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POSTSEASON PLAY. The Wilson Rams and the Stadium Tigers already teamed up this season for a softball classic. They will face each other again in the Narrows League playoffs as one of a number of match ups involving teams from Tacoma in baseball, soccer and softball over the next week and a half.

Playoffs starting up

By Ben Miller

The culmination of the spring sports season is finally upon us. The last two months of games and rainouts are peaking with the playoffs pushing into full swing this week. The Narrows League playoffs for soccer are already in progress, baseball is just about to begin and softball is looming on the horizon.

It’s time to start thinking about championships.

In baseball, four teams from Tacoma will be trying to make a march toward the state playoffs. And all four of them have a seemingly uphill battle in front of them starting May 1. The way it lays out, at least one Tacoma team and no more than three will make their way out of the Narrows League playoffs.

Things start up with Foss or North Kitsap (depending on a play-in game April 30) traveling to Central Kitsap in game No. 1 on May 1. On the arm of Andrew Hunthausen, the Falcons finished 4-10 in league play to take the fourth and final position to the postseason out of the Bridge Division. If Foss advances past North Kitsap, the game will be a rematch of the regular season finale for both squads April 28 when the Cougars scored a 13-3 win in a game that lasted only six innings.

The winner of that game will move on to face Gig Harbor May 2, with the winner of that contest guaranteed a spot in the district playoffs.

Game two, also May 1, features the two teams that are Tacoma’s biggest surprise and disappointment this season. In a match up of the Bay Division’s No. 4 team versus the Bridge Division’s No. 3, Stadium will travel a couple of miles to face off against Wilson.

The Tigers’ slow start and surprisingly anemic offense put one of the favorites to win the Narrows League in a 0-4 hole early on. Recently, Stadium has won nine of its last 11 to grab the final sport out of the Bay Division and seems to be rolling heading into the playoffs.

“We’ve got our pitching back,” said Stadium coach Chuck Peterson about his team’s late season success. “Everybody’s healed now so now we’re starting to do what we’re supposed to do.”

Wilson, meanwhile, is led by first year coach Mark Bowman and has rebounded from last year’s ninth place and postseason free finish to take the third spot in the Bridge Division. Whoever wins between Stadium and Wilson will move on to battle the Bellarmine Lions at Heidelberg Field May 2. The Lions are led by shortstop Beau Didier and pitcher Brandon Hite and finished in second place in the Bay Division.

On the softball diamond, things are a little more cut and dry. Wilson and Stadium have already guaranteed themselves spots in the district playoffs by finishing first in their respective divisions during the regular season. They will face off May 9 to determine the Narrows League champ and who will the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the district playoffs.

“It’s intense – the coach becomes more important in those stressor games because the team is looking for your leadership and the calls you make are more important,” said Stadium coach Lynn Batchelder. “Those combinations is what makes it so exciting – each play, one missed ball can become huge.”

The regular season for softball is not over yet, and Foss and Bellarmine are still in the hunt for spots in the Narrows League playoffs. Currently, the Lions sit in fourth place in the Bay Division, one and a half games up on Mount Tahoma and North Kitsap and a half game back of Olympia.

Meanwhile, the only question for Foss is what seed the Falcons will grab. They have already clinched a playoff spot and place a half game over Gig Harbor for third place in the Bridge Division.

The Narrows League playoffs for softball start May 7.

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