The No. 1 seed Bainbridge Spartans have looked like 2A state title contenders all season and they took one more step to accomplish that goal May 17 by winning the district championship 9-4 over No. 7 seed Port Angeles at Central Kitsap High School.

In the semifinals earlier that day, the Spartans won a tight contest against rival North Kitsap 3-1. The No. 5 seed Vikings ended up winning a loser-out game against No. 2 seed Steilacoom to advance to state.

“There’s no surprise that these guys are the ones we’re facing,” Bainbridge coach Thomas Henshaw said before the NK matchup. “They know how to compete.”

Spartan pitcher Trey Thompson started the game off for Bainbridge by earning three strikeouts. Viking pitcher Jack Nelson made quick work of the Spartan batters as well, forcing three quick outs after letting up a walk to Bainbridge shortstop McCrea Curfman.

The Vikings succeeded in getting the first man in scoring position with third-baseman Nolan Rowe getting hit by a pitch and advancing to third on a few Thompson balks. Viking Greysen Prichard hit a line-drive single to right field, scoring the first run of the game and giving NK a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

Bainbridge quickly responded with second baseman Braden French and Thompson both accruing singles, but could not convert them into runs, leaving the score of the game 1-0 at the end of two.

The top of the order came around for both squads, but Thompson and Nelson shut down any potential for offense in the third.

Rowe managed to get on base and steal second in the top of the fourth off a single to center field. Nonetheless, Thompson successfully got the Spartans out of the inning through three strikeouts.

“I feel pretty good. I just wish I had this at the beginning of the season,” Thompson said.

Thompson got the Spartan bats rolling in the bottom of the fourth with a single to right field. Thompson advanced to third after catcher Henry Olsen also hit a single to right field, allowing Thompson to score on a wild pitch and tie the game at one apiece.

Curfman continued the Spartan surge on offense in the bottom of the fifth, hitting a deep single to center field. Center fielder A.J. Larsen followed that up with an RBI double, driving Curfman home and allowing Bainbridge to take the lead for the first time all game at 2-1. Spartan third-baseman Will Rohrbacher added to the Spartan scoring spree, hitting an RBI single to left field and making the score of the game 3-1.

Spencer Gillespie earned a walk in the top of the sixth, giving NK its first baserunner since the fourth inning. Noah Wendt hit a single, advancing Gillespie to second and giving the Vikings a scoring opportunity. Nonetheless, relief pitcher Curfman escaped the inning with no runs scored.

Viking Teague Weible hit a single to left field in the top of the seventh, getting a runner on base. Greysen Prichard followed that up with a single of his own, getting the tying run on base. Nonetheless, NK could not complete the comeback.

“I think the out-of-conference games really helped us build our confidence,” Thompson said. “We were pretty well-rounded and we came out here and executed.”

In other Kitsap district baseball action, No. 8 seed Olympic was eliminated by No. 4 seed Franklin Pierce in a loser-out game May 16.

In 3A, No. 12 seed Central Kitsap made quite a run to advance to state by winning three-straight loser-out games. The Cougars first beat No. 13 White River 4-2, then upset No. 4 seed Prarie 8-2, and sealed a state bid by blowing out No. 8 seed Kelso 9-1.

In 1A, Klahowya was blown out in an elimination game, 17-0, by Bellevue Christian. The Eagles went 1-1 in their previous two district games.

In 4A, No. 16 seed South Kitsap was eliminated in the first round of districts by No. 9 seed Kentridge 6-0 May 13.