SPORTS
by Jack Kintner

Borderites get back on track with 16-0 win

The Borderites dropped two games, their first league losses since 2004, in consecutive games last week before getting back on track against Mt. Baker Tuesday with a 16-0 five inning win.
Against Meridian, who Blaine beat to begin what amounted to a 16-game winning streak in league play, the Trojans got out in front and stayed there to notch a painfully lopsided 10-3 win.
Then last Friday Lynden Christian’s Nathan Korthius two-hit the B’s and struck out nine as Lynden took a close game 1-0 at the pipe when Brent VanWeerdhuizen scored on a passed ball in the top of the sixth inning. It was the first time in two years that LC has beaten Blaine in baseball.
But all that changed Tuesday as Blaine defeated Mt. Baker 16-0 with a 10-run first inning. Aaron Johnson got six RBIs on two first inning hits, including a three run homer, and Rob Bleecker got both the win to go 4-0 and went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Senior outfielder Matt Gorze also went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs and Joe Paciorek with 3 for 4 with a double, a home run and 3 RBIs.
The Borderites, now 4-2 in league and 7-5 overall, travel east of the mountains to Brewster on Monday for a doubleheader before returning for more league play beginning a week later on the road against Nooksack. Their next home game is on Wednesday, April 19, when they again face Meridian.

Lady B’s battle on

For a team that has every excuse not to win, the Lady B’s have carried themselves with courage and determination through the first half of the season to a 4-4 (1-3) record on the strength of Alex Walter’s strong right arm, timely base running and hitting by feisty senior outfielder Jaclyn McDonald and clutch performances like that of newcomer Kelly Harbst, a sophomore who’s batting .333 and is tied for the league lead in doubles.
Last week the Borderites dropped a momentum-dominated contest to Mt. Baker 8-1 after getting shellacked with a six-run first inning. But their other two league losses, in consecutive games at Lynden Christian and at the Pipe against Meridian two weeks ago, were decided by just one run each.
More to the point, the Borderites stranded a total of 18 base runners in those two losses. “Timely hitting is the key,” said head coach Rob Adams, “as happened for us the next day against Bellingham.”
In the non-league match on a cold afternoon out at the Pipe last Friday, Blaine overpowered the AAA school 7-2 behind the pitching of Alex Walter, who already has one no-hitter this year.
Third baseman Valerie Binder went two for three, got two RBI’s, scored twice and stole three bases. Senior Krissie Freeman was two for two with one RBI and scored once. Freshman Aerial Miller, another of what Adams calls his “pleasant surprises” that have moved up from either JV ball or middle school, in this case.
“Against Bellingham we got on base early, like Mt. Baker did against us last week, and then followed with a single, a double, another single, a stolen base – it puts the pressure on,” said Adams.
Blaine goes up against Lynden Christian at the Pipe on Thursday April 6 at 4:30 p.m. in a crucial contest that also marks the mid-point of the season. They play again at home the next night and then are on the road for two league games before returning home to host the Blaine Invitational tourney on Saturday, April 22.