TACOMA — The Puget Sound League Championship Game between Timberline and Central Kitsap mirrored a primetime boxing match.
For seven rounds, the two heavyweight squads went blow for blow. When one team threw a punch, causing the other to stumble momentarily, the opponent punched back. No lead seemed too big to surmount on either side.
But, ultimately, in the eighth and final round Saturday at Lincoln High School, Timberline was on the brink of needing a standing eight count.
Following a thrilling seven innings that saw Timberline fight back from multiple deficits and Central Kitsap send the game to extras with a seventh-inning home run, the Cougars threw the knockout punch in the eighth inning and prevailed 17-10. Central Kitsap broke a 9-9 tie with eight runs in the eighth, including five with two outs. Defensive mistakes by Timberline piled up in the final frame and were the culprit for a handful of the Cougars’ runs throughout the game.
“From the first play, we didn’t really set ourselves up like we should have,” Timberline head coach Lynsi Polanco said of the eighth inning. “It just seemed to snowball from there. The pressure was mounting, and we didn’t execute like we should have.”
Blazers ace Nevaeh Haagen had to throw 21 pitches to finish the first inning without harm as Central Kitsap put two runners on. Following a leadoff double deep to center field by Ari Linder in the second inning, Elle Bosh popped up a bunt that fell right to freshman Brynnli Mayr, who dropped the ball to allow Bosh to reach safely. With two outs, Leovi Meno-Meyers dropped a fly ball that would’ve ended the inning but instead scored two runs for the Cougars. Central Kitsap added two more runs in the second with singles to the outfield gaps to take a 4-0 lead.
Kayleese Dorfner led off Timberline’s rally in the bottom of the second inning with a bunt single, and Brookelyn Read walked before Sophia Wiggs popped up a perfect bunt that was mishandled by the Cougars catcher, freeing up Dorfner to slide home for the first run. With two on, Mayr blasted a game-tying, three-run bomb to left field, one that was never in doubt as the Cougars outfielders hardly budged.
But Timberline left two runners on base in the second inning and then couldn’t convert with the bases loaded in the fourth.
The Cougars took the lead in the fifth off another Timberline error as a Brooklyn Gordon grounder down the first-base line squeezed beneath the gloves of both Miller at first base and her backup Sophia Rodriguez at second base. Central Kitsap scored two more runs in the fifth, including one on an error by Miller trying to end the inning with a throw from first to third.
Once again, the Blazers punched back, and it was the freshman Mayr who stepped up in the clutch again. On a pitch in nearly the same spot as her first home run, she crushed another homer to left field, cutting the deficit to 7-6 in the fifth. Even crazier than Mayr’s career day at the plate was that she was nearly omitted from the batting order, Polanco said.
“I told her before the game to go out there and do big things for me. I’d say she did just that,” Polanco said of Mayr. “She’s capable of carrying us in those big moments, and we’ve been waiting for her to step up. She was determined today to come in and prove herself.”
Haagen allowed a leadoff single in the sixth and was replaced in the circle by Miller, who retired the next three batters she faced. In the bottom of the sixth, Timberline put two runners on for Dorfner, who tied the game with a grounder that bounced out of the glove of the third baseman. Miller came around to score on a wild pitch that hit the back wall, giving the Blazers their first lead of the day. Read added to the lead with an RBI single to bring Dorfner home. But the Blazers once again left the bases loaded, leading 9-7 entering the seventh.
Miller walked her first batter in the seventh, and with one out, Bosh stunned the Timberline faithful in the bleachers, pulverizing a 1-2 pitch for a two-run, game-tying homer to left field.
In the bottom of the seventh, Miller, looking to redeem herself from the tough top of the frame, started a two-out rally with a two-out triple. Central Kitsap intentionally walked Dorfner, but Read lined out to end the inning.
Then began the nightmarish 20 minutes that were the top of the eighth inning for the Blazers.
What started as a bunt by Olivia Keehn, who hustled to beat the throw to first base, turned into a total of eight runs, five hits, two walks and two errors. The go-ahead runs came on a single by Scarlett Mabe, assisted by an error by Read in center field. Haagen took back the circle from Miller but couldn’t stop the bleeding, as Adalyn Flaugher delivered the dagger with a bases-clearing triple.
Down 17-9 entering the bottom of the seventh, Timberline could only score its automatic runner on an RBI groundout by Wiggs.
Polanco believes the loss is just the fuel Timberline needs to right the ship heading into the district tournament.
“My message to them was more about the fight that I saw in them. They never gave up earlier in the game, and they clawed their way back,” she said. “That was a big accomplishment compared to prior games. Seeing that gives me hope and lets me know they are ready for more big games.”
Haagen pitched a total of six innings while striking out eight batters and allowing 10 runs on 10 hits. Half of her runs allowed were earned, and two of Miller’s seven allowed runs were unearned as Timberline totaled seven errors in the loss.
“We have got to start playing clean defense. We made too many mental and physical errors today,” Polanco said.
As for the decision to go with Miller in the sixth, Polanco said she regretted not letting her get more innings against Montesano last week and wanted to change the look from the batter’s perspective against Central Kitsap. She is still working on finding ways to relieve Haagen of the workload she endures in the circle.
“We are just trying to find that happy spot with the two of them to put us in a better position as we start to play more games in shorter turnaround times,” Polanco said. “I thought Porsha did great and actually wish I would have let her finish just to keep building her stamina and confidence.”
Mayr finished with her best day of her young career at the plate, recording her first career-multi homer day and a career-best three hits and five RBIs. She has now homered four times in her last nine games. Wiggs, Dorfner and Miller also recorded two hits apiece.
Next up for Timberline (15-5, 15-1 Puget Sound League) is the District 3 3A Tournament, which begins May 15 at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.
“I told them to sit in the sting and remind themselves next week to not get there,” Polanco said. “They have it in them to use this moment and build from it.”
