Starting to wonder if Central Washington’s Isaiah Thomas, junior defensive back/punt and kickoff returner from South Kitsap, might not have a chance to play in the NFL. Thomas, a D2 preseason All-American, was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week after helping the Wildcats beat Western Oregon 24-20.

Thomas’ interception and two punt returns led to scores for Central (4-3, 3-1 GNAC). Thomas has six picks a year ago, and according to this story on the CWU website, opponents are not challenging him much this season.

At Minot State (N.D.), Leon La Deaux (sr., South Kitsap) leads the winless Beavers with 35 catches for 491 yards and two touchdowns. …. Brother Aaron La Deaux (so., South Kitsap) punts (49 for a 38.9 average with a long of 68) and handles kickoff duties for the Beavers. Nine of his 22 kicks have resulted in touchbacks. … Defensive back Bryce Broome (so., South Kitsap) is Minot’s fourth-leading tackler (24 solo, 15 assists) and has 2.5 tackles for losses and two interceptions.

At Eastern Oregon, defensive tackle Kyle Lanoue (so., Central Kitsap) is having a standout season for the NAIA Mountaineers (4-3, 3-3 Frontier Conference). He’s fourth on the team in tackles (23 solo, 17 assists in seven games and has 6.5 tackles for losses and two sacks.

Defensive lineman Austin Cook (sr., South Kitsap) has seven tackles for Pacific Lutheran (3-2, 1-2 Northwest Conference).

In cross country, Ramona Morshead (grad student, Kingston) and Ruby Roberts (redshirt sr., Kingston) are running at  Washington State. Roberts was 21st at the Indiana State Pre-Nationals Invitational meet in Terre Haute, Ind., on Oct. 18.

In his first appearance since last year’s nationals, Shane Moskowitz (sr., Central Kitsap) of Oklahoma State was second at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Oct. 18. “Shane’s an experienced guy, so it was good to have him back,” coach DaveSmith said. “He’s a fifth-year senior and he was the fifth guy on a national championship squad, so it was good to have him back. He knocked off a little bit of rust today, but as long as he gets a few more races under his belt, I think he’ll be at a good level in time for the national championships.” Next up: the Big 12 Championships, Nov. 1.,  in Lawrence, Kan.

In women’s soccer, Becca Schoales (so., South Kitsap) has three goals, all game winners, for the Washington Huskies (10-4, 3-2 Pac-12). The forward has started seven of 14 games.

Midfielder Delanee Nilles (jr., North Kitsap) has a goal and two assists for No. 20-ranked Western Washington ( 12-0-2, 8-0-2 GNAC). She’s started 12 of 14 games. … Becca Cates (so., North Kitsap) has played in 10 games as a midfielder for the Vikings, averaging 22 minutes a game.

Kailey Lyman (jr., South Kitsap) has started all 14 games for Pacific Lutheran (10-3-1, 8-2 Northwest Conference). The midfielder has one assist.

Evergreen’s Amy Bromley (fr., Central Kitsap) has five goals and four assists for the Geoducks (4-9-1, 2-4-1 Cascade Collegiate Conference). Irina Lyons (jr., Port Townsend/Edmonds) has started four games for Evergreen.

Midfielder Jalyn Halstead (jr., Olympic) has started 11 of the 12 games she’s played in for Linfield (10-3, 7-3 Northwest Conference).

Midfielder Micaylla O’Leary (sr. Olympic) has started four of 14 games for St. Martin’s (1-11-1, 1-8-1 GNAC).

In men’s soccer, midfielder Diego Aceves (so., South Kitsap) and Jacob Beck (fr., Central Kitsap) are playing for Pacific Lutheran (7-8, 4-5 Northwest Conference). Aceves has started 13 of 15 games and  has a goal. Beck, a defender, has started six of the eight games he’s played in. He’s a freshman in eligibility, but a junior in school.

In golf, Carl Jonson (sr., Bainbridge) has a sixth, tie for 22nd, T25 and T48 in four fall tournaments for No. 24 UNLV. His sixth came at the Jerry Pate National Collegiate in Alabama last month.

