Rogers 9, Auburn-Riverside 2
Tahoma 15, Beamer 3
Emerald Ridge 3, Jefferson 2
Puyallup 3, Kentwood 2

6PM Games

Winners Bracket
Tahoma 17, Rogers 5
Puyallup 13, Emerald Ridge 5

Losers Bracket
Auburn-Riverside 13, Beamer 3
Jefferson 10, Kentwood 0

Friday 4PM match-ups

Tahoma vs Spanaway Lake
Puyallup vs Kentlake
Auburn-Riverside vs Emerald Ridge
Jefferson vs Rogers

Friday 6PM Match-ups

Winner Tahoma/Spanaway Lake vs Winner Puyallup/Kentlake (Seed 1 and 2)
Loser Tahoma/Spanaway Lake vs Loser Puyallup/Kentlake (Seed 3 and 5)
Winner Auburn-Riverside/Emerald Ridge vs Winner Jefferson/Rogers (Seed 4 and 6)
Loser of Auburn-Riverside/Emerald Ridge is Seed 7
Loser of Jefferson/Rogers is Seed 8
Kentwood vs Beamer (Seed 9 and 10)
Seed #10 has a loser out play-in game with the Greater St Helens 3 seed early next week.

Game 1: Auburn-Riverside vs Rogers

Game 2: Beamer vs Tahoma

Game 3: Emerald Ridge vs Jefferson

Game 4: Kentwood vs Puyallup

At 6PM the Game 1 and 2 winner will play, the Game 1 and 2 losers will play, Game 3 and 4 winners will play and Game 3 and 4 losers will play.  Spanaway Lake and Kentlake have byes into games 9 and 10 on Friday.

In the North, Kentlake and Tahoma, both 14-2, will play a tie breaker at 5PM (at Kentwood) today to determine the North 1 and 2 seed.  Auburn-Riverside and TJ, both 12-4, will play a tie breaker at 4PM today (at Beamer) for North 3 and 4 seed, and Kentwood gets the day off as they have already clenched sole possession of the North 5 seed.

Auburn-Riverside and Thomas Jefferson ended the season tied for third place and will play a seeding playoff game Tuesday at 4PM, at Mt Rainier High School.

In the North Kentlake has completed the season with a 14-2 record but could end up Seed 1 or 2 as they beat TJ twice and split with Tahoma.  Tahoma has a 12-2 record with games left against TJ and Mt Rainier.  If they win out they would be in a tie with Kentlake and a playoff game would be played (Tuesday, 5PM at Kentwood).  TJ has an 11-2 record with games left against 11-4 Auburn Riverside ( I have heard that this game has been played but I can’t find a record of it anywhere), Tahoma and Auburn.  If they win out they would be the #2 seed.   Auburn Riverside could end up in a tie with TJ and would be forced into a playoff game on Tuesday (at Mt Rainier HS) since they split the season.  Kentwood, 7-9, is the only North team to know their seeding as they will go in as the N5 seed. 

There are games schedule Friday and Saturday to attempt to wrap up this season.  Monday is the last chance for make-up games prior to the Tuesday tie breaker schedule.  I suspect the rain will have to be coming down very hard for games to get rescheduled.  

Once the SPSL tournament gets underway on Thurs, the first round match up will be N4 vs S3, S5 vs N2, S4 vs N3, and N5 vs S2.  The #1 seed don’t play until the 3^rd round and are guaranteed no less than the #5 seed to District playoffs the following weekend.

Monday 4/18 (Make-up games)
Kentwood defeated Auburn 20-3
Auburn-Riverside defeated Kentridge 3-2

Tuesday 4/19 (Regularly Scheduled)
Kentwood at Tahoma (Service Club fields)
Auburn at Kentlake (7PM)
KM at Kentridge (Service Club fields)
Mt Rainier at Jefferson

Wednesday 4/20 (Regularly Scheduled)
Tahoma at Jefferson
Mt Rainier at KM
Kentridge at Kentlake (7PM)
Auburn-Riverside at Auburn (Game Farm park)

Thursday 4/21 (Make-up Games)
Kentlake at Auburn (Game Farm park)

Friday 4/22 (Regularly Scheduled)
Auburn at Kentwood
Kentridge at Auburn-Riverside (Game Farm park)
Kentlake at Mt Rainier
Jefferson at KM

From March 25^th
Kentridge at Jefferson

From March 29^th
Auburn at Tahoma
Kentwood at Mt Rainier
Jefferson at Auburn-Riverside
Kentlake at KM

From March 31^st
KM at Jefferson

From April 5^th
Tahoma at Kentwood
Kentlake at Auburn
Kentridge at KM
Jefferson at Mt Rainier

From April 6^th
Mt Rainier at Kentridge

From April 7^th
Tahoma at Kentlake
KM at Auburn-Riverside
Kentwood at Jefferson
Kentridge at Auburn

From April 12^th
Auburn-Riverside at Mt Rainier

From April 13^th
KM at Kentlake

From April 15^th
Mt Rainier at Tahoma
Jefferson at Kentridge
KM at Auburn
Kentwood at Auburn-Riverside

Weather permitting, some key games this week include: Monday, Auburn-Riverside visits Kentlake at 7PM for the battle of the undefeated; Tahoma hosts Kentridge, who has come out swinging the bats very well;  on Tuesday, Auburn-Riverside hosts TJ which should be a very good game.   Most teams play three games this week, so the standings may look quite different come Friday.  Until then here are the current standings.

