The postseason arrives this upcoming weekend, and with it a ton of action ahead for Blaine teams searching for a spot in the 1A State playoffs.
In the upcoming bi-district tournaments, boys soccer will face Lynden Christian at home, baseball will look to avenge last year’s postseason loss with a game against Overlake, and softball awaits its playoff seeding fate.
Blaine finished the regular season in resounding fashion, going on the road to beat Sehome 23-0 on Monday. The Borderites finished the year on a four-game winning streak that saw the team compile a combined score of 65-13.
Blaine ended the regular season in second place in 1A Northwest Conference (NWC) play with a 12-9 overall record and 9-6 record against conference opponents, just behind Lynden Christian (13-6, 11-2 NWC).
Against Sehome, senior catcher Aaliyah Bowman stole the show. Despite taking a hard foul ball off her catching wrist early in the game, Bowman hit for the cycle (that’s a single, double, triple and home run) and drove in a whopping 10 RBIs.
The Borderites hit three home runs, with Aaliyah Broyan and Susannah Bogle tagging in for a pair of bombs to go along with Bowman’s.
Mesa Puls, Blaine’s undisputed ace, had one of her best games of the season, pitching a complete game shutout while allowing just one hit to go along with seven strikeouts.
The District 1/4 1A Tournament seedings won’t be released until Sunday. But by finishing in second place in 1A NWC, Blaine avoided a play-in tournament scheduled for this weekend that will see Mount Baker, Meridian and Nooksack Valley duke it out for a final spot in the bi-district tournament.
The Borderites will get a much-needed break before postseason action begins Friday, May 15, at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
The Borderites finished the regular season with a 4-2 win over Granite Falls on Monday, thanks to a 3-for-3 hitting performance from Aaron Garza and 10 strikeouts from Josh Cochran.
The win cemented Blaine’s 8-12 overall record, going 5-10 in NWC play. The Borderites finished the season in second place in NWC 1A, below Lynden Christian (13-6, 9-6 NWC).
Cochran had a dazzling performance on the mound for the Borderites, pitching the final four innings of the game while allowing just two hits en route to his fourth win of the regular season. Cochran finished the season with a 4-4 record, a sub-1.00 earned run average, and compiled 68 strikeouts over 41 innings, according to whatcompreps.com. The junior should play a prominent role in Blaine’s quest at qualifying for the state tournament.
Garza capped off a stellar season at the dish with a great performance against Granite Falls, driving in fellow middle infielder Kai Kerwin in the first inning for Blaine’s only RBI on the day. The Borderites added three runs in the top of the seventh inning after a series of fielding errors by Granite Falls and some aggressive baserunning.
Garza finished the season with 23 hits, seven doubles and 18 RBIs, all among the highest marks in the conference.
If Blaine is to make a run through a crowded District 1/2 1A Tournament that starts this weekend, the team will need more of the same solid hitting from sluggers Garza, Kerwin, Cochran and Isaac Bouma. A couple surprise hot streaks from the younger players wouldn’t hurt either.
Blaine will face off against Overlake 10 a.m. Saturday at Sehome High School for the opening round of the District 1/2 1A Tournament. The double-elimination tournament means Blaine will have a chance at redemption if it loses the opening game.
With a win, Blaine will play later that afternoon against Cedar Park Christian, Meridian or Granite Falls. With a loss, the Borderites would face the loser of the same trio of teams. Meridian and Granite Falls were scheduled to play each other in a loser-out game on May 6 (after press time).
Blaine lost the opening round of last year’s bi-district tournament to Overlake 6-0, and will look to exact some revenge in Bellingham.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Blaine boys soccer capped off the regular season with a 2-0 loss to Bellingham at home on April 30, finishing the year in third place among 1A NWC teams with a 2-12-1 record.
Goals were hard to come by this season, with Blaine averaging just half a goal per game. The team’s two wins, however, did come against both 1A rivals below the Borderites in the final standings, with victories over Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley.
The Borderites have a daunting task ahead, with the opening round of the District 1 1A Tournament against second place Lynden Christian (7-8-1, 6-8-1 NWC) set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Borderite Stadium. With a win, the Borderites would likely face first place Meridian (9-4-3, 9-4-2 NWC) in the second round at 7 p.m. Monday. With a loss, the Borderites would face either Mount Baker or Nooksack Valley at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Luckily for the Borderites, the road to the state tournament runs through Blaine, with Borderite Stadium playing host to all six District 1 1A postseason games. Hopefully the hometown faithful can will the boys on to the state tournament.
Standings and records provided by nwcathletics.com
Blaine boys golf battled it out with 15 other NWC teams at Whidbey Golf Club on Tuesday for the final event of the regular season.
The Borderites finished 15th out of 16 in the field, with a team score of 486, but still produced some solid individual performances on the Oak Harbor links.
Steven Phelps-McDonald led all Borderites with a score of 92, which tied the junior for 41st place in a massive field of nearly 100 golfers.
Ryan Kloes finished 55th after shooting a 93, and Peyton Bouma tied for 62nd place with a score of 95.
The 1A District 1 golf tournament will tee off at 2 p.m. Monday, with the top 18 1A NWC golfers battling over two days for a chance in the 1A State Tournament. Playoff rosters have yet to be announced.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