Erynne Lee (sr., Central Kitsap) tied for fourth at the Stanford Collegiate tournament, helping No. 8 UCLA to a second-place finish. She had 3-under 68 on the final day. Lee tied for 42nd and tied for 36th in earlier events this fall.

Congrats to Katie Lee for her strong showing at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships at The Home Course in Dupont. Lee knocked off Annie Park, the 2013 NCAA champ from USC, 1 up in the round of 64 but lost the next day.

Park and Erynne Lee, Katie’s older sister, are good friends and were teammates on the U.S. Curtis Cup team. Erynne Lee’s taking summer classes prior to her senior year at UCLA. Katie Lee’s also going to UCLA, but will reportedly concentrate on her studies. She will also be the team manager of the women’s golf team. After this week, you wonder if she’ll have second thoughts about putting her clubs away. UCLA coaches are probably thinking the same thing.

… Bill Carter and the Blame are playing at Brother Don’s in Bremerton on July 31. Carter’s a Central Kitsap grad who once played in the Chymes of Freedom. He’s been based in Austin for years and will do a lecture at the Port Townsend Blues Festival and Workshop the day before. His song  “Anything Made of Paper,” was named one of the top 50 Songs of 2013 by American Songwriter Magazine.

… The crowds were pretty good for the Mariners’ three-game series against Oakland before the All-Star break: 32,971 on Friday, 39,204 on Saturday and 25,944 for Sunday’s finale. Almost 100,000 (98,119) for three games. But it’s nothing to get excited about. Despite putting a pretty good product on the field, the fans aren’t exactly flocking to the friendly confines of Safeco Field. Seattle ranks No. 24 in MLB, averaging 23,858 per game. Oakland, always trashed for its low attendance, is No. 23, pulling in 24,137 a game.

… I like the Oakland A’s. There, I said it (or at least wrote it). Maybe the A’s should be our hated rival, kind of like the 49ers are enemy No. 1 when it comes to the Seahawks. But I can’t dig up any hatred for Oakland. It’s a fun team to watch, and the A’s are not coached by Jim Harbaugh.

… Not very kind, but my buddy tells me the Mariners have their own Group of Death. It’s called Ackley, Smoak and  Miller. Ouch!

… Speaking of attendance, the Sounders pulled 64,207 for its game against rival Portland on July 13 and are averaging 42,771 fans a game at The Clink.

… Hard not to like Bjorn Bjorke, the Olympic College golf coach who works for the Ryan Moore Golf Club. Good golfer, good coach, good guy. Here’s a story I wrote about the 34-year-old South Kitsap grad.

… Didn’t watch it, but they tell me the Seattle Seahawks stole the show at the ESPYs.

… If you were the Mariners’ GM, would you pull the trigger on a trade with the Rays for lefty David Price and utility man Ben Zobrist? Who would you give up?

… The Cave Singers are putting in another appearance at the Hi-Fidelity Lounge in Bremerton on Friday, August July 18. Good band. Check ’em out.

… While researching this story about Bremerton’s Marvin Williams, I was shocked to find out that Kevin Durant led the NBA in technical fouls with 20. Yeah, really. Look it up.

… An 0-for-19 slump has dropped Drew Vettleson’s batting average at Double-A Harrisburg to .200. The Central Kitsap grad had hit three home runs and driven in 11 runs for the Washington Nationals farm team.

… South Kitsap grad Brady Steiger, the former Lewis-Clark State star, is having trouble getting untracked at Class A Staten Island, a Yankees’ farm club. He’s hitting .168 overall and is just 4 for his last 32.

… Aaron Cunningham, another SK product, is hitting .253 at Triple-A Reno. He’s still looking for his first home run for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ affiliate.

… Ripken Reyes, the son of former standout Olympic High athlete Paul Reyes and Central Kitsap grad Heidi (Westhoff) Reyes, is playing in a baseball tournament in Seattle this weekend. Reyes, a middle infielder from Stockton, Calif., has already verbally committed to the University of California. He’ll be a senior next year. Ripken was one of 40 players invited to the Team USA U-17 national development camp, which takes place Aug. 4-8 in Cary, North Carolina.