(JV games on R4 and K1, Varsity games on S3 and L2)

Fri March 18

6PM
Auburn-Riverside vs Emerald Ridge
Mt. Rainier vs Liberty

8PM
Liberty vs Auburn-Riverside
Emerald Ridge vs Mt Rainier

Sat. March 19

8AM
Tahoma vs Emerald Ridge
Kentwood vs Stadium

10:15 AM
Stadium vs Tahoma
Skyline vs Kentwood

12:30 PM
Port Angeles vs Skyline
Union vs Kentlake

2:45PM
Kentlake vs Port Angeles
Skyline vs Union

5:00PM
Bonney Lake vs Bothell

7:15PM
Bothell vs Kentwood

In its 5th year, the Kentwood Classic kicks off Friday.  Kentwood has once again brought some of the regions best 3A and 4A teams to Service Club Fields in Kent.  Beginning Friday afternoon at 4PM and running through Saturday night, there will be varsity games on fields 2 and 3, and JV games on fields 1 and 4.  There is a small entrance fee. 

Kentwood, Kentlake and Tahoma are all scheduled to play in The Classic.

Here is the schedule:

Fri March 11 -4PM

Auburn-Riverside v. Liberty
Kentwood v. Skyline

Fri March 11 5:30PM

Emerald Ridge v. Auburn-Riverside
Liberty v. Kentwood

Sat March 12 8AM

Tahoma v. Stadium
Emerald Ridge v. Issaquah

10:15 AM

Emerald Ridge v. Tahoma
Issaquah v. Stadium

12:30PM

Port Angeles v. Skyline
Union v. Kentlake

2:45PM

Kentlake v. Port Angeles
Skyline v. Union

5:00PM

Kentwood v. Bonney Lake
Mt. Rainier v. Bothel

7:15PM

Bothel v. Kentwood
Bonney Lake v. Mt. Rainier

Fri May 21^st @ Noon

Enumclaw (S/S #8) vs  Timberline (WCC #1)– Field 3

Camas  (SW#3) vs Bonney Lake (S/S) – Field 4

Union (SW #2) vs Pennisula (S/S #5) – Field 5

Olympic (Oly #2) vs Mt Rainier (S/S #2) -  Field 6

Fri May 21^st @ 2PM

Capital (WCC #2)  vs Kennedy Catholic (S/S #4) – Field 3

Lakes (S/S #7) vs Prairie (SW #1) – Field 4

Auburn-Mountainview (S/S #6) vs Port Angeles (Oly #1) – Field 5

Highline (S/S #9) vs Franklin Pierce (S/S #1) – Field 6

Friday, May 14 @4PM
Semi Final #1 (Game 9)
Tahoma vs Puyallup – Field 3
Semi Final #2 (Game 10)
Rogers vs Kentlake – Field 2
Consolation Semi Final #1 (Game 11)
Spanaway Lake vs Kentridge – Field 4
Loser gets the #7 Seed
Consolation Semi Final #2 (Game 12)
Kentwood vs Jefferson – Field 1
Loser gets the # 8 Seed

Friday, May 14 @ 6PM
Championship Game (Game 15)
Winner Game 9 vs Winner Game 10 – Field 2
Winner gets #1 Seed, Loser gets #2 Seed
Consolation Championship Game (Game 13)
Winner Game 11 vs Winner Game 12 – Field 1
Winner gets #4 Seed, Loser gets #6 Seed
3/5 Seeding Game (Game 14)
Loser Game 9 vs Loser Game10 – Field 3
Winner gets #3 Seed, Loser gets #5 Seed
9/10 Seeding Game(Game16)
Beamer vs Emerald Ridge
Winner gets #9 seed, Loser gets #10 seed

Spanaway Lake 2
Tahoma 9

Beamer 2
Kentridge 6

Kentwood 0
Rogers 2

Kentridge 4
Rogers 5
(9 innings)

Emerald Ridge 0
Spanaway Lake 7

Beamer 2
Kentwood 6

May 13 and 14^th

Service Club Fields in Kent

Round 1

Thursday, May 13 @ 4PM

Jefferson vs Emerald Ridge – Field #3 (Game 1)

