SPORTS

by Neil MacDonald

Squalicum edges past Blaine
Blaine opened the 2001 North Cascades Conference fastpitch season with a 12-5 win over Meridian on March 20 at the Pipe, fell 14-6 to Granite Falls on march 22 at the Falls and returned home to lose a 6-5 non-conference contest to Squalicum on March 23.
The Borderites parlayed plenty of patience, two Trojan errors, four hits and 21 walks into a dozen runs in their opening day win.
Tied 5-5, Blaine broke the game open with a six-run fifth inning and added a final run in the sixth. Kristina Beljean got three RBIs for the Lady B’s.
Blaine had a 5-0 lead after two innings in the G-Falls affair, but the Tigers combined 10 hits with six Blaine errors to score 14 runs in the game’s final four innings. Especially devastating was GF’s following a two-run third and three-run fourth with a seven-run fifth inning. After that, a two-run GF sixth seemed superfluous.
Borderite coach Mike Dodd said, “We could have had it, but we just fell apart for two innings.”
The Kristinas – Beljean and Francis – each drove in a pair of runs for Blaine.
The non-conference Squalicum set-to was, as Dodd said, “A really good ball game.”
The Storm won in the ninth when the teams were playing under international tiebreaker rules (each team starts an inning with a runner on second). Squalicum senior Lisi Erickson scored Vicky Gunsch with a sac fly while Blaine stranded their runner at third.
Pitcher Krista Walter, 3-for-4 and two stolen bases, and Beljean, 3-for-5 and a triple, were offensive standouts for the B’s. Hard luck loser Walter (1-2) went the distance as each team got seven hits.
Blaine plays Sultan at 3:30 p.m. on March 30 at the Pipe and hosts the Blaine Invitational on March 31. Games start at 10 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. Home run hitting, base running and throwing for accuracy contests go at 1 p.m. Teams coming include Lynden Christian, Meridian, Mt. Baker, Nooksack Valley, Lakewood, Granite Falls, Sultan, Bellingham, Chief Sealth (Seattle) and the White Rock (B.C.) Thunder.

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Borderites bow to Baker as NCC baseball begins
Blaine opened the North Cascades Conference baseball season with a pair of losses to Mt. Baker, going down 9-5 at Deming on March 21 and 5-4 at the Pipe on March 23.
The NCC’s new scheduling format pits teams in back-to-back baseball games to prevent a team from always throwing its best hurler at selected opponents.
Baker’s reliever Justin Kravetz got the win and Blaine starter Craig Anderson, the loss, in the Deming duel. Blaine and Baker were locked at 5-5 going into the Mountaineers’ half of the sixth, when Mt. Baker erupted for four runs and a victory.
Baker’s batting was concentrated with Bryan Visser going 3-for-4, Brendan Rasmussen, 2-for-3, Nick Longstreth, 2-for-3 and David Park, 2-for-4. Kyle Green led the Borderite’s batsmen with three single in four trips.
Blaine looked a possible winner in part two at the Pipe two days later as the Borderites took a 4-2 lead into the seventh. But Baker mixed a single by Rasmussen, a walk to Park, a running-scoring double by Visser, a steal of home by Park to tie the tilt. An eventual game-winning RBI single by Wes Norstadt into a three-run rampage and their second straight win.
MB’s Rasmussen got the win, Blaine’s Chris Kleman, the loss, Nick Miller led the Borderites with a pair of doubles.
Blaine dropped a couple of extra-curricular contests against 3A opposition in Mt. Vernon on March 24, losing 8-0 to Mt. Vernon’s Bulldogs and 9-4 to Lynnwood.
Bulldog hurlers Kyle Kendric and Mike Sego combined for a two-hit shutout over the Borderites. Craig Anderson singled in the first inning and Josh Mellum singled in the sixth for Blaine.
The Borderites led Lynnwood 4-3 after three innings, but ran into a five-run Lynnwood fourth frame that saw the Seattle suburb school transform four singles, a double and a walk into six runs and a win. Anderson drove in two of Blaine’s runs with a double.
Blaine plays Lynden Lions in a non-conference encounter at the Pipe at 3:30 p.m. on March 29, hosts Granite Falls on April 2 at 4:30 p.m. and travels to the Falls for the second half of their back-to-back series on April 4.