… Young softball players, ages 8 to 18, are invited to an Olympic College softball skills clinic on Saturday (July 19), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Pendergast Park in West Hills. Cost is $60. OC head coach Dan Haas, assistants Dick Thompson and yours truly, plus OC players will be hand on to provide instruction. Hope to see you there.

SOFTBALL

Western Oregon’s Bridjet Box (sr., South Kitsap/Olympic College) was 3-for-3 with three home runs and five RBI in a 20-9 win over Central Washington in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday. Box was named the MVP of the tournament after  hitting .750. For the season, she hit .379 with seven homers and 41 RBI for the Wolves (33-21), who advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Western Washington’s Haylee Baker (sr., Bainbridge/Bellevue CC) hit .354 with eight HRs and 46 RBI for the Vikings (30-14), who finished second to Western Oregon in the GNAC regular season.

Erin Kinney (fr., Bainbridge) is hitting .405 for Linfield (33-7), which won the Northwest Conference and opens play in the NCAA D3 regional playoffs next. Kinney, who has been used at designated hitter most of the time, has four homers and 21 RBI in 29 starts. She’s played in 39 games.

GOLF

UNLV’s Carl Jonson (jr., Bainbridge) was named to the first-team All-Mountain West Men’s Golf Team. Jonson is second on the Rebels in scoring (72.64) and 10^th in the conference. He has three top-10 finishes in 10 events this season with a fourth-place showing at the Jackrabbit Invitational. He has shot in 60s three times with a low of 67. The Rebels will compete in the NCAA regionals on May 15-17 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.

UCLA’s Erynne Lee (jr., Central Kitsap) was named to the first-team All-Pac-12 Women’s Golf Team for the third straight year. Lee posted her third college win in September at the Mason Rudolph Classic and has seven top-10 finishes this season with an average score of 71.7. Lee and teammate, Alison Lee, the consensus No. 1 player in women’s college golf, were named to the 2014 U.S. Curtis Cup team in march.

TRACK & FIELD

Ruby Roberts (jr., Kingston) wasn’t supposed to run the 3,000 meters, but she did and her third-place finish was the difference as she helped Washington State beat Washington 82-81 in a Pac-12 dual in Pullman on Saturday. Roberts ran 9:35.38. She was also second in the 1500 (4:30.13). Cameron Brink (so., Bainbridge) won the discus (154-11) and CJ Allen (fr., North Mason) was second with a PR in the 400 hurdles (48.14) for the WSU men, who lost 84-79 to the Huskies.

Western Washington’s John Hoskin (so., Bainbridge) won the javelin (181-2) at the St. Martin’s Invitational on Saturday. WWU competes in the GNAC Championships on May 9-10 at Monmouth, Ore.

BASEBALL

Tyler Baumgartner (sr., Central Kitsap/Bellevue CC) is hitting .309 for the Oregon Ducks (34-13, 13-8 Pac-12). Baumgartner has started all 47 games in the outfield and has one home run and a team-high 37 RBI.

Kasey Bielec (jr., North Mason) is hitting .340 with seven homers and 38 RBI for Central Washington (28-18, 17-14 GNAC). Pitcher Kurtis Pitcher (sr., Klahowya/Western Oregon/Olympic) is 2-2 with a 4.07 ERA for Central. The lefty has started nine games and pitched 42.1 innings. Central opens GNAC tournament play on May 8 against St. Martin’s at Western Oregon.

Outfielder Daniel Jewett (jr., North Kitsap/Truman State (Mo.)/Omaha University) is hitting .324 for the Mavericks (23-19, 8-8 Summit Conference) with a home run and 22 RBI.

Josh Sontag (so., Central Kitsap) helped St. Martin’s (18-28, 14-17 GNAC), reach the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed. Sontag, who is hitting .122 with a home run in 29 at bats, developed into a starting pitcher and was 2-5 with a 5.52 ERA in 60.1 inning. The 6-foot-2 right-hander got a no decision, but pitched 5.2 strong innings in an 11-6 win over beating Central Washington in a key game on Saturday. Sontag’s started 10 games.

Linfield’s Joe Stevick (jr., Olympic) has appeared in 13 games, pitching 20.2 innings of relief for the Wildcats (33-7), who won the Northwest Conference and will play in the NCAA D3 playoffs. Stevick a 6-6 right-hander, is 0-2 with a 3.48 ERA. He has struck out 11, walked two and allowed 17 hits.