Spanaway Lake vs Tahoma – Field #4 (Game 2)

Beamer vs Kentridge – Field #1 (Game 3)

AR/Kentwood vs Rogers – Field #2  (Game 4)

Round 2

Thursday, May 13 @ 6 PM

Jefferson/ER winner vs SL/Tahoma winner – Field #3 (Game 5)

Jefferson/ER loser vs SL/Tahoma loser – Field #4 (Game 7)

Beamer/Kentridge winner vs AR/KW/Rogers winner Field #2 (Game 6)

Beamer/Kentridge loser vs AR/KW/Rogers loser Field #1 (Game 8 )

North #1   Kentlake  15-1; 19-1

North #2   Tahoma 15-1; 18-2

North #3   Kentridge 11-5; 14-5

North #4   Thomas Jefferson 10-6; 12-7

North #5        Playoff Game is Tuesday 6PM at Brannon Park in Auburn

                        Kentwood  7-9; 9-11

                        Auburn-Riverside 7-9; 7-10

There are no ties in the South so the seeds ended up as:

South #1 Puyallup 15-1; 16-3

South #2 Rogers 12-4; 15-4

South #3 Emerald Ridge 10-6; 11-7

South #4 Todd Beamer 9-7; 11-8

South #5 Spanaway Lake 8-8; 9-8

The #1 seeds get a two game bye and are guaranteed a #5 seed into the District.  If rain holds off and the two-day tournament is played, any team can win their way into the final.  There will be some great ball played this Thursday and Friday at Service Club Fields.  See separate blog for game schedules.

With all the rainouts this past week there was not much chance for movement in the SPSL.  In a rain make-up on Tuesday Auburn-Riverside beat Auburn to knock Auburn out of playoff contention, despite Auburn’s win over Kentwood on Friday.  The Kentwood loss does not put them out of playoffs but they now need a win over (9-5) Kentridge or (10-3) Jefferson.  Their record stands at 6-8.  A win over either of these teams would give them the power point advantage over Auburn-Riverside who lost to both teams.

Auburn-Riverside has one game left against Federal Way and with a victory can end the season with a 7-9 league record.

Kentridge’s win over Federal Way on Friday secured a playoff spot for them, bringing their record to 9-5 with 2 games left to play.

SPSL South

Rogers (12-3) dropped yet another game, this time to (5-8) Bethel.  That loss secured Puyallup the SPSL South title with a 14-1 league record going into the last game against Rogers.

Despite their unexpected losses, Rogers has secured the 2^nd place position as the next lowest loss record stands at 6. 

Emerald Ridge, Beamer, Spanaway Lake, Curtis and Bethel all have opportunities to make playoffs.

Upcoming SPSL North Games:

Monday
   Kentlake @ Jefferson (4PM) make-up
   Kentridge @ Auburn (??) make-up

Tuesday
    Kentridge @ Kentwood (4PM)
    Auburn-Riverside @ FW (4PM)
    Tahoma @ Jefferson (4PM)
    Kentlake @ Auburn (3:30PM @ Game Farm)

Wednesday
   KM @Kentlake (4PM) make-up
   Jefferson @ Kentwood (4PM) make-up

Weather permitting; a two day bracket gives the number 1 teams from each division a two game bye and a guarantee of a 5^th seed or better.  A one day playoff would pit the first place teams together for #1 and #2 seed, the second place teams together for the #3 and #4 seed, and so on.

Before the teams are placed in the bracket, there must be sole possession of 1^st through 5^th place in each division.  Looking at the races right now, there will likely be ties. To resolve the ties, the league uses a hierarchy of tie breaker scenarios. For a two way tie, the first criterion is head to head.  If team A and B are tied, and team A beat team B in both of their meetings, then Team A is awarded the higher seed.  If Team A and Team B split their meetings, then the power point system is put in place.  The way that works is each team is rewarded points for wins.  The points for each win are based on the final placement of the teams.  So a win over the final 1^st place team awards you 9 points, and on down per the chart below.

 1st Place = 9 points

 2nd Place = 8 points

 3rd Place = 7 points

 4th Place = 6 points

 5th Place = 5 points

 6th Place = 4 points

 7th Place = 3 points

 8th Place = 2 points

 9th Place = 1 point

If after applying the power point system, the teams are still tied, a playoff game will be played.

For a tie of three or more, the hierarchy is head to head first, then power point and if still tied, a coin flip.  However, if the loss of the coin flip would eliminate a team from playoffs, a tie breaker game must be played in lieu of a coin flip.

