Community Sports

Sports Beat | Gig Harbor falls in state baseball semifinals

Gig Harbor appeared on the verge of advancing to the Class 3A baseball state championship game after six innings of a semifinal matchup against Kennewick on Friday, May 30.

The second-seeded Tides led 5-2 heading into the seventh and final inning against No. 3 Kennewick in Yakima. But the Lions rallied to tie and send the semifinal into extra innings.

It was all Kennewick from there. The Lions scored seven unanswered runs in the top of the eighth to win 12-5.

Gig Harbor (27-3) will play in the third-place game at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 31, against the loser of a later semifinal between No. 4 Ballard and No. 1 Mount Vernon. Kennewick advanced to the title game at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Earlier state rounds

Gig Harbor advanced to the semifinals with two wins on May 24 in Tacoma: 3-2 over reigning state champion West Seattle and 6-2 over Inglemoor.

Gig Harbor starter Quentin Bockhorn got the win against West Seattle, with Max Bergford earning a save.

Against Inglemoor, center fielder Daniel Porras got the Tides out to a fast start with a first-inning home run. Pitcher Jake Cuda kept the Vikings off balance and the Tides used timely hitting and efficient base running to advance to the Final Four.

Tide head coach Ben Sleeter said Cuda was a “bulldog” versus Inglemoor. The senior credited his defense for giving him the confidence to throw strikes and limit walks.

Tides senior Daniel Porrus, shown earlier in the year, hit a home run to help send the Tides to the state semifinals. Photo by Dennis Browne

Strong defense

Defense has been a strength all season for Gig Harbor. The Tides have committed only seven errors in 29 games, and 11 players have yet to make an error this season. Their 0.984 fielding percentage is impressive for a high school team and even better than the division-leading Seattle Mariners, who currently have a fielding percentage of 0.978.

“This defense is really, really special,” Cuda said recently. “We’ve got a strong-armed right fielder in Cole Krilich, a great overall player, Daniel Porras in center field, Greyson Riley is an absolute hawk in left field, then my middle infielders (shortstop Jayce Corley and second baseman Wesley Bonnici) are turning double plays left and right. Our third baseman (Hunter Payne) will make the ESPN plays and our first baseman (Ethan Mar) catches everything. Add to that two great catchers (Zach Smith and Troy Tackett), and you have a defense that a pitcher can trust.”

The offense is just as good. Three Tides have batting averages over .400 in Mar (.452, 19 hits), Krilich (.422, 19 hits) and Riley (.400, 16 hits). Corley is hitting .358 with 19 hits, Porras has a .353 average and 18 hits and Payne’s .286 average includes 12 hits and 16 runs batted in.

Quentin Bockhorn is undefeated on the mound this year for Gig Harbor. Photo by Dennis Browne

Seahawks out in first round

Peninsula’s baseball season ended with a 1-0 loss to Eastside Catholic in their first game at state on May 24 in Bellevue.

The fifth-seeded Seahawks (16-8) received an excellent pitching performance from Kaleb Copeland but managed only one hit in eight innings. No. 12 Eastside Catholic (17-10) scored in the top of the eighth to break a scoreless tie in extra innings.

The Seahawks say goodbye to nine seniors who have been a part of a ton of wins for Peninsula: Cole Scholer, Luke Rogers, Matthew Sleeter, Isaac Schultz-Tait, Michael Tellez, Hayden Bundy, Jonathan Vergara-Dykes, Kevin Jahn and Matthew Saunders.

The Peninsula High baseball team. Photo courtesy Ed Johnson

Fastpitch teams fall at state

The Peninsula and Gig Harbor fastpitch teams played in the state tournament at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey on May 22-24.

Peninsula (19-12) won its first-round game over Southridge 11-10, helped along by a bases-loaded double by freshman Ava Crabb. Sedro-Woolley defeated the Seahawks 9-2 in the second round, but Peninsula bounced back to win another 11-10 thriller against fifth seeded Ballard. Inglemoor eliminated the Seahawks, 10-6.

“Everybody contributed,” Seahawks coach Mike Paul said. “They’re a scrappy farm team with lots of heart. The seniors drove the bus and other kids followed their great leadership.”

Those seniors include Ava Miranda, Mira Sonnen, Maci Miller, Gabby Gelli, Katelyn Lea and Kyla McCarthy.

Paige Jones of Peninsula swings at a belt-high pitch during the the Class 3A state tournament. Photo courtesy of David Turley

Gig Harbor (19-7) avoided an opening round game by finishing second at the district tournament. But the Tides dropped their second-round game to Snohomish, 4-1. Pitcher Danielle Biehl kept the Panthers’ offense relatively in check, but the Tides’ offense couldn’t put together enough hits to win. Mount Spokane eliminated the Tides 14-4 in their next outing.

Gig Harbor’s seniors include Gracie Carey, Biehl, Isabel Harris, Abby Miller, and Kim Decastro.

Tides soccer out in quarters

The Gig Harbor boys soccer team lost in the Class 3A soccer state tournament quarterfinals, 3-0, to Auburn Mountainview on May 24 in Bellevue.

The Tides (14-5-2), making their 10th straight 3A state tournament appearance, were seeded 10th and won their opening matchup 2-1 over seventh-seeded Seattle Prep in Bellevue on May 23.

Gig Harbor appeared to have caught a break when No. 15 Auburn Mountainview upset No. 2 Heritage. But the Lions proved to be just as good against the Tides in the shutout win that brought a close to the high school career of senior Gig Harbor standouts Trey Crosby, LT De La Rosa, Dawson Parks, Henry Heidal, Braden Smee and Parker Goodin.

State tennis

The Gig Harbor doubles tennis team of Colin Nelson and Chase Horrocks won their state tournament opener, but were eliminated after dropping their next two matches on May 22 and 23 at the Vancouver Tennis Center.

The Tide duo defeated a Southridge team, 7-6, 1-6, 6-1, in the first round. They then lost to a team from Thomas Jefferson (6-0, 6-0) and came up just a bit short in a third set tie-break loss against a team from University High of Spokane. Scores in the loss to the University team were 6-3, 0-6, 6-7 (8-6 tiebreaker).

Gig Harbor singles player Braden Smee lost an opening round matchup to Zach Tan of Lakeside, 6-0, 6-2.

The Peninsula doubles team of senior Margaux Mayer and junior Makenna Baurichter fell to a team from Holy Names, 6-2, 6-1.

Gig Harbor tennis player Colin Nelson. Photo by Veronica Foley

Star Track is this weekend

And finally this weekend’s warm weather and sunny skies are just what the doctor ordered for the track and field state championships, that will include many talented athletes from both local schools, at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, on May 29-31.