SEDRO-WOOLLEY – A pair of victories for Blaine and Mount Baker has set up the two schools to play each other for the district championship on Saturday afternoon, but because only two teams will advance to the state tournament, neither team has locked anything down just yet.
The winner of that contest will advance, but the loser will have to play another game immediately after against a team in the consolation bracket that will have already won twice that day. The winner of that game will be the second entrant.
FIRST ROUND:
Blaine 6, Meridian 5
Lynden Christian 15, Granite Falls 3
Mount Baker 29, South Whidbey 0
Cedar Park Christian 15, Nooksack Valley 5
Blaine 6, Meridian 5
In what turned out to be the only close game of the day, the Borderites needed to come from behind to squash any plans of a Trojan upset. Meridian jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when Maddy Ritter doubled to left field which scored Lexi Neil and Lorelai Margeson. Blaine countered in the bottom of the inning when Alyssa Bacon’s triple scored Jordyn Vezetti, and Bacon then scored on a bunt single by Avery Snow. In the following inning, Vezzetti knocked in Shaylie Daniels to take a 3-2 lead. Trojan junior Katie Prengaman smashed a 3-run homerun over the left field fence in the fourth inning to give Meridian a 5-3 lead, which prompted Blaine to insert Emersyn Bakker at pitcher. A triple by Daniels in the bottom of the fourth scored Snow and Teya Zaddack, and tied the game at five. In the following inning it was Vezzetti that hit her third homerun of the season, and put the Borderites up 6-5. In the meantime, Bakker took care of business in the circle, and allowed just one hit the rest of the way while striking out 10.
W: Bakker (14-2)
L: Prengaman (8-11)
BLA: Daniels 3-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R; J. Vezzetti 3-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R; Snow 3-3, RBI, R; Bakker 1-4; Bacon 1-3, 3B, RBI, R; Zaddack 1-3, R.
MER: Prengaman 3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, R; Ritter 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R; Kuljis 2-4; Neil 2-3, 2 R.
Lynden Christian 15, Granite Falls 3
Sophomore Kassidy VanSoest hit homeruns in each of the last two innings and knocked in five runs, and Sharlotte Whittern went 3-for-5 with a double and three runs batted in to lead the Lyncs to victory in the opening round. Lynden Christian also got a pair of hits from Annie Zylstra, Karlie Korthuis and Taylor Craig. Kassidy Van Soest also allowed just one hit and struck out five in her complete game victory in the circle.
W: K. VanSoest (12-10)
LC: Whittern 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R; Zylstra 2-2, RBI, 3 R; 2 BB, HBP; Ka. Korthuis 2-3, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R, HBP; K. VanSoest 2-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R; Craig 2-5; Ke. Korthuis 1-5, 2 RBI, R; Postma 1-4, RBI, R, BB; M. VanSoest 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB.
Mount Baker 29, South Whidbey 0
The Mountainers batted around twice in the first inning, and once again in the following two innings as they slugged their way to victory. Junior Ava Jeretzky had an incredible game, going 4-4 with two doubles and a grand slam. She also scored five runs, was hit by a pitch and had eight runs batted in. Hayley Jimmie and Annalee Cohn each had three hits, and Lauren Valum scored five runs after getting on base five times. Jeretzky struck out six batters in the first two innings before giving way to sophomore Maddie Junquist who pitched the final three innings and allowed just one hit.
W: Jeretzky (13-7)
MB: Jeretzky 4-4, 2 2B, HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, HBP; Cohn 3-3, 4 RBI, 3 R, BB, HBP; Jimmie 3-3, 2 RBI, 4 R; HBP, BB; Valum 2-2, 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, HBP; Zender 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB, HBP; Maloley 2-2, RBI, R, BB, HBP; Barter 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R; Haynes 1-3, RBI, 3 R, 2 BB.
Cedar Park Christian 15, Nooksack Valley 5
The Eagles scored five runs in each of the first two innings, and scored in every inning following thereafter to walk away with the victory. The Pioneers were led by sophomore Alayna Dykstra who went 3-for-3 with her fourth triple of the season and two runs scored. Senior Sierra Anderson scored a pair of runs and sophomore Shelby Mason had two hits, including her 10th double of the season.