The district bracket can be found at http://www.wcd3.org/SB_4A_Bracket_10.pdf

SPSL North

Who’s in: Kentlake, Tahoma and Jefferson

Who’s pretty much in: Kentridge

On the Bubble: Kentwood, Auburn-Riverside and Auburn

As the SPSL Regular season comes to a close, the race for playoffs heats up.  Tahoma, Kentlake and Jefferson have clinched spots and are playing for seeding into the SPSL playoffs.  Tahoma has games left against Federal Way, Kent-Meridian, Kentwood and Jefferson.  Kentlake has games left against Auburn, Auburn-Riverside, Kent-Meridian and Jefferson.    Jefferson, with the toughest road to a conference championship has games left against Kentlake, Kent-Meridian, Kentwood and Tahoma.  Jefferson not only has to win the rest of their games including beating league leaders Tahoma and Kentlake, they also need either Tahoma or Kentlake to lose another game for a chance at 1^st place. 

A tie is looming for 1^st place between Tahoma and Kentlake, although a falter by one team and not the other will lock in 1^st and 2^nd place.  See separate blog that explains the tie breaker rules.

Kentridge could still knock themselves out of a playoff spot, but only if they lose their last three games, and Auburn-Riverside wins all their games, which puts them in a tie for 5^th. Then they would have to lose a tie breaker against AR. On paper, Kentridge have the easiest remaining schedule with games against (4-8) Auburn,  (2-11) Federal Way and (6-6) Kentwood so look for them to clinch a spot early this week.

That leaves Kentwood, Auburn-Riverside and Auburn playing for the last spot into SPSL playoffs and Districts.   The fifth place team will need at least an 8-8 record.    At 6-6 the favorite appears to be Kentwood.  With games left against (11-1) Tahoma, (9-3) Jefferson, (4-8) Auburn and (8-5) Kentridge, they need to win at least two of them.  Auburn-Riverside (5-8) has games left against Kentlake, Auburn, and Federal Way.  They need to win all three to get to 8-8.  Auburn, with the toughest challenge to clinch a playoff spot has games left against Auburn-Riverside, Kentridge, Kentwood and Kentlake of which they need to win all of them. 

Games to watch this week:

Tuesday, April 27

Kentlake @ Jefferson  4PM
Tahoma @ Kentwood  4PM
A-R @ Auburn 3:30PM (loser will be knocked out of playoffs)

Wednesday, April 28

Jefferson @ Kentwood 4PM
Kentridge @ Auburn 4PM (Kentridge win would clinch a playoff spot)

Friday, April 30

Kentlake @ Auburn-Riverside 3:30PM (AR will need to win this one if they beat Auburn on Tues)
Kentwood @ Auburn 3:30PM  (If Auburn won on Tues, a loss here would knock them out, Kentwood needs this win if they lost to Tahoma and Jefferson earlier on the week)

Both of these games are at Game Farm Park in Auburn

Tuesday, May 4

Kentridge @ Kentwood 4PM
Tahoma @ Jefferson 4PM (this game will most likely determine 1^st,  2^nd and 3^rd, with the potential to create a tie for 1^st or  2^nd)

SPSL South

Who’s In:  Puyallup (11-1) and Rogers (10-2)

On the bubble: Emerald Ridge(6-5), Beamer (6-5), Spanaway Lake (4-5), Curtis (3-4) and Bethel (3-5)

Emerald Ridge and Beamer have already faced  Puyallup and Rogers twice, so their road to playoffs looks pretty good.  But they will need to win at least half of their remaining games to stay safe.

Curtis, Spanaway Lake and Bethel can’t lose more than 2 of their remaining games to stay safe.  With quite a few rain-outs in the south, there will be plenty of play this week and next.  It’s hard to tell who will go on a winning spree and who will falter. 

The big game in the South will be Tuesday, May 4 when Rogers takes on Puyallup at home under the lights.

 Narrows

The Narrows league is divided into two divisions, Bay and Bridge.  In their playoff tournament, the #1 team from each division play each other for the #1 and #2 seed into the District tournament and the #2 team from each division play each other for the #3 and #4 seed. The remaining 8 teams play a bracketed tournament for the final two spots.

Who’s in:  From the Bridge Division it looks like Stadium is in, however they have only played  4 division games.  They have a 4-0 Division Record and 9-1 Overall record. 

From the Bay Division, South Kitsap is holding strong with a 7-0 division record and a 9-2 overall record.  Wilson is in the same boat as Stadium as they have only played 4 division games.  They have a 3-1 division record and a 8-1 overall record.  Their only loss is to South Kitsap.

With the bracketed playoff system of the Narrows, that leaves everyone else on the bubble.

Games this week (weather permitting)
Key games in bold.