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Neil's Notes
Pair of Aces on Sixth
Haroon Rahiman used a 4-iron and a Wilson Staff Titanium ball to sink a hole-in-one on the sixth hole at Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club on March 5.
Linda Prentice got an ace on the sixth on March 20. Prentice used a 3-wood and Titleist ball.
Richardson Win
Mt. Baker defeated Blaine to win the fourth grade championship at the fourth annual Mt. Baker Girls’ Youth Basketball Tournament on March 18. Bailey Richardson of Blaine won the fourth grade free throw shooting contest.
Kudos for ‘Cudas
Blaine Barracuda’s Niko Rehon (95-lb. schoolboy) and Andrew Price (70-lb. bantam) were first in their respective wrestling divisions at the 13th annual Steelclaw Classic at Sedro Woolley on March 24.
Four ‘Cudas – Darrell Price Jr. (95-lb. midget), Tony Jordan (60-lb. bantam), Dylan Krenz (55-lb. midget) and Wesley Orton (40-lb. bantam) – finished second in their division and two – Nick Nelson (125-lb. schoolboy) and Devin Krenz (105-lb. schoolboy) – placed third.
Craig Foster, ‘Cuda coach, awarded “Wrestler of the Week” honors to Todd Bird, Dylan Krenz, Nelson, Rehon and Jordan.

One win, one loss in Borderite soccer action
After Blaine opened North Cascades Conference soccer with a 1-0 win over Meridian at Laurel on March 17, the Borderites returned to the Pipe to suffer a 6-0 loss to Lynden Christian on March 20 and inflict a 9-0 ignominy on Granite Falls March 22.
The blue and white LC tidal wave flowed over Blaine most furiously in the first half.
Nicholes Ammons started the scoring deluge at 5:30. Kyle Van Andel hit a penalty shot at 14:30. Ammons scored again at 20 minutes. Brett Van Andel and Brian Haan popped in two more before the half ended 5-0 in favor of the Lyncs.
LC’s inundation of goal-getting almost ran dry in the second half, but Nathan Kooi took a pass from Ammons and scored LC’s final tally with 14 minutes left. Blaine keeper Doug Cross, peppered by shots left and right, high and low and several places in between, made a number of stunning stops.
If the Lyncs 6-0 win was a tidal wave over Blaine, the Borderites 9-0 victory over G-Falls was a tsunami. Mike Braun, Pat Corcorran and Jason VanderYacht each scored two goals. Radhwaan Mohammed, Alden Walcon and Toby Spinner added one each. Keepers Doug Cross and Paul Salas chalked up the shutout.
Blaine hosts Lakewood at 4:30 p.m. on April 5 at the Pipe.

Oswald-Thomas lone winners
Blaine dropped a 6-1 decision to 2A Lakewood at the Cougars’ courts on March 22 and were swept 7-0 by 3A Ferndale in girls’ tennis action at Blaine on March 21.
April Oswald and Jacqueline Thomas combined to get the lone win for the Lady B’s as they came from behind to defeat LW’s Megan Martinez and Elyssa Hartwig 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Oswald and Thomas took set 1 of No. 3 doubles before falling 4-6, 6-4 (7-3) to Ferndale’s Heather Born and Kathy Peacock for Blaine’s only set win against the Golden Eagles.

Goddard in medals as Blaine wins tri golf meet
Kyle Goddard shot a 42 to finish low medalist and lead Blaine to a tri-meet golf victory over Meridian and Nooksack Valley at Loomis Trail Golf Club on March 22.
The Borderites accumulated a total of 228 shots to Meridian’s 254 and Nooksack’s 270.
Blaine Kevin Farmer, one stroke back of Goddard with a 43, and Borderite Adam Dolan, two back, with a 44, both bettered Nooksack’s low finisher Tim DeJong, who shot 45, and Meridian’s low scorer Mark Simmons, who stroked a 48.
Brendan Mulholland shot a 49 and Matt Wiens, 50, to round out the Borderite total.
The Lady B’s lowest five combined for a 346 in a non-conference tri-meet with 3A Burlington, who tallied 256, and 3A Ferndale, who shot a total of 304, at Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club on March 19.
Blaine’s individual scores were: Tamara Allen 64, Katie Schulte 66, Erin Flores 71, Haily Braumberger 72, Jeni Armstrong 73 and Jenny Lott 83.

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