REDMOND – As the day grew late, the heat increased at Marymoor Park in Redmond, pushing upwards of 90 degrees.

The theoretical heat on the Bainbridge fastpitch team was turned up much higher as the Spartans were one game away from having its magnificent season end on a low note.

But Bainbridge kept its head to defeat arch-rival Holy Names 8-5 and make plans to be in Tacoma for the 3A state tournament this weekend.

“It (feels) so good,” junior co-captain Brittany Wisner said. “We played hard and if there was any team we were going to beat to get there, it was going to be Holy Names.”

The Spartans then defeated Liberty 9-2 to take the third seed to state.

Bainbridge took advantage of five Patriot errors.

Wisner hit a home run and drove in four runs while Lindsay Willmann pitched another one-hitter, striking out 11.

After Holy Names put a run across in the first inning, the Spartans came back to score three in its half of the frame off starter Maddie Baker.

Chelsie Kakela drove Haylee Baker in on a single, then Lindsay Willmann followed with a base hit.

Brittany Wisner then singled to score Kakela while Kaitlin Gaspich doubled down the left field line to score Willmann.

In the second inning, Kakela drove in Clara Dunn and Baker with a base hit.

Farleigh Winters came on in relief, but Wisner put two more on the board with a base hit off her.

“Whether they threw her (Baker) or Farleigh or the other girl (Julia Hopkins) we knew we could hit them,” Wisner said.

Meanwhile, the Cougars had Baker on the ropes in the second, but she got out of trouble.

She got some help from Wisner, who gunned down a runner at second to end the third, while Kakela made a great running catch in centerfield then doubled off a runner in the fourth.

“She made an amazing play on that ball,” head coach Liz McCloskey said. “I don’t even think that girl (on second) knew she had made the catch.”

Kakela knocked in another run in the sixth with a base hit.

Holy Names took advantage of a tired Bainbridge team as they put three runs across in the seventh on an error and three hits.

But Lauren Reichert made a great catch of a pop up in foul territory, then threw out Riley Hughes to send Bainbridge out on the field for a weary, but happy celebration.

“We pulled together because we all want” to make the state tournament, Wisner said. “From day one, we’ve all wanted this – this more than anything.

“And I think it shows because we overcame the fact that we’ve lost to Holy Names (twice this year) and we came out and played hard and we kicked their butts.”

Bainbridge (24-3) plays Timberline (23-0) in a rematch of last year’s opener at 1 p.m. Friday at the South End Recreation Area in Tacoma.

Relay teams off to state

WEST SEATTLE – The boys’ 4×400 relay finish was so close, it needed a photo finish.

But Stephen Vassiliadis got ahead – literally – to beat out O’Dea’s anchor to take third and send Bainbridge off to state at the 3A Sea-King District 2 track meet at the Southwest Complex in West Seattle.

Anthony Carter led off the relay but got a bad push off the blocks and found himself in fifth at the first handoff.

But Austin Hallett put on a great kick in the backstretch to move the Spartans into first.

Ian Shiach kept the lead on his lap, then handed the baton off to Vassiliadis, who held his ground but was passed by Rainier Beach and Mount Si.

He still kept his head up – or down, in this case – to take third with a time of 3:27.46 to O’Dea’s 3:27.48.

Shiach said they’ve been working on getting their times down, but realizes they still need to shave a few seconds off to be in the hunt for a top spot at state.

He was also impressed with Vassiliadis’ run.

“Other teams always like to put their really fast runners on us and so they always come up on him,” Shiach said. “But he guts it out. He’ll come through” in the end.

The girls’ 4×400 relay featured two teams with the top times in the district in Bainbridge and Issaquah.

Maddy Sheldon kept the team in second, then Lizzy Brackett and Sylvia Stellmacher did their part to put them in first.

Courtney Odell was then passed by Issaquah’s anchor, but she had to make a big effort to do it, affording Odell a chance to catch her before finally finishing second.

“I’m so proud of her,” Sheldon said. “She hung in there the entire time. That’s the best she’s ever run by far.”

“She just started running this year,” Brackett said. “For her to run against their best runner shows how good she is.”

Sheldon just missed qualifying in the 100 dash with a fifth place finish.

Emily Farrar qualified in another event when she took second in the 1600 to Newport’s Jillian Altizer.

Farrar made her move halfway into the race to take first, but Altzier passed her in the last 100 meters.

Head coach Andy Grimm said he was still happy with her performance.

“I knew if she could stay with the pack she’d be in the hunt for a state spot,” he said. “She showed everybody… that as long as she hangs around up front, she’ll get upfront and if people catch her, they catch her.”

Theresa Johansen took tenth in the shotput, while Anna Kaminiski just missed heading to state as she took fifth to Lakeside’s Emi Lawson by four and a half inches.

She made the 2A state meet in discus last season when she attended Aberdeen.

The girls’ 4×100 relay team took sixth while the boys 4×100 relay team took seventh.

Star Track is this weekend in Pasco at Edgar Brown Stadium.

Bainbridge little league

STORM 16 RACERS 4

An unbelievable night for softball is the only way to describe the last match-up between the Majors Storm and the Majors Racers.

It was the third inning and the Racers had runners on second and third.  The next batter hit a line drive to DD Madigan at shortstop.  The runner on second was three/fourths of the way to third and the runner on third had already left for home. In the middle of all of the “encouraging” yells from the Storm dugout, Alex Bredy at third base had the presence of mind to cover the base, DD tossed her the ball and she proceeded to tag both runners out for a triple play.  Roxanne Edenholm came in to close the game in the fourth inning and the Storm walked away with a 16-4 victory and a page in the BILL history books.

CUBS 11 DODGERS 9

It was an unusually dry evening at Hidden Cove, and the Dodgers came out swinging to go ahead 2-0 in the first inning thanks to a double by Ian Allen. The Cubs were equally impressive with big hits by Brock Jennings, Thomas Crowley, Levi Barlet, and Aaron Jumpa.

Great defensive plays of the night was Jennings making a tough catch at right field and Dodger Eric Nibarger fielding a tricky ground ball at third base to get the out. Carter Daniels and Murphy Sullivan had big hits when the Dodgers needed them. Kyler Cyr of the Cubs was tough behind the plate, but the Dodgers kept it close for five exciting innings.