Mother Nature has not been kind to the spring sports schedule.
While cold, wet weather is to be expected early in the spring season, sub-40 degree temperatures combined with hail and snowstorms that blanketed the state this past week are far from the norm for mid-April.
For many local baseball and softball teams, game postponements in March are expected, but not so much at the tax deadline.
So when the forecast for Friday afternoon held the possibility of a let up to what felt like winter weather, local teams got out and took advantage, rain or shine.
PREP SOFTBALL
Timberline 10, Montesano 3
Montesano got into a deep hole early it never climbed out of in a 10-3 loss to 3A Timberline on Friday at Dick Tagman Field in Montesano.
The Bulldogs (3-6 overall) fell behind 6-0 after allowing three runs in each of the first two innings, highlighted by Blazers outfielder Tori Trotter’s three-run home run in the top of the second.
Monte responded with a run in the bottom of the second when Liv Robinson came around to score on a Blazers throwing error.
Timberline (4-5) added a run apiece in each of the final four innings, with Trotter belting her second home run of the game in the top of the fourth.
Montesano scored in the sixth when pitcher Reghann Fairbairn came around to score on an error and in the seventh when Robinson crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kylee Wisdom.
Montesano managed just three hits of Blazers starter Jasmyn Polanco, who allowed one earned run with three walks and 11 strikeouts in pitching a complete game.
Fairbairn allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits and struck out five in the loss.
Montesano senior shortstop Paige Lisherness saw the field for the first time this season after coming off an ankle injury and belted a triple in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Timberline 330 111 1 — 10 10 5
Montesano 010 001 1 — 3 3 2
Timberline — Trotter (3-3, 2 HR, 3R, 4RBI), Hernandez (2-4, 2B, 3RBI), Wilson (2-3, 2R), Jack (1-4, R, 2RBI), Polanco (1-4, 2R), Covey (1-4, 3B, RBI). WP — Polanco (7 IP, 3H, 3r, ER, 11K 3BB).
Montesano — Lisherness (1-3, 3B), Fairbairn (1-3, R), Robinson (1-2, 2R). LP — Fairbairn (7 IP, 10H, 10R, 8ER, 5K, 4BB).
PREP BASEBALL
River Ridge 8, Montesano 6
Down early, Montesano rallied but couldn’t overcome River Ridge in an 8-6 loss on Friday in Lacey.
The Bulldogs (8-2) allowed five runs in the first to trail 5-1 and fell behind 6-1 after the second inning.
Monte began to climb back into the game with a run in the third on an Isaac Pierce RBI single and one in the fourth on a Bode Poler line drive base hit to left.
Down 8-3 in the top of the fifth, Montesano got to within striking distance with a run on a bases-loaded walk to Zandar Ames, a run-scoring balk and an RBI sac fly by Alex Delgado to cut the deficit to 8-6.
But River Ridge pitching held the Bulldogs scoreless the rest of the way, retiring nine straight Monte batters over the final three inning to secure the victory.
Montesano infielder Josh Wills went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs to lead Montesano.
Bulldogs starter Camden Taylor took the loss, allowing five runs — two earned — on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in an inning pitched.
Tyler Johansen (2 IP, H, 3ER, 2K, 2BB) and Skylar Bove (3IP, 4H, 0R, K, BB) combined to pitch the final five innings of relief for Montesano.
Montesano 101 130 0 — 6 7 4
River Ridge 510 200 x — 8 9 2
Montesano — Wills (2-4, 2R), Olsen (1-2, R), Isaac Pierce (1-2, R, RBI), Poler (1-4, RBI), Kling (1-3, R), K. Ames (1-3). LP — Taylor (IP, 4H, 5R, 2ER, 2K, BB).
River Ridge — N/A
Elma 7, Hoquiam 6
Elma scored to break a tie game late and upend Hoquiam 7-6 on Friday in Elma.
Elma (3-5, 2-3 1A Evergreen) trailed 1-0 after Hoquiam (1-8, 0-4) took an early lead on an RBI groundout by Logan McMinn in the top of the first.
The Eagles responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run double off the bat of Eastin Wright.
Elma added a run in the second on an RBI single by Clay McBride.
After Hoquiam cut the deficit to 3-2 on a McMinn RBI single in the third, Elma took a 6-2 lead on a two-run double by Grant Vessey followed by an RBI single from Blake Corr in the fourth.
Hoquiam rallied for two in the fifth on a two-run single from Mick Bozich and tied the game at 6-6 on a Zander Jump RBI single followed by Dom Standstipher scoring on a passed ball in the sixth.
Elma would score the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth when JT Tiffany, who reached on an error to leadoff the inning, came around to score on a Hoquiam error on a ground ball hit by Corr.
Elma reliever Ethan Camus worked around a leadoff single to McMinn to close out the seventh and give the Eagles a 7-6 victory.
“It was good to get a win after not playing a game since April 2,” Elma head coach Travis Vessey said. “Lots of work still to do but I was proud of the guys for staying in it until the end.”
Bozich led Hoquiam, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Vessey went 3-for-4 for an Elma team that smacked 11 hits in the game.
Elma hosts Montesano in a doubleheader scheduled for a 3 p.m. start on Tuesday.
Hoquiam hosts Tenino for a twin bill set for 4 p.m., also on Tuesday.
Hoquiam 101 022 0 — 6 9 3
Elma 210 301 x — 7 11 2
Hoquiam — Bozich (3-4, 2RBI), McMinn (2-4, RBI), Jump (2-4, R, RBI), Standstipher (1-1, 2B, 4R, 2BB). LP — McMinn (1.2 IP, H, R, 0ER, K, BB).