Monday
7PM  Auburn @ Kentlake

Tuesday
4PM Jefferson @ Federal Way
4PM Auburn Riverside@ Kentridge(Service Club Fields)
4PM Kentwood @ Kent-Meridian
7PM Tahoma @ Kentlake

Wednesday
3:30 Tahoma @ Auburn
4PM Auburn -Riverside @ Kent Meridian
4PM Kentridge @ Jefferson
4PM Kentlake @ Federal Way

Friday
4PM Auburn @ Jefferson
4PM Auburn-Riverside @ Tahoma
4PM Kentridge @ Kent Meridian
7PM Kentwood @ Kentlake

The game was scoreless going into the 9^th inning when the International Tie Breaker rule goes into effect.  At the top of the ninth inning, Tahoma placed their last batter from the previous inning on 2^nd base.  She was sacrificed over to third and then squeezed home.  Tahoma up  1- 0, 1 out.  The bases were then loaded.  With 1 out, Shelby Carter hit a sacrifice fly ball to the outfield scored the second run.  Tahoma up 2 – 0. 

In the bottom of the inning, Kentridge placed their runner on 2^nd and successfully sacrificed her home.  Kentridge then loaded the bases and with 2 outs Nicole Barger hit a line drive, but unfortunately for her, right at 2^nd base, game over.

So, after less than 24 hours, Tahoma has to take the field again today against 9 – 2 Jefferson, who played Auburn-Riverside to a 12-4 win yesterday.

There are still a couple of first half games to be made up:  Auburn has yet to play Auburn-Riverside and Kentlake.  The Auburn v. Kentlake game is rescheduled to Monday, April 19^th at 7PM.  No word on the Auburn v. Auburn-Riverside, but the guess is that it is being played today.  Also there are no game results for Auburn-Riverside v. Federal Way or Kent-Meridian.  Either the games were never played, or never reported.   Those games should be easy wins for Auburn-Riverside, but Federal Way is starting to play teams much closer as they only lost to Kentwood 3 – 1 yesterday. 

Tomorrow Kentlake has to face Kentridge, 7PM at Kentlake.  Look for that to be a good game.

Tahoma has a Friday bye and Kentwood takes on Auburn-Riverside, which is an important game for the playoff race as both teams are working hard for the 5^th and final spot.  Last time they met, Auburn-Riverside won 7-6.

Coming into the game Tahoma has scored no less than 4 runs in each of their SPSL wins, and TJ has not allowed more than 4 runs in each of their games.  TJ is lead by two seniors, shortstop Hannah Kiyohara (Louisville) who put on a defensive show against Kentlake on Friday along with going 2 for 4 at the plate, and catcher Christi Bruin (NYU-Tech) who went 2 for 3 against Kentlake.

Tahoma is lead by consistent pitching by Junior Sammii Jimenez, and a hot bat from Sophomore Jordan Walley, who has hit 7 for 11 in the last three games with HR’s against Auburn on the 5^th and Federal Way on the 6^th.

Also on Tuesday, Kentlake plays host to Auburn at 7PM.  Auburn comes into the match-up at 2 – 4, with a make-up game still to be played against Auburn-Riverside.  Auburn is lead by Junior Catcher,  Amber Morrow (Seattle U)and Junior Pitcher, Nicole Kelsoe.

Meanwhile, Kentridge takes on Kentwood in a match for 4^th and 5^th place.  Kentridge comes into the game at 4 – 3 while Kentwood comes in at 3-4.  A win by Kentridge will put them into a solid 4^th place, but a win by Kentwood keeps them in the playoff hunt.

An exciting Tuesday is in store.

Schedule  for Week 3

(Weather permitting)

Monday March 29

* Kentridge @ Tahoma 4PM

* Kentlake @ Kentwood 4PM

* Auburn Riverside @ Jefferson 4PM

Kent Meridian @ Auburn 3:30PM

Tuesday March 30

* Kentwood @ Tahoma 4PM

* Jefferson @ Kentlake 7PM

Federal Way @ Kent Meridian

Auburn @ Auburn Riverside

SPSL Standings

                                Conference                        Overall

Team                     W            L                              W            L

Jefferson               3              0                              5              1

Tahoma                 3              0                              6              1

Kentridge              3              1                              6              1

Kentwood             3              1                              5              3

Kentlake               2              1                              6              1

Auburn                 1              2                              2              2

Auburn-Riv         1              3                              1              4

Federal Way        0              4                              1              5

Kent-Meridian    0              4                              0              4

Results for Week 2

Tuesday

* Tahoma 5  Auburn-Riverside 3

Notable performances:

Tahoma – Shelby Carter  3 for 3, 2 runs, 1 RBI,  2B and 3B; Sammii Jimenez   2 for 4, 1 RBI, 2 2B.

Auburn-Riverside – Hannah Melick  1 for 1, 1 RBI, 3B

(W) Jimenez  (L) Alyssa Jarmin

Kentwood 8 Federal Way 2

Notable performances:

Kentwood – Allison Newcomb 3 for 5, 2B; Ally Mittleider 1 for 5, 3B

(W) Bethany Pfaff    (L) Alexis Pawlowski

Kentridge 11 Kent Meridian 1

Notable Performances:

Kentridge -  Kelly Holman 2 for 2, 1 run, 1 RBI; Ashleigh Mate 2 for 4, 1 RBI, 3B;  Breanna Trimble 2 for 3, 2 runs, 3 RBI.

