Timberline pitcher Nevaeh Haagen made a strong start to her campaign for a second straight WIAA Athlete of the Week honor.
She finished the day pitching all seven innings against Peninsula and striking out a whopping 14 Seahawks while allowing five hits, three runs (one earned) and two walks in an 8-3 Timberline victory in Gig Harbor. Haagen also batted 4 for 4 with a home run and two runs batted in.
With the victory, Timberline moves past Peninsula for first place in the Puget Sound League Nisqually Division.
“This was a big win for us. The girls put in the work this week during spring break to prepare, and they all showed up today,” Timberline head coach Lynsi Polanco said. “It was a team effort to give Nevaeh the all-around support. And, of course, Nevaeh, being the competitor she is, had another outstanding performance. She knew what was at stake and went after it.”
The first pitch Haagen saw was a bouncing ground ball past the first baseman to score Leovi Meno-Meyers in the first inning, one of three Timberline hits in the frame. Peninsula’s McKenna Peterson led off the bottom of the first with a double, and she reached third base on an error in the outfield then came around to score on another error trying to catch her at third.
After Porsha Miller doubled to lead off the third, Kayleese Dorfner drove her home thanks to an error in the infield. Leilani Palacios added to the Blazers’ lead with an RBI single, and Brookelyn Read sacrificed to score the fourth run of the day.
Haagen held strong in the circle after giving up a run in the first inning, retiring nine of 10 batters at one point. She kicked off the top of the fifth with a solo home run on a line drive to center field for her sixth of the season. Haagen has hit a home run in each of her last four games and five of her last six.
Timberline kept rolling in the fifth inning as Palacios doubled and Read was hit by a pitch. Sophia Wiggs’ bunt scored two runs on an error by the pitcher, and the Blazers led 7-1 after five.
Dorfner tallied her second RBI in the sixth with an RBI single. In the seventh, Haagen allowed three hits and a walk to score two runs for the Seahawks, but Peninsula couldn’t complete a rally.
“Nevaeh had great command on all of her pitches today and was looking for base hits at the plate. She just happened to send one over,” Polanco said of Haagen. “Overall, she did her job and the team backed her up in a big way today. I’m so proud of these girls.”
Outside of Haagen’s four hits, Dorfner, Miller, Palacios and Meno-Meyers each recorded two hits.
Timberline (8-2, 8-0 Puget Sound League) will face another tough test when Central Kitsap (7-1, 6-0 Puget Sound League), the top team in the Narrows division, comes to Lacey Wednesday, April 15.
