Spartans win spot in state tourney

Published 8:28 am Saturday, May 24, 2014

The Bainbridge Spartans punched their ticket to the state fastpitch tournament with a dramatic 13-12 win against Liberty in the District 2 quarterfinals Wednesday at Lower Woodland Park in Seattle.

Bainbridge jumped out to a 3-1 advantage in the first inning, then held off the Patriots in the third inning after Liberty scored two runs to tie the game at 3-all.

The Spartans responded with a three-run inning to double up the Patriots, 6-3.

Liberty came roaring back, with four runs in the top of the fourth, to climb in front 7-6.

But Bainbridge rang Liberty’s bell again in the fifth. Deahna King hit a grand slam and the Spartans plated a total of six runs to move to 12-7.

The Patriots weren’t ready to go quietly into that good night, however, and scored twice in the sixth inning and three times in the seventh to tie the game at 12-12.

The Spartans scored a clutch run in the bottom of the seventh — via a walk-off RBI single by Catie Muir — to escape with the win.

Muir helped lead the Bainbridge offense by going 2-for-4 at the plate, with a home run and three RBIs.

King went 2-for-4, with a grand slam home run and four RBIs. She also picked up the victory on the mound for Bainbridge.

Fellow Spartan Natalie Allen went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Emma Lindsay went 3-for-5 for BHS and had an RBI, and Riley Gregoire went 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs.

The gutsy win guaranteed Bainbridge a berth to the state tournament for the eighth consecutive year.