SPORTS
by Jack Kintner

Burk raps inside the park salami

Blaine’s ace shortstop Alisa Burk rapped an inside-the-park grand slam homerun last week at the Pipe as Blaine used a big fifth inning to dry up Granite Falls 9-1. Burk added two more RBI’s with a double and ended up 3 for 3 on the afternoon. Switch-hitting Kristina Francis went 1-3 but got on base a second time when Granite Falls pitcher Lisa Spencer, making her first start, hit Francis in the backside. Amanda Stull went 2-3 and managed to get two stolen bases in one circuit around the diamond before being thrown out in a close play at home. Sirita Lawson, who notched her sixth win against two losses, struck out eight in seven innings and went 3-4 at the plate.

The win lifted Blaine to 6-2 on the year, and 4-2 in league play.

Lady Bs keep knocking at the door
After one of their better offensive performances of the year, the Lady Bs fell victim to a stingy Cougar defense last Monday afternoon at the Pipe. They loaded the bases twice, in the fourth inning with two down and again in the sixth with no outs, but failed to score.

Kristina Francis got on base in the Blaine half of the seventh and last inning. Sirita Lawson followed with a hit followed by Alisa Burk’s walk. Kaylyn Bird, representing the tying run, sent a long fly into the outfield for a double but was left stranded on second base as the game ended.

Coach Rob Adams said he’s still very pleased with his girls this year. “We’re six and three and in third place. We talk about how we always need good pitching, good defense and timely hits, and this time we just didn’t get them to move people across the plate.” Despite the loss, Blaine out hit Lakewood 7-5.

The girls next play Lynden Christian there at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon, and return home tomorrow at 4:30 to host the visiting Sultan Turks at the Pipe.

Schumann vaults 13 before lights go out
Record-setting Blaine senior Kit Schumann went 13 feet in the pole vault last week in a meet at South Whidbey. Vaulting ended when dusk brought things to a halt. Sophomore Erin Lippe, who set a girl’s pole vault mark earlier in the year at 9’6”, went 8’6” before further jumping was halted.

Freshman runner Melissa Galbraith returned to her winning ways, garnering firsts in both the metric mile (1600) in 5:42 and the 3200, eight circuits in a brisk 12:46. Freshman Alisha Fisher won the long jump. Blaine placed second out of four teams competing, defeating both Granite Falls and Lakewood. Sedro Woolley won both boys and girls meets.

Your last chance to see the thin clads compete at home this season is tonight at the Blaine high school stadium. The meet begins at 4 p.m.

Boys rip Sultan before dropping two to South Whidbey
The Borderites made quick work of the Turks last week behind Joey Paciorek’s hitting (1-3 and a RBI double) and pitching. Paciorek allowed one run and scattered three hits in six innings in his first start.
Blaine opened up the game in the first inning by scoring six of their seven runs with four doubles. In addition to Paciorek’s double, Sophomore Ryan Henley also got one in going 3 for 3 and got an RBI. Senior Sean McLaughlin also got a double in going 2-4 and got three RBIs.

In a home-and-home series, Blaine fell by one 3-2 at South Whidbey when the Falcons took advantage of an error followed by a wild pitch and scored to break a 2-2 tie. Joey Paciorek and Craig Rothwell both went 1-3 with one RBI each.

The Falcons came north to play at the Pipe last Tuesday and once again played errorless ball against the Borderites. The second game was tighter than the first, going into an extra two innings before being decided in the ninth. The Borderites had a chance to win it in the seventh inning, twice loading the bases, but scored only once to send the game into extra frames.

The game had its moments, such as Paciorek’s throwing out a runner trying to score from second base, but in the end the Borderites seemed to beat themselves. “We just have to get smarter on the bases,” said coach Gary Clausen, “and though we made some great plays we also botched some easy ones. In the end, we didn’t clutch up and get the key hit we needed in the seventh.”

Blaine now goes to 6-10 over all and 5-6 in league play. Their next-to-last home game is this afternoon against Lakewood at the Pipe, game time is 4:30 p.m.

A regatta weekend

The 50-year-old Semiahmoo Bay Regatta, sponsored by the International Yacht Club of Blaine and White Rock, takes place this weekend in Semiahmoo Bay. Saturday’s contest for the TD Canada Trust Cup is a long distance race that begins at 10 a.m. Sunday’s two races for the Bill Vandenborn Trophy keep all of the 70 or more sailboats inside the bay racing around buoys, where the action can be fast and furious. Racing can best be watched from Semiahmoo County Park.

The first race on Sunday begins at 10 a.m. After the final race the Port of Bellingham and the International Yacht Club will host a free barbecue in the Blaine Harbor Center beginning at 3 p.m. Free overnight moorage for participants during the race is available in Blaine at the visitor’s dock. To arrange this contact the harbormaster at 647-6176. For more information go to the International Yacht Club’s web site at www.interyachtclub.com.