(W) Danielle Orvella  (L) Hondoleno

Kentlake 13 Graham-Kapowsin 0

Notable Performances:

Kentlake –  Larissa Henderson 1 for 1, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2B; Hannah Sauget 2 for 2, 1 RBI 2B; Kendall Walker 3 for 3, 1 run, 4 RBI, 3B.

(W) Sauget  (L) Chelsey Kuhn

Jefferson 3  Auburn 1

Wednesday

* Tahoma 5  Kentlake 2

Notable Performances:

Tahoma – Hayley Beckstrom 2 for3, 3 RBI, 2B; Emily Miller 2 for 4, 2 runs, 3B.

Kentlake – Erin Crowley 2 for 4, 2 runs, 3B, 2 SB; Kellie Nielsen 3 for 3; Erika Smyth 2 for 4, 1 RBI, 2B.

(W) Sammii Jimenez  (L) Nikole Weber

* Kentridge 14  Auburn Riverside 3

Notable Performances

Kentridge – Haley Crusch 4 for 4, 2 runs, 3 RBI,2B; Danielle Orvella 3 for 4, 4 runs, 1 RBI; Kelli Suguro 3 for 3, 4 runs, 2 RBI, 2B.

Auburn-Riverside – Alyssa Jarmin 2 for 2, 2 RBI

(W) Suguro

Kentwood 13  Kent-Meridian 1

Notable Performances

Kentwood – Rachel Burr 2 for 3, 2 runs; Shian Kelly 2 for 2, 2 runs, 2 RBI;  Mackena Sherman 2 for 3, 2 runs, 4 RBI, 2B.

(W) Jayme Nies (L) Hondoleno

Jefferson 10 Federal Way 0

Friday

* Kentlake 9 Kentridge 2

Notable Performances

Kentlake – Erin Crowley 3 for 5, 1 run, 4 RBI, 3B, 1 SB; Alexis Engman 2 for 4, 2 runs; Kellie Nielsen 3 for 4, 1 run, 2 RBI; Hannah Sauget 2 for 4, 1 run; Brittany Styger 2 for 4.

Kentridge – Shelby Poole 2 for 4, 1 run, 1 RBI, 3B.

(W) Nikole Weber   (L) Kelli Suguro

* Auburn Riverside 7 Kentwood 6

Notable Performances

Auburn Riverside – Alyssa Jarmin 1 for 4,1 RBI; Keith 2 for 3, 2 runs

Kentwood – Bailey Marshall 2 for 3, 2 runs, 1RBI, 2 2B; Mackena Sherman 2 for 4, 3 RBI, 3B

(W) Alyssa Jarmin  (L) Bethany Pfaff

Auburn 6 Federal Way 0

Jefferson 15 Kent Meridian 1

Kentwood 8
Auburn 6

Junior Jayme Nies got the win for Kentwood while Junior Nicole Kelsoe suffered the loss.

On offense,  Senior CJ Brooks went 1 for 2 with an RBI, Freshman Allison Newcomb went 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI.  Sophomore Bethany Pfaff went 2 for 3 with a run scored and Jayme Nies helped her cause with 1 hit and 2 RBI.

Tahoma 10
Kent-Meridian 0

(See article in Maple Valley Reporter for highlights)

Kentridge 7
Federal Way 0

D. Orvella got the win for Kentridge and Alexis Pawlowski got the loss.

On offense D. Orvella went 2 for 4, hitting a double and scoring a run.  N Stadafora went 2 for 4, also hitting a double and scoring 2 runs.

Kentlake 8
Auburn-Riverside 1

Senior Nikole Weber got the win over Auburn-Riverside throwing 7 innings, striking out 5 and walking only 1.  Weber only allowed 3 hits. Alyssia Jarmin got the loss for Auburn Riverside.

After shutting down A-R in the top of the 1^st, Kentlake’s offense went to work.  Junior Erin Crowley led off the inning with a double.  Junior Erika Smyth followed with a single that moved Crowley to third.  Junior Jessie Richardson then laid down a sacrifice squeeze bunt to score Crowley.  Senior Brook Evans walked to load bases and Junior Brittany Styger walked to score Smyth.   Freshman Kelly Nielsen drove a fly ball into shallow center to score Richardson .  Sophomore Alexis Engman scored Evans on a single up the middle.

On the night, Engman led the offense going 3 for 3 with a triple.  Evans went 1 for 3(double) but capitalized on A-R errors to reach base and score 3 runs.  Richardson went 2 for 3 with 3 runs scored, a RBI and a stolen base.

