When reviewing the high school baseball season in West Sound this spring, there were three notable playoff successes, including two from the Olympic League.
In what emerged as a three-team race for the league title, North Kitsap (21-6) outlasted Port Angeles and Bainbridge down the stretch. The Vikings placed second at the West Central/Sea-King Bi-District tournament and won their state-opener, 6-4, against West Valley of Spokane. North Kitsap saw its season end with a 8-4 defeat against Lynden.
Kingston (13-11) endured a mid-season head coaching switch to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2012. The Buccaneers put up a fight against eventual state runner-up Enumclaw in the first round, falling 5-3.
Sea-Tac League champion Crosspoint (15-4) lost its state opener 13-2 against DeSales, which went on to claim the 1B trophy. It marked the third consecutive season that the Warriors lost at state against the eventual champion. Crosspoint fell against Naselle in the title game in 2022, then lost to Naselle in the first round in 2023.
One year after Klahowya's baseball program added its first state championship, the Eagles discovered how difficult it is to defend a title amid lofty expectations. The team finished 13-8 and missed out on qualifying for the 1A state playoffs after going 0-2 in district tournament play.
Four other West Sound teams qualified for the postseason and were eliminated in district tournament play: South Kitsap (10-12) in 4A, Bainbridge (15-7) in 3A, and Olympic (11-11) and North Mason (6-13) in 2A. Central Kitsap (7-12) just missed out on the postseason in the South Sound Conference 3A, losing a tiebreaker, while Bremerton (0-15) went winless in the Olympic League.
Vikings' Elton earns player of the year nod
North Kitsap baseball coach Jeff Weible figured senior Alex Elton would slide into a starting role at second base after earning All-Olympic League first-team honors as a utility player in 2023.
As it turned out, Elton ended up playing shortstop while hitting atop the Vikings' lineup. It was his all-around efforts that made him the Olympic League most valuable player and the Kitsap Sun's choice for baseball player of the year this spring.
Elton finished the season with a .382 batting average, .482 slugging percentage and a .490 on-base percentage with 33 hits, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 13 RBI, 29 runs and 13 walks and 23 stolen bases. The speedy right-handed hitter posted a .462 average with runners in scoring position.
"Alex is an all-out baseball guy, only knows how to go 100% all the time," Weible said. "He was our energy at the top of the lineup and when he went, we went. He had a fabulous year hitting, stealing bases and playing great defense."
All-league honors
In addition to Elton, here's a look at the West Sound players from the Olympic League receiving all-league honors this spring. First-team picks were: North Kitsap (junior infielder Nolan Rowe, sophom*ore utility Spencer Gillespie, junior outfielder Tate Stearns, sophom*ore pitcher Dawsyn Anderson); Kingston (sophom*ore catcher Izaiah Reynolds, senior infielder Peau Tamileau); North Mason (senior infielder Leland Lopes, sophom*ore outfielder Caden Atencio); Bainbridge (junior infielder Duncan Bos, senior pitcher Cole Pentin); Olympic (senior outfielder Landon Cartwright).
Second-team picks were: North Kitsap (freshman pitcher Marcus Kim); Kingston (junior infielder Chayton Walker); North Mason (senior catcher Cole McCormick, senior outfielder William Broughton); Bainbridge (sophom*ore infielder Brayton French, sophom*ore outfielder AJ Larsen, sophom*ore pitcher McCrea Curfman); Olympic (senior infielder Landon Nicholson, sophom*ore outfielder Drew Walters, freshman designated hitter Chase Beninger, sophom*ore pitcher Blake Parker, senior pitcher John Hutchins); Bremerton (junior infielder Steve McIntyre).
Sportsmanship awards went to Bainbridge's JT Hardy, Bremerton's Adrian Tittle, Kingston's Connor Cornwell, North Mason's Kingston Serebryakov, North Mason's Aaron Groetsch and Olympic's Jake Gordon.
In the South Puget Sound League 4A, the following South Kitsap players were honored: Konor Tupuola (first team pitcher), Payton Moritz (second team pitcher), Kadyn Jones (second team first baseman), Koi Castro (second team middle infielder), Carson Puryear (second team outfielder), Tommy Frei (second team outfielder), Mason Gooding (second team designated hitter), Randall McGaugh (honorable mention catcher), Mason Williams (honorable mention pitcher).
For Central Kitsap, junior JJ Martinson earned pitcher of the year honors for the Cougars in the South Sound Conference 3A after totaling a 0.49 earned run average with 60 strikeouts, 17 hits allowed and a .122 batting average against in 42 2/3 innings pitched. Sophom*ore pitcher/outfielder Grant Lin was a second-team pick. Receiving honorable mention were Tanner Herdman and Tristan Short.
First-team honors in the Nisqually League 1A went to junior infielders Aiden Michael and Carson Langguth, junior outfielder Carson Moore, junior designated hitter Camden Dickey and senior utility Blake Robinson. Senior outfielder Owen Wood earned second-team honors, while senior Franklin Morgan received honorable mention.
Crosspoint senior Silas Stenerson was named Sea-Tac 1B most valuable player after he hit .524 with 22 stolen bases and pitched to a 2.62 earned run average with 62 strikeouts. Other honors for the Warriors went to sophom*ore Levi Bates (first team), Flint Howard (second team), Jonah Hinman (second team) and Reid Howard (second team).
All-state series players nominated
Local nominated to play in the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association All-State Series, held June 21-23 in Yakima, were Alex Elton from North Kitsap, Ayden Holland from Sequim, Leland Lopes from North Mason, Brian Guttormsen from Port Angeles, and Landon Nicholson and John Hutchins from Olympic. These players were nominated by head coaches following their participation in last week's Senior All-Star Baseball game at Gene Lobe Field at the Fairgrounds
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Recapping Kitsap's 2024 high school baseball season
