The only thing Sequim won in this match-up, said Wolves’ coach Mel Hendrickson, was the pre-game coin toss.
That, and perhaps a moral victory after an ugly first inning.
In a battle of Olympic League co-champions, North Mason batters jumped all over a series of Sequim miscues to win the West Central District playoff seeding game 9-4 on May 13 in Kingston.
The win gives the Bulldogs the top seed at districts and first-round bye while Sequim takes the second seed and has to play Eatonville in an opening round, loser-out district game on May 21.
"You give up five runs in the first inning to a team like North Mason; you’re done," said Sequim coach Mel Hendrickson. "They came out … on fire."
The Wolves battled back after that, scoring a run in the first and third innings and two in the fifth.
"I like the way we responded," Hendrickson said.
Lea Hopson led the Sequim offense with two hits while Lauren Hendrickson, Chelsea Winfield and Rylleigh Zbaraschuk each went 1-for-3 at the plate.
Sequim starter Demiree Briones went all seven innings, giving up 11 hits and two walks.
At districts, Sequim opens with an Eatonville squad that finished 9-8 overall and in third place behind Steilacoom and Fife.
The West Central District advances only two teams to state, leaving three of the state’s top teams (Sequim, North Mason and one-loss Steilacoom) to battle it out along with Eatonville, Interlake and Fife.
To get to state, Hendrickson said, the Wolves have to cut back on the mistakes.
"We have to play error-free ball," he said. "We can score runs (but) we cannot give them extra outs and unearned runs."
The district tournament is at Sprinker Recreation Center in Tacoma.
Wolves blast Eagles in playoff prep
No doubt about it.
Sequim and North Mason looked like the top softball teams in the Olympic League coming into the season, while teams like Klahowya, Port Angeles and Kingston looked as if they’d battle for third-best.
Sequim’s Wolves closed out a stellar regular season and share of the league title with North Mason after clobbering Klahowya’s Eagles 13-0 in Silverdale on May 11.
Sequim’s Briones tossed a two-hit shutout in the win.
Sequim got to Klahowya pitcher Jacqui Hornbeck for a run in the first and two each in the third, fourth and sixth before erupting for a five-spot in the seventh inning.
Catcher Maddy Zbaraschuk was 2-for-4 with a home run, triple, two RBIs and two runs scored; Cindy Miller was 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and three runs scored; and Briones helped her own cause with three hits, including a double.
West Central
District playoffs
The West Central District playoffs are May 21-22 at Sprinker Recreation Center in Tacoma. North Mason, the top 2A seed from the Olympic League by virtue of a seeding victory against Sequim last week, gets a first-round bye and plays the winner of the Nisqually No. 2/Olympic No. 3 Friday evening game. Sequim, the No. 2 2A seed from the Olympic League, takes on Eatonville, the Nisqually League No. 3 seed, at 6 p.m. on Friday in a loser-out game.
Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.
