Prep roundup: Bellarmine Prep escapes ‘Bad News Bears’ fifth inning for 6-3 win over Gig Harbor | Tacoma News Tribune

Gig Harbor High School baseball coach Pete Jansen isn’t quite sure what happened in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Wyatt Elledge hit a double to left field with the bases loaded and one out. The Tides scored one run but despite throwing around the field Bellarmine Prep escaped the inning by tagging out two Gig Harbor base runners on the same play — both at home plate.

“It was kind of like watching ‘The Bad News Bears,’ except it was a high school team,” Jansen said.

That’s the kind of week it has been for the Tides. They lost to visiting Bellarmine Prep, 6-3, on Thursday after being no-hit in an 11-1 five-inning defeat to the Lions on Monday.

And Jansen said that Gig Harbor (5-2, 1-2 4A Narrows) has learned senior Grant Sutton, who has not played this season because of a fractured bone in his left hand, will miss at least three more weeks.

But as tough a week it was for Gig Harbor, that’s how good it was for Bellarmine Prep (5-4, 2-2).

The Lions rebounded from a four-game losing skid with two wins this week, including Ben Johnson’s five-inning gem on the mound Monday. Leadoff hitter Jairus Richards was 2-for-4 at the plate Thursday with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Gig Harbor took a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning, but Bellarmine Prep responded with four runs — two unearned —in the top of the sixth.

LONG’S GOOD TIME

Chief Leschi junior Ja’Alam Long beat his personal best in the 100-meter dash with a winning time of 11.08 seconds on Thursday at Charles Wright Academy. He had held the top 2B time in the state at 11.34 coming in.

It just wasn’t enough to beat Tacoma Baptist, which saw its boys team win with 121 points — ahead of Taholah (58), Chief Leschi (56), Charles Wright (41), Life Christian Academy (32) and Mary Knight (22) — and its girls team win with 147 points — ahead of Life Christian (43), Charles Wright (31), Mary Knight (18) and Chief Leschi (4).

Tacoma Baptist’s Ashley Brooks, who took fourth in the 300 hurdles in the girls 2B state championships last year and fifth in the 100 hurdles, won both events Thursday. She finished in 17.54 seconds in the 100 hurdles and 51.72 seconds in the 300 hurdles.

Elsewhere

The Tahoma-Todd Beamer softball game was postponed for a second consecutive day because of a bomb threat at Todd Beamer High School. … Eatonville’s Justin Kaelin now has the fifth-best discus mark in the state to go with his top mark in the shot put. He threw the discus 165 feet, 4 inches as the Cruisers’ boys and girls track teams won the Eatonville relays on Thursday. Kaelin also took first in shot put at 55 feet, 2 inches, but it was short of his state-best mark of 59 feet, 5.5 inches. … Edwin Brown scored two goals in the Gig Harbor boys soccer team’s 3-0 win over Yelm.