Sequim Gazette staff

For the majority of the 2016 season, Sequim played in the shadow of their rivals, undefeated Port Angeles.

In the end, the Wolves wound up with a better finish when it counted, scoring a pair of wins at the 2A state fastpitch tournament in Selah last week.

Sequim bounced back from an 11-3 loss to eventual state 2A champ Othello on May 27 to knock off Lynden 11-10 and Ellensburg 7-5 later that day in the consolation round.

Ledy by senior pitcher McKenzie Bentz, Sequim dropped its next game, a 7-4 decision to Selah, and wound up finished tied for seventh overall.

It was a slightly better outcome than Port Angeles’ who came into the tourney undefeated and won their first game against Lynden, but then fell to Othello 5-2 and was knocked out of the tourney by Tumwater, 5-3 — falling short of a top-eight finish.

“We were all pretty happy about that,” SHS shortstop Jordan Bentz admitted.

Sequim finishes the season 21-6, including a 6-2 record in postseason play.

“I think we made it farther than a lot of people thought we would,” Jordan Bentz said. “We’ve been working hard all season.”

That didn’t change at the state tourney, Bentz said, following te opening loss to Othello — a repeat of Sequim’s opening round in 2015.

“We were all prety sad and upset but just kept our heads up,” she said. “We came back and we fought hard.”

Last week’s state tournament marked the final prep appearances for several Sequim High seniors, including battery mates McKenzie Bentz and Emily Copeland, outfielder/pitcher Allysen Montelius, first baseman Kyla Rigg and outfielder Cailey Stipe.

But the Wolves return a number of regulars in 2016, including Adrienne Haggerty, Chloe Sparks, Nicole Anders, Isabelle Dennis and Jordan Bentz, who will have surgery this summer to repair the ACL in her right knee.

“We should be OK,” Bentz said of the Wolves’ 2016 prospects.