A-R’s lone unearned run was in the top of the 7^th when Hannah Melnick (Oregon) reached base on a walk and moved to 2^nd on an error.  She was then sacrificed home on a deep fly ball by Brinna Tsujikawg.

SPSL Standings after Week 1

Kentwood, Kentlake , Kentridge and Tahoma are all at 1 -0

Kent-Meridian, Federal Way, Auburn and Auburn-Riverside are 0-1

T.J had a bye

Week 2 at a glance

There are some great match-ups in Week 2 of the SPSL schedule.  By the end of the week we should know better which teams will be the contenders.

Tuesday

The games to watch on Tuesday are Tahoma at Auburn-Riverside and  TJ  at Auburn both at Game Farm park in Auburn at 3:30 PM. 

Other matchups include Kentwood at Federal Way and Kent-Meridian is at Kentridge.

Kentlake has a bye but is hosting Graham-Kapowsin in a non conference game at 7PM.

Wednesday

The two games to watch on Wednesday are Kentlake at Tahoma and Kentridge at Auburn-Riverside.  Both are 4PM starts.

Kentwood will be hosting Kent-Meridian at 4PM.

Friday

The games to watch may change after the results of Tuesday and Wednesday, but for now they should be Kentlake at Kentridge and Kentwood at Auburn-Riverside.

Tahoma has a bye .

A nice win for Kentlake over a very loaded Lake Washington team. Kentlake’s offense was lead by Erin Crowley who went 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored , 1 RBI, a double and a stolen base. Erika Smyth went 2 for 4 with 1 run scored, 3 RBI, and a double.  Brittany Styger went 2 for 3, 1 RBI and a double.   Kelly Nielsen went 1 for 3 with 3 runs scored, a double and a stolen base.

The Lake Washington 1-2-3 hitters  were steady all night.  Elsa Mayer (University of Kansas) went 3 for 5 with 1 run scored.  Kealy McCullen (Syracuse) also went 3 for 5 with 1 run scored.   Audrey Sundene went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a double. 

Nikole Weber got the win despite giving up 15 hits.  She struck out 3 and did not give up a walk.  Sara Aasness (Northwestern State) got the loss giving up 10 hits, striking out 5 and walking 5.

Kentlake improves their record to 3-0

Lake Washington evens up the season at 1-1

Kentwood 0 at Skyline 6

Skyline pitchers continue to dominate the SPSL North.  After a no hit win over Tacoma on Monday by Lauren Richards,  Elizabeth Stromquist pitched a  2 hit to shutout over Kentwood on Wednesday. 

Kentwood drops to 2-2

Skyline goes to 2-0

Tahoma 4 at Emerald Ridge 3

The Bears traveled to Emerald Ridge to take on last season’s SPSL South Division Champs. The ladies got the offense going with a 2-run, 2 out triple by Junior third baseman Kiley Dunn. Senior outfielder, Katie Jo Myers followed with a single to drive in Dunn.  ER answered in the 4^th with a run and with runners at first and second with no outs, the Bears turned a triple play to squelch ER’s rally. The Bears added a fourth run in the 5^th inning with a 2 out double from Junior first baseman, Lisa Maulden that drove in Junior second baseman, Emily Miller. The Bears held on tight with a gutsy pitching performance by Junior pitcher, Sammii Jimenez to close out the final three innings .

Tahoma improves their record to 2-2

Emerald Ridge drops to 1-1

Monday

Tahoma 0 at Skyline 2

Lauren Richards of Skyline threw a no hitter with 11 K’s, while Sami Jimenez of Tahoma threw a 2-hitter with 5 K’s.

Tuesday

Emerald Ridge 15 at Kentwood 5

Brianne Cossey had a good day at the plate going 2 for 2 with an RBI and run scored.

Beamer 3 at Kentridge 7

Hannah Overall went 3 for 4 with a double, run scored and RBI. Teammates Haley Crusch and Kayla Anders also had good nights both going 2 for 3 at the plate.

Wednesday

Lake Washington at Kentlake  7PM

Lake Washington is coming off a 13 to 1 win over Bishop Blanchet.  LW pitcher Sara Aasness struck out 11 Braves in her 5 innings pitched.

Kentwood @ Skyline  4PM

Thursday

White River @ Kentridge 4PM (Service Club Fields)

Friday

Kent-Meridian @ Tahoma 4PM

Kentridge @ Federal Way 4PM

Auburn @ Kentwood 4PM

Auburn-Riverside @ Kentlake 7PM

Results:

Kentwood  16   Liberty 6

 Kentwood beat Sequim

 Tahoma 14   Bonney Lake 7

 Tahoma 10    Liberty 6

 Auburn-Riverside beat Graham-Kapowsin

 Graham-Kapowsin beat Mt Tahoma

 Issaquah beat Mt Tahoma

 Stadium 6   Port Angeles 1

 Kentlake 11    Mt Rainier 5

 Kentlake 2    Port Angeles 1

This year’s tournament features 13 strong programs from 4A, 3A and 2A

From the SPSL 4A North

Host Kentwood:  Kentwood won the SPSL North last year and continued on to state.  They graduated four key players but have a strong set of underclassmen ready to fill their shoes.   Look for solid defense and clutch hitting from them this year. 

