Blaine golf was well represented at the 1A State Tournaments that started at Liberty Lake Golf Course on Tuesday.
Blaine boys golfers Peyton Bouma and Ryan Kloes earned state placements on Tuesday, May 12, while Meridian earned District Championship honors. Blaine soccer, baseball and softball did not fare as well, and their seasons ended over the past week of district playoffs.
After two days of intense golfing, Blaine junior Peyton Bouma finished in fourth place on May 12 at the 1A District 1 Tournament at North Bellingham Golf Course. With the top-seven placement, Bouma earned a spot in the 1A State Tournament that teed off Tuesday in Eastern Washington.
Ryan Kloes finished tied for eighth place with Mount Baker’s Carter Hill, and traveled with the team as an alternate, meaning Kloes may have a chance to play if other golfers drop out. All told, Meridian sent three golfers to state, while Lynden Christian, Mount Baker and Blaine each sent a pair.
Results from day 1 of the 1A State Tournament show Bouma made the cut, shooting a score of 81 en route to a five-way tie for 20th place. Out of 60 golfers to open the first round, only the 30 best scores advance to the second and final round, which will conclude after press time on Wednesday.
Check thenorthernlight.com/sports for an update on the results from the 1A State Golf Tournament.
Blaine softball had a roller coaster of a district tournament, winning the opening game against King’s Way Christian by a score of 13-10 on Friday, May 15, in Centralia before losing 10-0 to Northwest Conference rival Lynden Christian a few hours later.
After being dropped into the loser’s bracket, the Borderites stayed alive with a 6-5 win over La Center, finishing out a triple-header game schedule (that’s three games in one day) with a 2-1 record.
By the next morning on Saturday, the Borderites just couldn’t keep up with Nooksack Valley, which tacked 19 runs on Blaine for a final score of 19-6, ending the Borderites’ season.
The Borderites sprinted out to a 3-0 lead and kept the pressure on for the first half of the game, with a home run by eighth grader Leanna Sacknoff in the third inning and a two-RBI double from senior Aaliyah Bowman.
But Nooksack Valley exploded for 11 runs in the fifth inning, and Blaine couldn’t respond. The Borderites finished the season with a 14-9 record.
Playing against King’s in a loser-out, winner-to-state matchup, Blaine’s bats went cold, and its season ended on the artificial turf field at Sehome High School on Saturday. Blaine lost 8-0.
The Borderites only recorded one hit, a single from junior Josh Cochran, as King’s infield defense stayed sharp, while Blaine’s did not. The Borderites committed four fielding errors in the second inning, leading to five runs scored by the Knights.
Cochran pitched five innings on the mound, striking out five batters but getting tagged with the loss.
Blaine’s season ended with a 9-14 record, but this team should see a glut of returning seniors next season and underclassmen looking to break out.
Blaine boys soccer held a slim, 1-0 lead over conference rival Lynden Christian at halftime in a high-stakes final match of the 1A District 1 Tournament on Saturday at Borderite Stadium. Thanks to Wade Lottimer burying a loose ball from a Dima Yuryev free kick, Blaine was in the driver’s seat heading into the second half.
With a win, the Borderites would advance to the 1A State tournament. Lose, and the season would end right there on the turf.
The Borderites lost to Lynden Christian in the opening round of the tournament on May 9 in a penalty shootout, then beat Nooksack Valley 2-1 on Wednesday, May 13, to stay alive. The Borderites needed one more win, one more solid half of soccer, to punch its ticket and exact revenge on the cross-county rivals.
It didn’t happen. Ten minutes into the second half, Lynden Christian tied the game at 1-1, and another goal 15 minutes after that put the visiting Lyncs ahead for good. In the final minutes, a third Lynden Christian goal would ice the game, ending Blaine’s season.
The Borderites finished the season with a suboptimal record, but can hold its head high knowing that the team gave its all in front of the home fans.
