Bainbridge loses 14-13 at Blanchet, beats them 3-1 at home.

When the Washington State High School Baseball Coaches poll came out earlier in the week, Bainbridge found themselves ranked third in 3A.

That distinction earned them their first loss of the season against Bishop Blanchet Wednesday in a wild 14-13 loss during a rare night game.

But the Braves shot their wad in that contest, as they mustered just five hits in a 3-1 loss to the Spartans on Thursday.

Gary French went the entire distance for his third win of the season, throwing 110 pitches. He shut down the Braves after giving up a run in the first inning.

His battery mate Adam Beck said French felt he didn’t have his best stuff, but he still got the job done.

“We tried to establish his fastball in the first inning, but it wasn’t quite getting over so we worked on his other pitches,” he said. “He wasn’t throwing as hard as usual, but he was hitting his spots.”

French walked the leadoff hitter in the first, then gave up a double for the Braves’ first score.

The Spartans got the run back when Colin Bowman doubled down the right field line. He stole third, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Kauika Peleti.

Bainbridge scored in the next inning when Colin Feldtman singled, then eventually scored on a single by Chad Kakela.

“Chad’s just raking in the RBIs,” head coach Jayson Gore said. “The big guy is doing a good job for me.”

Feldtman reached second on a throwing error in the fourth. He advanced to third on a passed ball, then scored on a infield single by Will Martin.

The low-scoring game was a sharp contrast to Wednesday’s contest, as both teams combined for 27 runs on 23 hits and 16 walks.

Both Beck and Gore felt the umpire’s strike zone was way too small for both teams.

“It was either a foul ball, a ball or a hit for either one of us,” Beck said. “He wouldn’t give us the corners, inside or outside (the zone), up or down (the zone). Blanchet would wait and wait until they got a 2-0 or 3-0 fastball and then hit a line drive.”

Blanchet went ahead 4-0, then Bainbridge scored 10 runs over the next two innings for the lead.

The Braves scored six runs in the next three innings for the tie, then scored once for the lead.

Bainbridge tied it back up, but Blanchet scored two in the sixth for the lead. The Spartans came back to tie it again, but the Braves loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, then got the win on a walk.

The Spartans (7-1, 8-1) play Bremerton next Thursday, then travel to Ingraham April 16.

Spartans drop one to Braves

In every game she’s been in so far this season, Haylee Baker has been dominant in the circle for Bainbridge, winning three games and saving another.

The same can be said of Thursday’s performance (she had 10 strikeouts in five innings), but it was one mistake by the freshman pitcher that led to a 5-2 loss to Bishop Blanchet.

The loss puts them in a tie for first place with Holy Names in the Metro League Mountain Division.

With two runners on in the fifth, Baker put one over the plate that Braves catcher Lori Pearson didn’t miss, sending it over the fence for a three-run home run to put Blanchet up for good.

“It was the one pitch,” Baker said afterward. “He (the umpire) was squeezing me, I got frustrated and I threw it right down the middle.”

Head coach Liz McCloskey did agree that the umpire’s strike zone was off, but she also felt they weren’t productive with the bats.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him have such a tight strike zone,” she said. “He wasn’t calling any of Haylee’s or Lindsay (Willmann’s) outside pitches. That makes it difficult, because that gets in the kids’ head.

“But we weren’t patient at the plate,” McCloskey continued. “We were watching two strikes go by and then swinging at the third strike, which isn’t going to get you anywhere.

“You can’t win on two hits. It makes it difficult when you only have two hits.”

The Braves scored a run in the second, but the Spartans took the lead in the third when Baker reached on an error, then Chelsie Kakela hit one over the fence in center field for a two-run shot to give them the lead.

In the fifth, the Braves got two runners on when one had an infield single on a line drive to Stephanie Wagner at third, but she couldn’t hang on to the ball.

The next batter walked, then Pearson took one into nearly the same spot as Kakela’s for a three-run shot and the lead.

The Braves scored one more run on an RBI single as they sent nine batters to the plate in the inning.

McCloskey said it was hard for the players to come back.

“Spring break games are hard because so many kids like to travel and go places and have a little break and I don’t blame them,” she said. “It was hard. We were just a little out of focus and not quite ready for it.”

Bainbridge (6-1, 7-2) is off until April 16, when they travel to Ingraham.

They then play Holy Names April 18 at home, then travel to the University of Washington to play the Cougars April 20.