Kentlake: Kentlake missed state last year but has been there 10 of their 12 seasons.  Kentlake returns a solid core of Juniors and Seniors, including senior pitcher Nikole Weber .   Look for good pitching, speed, small ball as well as power hitting from this team. 

Tahoma:  Tahoma started young two years ago and now those players are upper classmen.  This team is deep in talent and should be a strong contender in the SPSL this year.

Auburn-Riverside:  Dominated by the pitching of Amanda Fitzsimmons last year and a 4^th place state finish, this team is a little bit of an unknown this year.  Anchored by University of Oregon bound SS Hannah Melick, the Ravens defense will have to adjust to less dominating pitching this year. 

Other 4A teams in the tournament

Issaquah:  Issaquah missed the state tournament last year in their first year as a 4A school but made 8 3A appearances prior.  Issaquah has one of the area’s strongest pitchers in University of Pennsylvania bound senior Mikenzie Voves. 

Graham Kapowsin: GK always has a strong program.  Although struggling over the past couple years, GK made a state appearance in 2007 when the now seniors were freshman.

Mt Tahoma:  Out of the Narrows League, Mt Tahoma is coming off a disappointing season last year. 

Stadium: Also out of the Narrows League, Stadium’s starting pitcher, Junior Heidi Wells, has started for them since her freshman year.  Stadium just missed state last year in a 4-3 loss to Rogers in a loser out, winner to state game in the West Central District tournament last. 

3A teams

Port Angeles: Port Angeles went 1-2 in state last year, where they beat Shadle Park in the first round and then lost to Enumclaw and Sedro-Woolley.

Mt Rainier:  Mt Rainier went 2-2 in state last year where they started strong with wins over Juanita and Prairie, but then fell to Holy Names and Union.  Mt Rainier will be joining the SPSL North next year.

Bonney Lake: Bonney Lake has a talented team this year.  Although they missed state last year they were there the year before and are contenders again this year.

Liberty:  Liberty missed state in 2009, which was their first state miss since 1996.

2A

Sequim: Sequim has been to state 4 times, twice in 3A ad twice in 2A.  Last year they went 2-2 beating Blaine and Pullman, but losing to Colville and Anacortes. 

Varsity Schedule

8:00 AM

Tahoma vs Bonney Lake

Kentwood vs Liberty

10:15 AM

Tahoma vs Liberty JV

Kentwood vs Sequim

12:30 PM

Auburn-Riverside vs Issaquah

Mt Tahoma vs Graham Kapowsin

Sequim vs Auburn-Riverside JV

2:45 PM

Graham Kapowsin vs Auburn-Riverside

Issaquah vs Mt Tahoma

5:00 PM

Kentlake vs Mt Rainier

Port Angeles vs Stadium

7:15  PM

Stadium vs Mt Rainier

Kentlake vs Port Angeles

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for Students.  Children under 10 are free,

Service Club Fields are located at 14608 SE 288^th St in Kent.

Class of 2006

Kentlake

Kelsey Reynolds   P  Seattle University

Class of 2007

Kentwood

Danielle Kauzlarich   P/3^rd   Pierce College

Class of 2008

Kentlake

Caitlyn Duggan   P   Green River CC

Felicia Harris   P/1^st     University of Washington

Kentwood

Kirsten Shreve  CF/P   Farleigh Dickinson University

Tahoma

Tori Dudley   3^rd/SS  George Mason University

Shannon McSorely    1^st    Central Washington University

Class of 2009

 Kentlake

Sam Beckler  1^st  Bellevue College

Sarah Beckler  Utl   Green River CC

Juliann Hartnett   INF  North Idaho College

Kentwood

Katie Adams  C/OF  Dartmouth University

Liane DeHart  SS/OF  Corban College

Jessica Glenn  1^st  Cisco College

Kayla Evans P/1^st  Green River CC

Alex Lucas   C  Indiana St University

What does this mean for the upcoming season?  High school teams who are fortunate to have pitchers that have already been pitching at the 43 feet distance in travel ball will definitely have the edge.  Not to say the others can’t catch up, but they will need to throw some games to get adjusted to the new distance. 

The pitchers who master their breaking balls at 43 feet will have the edge.  The hitters who have been hitting at 43 feet will also have a better eye for the late breaking pitches.

While it will most definitely be colder in the early spring, the night games should attract more fans to the games.

Scheduled start time for the night games is 7PM.