Sequim shares fastpitch co-MVPs

Seventeen Wolves take home postseason nods

 

Filling the stats sheet once again, the Wolves fastpitch team took several of the top spots among the Olympic All-League honors.

 

Hard-hitting leadoff catcher Bailey Rhodefer and efficient center fielder Rylleigh Zbaraschuk shared Most Valuable Player honors for the 2013 season.

 

For the season, the pair went on a tear with Rhodefer batting .595 with six triples and 15 stolen bases and 31 runs batted in; Zbaraschuk batted .561, hit 16 doubles, 35 RBIs and stole 19 bases.

 

Head coach Mike McFarlen, who earned Coach of the Year honors after leading the Wolves to a 16-0 league record, said he voted for his whole lineup and that the other coaches would have a hard time arguing against his vote.

 

Sequim pitcher Makayla Bentz (17-2 on the season) earned first team all-league honors along with first baseman Alexas Besand, shortstop Hannah Grubb and outfielder Columbia Haupt.

 

Bentz struck out 111 batters this season in 100 innings pitched, only giving up 23 earned runs — for a 1.61 ERA.

 

Besand, Sequim’s cleanup hitter, led the Wolves in RBIs (50) while slugging eight home runs and nine doubles for a .556 average.

 

Grubb hit .464 with three home runs, seven doubles, a triple, 26 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Haupt improved as the season progressed to hit ..343, with four doubles and 23 RBIs while swiping eight bases.

 

Outfielder/pitcher Melissa Lewis earned second-team honors after batting .338 with three doubles, two home runs and 16 RBIs while winning three games and recording four saves on the mound.

 

Sequim rounded out its all-league honors with three players — MaryLu Clift (.342, five doubles, two triples, four home runs, 35 RBIs, four steals), Shelby Lott (.426, five doubles, two home runs, 16 RBIs, five steals) and Olivia Kirsch (.292, 10 RBIs, one steal) — on the honorable mention list.

 

Six of the 10 players listed return next year for the team.

 

Baseball

Junior Nick Johnston, the Wolves’ own MVP, earned Olympic All-League second-team nomination for his efforts at first base. He hit .364 and led Sequim in pitching, throwing nearly 39 innings for a 2-3 record and 2.17 ERA with 41 strikeouts.

 

Catcher Brett Wright earned an honorable mention after leading the team in hitting with a .415 average, a .475 on-base percentage and eight stolen bases.

 

Girls golf

Senior Elisa Sallee was given the Lady Wolves’ only all-league honor for leading the team with a 51.5 nine-hole average. She tied her season low scores twice, shooting 44 both times at Sequim’s The Cedars at Dungeness. Her regular season set up her third trip to the class 2A state tournament, held this year at the Classic in Spanaway. She qualified for state at districts in a shoot-off for the final spot on May 14.

 

 

Tennis

On the court, doubles teams Hannah Gauthun and Anna Prorok, and Karen Chan and Melanie Guan earned all-league honors.

 

They helped Sequim (13-0) earn an Olympic League title and remain undefeated before going to the playoffs.

 

Gauthun and Prorok earned the third seed at the Olympic League Meet before winning the fifth seed from the West Central District III region into the class 2A state tournament.

 

Chan and Guan won the fifth seed from the meet to earn a shot at a play-in game at the districts tournament; they went 1-3.