Spartan kickers drop Sequim 4-1

"The boys' soccer team opened the season with a pair of wins, defeating Sequim 4-1 in Thursday's home opener after dominating Klahowya 4-0 on Tuesday.The Sequim game began with Mitka von Reis Crooks slamming home a pass from Brian Oldenkamp 40 seconds after the opening whistle. "

“The boys’ soccer team opened the season with a pair of wins, defeating Sequim 4-1 in Thursday’s home opener after dominating Klahowya 4-0 on Tuesday.The Sequim game began with Mitka von Reis Crooks slamming home a pass from Brian Oldenkamp 40 seconds after the opening whistle. The Wolves tied it at the 12-minute mark when a yellow-card foul outside the goalie box resulted in a free kick. Goalie Ollie Ludlow deflected the shot, but a Sequim player was in position for the tap-in and the half ended at 1-1.Sequim was playing with haste and we responded to their fast pace with our own haste, said coach Alex von Reis Crooks. But we calmed down in the second half and controlled the rest of the way.It helped that the Spartans scored a minute into the second half when Adam Brenneman bounced a long free kick off the crossbar and Christian Gibbs headed it home.At 56 minutes, Mitka von Reis Crooks took the ball at midfield, dribbled through several Wolves and was leveled as he crossed inside the goalie box. He easily converted the resulting penalty kick.In the next minute, Lawrence Ream, promoted from the JV squad because several varsity players had to sit out the game, gave a touch pass to Alex Ruder, who sent a cross in front of the goal that Tristan Traywick converted.Bainbridge outshot Sequim,15-6.Tuesday’s game was one of the best we’ve ever played, von Reis Crooks said. Brenneman scored at the 10-minute mark with an assist from Mitka von Reis Crooks, and again 11 minutes later when Ruder scored unassisted on a long dribble past several defenders. Ruder scored unassisted again at 79 minutes, and just before the game ended Mitka von Reis Crooks stole a pass and went through the entire Klahowya defense for the final goal. The team hosts Port Angeles Thursday.Poloists fall 7-1The girls water polo team dropped Tuesday’s season opener at Curtis 7-1. They’re probably the best team in the state, coach Jeff Clark said. We played well, but it’s the early season and we’re not where we want to be. The score was tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter, but then they got several goals on counterattacks and fast breaks.Sarah Dean scored the Bainbridge goal and had six steals. Goalie Jasmine DuPont had six saves.The team travels to Mercer Island today.Hardballers loseThe Spartan baseball team rebounded from last Saturday’s four-error loss to South Kitsap to play error-free ball in Tuesday’s home opener against North Kitsap.But a mental miscue allowed the Vikings to score a second-inning run, and North Kitsap pitcher Will Fenton made it stand up with 5-1/3 innings of no-hit pitching, ending with a two-hitter and a 1-0 win.Spartan hurler Chris Shaffer was almost as good, allowing just one hit after the second inning and striking out seven.In the second, the Vikings put runners on the corners with two outs. The man on first broke for second and avoided being tagged out long enough for his teammate to score.It was a mental error on the rundown, coach Mike Reese said. We didn’t execute the play properly.The team hosted North Mason yesterday and travels to Port Angeles next Tuesday.Fastpitchers fadeThe Spartan fastpitch team came within one strike of beating a seasoned North Mason squad in Wednesday’s season opener, but dropped a tough 6-4 nine-inning decision.Trailing 3-1 going into the seventh, North Mason tied the game on a two-out single after falling behind 0-2 in the count. In the ninth, North Mason scored three runs when a Spartan infielder couldn’t handle a hard shot with two outs and the bases loaded. It quickly shot to the fence, clearing the bases.Bainbridge could only get one run back in its half of the inning.The Spartans scored their first three runs in the third on singles by Angie Rapada and Chrissie Haugen.It was a tough loss, but we’ll build on it, said coach Steve Nelson. We scored runs and put runners on base…Brooke (Hilton) threw an excellent game (allowing one earned run and striking out eight), but we made some mistakes in the infield.The team travels to North Mason on Tuesday.GolfersThe Bainbridge boys’ golf team edged defending Olympic League champion Central Kitsap 208-209 to win an 11-school jamboree Wednesday. Port Ludlow Golf Course hosted the event.Spartan Joe Lanza was medalist with a one-over-par 37. Other Bainbridge scorers were Kevin Kramer and Luke McCluskey 42, James Toepel 43, and Drew Siler 44. “