Sports
Sports Beat: Peninsula softball calms Tides
It’s time for the Sports Beat, a weekly capsule of the high school sports scene in Gig Harbor. We will begin with the game of the week: a fastpitch showdown between the Peninsula Seahawks and the Gig Harbor Tides on Wednesday on the Seahawks’ home diamond.
Kimball, Seahawks shut out Tides
Peninsula (8-1, 4-0 South Sound Conference) took control of the game from the very beginning, hitting balls hard all over the field.
Malia Colt hit a first-inning drive deep over the left-field fence for an early 1-0 lead and enthusiastically stomped on home plate for the emotional Seahawks. That turned out to be all Peninsula would need behind dominant pitcher Alli Kimball.
She pitched a shutout, mostly blowing her fastball past Gig Harbor (6-3, 6-1) hitters. Her pitches created an audible “pop” when they came to rest in the catcher’s mitt.
Alli Kimball was throwing fastballs to home plate as she held Gig Harbor scoreless in a 6-0 victory on Wednesday. Ed Johnson
The Seahawks won 6-0 and proved to be tough outs up and down the lineup. They hit for power, laid down perfect bunts, drew hard-fought walks and were aggressive on the basepaths.
The sounds of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” could be heard in the Peninsula dugout a few times and served as an aggressive backbeat when Peninsula scored. The Seahawks were intense, focused and sharp, visibly pleasing coach Mike Paul.
They sit atop the league as the lone unbeaten in the South Sound Conference and are currently ranked fifth in the state’s Class 3A ranks by the ranking service MaxPreps.
Glory Estabrook turns on a ball with perfect technique, for a hit in the 6-0 win as Pitcher Alli Kimball watches from the dugout. Photo by Ed Johnson Photo by Ed Johnson
Peninsula soccer shuts out Lacey schools
The Peninsula soccer team was strong again, dismantling visiting Timberline 5-0 and beating North Thurston 4-0 to push their record to 6-1-1. They are ranked ninth in Class 3A by MaxPreps, making them the highest ranked of any local team.
They are second in the SSC after losing to MaxPreps No. 4 Central Kitsap 4-2 on March 31. Peninsula hosts a quick Gig Harbor team on Thursday, April 14, who will be looking to avenge a 3-2 loss earlier this season. If they can take care of business against the Tides, the Seahawks will have a rematch with Central Kitsap for a share of the conference championship on Tuesday, April 26.
Senior Cory Burbridge controls the ball while being held by a Timberline player. The Blazers didn’t hold enough as they lost to the Seahawks 5-0. Bryce Carithers
Tides soccer looking for another title
Coach Joe Ross’s Gig Harbor soccer team won league championships in two of the past three seasons, going an impressive 36-6-6 in three years. They are currently third in the conference at 6-2 after rolling over Yelm, 6-0, on Tuesday.
The Tides have two players who were dominant forces last year playing in the Class 4A South Puget Sound League during a Covid-forced realignment. Conner Louden was the league’s offensive MVP and Jeff Manglona was its defensive MVP.
Three players share the team lead in goals this year with six apiece: forward Matt Ludlow, forward Kaiser Keck and midfielder Louden. Any soccer fan knows your team is only as good as your goalie when the playoffs begin. Senior Aidan Bartlett has been up to the challenge so far, with six shutouts in eight games.
Seahawks baseball atop league standings
The Peninsula baseball team remains in first place with a 6-2 conference record (7-4 overall) after splitting two games with North Thurston. The Seahawks won a wild one, 7-6, on Tuesday before falling to the Rams, 6-0, the following day. They are still in the driver’s seat for the conference title, but are only one game ahead of Capitol and a game and a half ahead of third-place Gig Harbor.
The Tide baseball team got a huge 7-6 win over Timberline on Tuesday, as the Blazers had come in tied with Gig Harbor for third. The Tides are staying in the fight to win the SSC crown as they will finish the league season with two straight against league-leading Peninsula.
Gig Harbor is thought to have one of the best outfields in the state, a deep pitching rotation and are now putting their hits together to consistently score runs. Coach Pete Jansen didn’t win more than 500 games and two state championships by getting lucky; well-coached teams get stronger as they go along, so look for the Tides to make a run near the end of the season.
Duren Miller swings through on a hit to help the the Seahawks beat the Rams 7-6. Ed Johnson
GH tennis survives challenge from Peninsula
The Peninsula girls tennis team (1-1) on Thursday hosted Gig Harbor (5-0, 4-0 SSC), which was without two top singles players. However, GH coach Lorrie Wood rearranged her line-up and was able to secure the 4-1 victory.
Peninsula’s Ashley Hall was impressive in her No. 1 singles spot, defeating Abbi Brant 6-2, 6-1. Gig Harbor’s Lindsey Muske defeated Veronica Wu 6-2, 6-1 in second singles and all three doubles matches were won by the Tides easily.
It looks like the SSC crown will come down to the matches between Gig Harbor and Yelm, which is also undefeated on the season. The first match between those two teams will be played at Gig Harbor at 3:30 p.m. April 20.
Tides golf second in SSC
Gig Harbor golf is second in the SSC after a 67-63 loss to Capital at Madrona Links. Both teams struggled at times on the wet grass.
The two teams, which will likely both end up at the top of the SSC, will face off again at the league tournament in May. Rylan Coovert, Colin Morkert and Chet West each shot 40 to lead the Tides in scoring.
The Tides handled Central Kitsap 57-35 at Gold Mountain in Bremerton and then beat River Ridge, scoring a season-high 75 points. In that match at Hawks Prairie, West shot an even-par 36 and Morkert shot a 1-over 37 while Zaviar Feasy-Allen shot a 40 for 14 points. The Peninsula boys are 1-3 on the season but haven’t posted any scores to report at this time.
Lacrosse: Seahawks eke out win
The Peninsula lacrosse team faced the Tides on Thursday night at Roy Anderson Field in a much-anticipated matchup. The Seahawks broke a tie in the final minutes to secure a 5-4 victory in a physical battle over the crosstown Tides. Both teams have very talented players and successful programs. In a future edition, we will be taking a deeper dive into both teams’ seasons so far.
The action was fierce as Peninsula scored in the final minutes to earn the victory, 5-4 over Gig Harbor. Photo by Christi Adams Christi Adams