Elma — Vessey (3-4, 2B, R, 2RBI), Corr (2-4, R, 2RBI), Bailey (2-2, 3B, 2R), Cain (1-3, R), Sanders (1-3. R), McBride (1-3, RBI). WP — Camus (2 IP, 3H, 2R, ER, 2K, BB).
PREP SOCCER
Tumwater 3, Aberdeen 2
An Aberdeen rally came up just short in a 3-2 loss to Tumwater on Friday in Tumwater.
Aberdeen (7-2-1, 5-2 2A Evergreen) faced an uphill battle against the league-leading Thunderbirds (7-4, 7-0) as the Bobcats were without leading scorer Miguel Martinez who was out with an injury.
Further complicating matters for Aberdeen, stellar defender Alan Avalos went down with an injury in the first half and did not return.
Tumwater took an early 1-0 lead when a Thunderbirds corner kick was deflected off an Aberdeen player for an own goal in the 8th minute.
Aberdeen responded later in the half when keeper Antonio Granados sent a kick forward that was received by Carlos Mendoza, who fouled in the box for a penalty kick.
Edwin Quintana scored the PK to tie the game at 1-1 going into halftime.
In the second half, Tumwater regained the lead with a goal off an Aberdeen defensive miscue in the 53rd minute.
The Thunderbirds made it 3-1 with a goal in the 77th minute, but the Bobcats cut into the lead on a goal by Daniel Guzman, who beat the keeper 1-on-1 after receiving a header from Logan Sias.
Aberdeen ran out of time as Tumwater beat the Bobcats for the second time this season.
“Beside a few mistakes that cost us, we played a tactically disciplined match and did an excellent job of combining passes together as we moved forward as a unit,” said Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming, whose team outshot Tumwater 10-6. “Things didn’t bounce our way all the time, but we never stopped working and hustling and I couldn’t be prouder of our effort.”
Aberdeen sits tied with WF West for second place in the 2A Evergreen Conference, but currently holds the tiebreaker over the Bearcats due to a 1-0 win on April 12.
Aberdeen plays at Centralia at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Aberdeen’s junior varsity team lost 1-0 on Friday. Goalkeeper Axcel Garcia had a block on a penalty kick for the Bobcats.
Aberdeen 1 1 — 2
Tumwater 1 2 — 3
Elma 10, Eatonville 0
Elma continues to roll through its opponents, picking up a 10-0 win over Eatonville on Friday in Eatonville.
The Eagles took a 4-0 lead just 20 minutes into the game and scored seven goals by halftime.
Elma (8-0-2, 8-0 1A Evergreen) was led by senior striker Canon Seaberg, who scored four goals in the game.
Senior midfielder Valencia Mendoza and senior forward Manny Hernandez each had a pair of goals and an assist for the Eagles, who are currently ranked fourth in the latest WIAA RPI poll.
Sophomore forward Isaac Hinkle added a pair of goals for Elma.
Elma hosts Hoquiam at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Elma 7 3 — 10
Eatonville 0 0 — 0
Scoring
First half — 1, Elma, Seaberg (Mendoza), 2nd minute. 2, Elma, Mendoza (Garcia), 7th minute). 3, Elma, Hinkle, 14th minute. 4. Elma, Mendoza (Rameriz), 19th minute. 5, Elma, Hernandez, 22nd minute. 6, Elma, Seaberg (Poston), 25th minute. 7, Elma, Hinkle (Garcia), 27th minute. 7, Elma.
Second half — 8, Elma, Seaberg (Hernandez), 54th minute. 9, Elma, Seaberg (Garcia), 56th minute. 10, Elma, Hernandez, 61st minute.
Forks 1, Montesano 0
A goal late in the game turned out to be the difference as Forks handed Montesano a 1-0 loss on Friday in Forks.
The Bulldogs (6-2, 5-2 1A Evergreen) were outshot by the Spartans (6-3, 5-2) 15-4, but Bulldogs keeper Jayden McElravy and the defense kept the game scoreless until late in the second half when the Spartans scored with less than four minutes left in the game.
McElravy made four saves in the game.
Monte’s offense struggled to get shots on target, with a shot by freshman forward Felix Romero early in the first half being the only Bulldogs shot on goal.
Montesano and Forks are now tied for second place in the 1A Evergreen League, with each team beating the other by identical 1-0 scores this season.
The Bulldogs host Ilwaco in a league matchup at 6 p.m. on Monday.
Montesano 0 0 — 0
Forks 0 1 — 1
Tenino 7, Raymond-South Bend 0
A depleted Raymond-South Bend team was no match for Tenino in suffering a 7-0 loss on Friday in South Bend.
RSB (0-7 overall, 1A Evergreen) started the game with just nine players after grade issues and injuries have stripped the Ravens roster.
RSB lost two more players to injury during the game and faced an 11-on-7 situation late in the second half down by six goals.
“Our seven player team put up an amazing show of defensive play, allowing Tenino to score once more,” RSB head coach Joseph Keegan said.
Tenino (5-4, 4-3) did the bulk of its scoring in the first half, leading 6-0 at halftime.
RSB is scheduled to play Montesano at 6 p.m. on Friday at South Bend High School.
Raymond-South Bend 0 0 — 0
Tenino 6 1 — 7
Other scores
Prep Softball
Raymond 20, Ilwaco 0
Raymond 11, Ilwaco 4
