw to first. Smithson came flying around third base to score all the way from first, the second time in the game, Port Angeles got a runner home from first.
“That’s our M.O. We have a lot of speed on this team. When we use it, it’s epic,” Moore said. “It’s tough to defend.”
With Deleon on third and no outs, the Riders had a chance to tack on more runs. They missed getting a run on a suicide squeeze as the ball rolled barely foul after a Basden bunt. Ultimately, the Riders were not able to bring Deleon home.
In the seventh, North Kitsap rallied as Alex Angevine came in to pitch. The Vikings led off with a double down the right-field line that stayed fair by a couple of inches. Deleon, filling in at shortstop for Angevine, made a fantastic play on a slow grounder to throw one runner out, but the Vikings got a run on another grounder that went for an error. Angevine was able to finish the game by getting a liner right to second basemen Basden.
Politika started the game and pitched well, going four innings and allowing six hits and three earned runs. He struck out two. Angevine earned the save and Martin the victory.
At the plate, Shumway finished 2-for-3, Deleon was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored and Basden was 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases.
Port Angeles (3-4, 3-7-2) next has another tough home game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Civic Field against 3A Gig Harbor, which is 14-0 and ranked No. 2 in the state in Ratings Percentage Index among 3A schools.
Port Angeles 5, North Kitsap 4
NK 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 — 4 8 5
PA 0 0 2 1 1 1 x — 5 7 3
Pitching
NK — Nelson 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.
PA — Politika 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 K; Martin 1.2 IP, H, 2 K; Stratford 0.1 K; Angevine IP, H.
Hitting
NK — Anderson 2-4, 2B, R, RBI; Kim 1-2, RBI.
PA — Deleon 2-2, 2 RBI, R; Basden 2-3, BB, 2 SB; Shumway 2-3, 2B, R; Gooding 1-1.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or sports@peninsuladailynews.com.
