Baseball: Walk-off win caps wild week for Wolves

With a win in the second of their two nail-biters last week, Sequim’s Wolves kept their slim postseason hopes alive.

Sequim senior Ryan Clark slashed a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete a 5-4 comeback win against the visiting Kingston Buccaneers on April 29.

With the win, Sequim’s district tourney chances came into focus: The Wolves needed wins at Bremerton (April 30) and Olympic on May 1, and have Kingston beat North Mason and lose to North Kitsap to tie the Buccaneers in the standings. Sequim owns the tiebreaker with two wins over Kingston this season.

The Wolves came within a run of scoring their second upset in as many weeks against peninsula rival Port Angeles, but the Roughriders came through with a big extra inning to down Sequim 10-4 on April 25.

The Riders took advantage of nine Sequim errors, breaking open a 4-4 tie with six runs in the top of the eighth inning.

Carson Jackson and Tyler Bowen had two hits each for Port Angeles, who with the win remained atop of the Olympic League standings.

Sequim, who had gave North Kitsap a rare loss on April 19, stayed in the game thanks to a strong start from southpaw Ian Miller. The Sequim senior held Port Angeles to four runs — just one earned — over six innings, spreading out eight hits and striking out six Riders.

After Port Angeles chalked up three first inning runs, Sequim scored a run in the fourth and two in the fifth, and both teams pushed across runs in the sixth.

Port Angeles pitchers Ethan Floodstrom, Brady Shimko and Hayden Woods held the Wolves to just five hits and struck out 13, but gave up six walks. Miller, Clark and Silas Thomas each had doubles, and pinch-runner Kyler Rollness had two steals.

Two days later, Sequim and Kingston battled to a 2-2 tie through six innings before Kingston plated two runs for a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Cameron Welcher singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and was replaced by Rollness, who stole second and took third when Elandon Washburn reached safely on a dropped third strike.

With one out, Thomas rapped a pinch-hit RBI single to score Rollness and send the tying run to third.

On the next pitch, Clark cleared the bases with his walk-off double to deep right center, then was mobbed by teammates for the clutch hit.

Olympic League standings

(as of April 29)

Team Lg. Over.

Port Angeles 10-1 14-3

North Kitsap 7-2 9-4

Olympic 5-4 7-5

Kingston 4-4 7-5

North Mason 4-5 6-11

Sequim 2-6 6-7

Bremerton 1-9 4-11