Racqueteers fall to Seattle Prep

Bainbridge Tennis hit a bump in the road to fulfilling its goal of unseating the top teams of the Metro League, falling 8-3 at Lakeside Thursday.

“Lakeside has made additions this year,” coach Mike Anderson said, of the Lions lineup loaded with seniors. “They have two excellent freshmen in twins Hannah and Davis Mangham. The only reason Davis is not number one is Peter Kung.”

Kung, the three time defending singles champion, handled Bainbridge’s Daniel Donohue in one of only two straight-set wins on the day. Mangham had the other over boys number two for Bainbridge, Spencer Cheng.

Lakeside’s number three, Amir Ghazvinian, last year’s state doubles champion, defeated Nash Reijnen in two 6-1 sets.

Lakeside also managed two wins in boys doubles.

On the girls side, the games were closer and the results much different. Spartan Whitney Cheng won over Mangham, 6-1, 6-4. Molly Donahue opened with a gritty 7-5 first set over Hannah Curtis, then was worn down by the veteran senior with four years of varsity experience, losing 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.

“Molly played a tough match,” Anderson said. “She showed she is capable of beating a good girls player.”

Lauren Trageser turned in what Anderson described as a “great performance” in the number three singles match, defeating Sarah Koo 7-5, 6-2.

The action heated up in girls doubles. Marietta Crockett and Jenny Trygg came back from a first set loss to beat Deb Lipson and Annika Finne, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

“Our number two doubles team just had an off day,” Anderson said of the 6-3, 6-2 loss by Gwen Gottlieb and Jocelyn Moody.

The Bainbridge mixed doubles team came back from a 7-5 first- set loss, establishing momentum in the 6-0 second set win, but lost 10-6 in the third set tie-breaker with the team loss already established.

Next up, the Spartan girls play 3:30 p.m. March 31 at North Kitsap. The team as a whole has their next league match April 11 at Eastside Catholic.

– T.F. Smeeth

Kickers squander chances in draw

The Spartans boys soccer team battled Sequim to a 1-1 tie Tuesday.

“We had golden opportunities. It just didn’t go down for us,” said coach Anh Tran of the way Bainbridge (1-1) controlled the game. “We had three other clear chances, aside from the missed penalty kick. The way we played the score should have been 4-1 or 5-1.”

Bainbridge squandered chances all day against an athletic side whose roster showed 10 seniors.

They led the Wolves 19-7 in shots on goal and yielded zero corner kicks to their five. But it was the second penalty kick with five minutes to go that capped a day of missed chances.

Zach Mallove dominated with speed and guile; both penalty kicks came from his penetration into the Sequim box. Jesse Burk-Rafel buried the first PK chance in the 38th minute for the 1-0 lead the Spartans held three quarters through the match.

The midfield showed consistency and ingenuity. Sequim scored in the 58th minute when Kurt Ludke came through on a breakaway.

“We controlled the flow,” Tran said. “There was really good build up and plenty of chances. I’m not disappointed at all.”

Bainbridge has one more non-league contest at 1:30 p.m. today hosting rival North Kitsap (3-0) Tran prepares his team for Metro League play starting with Lakeside who comes to Bainbridge March 29 for a 7 p.m. game.

– T.F. Smeeth

Double steal lifts Spartans to win

With the bats stone cold and the team needing to get something going against Garfield and pitcher Jeremy Zinc, Spartan baseball coach Jayson Gore decided to take a gamble.

In the fifth inning, he had catcher Michael Heald pull off a fake bunt, allowing second baseman Matt Frazee and outfielder John Williams to execute a double steal. Heald bunted on the next pitch, scoring Frazee.

It was a small break, but it was enough for the Spartans to score two more runs in the fifth en route to a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday.

“He was a tough lefthander,” Gore said of Zinc. “The kid was throwing gas. But after the second time around we caught up with him and put the pressure on him.”

The pitching and defense, two major problems in a Monday shutout to North Kitsap, showed a marked improvement by Wednesday.

Senior pitcher Ranger Sciacca threw a complete game for the Spartans. He gave up only one run on three hits and struck out three.

The Spartan defense committed three errors, but more importantly, they didn’t lead to any runs. They also turned three double plays.

Gore was pleased with his team’s play on Wednesday, noticing that his team didn’t get down when they struggled.

“Monday was bad,” he said. “In all my seven years of coaching here, I’ve never seen our team play that bad before. But it was a non-league game, so I wasn’t sweating it that bad.”

Gore was also impressed with how his team has done against first-rate pitching so far, and said the team needs to see arms like Viking pitcher Jared Prince and Zinc. They will face several teams with kids who throw in the mid-90s this season, such as Eastside Catholic stars Mike McMurty and Dave Roberts, along with O’Dea’s Barret Kanyer, who was given a scholarship to O’Dea even though he lives in North Kitsap’s district.

“My kids have a lot of incentive to play for,” Gore said of the motivation. “They know they can compete against these private schools.”

After the Spartans faced Nathan Hale yesterday, they play Rainier Beach on Monday, then play Lakeside at home on Wednesday and travel there on Friday. All games are at 3:30 p.m.

– John Becerra Jr.

Fastpitchers take loss in opener

Liz McCloskey’s first game as head coach of the Bainbridge Island fastpitch team will not be a game that she – nor anyone else on her team – will put in their memory books.

A multitude of errors, both mental and physical, led to a 16-0 defeat to their rival, the North Kitsap Vikings.

Viking Coreena Stout threw three innings and struck out six to earn the victory, while Spartan Karen Robinson, in her first varsity start, took the loss.

McCloskey felt her team – and herself – were anxious before the game.

“It’s a hard situation to be in,” she said. “These girls are great, but they were a little nervous today, and it makes it difficult (to play).”

The first inning went smoothly enough with the first two Viking batters retired quickly, but a throwing error led to three unearned runs, and that’s when the wheels fell off for the Spartans.

“They made one error and kinda got themselves down in a rut, and couldn’t get themselves out of it,” McCloskey said.

The errors continued in the second and third innings, allowing the Vikings to bat around in both frames.

At times the infield seemed confused on where to throw the ball during relay throws, allowing Viking runners to take advantage and score.

Robinson threw the entire game and struck out four.

McCloskey was pleased with her performance and felt she will be a big contributor during the year “as long as we can save her arm,” she said.

It doesn’t get easier from here. After facing Nathan Hale yesterday, the Spartans travel to Rainier Beach on Monday, then face Lakeside at home on Wednesday, then travel to Lakeside on Friday. All games start at 3:30.

– John Becerra Jr.