North Kitsap is on top of the Olympic League for a reason.
The Vikings from Poulsbo remained in a tie atop the Olympic League and Sequim took the brunt of two defeats at the hands of North, the second on April 23, sending Sequim to their fourth defeat in a row.
A cold, rainy Thursday afternoon against the league leaders didn’t bode well for a Sequim baseball squad. NK pitcher Andrew Hecker kept Sequim in check for six innings and the Vikings took advantage of four Wolves errors to upend the host Wolves 10-4.
North jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning but
Sequim responded with their three runs in the bottom of the second, getting RBI singles from Gavin Velarde and Dusty Bates. The Vikings, however, tallied two runs in the fourth inning and four in the fifth inning.
Leif Klinger had a triple and two RBIs while Nate Marcelino drove in a pair of runs, and Hecker struck out eight in the Viking win.
Bates paced the Sequim offense with a 3-for-4 day.
Nigel Christian, in his first start of the 2015 season, took the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits, though just three of those runs were earned. He and reliever James Grubb (three innings, two earned runs) each struck out four NK batters.
The wet weather led to a tough day for both teams behind the plate; each team’s catcher was charged with four passed balls.
One big inning
Kole Milyard tossed six strong innings and North Kitsap broke open a one-run game in the bottom of the sixth to knock off the Wolves 11-1 on April 20.
Evan Hurn and Tanner Rhodefer had two hits each for the Wolves, but Milyard held them in check as the host Vikings held a 2-1 lead going into the sixth. That’s when North Kitsap strung together six singles in seven at-bats to chase Rhodefer and a pair of relievers.
Knights upend Sequim
Bremerton’s Casey Windrel pitched a complete game, Anthony Amicangelo had a tie-breaking, two-run double in the fourth inning and the Knights took advantage of five Sequim errors in a 6-3 Olympic League win on April 21.
Windrel gave up seven hits but struck out seven and walked just one.
Sequim twice came back from deficits to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the fourth before Amicangelo’s big hit.
SHS starter Daniel Harker took the loss; just two of the five runs charged to him were earned. He struck out four and walked one over five innings. Sequim committed five errors in defeat.
Rhodefer paced the Wolves’ offense with a 2-for-4 afternoon; Hurn added a run-scoring double.
Looking ahead
Sequim was slated to take on Olympic, the league’s other top squad at 7-1, on April 28. The Wolves host rival Port Angeles on April 29, play at Kingston on May 1 and round out the regular season with a May 5 game at home against North Mason.
The top four teams for the Olympic League qualify for the West Central District tourney set for May 9, May 13 and May 16, with higher-seeded teams hosting games.
Olympic League standings
(as of April 26)
Team Lg. Over.
North Kitsap 7-1 12-2
Olympic 7-1 9-4
Port Angeles 5-2 8-4
Sequim 3-5 7-7
Bremerton 2-5 4-7
North Mason 2-6 5-10
Kingston 1-7 3-8
