“Though it may sometimes seem hard to believe, not everything is changing on Bainbridge Island. Not the lacrosse teams. Thursday, the Bainbridge boys served notice that they’re ready, willing and able to tack on a seventh straight state championship, as they routed Curtis 15-1 in a near-perfect performance.And the girls finished their regular season unbeaten, first blanking Mercer Island 14-0, then posting a 15-8 win over Forest Ridge.The girls are trying to forget the last three years, when they lost in the state championship game, and revert to the form that saw them win four straight state titles before that.”
“If experience is indeed the best teacher, the Spartan fastpitchers learned their lessons well over the weekend.After an 11-6 loss to North Kitsap Friday, they rebounded Monday to rout Port Townsend 12-1 in five innings.The win at Port Townsend clinches a playoff spot, and confirms the revival of the recently moribund program.In the loss to North, the Sparts showed talent, but the villain was inconsistency.”
“The invaders from Port Angeles swaggered onto the Bainbridge soccer field Tuesday evening, and showed why they’re called Roughriders. And why they’re unbeaten.In a game that was over almost before it began, the Riders outmuscled if not outhustled the Spartans, posting a 4-0 shutout.The Sparts rebounded Thursday to blank Central Kitsap by the same 4-0 score.”
“In a prime example of a squad peaking at the right time of the season, the BHS water polo varsity swamped the opposition at last weekend’s regional tournament.The blue team not only posted a perfect 4-0 record in tourney play at Ray Williamson Pool, but it won those matches by a combined score of 49-10.This is the best we’ve played this year, coach Steve Killpack said. It was a tremendous unifying experience for these girls to play four games in 23 hours, and to play as well as they did.”
“Bainbridge’s depth was too much for Bremerton’s strength at the top, as the Spartan netters dropped the Knights 7-2 Wednesday.Elliott Beam, the number two boys’ singles player, maintained his unbeaten league record with a 6-2, 6-0 win. The sophomore has not lost a set in Olympic League play this year.You can pick up a lot of points with a strong number-two player, coach Mike Anderson said.”
“On a chilly, blustery afternoon, the Spartan baseball team got down to business early.The squad scored five runs in the first inning, then relied on clutch pitching and tight defense to post a 7-2 road win at Olympic Friday.Cole Childers and Thomas Henshaw hit back to back singles to start Bainbridge’s fireworks, and Mike Dressler knocked them both home with a double to right. Zach Lieberman’s single drove Dressler home. Mateo Romero brought Lieberman in, then he advanced to second on an error and scored on Carl French’s double.Bainbridge starter Henshaw and reliever Ross McKinstry scattered seven hits, and pitched out of two bases-loaded jams.”
“SILVERDALE – Alex von Ries Crooks admits he’s terrified of the wind at Silverdale Stadium. In fact, he gets downright defensive about it.It’s actually easier for us to attack upwind there, said von Ries Crooks, coach of the Bainbridge High School boys soccer team that beat Klahowya 2-0 Saturday on the Silverdale carpet.”
“Maybe it was the sun in the outfielder’s eyes. Maybe it was the breaks evening out. Or maybe it was just meant to be.Whatever the explanation, the Bainbridge fastpitchers rallied for four runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Monday afternoon to take a thrilling 4-3 win over visiting Bremerton. It was the resurgent Spartans fifth win of the season, equalling their combined victory total for the last two years.Bainbridge came back to earth Thursday, dropping a doubleheader at perennial power Port Angeles.In the Bremerton game, the visitors did a fair imitation of the small-ball Mariners. Although the Knight hitters couldn’t catch up with Brooke Hilton’s power pitching, they parlayed bunts, walks, aggressive baserunning and perfect defense into a 3-0 lead going into the last inning.A one-out single by Chrissy Haugen and a two-out walk to Bianca Quezada looked like too little, too late.But then the roof caved in.”
“It’d been awhile since the Bainbridge High School baseball team had seen a pitcher like Klahowya’s Jeff Berend.In fact, it had been awhile since the Spartans had seen any opposing pitcher at all.Coming off an 11-day layoff, the Sparts had trouble dealing with Berend, the senior ace of the Eagles’ staff, and lost the opener of an Olympic League doubleheader 4-1 last Friday at Klahowya. They came back to win the nightcap 7-1 behind the strong starting pitching of Matt Luria and an errorless performance by the defense.”
“Lots of 40-year-old moms kick up their heels. But not all of them aim their heels at your head.Step onto a taekwondo mat with Sue Unger, though, and that’s just what you’ll see. Unger, an administrative secretary for the city building department, demonstrated her prowess in the Korean martial art by taking home two gold medals at the recent Washington state championship in Seattle.She competed in both the sparring and the form portions of the state tournament, and won top honors in both.The sparring is full-contact with chest protectors, mouthpieces and pads, Unger said, and each fight has two one-minute rounds, which doesn’t sound like much until you try it. In my first fight, the timers made a mistake and let the first round go two minutes, she said. I thought I was going to die.Taekwondo, which originated in Korea, has some similarities to Japanese karate, with a different emphasis. Karate is mostly arms, Unger said. Taekwondo is mostly legs.Competitors in the sparring competitions score points for landing kicks to designated portions of their opponents’ anatomy. The chest and sides are designated target areas, while the back is out of bounds.”
“With a perfect 5-0 record at spring break, the Bainbridge girls’ lacrosse team is on track to make another appearance in the state championship game.And to bring home the trophy.Last Thursday, the team won 8-4 at Lakeside, the school that beat the Spartans in the state championship game two years ago. It was a great game by the girls, coach Tami Tommila said. We had played a tough game on Tuesday (against defending state champion Overlake), and were short-handed again, being down four starters with vacations and injuries.Leading scorer against Lakeside was Lindsay Newlon, who scored three goals despite being injured. Rebecca Williamson scored twice, while Erika Holsman, Ashley Pedersen and Adrianne Moon each added a goal.”
“On a gloriously sunny afternoon that finally looked like spring, the Bainbridge track and field team came out of its burrow Thursday to best Sequim and Klahowya in the year’s only home meet.The Bainbridge girls tallied 89 points to Sequim’s second-place 52 and Klahowya’s 50. The Spartan boys totaled 76, with Klahowya scored 56 and Sequim 49. Junior sprinter Luke Preble led the way for the Spartan boys with a sweep of the sprints. Preble won the 100, 200 and 400 meter dash events, and anchored the Spartans’ winning 4×400 meter relay team.”
“It was the best of times and the worst of times for the Bainbridge varsity lacrosse team. An overwhelming first half more than made up for an underwhelming second, as the Spartans hung on the beat Mercer Island 14-10.The Spartans were masterful in the first half, taking an 8-1 lead. But the visiting Islanders roared back with nine second-half goals to turn what had been a laugher into a nail-biter.We have some very strong players on this team, coach Dave Low said, but we’re maybe not as deep yet as we would like to be. The second half, we were a little tired – maybe more mentally than physically.The Spartans raced out of the blocks with the all-around form that has made them six-time state champions. After blunting Mercer Island’s initial attacks, Bainbridge scored when Jesse Savage took a long clearing pass from the defense and fed Jeff Pratt for a fast-break goal. After Adam Smith logged an unassisted goal, senior co-captain Peter Vander Hoek took over. He scored a flashy over-the-shoulder goal off an assist from Jesse Fairbank, then scored off a Kelten Johnson assist as the first quarter ended with the hosts ahead 4-0.The second quarter was more of the same. Johnson, a senior, quarterbacked the offense, and logged assists on all four Bainbridge goals – two by Fairbank, a junior, one by Vander Hoek and one by Pratt, a senior.”
