North Whidbey battling back / Junior softball

By Jim Waller • June 12, 2018 1:30 am

The North Whidbey Junior (13/14) Little League softball team will need to win two straight loser-out games to earn a berth in the state tournament.

The Mudsliders are facing Anacortes in a best-of-three series for the District 11 title which concludes Thursday, June 14, in Anacortes. The series was originally scheduled for Oak Harbor but was moved to Anacortes because of field issues on North Whidbey’s home diamond.

Anacortes won the opening game 11-7 Sunday. North Whidbey was on the way to winning game two Monday, leading 7-2 in the top of the fourth inning, when the game was suspended because of an injured Anacortes player.

An outfielder’s throw glanced off a North Whidbey runner’s helmet and struck the Anacortes third baseman in the face. Because Anacortes had no substitutes, the game was suspended until 6 p.m. Thursday. Game three, if necessary, will follow the completion of game two.

In Monday’s game, the Mudsliders scored once in the first inning and three times in each of the third and fourth to take their 7-2 lead.

In the first, Anabel Thayer doubled in Jasmine Zeger, who reached on an error.

Singles by Kaylin Bobsin and Thayer and double by Zeger produced the three runs in the third.

Payton Salter walked, Alyssia Grose singled, Hayley Bingham walked and Bobsin tripled in the three-run fourth.

Bobsin was on third with one out when the game was suspended.

In Sunday’s game, Thayer, Zenger, Lexi Phillips and Grace Odneal all had base hits for North Whidbey.

The Anacortes third baseman was injured on this play when the ball struck the helmet of North Whidbey’s Kaylin Bobsin and then the fielder’s face. (Photo by Jim Waller/Whidbey News-Times)