Community Sports

Sports Beat: Tides win district title, rise to No. 1 in RPI rankings

The Gig Harbor Tides won the Class 3A District 3/4 boys soccer championship with a 1-0 win over Silas at Sparks Stadium on Thursday, May 11. The Tides improved to 19-0 and ascended to No. 1 in WIAA’s Class 3A RPI rankings.

Gig Harbor junior forward Lucas Maharry scored the game’s only goal, dribbling through several Ram defenders before firing a shot from 15 yards out at the 25-minute mark in the first half.

The Tides’ defense did the rest, intercepting or breaking up Silas’ scoring opportunities. When Silas managed to penetrate the defense, goalie Gavin Boudet turned away several shots on goal and preserved the shutout.

Earlier in the district tournament, Gig Harbor scored 2-1 wins over North Thurston and Central Kitsap to advance to the district finals.

Gig Harbor will open state tournament play May 19. The time, location and opponent are to be determined.

The Gig Harbor boys soccer team won the District 3/4 title with a 1-0 win over Silas.

Peninsula wins 3rd straight league fastpitch title

The Peninsula Seahawk (18-2, 14-0 South Sound Conference) cruised to a 7-1 win over second-place Gig Harbor(12-6, 10-3) on May 11 to win their third straight league title and complete their second straight unbeaten league season.

Peninsula senior Alli Kimball had four hits and pitched all seven innings for the win. She allowed only three hits and struck out 14 Tide batters.

She had plenty of help versus the Tides. Malia Coit, who leads the Seahawks with a .552 batting average, had two hits, including a home run. Grace Eastabrook and Kallee Waage also had two hits each.

Peninsula will await a playoff opponent. Gig Harbor plays at Timberline on Saturday, May 13, in a make-up of a previously rained out game. A win would lock up sole possession of second place in the SSC for Gig Harbor.

Alli Kimball of Peninsula in a game earlier this year. Kimball had four hits and pitched seven innings in the Seahawks’ 7-1 win over Gig Harbor on Thursday, May 11. Photo by Bryce Carithers

GH tennis wraps up unbeaten league season

The Gig Harbor (11-0, 11-1) girls tennis team beat Peninsula 4-1 to win the South Sound Conference championship on May 10.

Gig Harbor’s Lindsey Muske beat Ashley Hall, 6-2, 6-3 in the first singles match. The Seahawks’ first doubles team of Paris L’Esperance and Grace Hansen evened things with a 6-4, 6-1 win.

The match of the day was on court 2, where Seahawk freshman MaKenna Baurichter introduced herself as a potential contender. She lost her match to Alexa Lavinder, 6-4, 6-4, but gave the senior all she could handle with a consistent serve and a flat forehand.

The pair played entertaining tennis. Several games got to ad in, back to ad out. Rallies stretched well over 20 hits per point. But in the end the experienced Lavinder was more aggressive at the net and got the win that sealed her team’s undefeated conference season.

The Tides have a 49-5 individual and doubles match record against the SSC this year.

“We have had some knock down drag out battles, especially in the later half of the season but these players find a way to come out victorious,” coach Lorrie Wood said. “A key detail is how this team comes to practice every day, ready to work hard and get better, and they have.”

The SSC tennis championships will be played at Central Kitsap in Silverdale on May 12 and 13. The district tournament will be held at the Boeing Tennis Center in Kent on May 19 and 20.

The Peninsula doubles team of Paris L’Esperance and Grace Hansen is one of the top ranked doubles team in the SSC. Photo by Bryce Carithers

Tides baseball qualifies for state

The Gig Harbor Tides (10-9, 9-5) baseball team punched a ticket to the state tournament with a convincing 12-4 win over Prairie in a District 3/4 playoff game in Vancouver on May 9.

The Tides pounded Falcon pitching with 20 hits on their way to an easy victory. Third baseman Ryland Heckman led the Tides assault, going 4-5 at the plate.

Chase Pringle, Brady Altman, Josh Dunham, Jayce Corley, Hunter Payne and Cooper McCutcheon also had multiple hits.

Gig Harbor’s Garrick Cosmos pitched six innings, allowing four runs and seven hits.

“To get to state is awesome,” Cosmos said. “We’re prepared and can play with anyone. The offense was great, all of our hitters can really swing it and they make my life a lot easier.”

Eastlake edges RipTides at state

The RipTides girls lacrosse team gave Eastlake all they could handle at state but lost in a heartbreaker, 11-10, on the road on May 10.

The RipTides lost to Eastlake by seven goals early in the season, but showed their improvement with the narrow loss on Wednesday.

Senior Anna Caplinger led her team with five goals on seven shots. Senior Eleah Ho had three goals on her four shots.

Golf teams win league championships

The Gig Harbor boys and girls golf teams each capped off undefeated SSC seasons by winning their league championships at the Capital Course in Olympia.

The Peninsula boys, who finished fourth in the SSC, also qualified for districts. The Seahawk girls didn’t have enough participants to qualify a team but will send the SSC’s number one ranked golfer, Hallee Graf, to districts next weekend.

Districts will be held at the Auburn Golf Course with the top qualifying teams and individuals headed to state at the Indian Summer Course in Olympia on May 23 and 24.

The Gig Harbor girls golf team after winning the South Sound Conference tournament.