The Bainbridge Spartans rollicking ride through the postseason continued this week as the girls fastpitch softball team advanced to the SeaKing District 3A Softball Tournament and a first-round meeting with Eastside Catholic.

The Spartans played hose in the first round, loser-out affair on Monday, May 13 at the Southwest Athletic Complex in West Seattle.

Bainbridge rode the bat and arm of Malia Peato to an impressive 6-0 shutout of the Crusaders.

The win pushed the Spartans into a matchup against Lake Washington in a second round, winner to state game.

In action against Eastside Catholic, Spartan hurler Peato pitched a complete game shutout, scattering just six hits. She also hit a two-run home run in the first inning for all the runs needed to keep the season alive and send the Spartans to the winner-to-state game against the Kangaroos of Lake Washington.

In retrospect, the Spartans put the game away in the first inning, scoring four runs on seven hits while batting through the order.

Ruby Raymundo started the inning with a single. One out later, Peato hit her two-run homer.

With two outs, the Spartans strung together five straight hits to score two runs and load the bases.

Grace Colburn started the hit parade with a double, followed by an RBI triple by Ellen Owen.

Owen then scored on Caroline Michaels single.

Singles by Samara Hutchinson and Abby Sullivan loaded the bases for Raymundo, who hit a hard ground ball toward the hole between short and third. The EC third baseman made a nice play to cut off the ball and tag Hutchinson as she headed to third.

Bainbridge added their final two runs in fourth on a single by Peato and a two-run homer by Anna Kozlosky.

The Spartans threatened on numerous occasions, stranding 11 base runners, including leaving the bases loaded three times.

Peato (10-6) picked up the win in the circle for the Spartans (7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 7 Ks, 0 BB).

Peato finished 3-for-3 at the plate, with a home run, two RBIs, and a run (and was also walked intentionally).

Kozlosky was 1-for-3, with a home run and two RBIs.

Colburn went 2-for-3, with a double, and a run.

Owen finished 1-for-4, with a triple, RBI, and a run.

Sullivan was 2-for-2.

Bainbridge advanced to district play following a successful run through the

Metro League Tournament last week.

The BHS girls finished fifth in the Metro League Tournament, matching their finish in the regular season standings.

The Spartans opened the tournament with an 11-3 win over Ingraham, lost to Holy Names Academy in the second round, 7-3, then rallied for an 8-7 victory over Nathan Hale, then closed the tournament with a 5-1 win over Cleveland in one of their best all-around games of the season.

In the opener against Ingraham, the Rams jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first against Miranda Grogger, scoring on a pair of singles sandwiched around a ground out that put the runner in scoring position.

The Spartans came back with four runs of their own with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by Anna Kozlosky and a two-run single by Samara Hutchinson. Bainbridge added a run in the top of the second on a double by Ruby Raymundo and an RBI single from Malia Peato.

A Spartan fielding error opened the door for a pair on Ingraham runs in the fourth that closed the gap to 5-3. Grogger escaped further damage when she induced a ground out with the bases loaded.

Bainbridge put the game out of reach with a four-run fifth in which Hutchinson singled in her third RBI of the game and Raymundo hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded that resulted in three runs scoring on a throwing error by Ingraham.

The Spartans added two in the sixth on an RBI triple by Grace Colburn and another RBI single by Hutchinson.

Grogger collected the win in the circle, while Peato pitched a perfect final three innings with eight strikeouts to record her first save of the season.

The second round featured a surprise switch three innings into the matchup against HNA.

In one of the more unusual games ever played, Holy Names broke open a tie game in the bottom of the fifth after a 40-minute delay due to darkness and a switch of fields in the middle of the third inning. (It seems the tournament organizers were unaware that a new field at the Southwest Athletic Complex did not have lights and scheduled a game for a time that might result in darkness overtaking the field.)

Holy Names took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a leadoff single and a two-out double. Bainbridge tied the score in the fourth on a leadoff single by Hayden Jobes and a two-out double by Natalie Gillatt.

The Crusaders came back in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead on a leadoff single and a one-out double. The Spartans tied the score in the fifth on a leadoff triple by Ellen Owen, who then scored on a wild pitch.

Holy Names scored twice in the fifth for a 4-2 lead, capitalizing on a Spartan throwing error for the first run and an RBI single for the second run. Bainbridge escaped further damage by turning a double play.

The Spartans rallied for a run to close the gap to 4-3 in the sixth. A walk, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single from Owen gave Bainbridge their final run of the game.

Holy Names scored three in the sixth to end the scoring, then retired the side in the seventh. Then the Spartans raced for the bus and the ferry and barely caught the 10:55 p.m. ferry home.

The Spartans’ following game, against Nathan Hale, was their closest contest of the tournament.

Bainbridge rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to turn back an upset bid by the Raiders.

Peato capped the rally with a walk-off single to score Abby Sullivan with the winning run.

Nathan Hale opened the scoring in the first, taking a 1-0 lead on a single, a Spartan error, and another single.

The Spartans responded with three runs in the bottom of the first. A walk by Raymundo followed by a Hayden Jobes triple scored the first run.

Jobes then scored on an RBI single by Peato. Grace Colburn drove in the final run with a single.

Nathan Hale scored four runs in the third to forge a 5-3 lead. Three Spartan errors were the difference as Hale recorded only one hit and one walk in the inning.

A Natalie Gillatt single in the bottom of the third pulled Bainbridge within one at 5-4.

Hale pushed the lead back to two with another unearned run in the fourth. Raymundo pulled the Spartans back within one with a solo home run in the bottom half of the frame. Hale responded with a run in the sixth on back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning.

The bottom third of the Spartan batting order set the table for the winning rally as Caroline Michaels led off with a single.

A fielder’s choice (late throw to second) by Lillian McDonald, and a walk to Sullivan loaded the bases.

A bloop single to right center by Raymundo brought in the first run. Jobes grounded into a fielder’s choice to short stop (late throw to the plate trying for the force out) to tie the score.

Peato then ended the game with a single to left.

Peato picked up the win, going the distance again in the circle for the Spartans.

In the Spartans’ final game in the tourney, Peato threw a one-hitter as BHS shut down the Cleveland short game to take fifth place in the tournament, 5-1.

Caroline Michaels sparked the offense by driving in the first and last Bainbridge runs.

Cleveland’s only hit came from their leadoff batter in the first, who doubled to left center, then later scored on an RBI ground out.

Bainbridge took the lead for good in the second inning.

Anna Kozlosky walked, Ellen Owen singled, and Michaels brought home Kozlosky with a double down the left field line.

Lillian McDonald’s ground out scored Owen to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead.

Bainbridge added a pair of runs in the third. Singles by Ruby Raymundo and Peato with a passed ball and a stolen base by Elise Woods (running for Peato) put runners on second and third with one out.

Kozlosky then singled in Raymundo before Grace Colburn scored Woods with a sacrifice fly.

The Spartans added an insurance run in the sixth on a walk to Colburn who then took two bases on a wild pitch. Michaels scored Colburn on an infield ground out when the fielder tried to get Colburn at the plate.

Peato gave up the one hit, although five other batters reached base (three on errors plus a walk and a hit batter). Peato struck out seven and got tremendous help from her infield defense, particularly Kozlosky at third, McDonald at second, and Michaels at first to register the other 14 outs.