With state tournaments looming, area baseball and fastpitch teams are diving headlong into the world of postseason competition.
Here’s a look at where things stand following games of last weekend.
ENUMCLAW
Baseball: The Hornets made it to postseason play as the No. 10 seed from the North Puget Sound League and opened the West Central/Southwest District tournament Saturday. Paired against Rogers High of Puyallup in a play-in contest, the Hornets were defeated 11-2 and saw their season come to a close.
Fastpitch: The Hornet girls finished their regular season this week, looking at a third- or fourth-place finish in the North Puget Sound League’s Olympic Division.
The league tournament is slated for Thursday and Friday at the Kent Service Club field, followed by the West Central/Southwest District tournament on May 19-20, also on the Kent fields.
SUMNER
Baseball: Boasting a second-place finish in the South Puget Sound League 4A, the Spartans began the West Central/Southwest District tournament Tuesday. Results of the tourney opener, against Kentlake with a 7 p.m. start at Heidelberg Park in Tacoma, came too late to be included here.
If the Spartans were victorious, they next play at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, at Art Wright Field in Kent. Their opponent would be the winner of the contest between Auburn Riverside and Puyallup High. If Sumner lost Tuesday, the team plays at 7 tonight, Wednesday, at Heritage Park against the loser of a game between Rogers and Auburn Mountainview.
BONNEY LAKE
Baseball: The highly-regarded and state-ranked Panthers opened West Central/Southwest District competition May 6 by traveling to Foss High in Tacoma and challenging the squad from Prairie High.
Bonney Lake advanced in the district tourney with a 9-3 victory over the Plainsmen from the Vancouver area. That pushed the Panthers into a second game on May 6, facing Central Kitsap; behind the pitching of Kaiden Hammond, the Panthers won 4-1.
Bonney Lake next plays Saturday, May 13, in the district semifinals, taking on Timberline High at 11 a.m. at Tacoma’s Heidelberg Park. A victory would place the Panthers in the championship game at 2:15 that afternoon.
A semifinal loss would mean a consolation contest Saturday. Either way, the Panthers are headed to the Class 3A state tournament.
Bonney Lake compiled a 13-1 record to win the Pierce County Laague and went 16-2 overall during the regular season.
Fastpitch: Bonney Lake’s impressive squad will polish off the regular season this week, looking for a Pierce County League title. That certainly seems within the team’s grasp, as the Panthers were 10-0 through games of last week.
The first postseason stop comes May 19-20 when the West Central/Southwest District tournament plays out across the Sprinker Recreation Center fields in Spanaway.
WHITE RIVER
Baseball: The Hornets began West Central District action May 6 with a game against the Sequim Wolves. On the diamond at Curtis High School in University Place, White River fell 11-1 to drop into the WCD loser’s bracket.
The team’s hopes are still alive, however. The Hornets take on another Olympic Peninsula squad, squaring off against Port Angeles at 3 p.m. today, Wednesday, at Franklin Pierce High. The game against the Roughriders is a loser-out affair. A victory today would bring another loser-out game, to be played Saturday at Franklin Pierce.
White River finished second in the South Puget Sound League 2A’s Mountain Division, a notch ahead of Washington but a couple of steps behind Fife.
Fastpitch: The Hornet girls have wrapped up the SPSL 2A championship and finish the regular season during the coming week.
The first postseason stop will be the West Central District tournament, slated for May 19-20 at the Sprinker Recreation Center fields in Spanaway. That tourney will advance six teams to the Class 2A state tourney.