L: Bartl
NV: Dykstra 3-3, 3B, RBI, 2 R, BB; Mason 2-3, 2B, R, HBP; Kimball 1-3, RBI, BB; Perry 1-4, RBI; Burke 1-2, RBI, HBP.
SEMI FINALS:
Blaine 13, Lynden Christian 0
Mount Baker 12, Cedar Park Christian 1
Blaine 13, Lynden Christian 0
The Borderites regrouped from the close call in the first round, and went on the offensive attack against the Lyncs. After winning their last four games in a row by one run, this was much needed for Blaine. Emersyn Bakker was dominant once again as she pitched the complete game one-hit shutout, and she struck out 12 batters to put her over 200 strike outs on the season. The Borderites scored in every inning and got doubles from MaKenna Wright, Brooklyn Henderson, and a pair of doubles from Shaylie Daniels. Piper Nissen led with three runs batted in, while her and Daniels each scored three runs. Lynden Christian’s lone hit came from Kenadi Korthuis who doubled to lead off the game. Blaine will battle Mount Baker for the district championship on Saturday at 1:00, while the Lyncs will take on Nooksack Valley in a loser-out contest at 11:00.
W: Bakker (15-2)
L: K. VanSoest (12-11)
BLA: Daniels 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R; Nissen 2-4, 3 RBI, 3 R; Wright 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; Henderson 2-3, 2B, 2 R; B. Vezzetti 2-3, RBI, 2 R; Bakker 1-2, 2 RBI, BB; J. Vezztti 1-2, 2 RBI, BB.
LC: Ke. Korthuis 1-2, 2B, BB.
Mount Baker 12, Cedar Park Christian 1
A six-run first inning gave the Mountaineers a great lead to work with, and Ava Jeretzky allowed just four hits and one run while striking out seven in her complete game victory in the circle. She also helped her own cause with a double, and her Whatcom County leading ninth home run of the season. Mount Baker also got a pair of hits from Annalee Cohn, Gracie Zender, Maddie Barter and Ella Maloley, while Lauren Valum and Maddie Jungquist each knocked in a pair of runs. The win propelled the Mountaineers into the district championship game where they will face Blaine on Saturday at 1:00.
W: Jeretzky (14-7)
MB: Cohn 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, R, HBP; Zender 2-5, 2B; Jeretzky 2-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, R; Barter 2-3, 2B, 2 R; Maloley 2-3, RBI, 3 R, BB; Valum 1-4, 2 RBI, R, HBP; Haynes 1-3, 2B, HBP; Junquist 1-3, 2 RBI, BB.
CONSOLATION ROUND:
Nooksack Valley 28, South Whidbey 2
Granite Falls 10, Meridian 2
Nooksack Valley 28, South Whidbey 2
The Pioneer bats erupted for 28 hits and 28 runs as they stayed alive in the district tournament. Seniors Sierra Anderson and Ella Perry each hit for the cycle, as the Pioneers hit six homeruns in total. Anderson also knocked in seven runs from her leadoff spot, while Lainey Kimball had five runs batted in, and Alayna Dykstra and Kennedy Burke each had four. Freshmen Grace DeHoog and Gracie Rutgers each scored four runs, while fellow freshman pitcher Payton Bartl allowed just six hits while striking out four batters. The victory keeps Nooksack Valley alive in the district tournament and it will face Lynden Christian on Saturday in a loser-out contest at 11:00.
W: Bartl
NV: Anderson 5-6, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R; Perry 5-5, 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R; Rutgers 4-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R; Dykstra 3-4, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 R; Kimball 3-4, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R; Burke 3-5, 2B, 4 RBI, R; Mason 2-4, 2B, 3 R, BB; Ross 2-5, RBI, R; DeHoog 1-3, 2 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB.
Granite Falls 10, Meridian 2
The Trojans couldn’t ride the momentum of the tough played game in the first round, and the Tigers got the best of them which ended their season. Five Meridian errors caught up to them at the end, and a victory just wasn’t in the cards after that. Katie Prengaman led the way offensively with three hits, including two doubles, while also knocking in the only two Trojan runs. Meridian’s season has come to an end with a 10-12 record.
L: Prengaman (8-12)
MER: Prengaman 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI; Ritter 1-4, 2B, R; Kuljis 1-3; Margeson 1-3, R; Neil 1-3.