A.J. Milyard (fr., North Kitsap) appeared in two games as a relief pitcher for Whitworth (13-22).

Two former Olympic College Rangers and Kitsap BlueJackets — pitchers Devin Smith (jr., West Seattle) and catcher Dustin Dhanani (jr., Blaine) — are playing at NCAA Division I Alabama A&M (20-29, 12-9) of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Smith is 4-6 with a 4.31 ERA, and is the workhorse of the staff with 79.1 innings pitched in 15 appearances (11 starts). Dhanani is hitting .234 and has started 30 games.

Daniel Orr (jr., Kingston/Everett CC) led Corban University (29-26) in virtually ever major hitting statistic. The first baseman batted .374 with 23 doubles, four triples, three HRs and drove in 48 runs.

Catcher Curtis Wildung (jr., North Kitsap) is hitting .224 for Pacific Lutheran (25-14, 16-8 Northwest Conference) with four home runs and 14 RBI. He has started 33 games.

NWAACC Baseball

Everett CC: Ben Tamm (fr., North Kitsap) is 2-1 with a save and 0.54 ERA in 33.1 innings in 10 relief appearances. He has 30 strikeouts, 15 walks and allowed just 15 hits. … Michael Wood (fr., South Kitsap) is 3-5 with a 1.57 ERA in eight starts. He’s pitched 57 innings, allowed 47 hits, fanned 41 and walk d21.

Tacoma CC: Quinn Eldridge (so., Chimacum) is 5-0 with a 1.12 ERA for the Titans, who are 32-2 and ranked No. 1 in the NWAACC poll. Eldrige has appeared in nine games, four as a starter. He’s pitched 32 innings, struckout 24, walked nine and allowed 24 hits and five runs. … Cory Main (fr., South Kitsap) is 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA as a reliever. He’s pitched  18.2 innings and has allowed 11 hits, fanned 12 and walked three.

Here’s Olympic College’s hitting statistics.

Here’s Olympic College’s pitching statistics.

NWAACC Softball

Here’s Olympic College’s hitting statistics. 

Here’s Olympic College’s pitching statistics.

Go to nwaacc.org for complete NWAACC stats. Note: Cheyenne Barger of Treasure Valley is on pace to win the triple crown. She’s hitting .603 with 21 home runs and 79 RBI.

Erynne Lee, a junior at UCLA and a graduate of Central Kitsap, was named the Washington State’s Golf Association’s Women’s Player of the Year again. It’s the fifth time in the last six years that she’s won the award.

Lee tied for eighth in her most recent college tournament. Click here.

Here’s the press release from the WSGA:

Federal Way, Wash. – The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) has announced the 2013 Player of the Year recipients.  The winners include Men’s Player of the Year, Cameron Peck of Olympia, Wash.; Women’s, Erynne Lee of Silverdale; Men’s Mid-Amateur, Mike Haack of Bellevue; Women’s Mid-Amateur, Leslie Folsom of Seattle; Senior Men’s, Tom Brandes of Bellevue; Senior Women’s, Lisa Smego of Olympia; Junior Boys’, Frank Garber of Kirkland; and Junior Girls’, Sierra Kersten of Spokane. All the recipients were honored at an awards banquet held Friday, November 1, at Tacoma Country and Golf Club. The banquet is traditionally held the night before the WSGA’s Annual Meeting.

 Peck dominated the field in two of the region’s most prestigious championships, winning the Washington State Men’s Amateur and the Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur. He went wire-to-wire in the State Amateur, held at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., winning the championship by five shots. A month later he marched through the match-play bracket at the PNGA’s Men’s Amateur, held at Bandon Dunes, winning the final match 7 and 6 over Hans Reimers. Peck also qualified to play in the U.S. Amateur Public Links, where he made it to the Round of 16. Peck won the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur, and was named that year’s WSGA Junior Boys’ Player of the Year. He played his collegiate career at Texas A&M and has recently turned professional, intending to play in the PGA Tour’s Q-School this fall.

 Lee earned her fifth Women’s Player of the Year honor in six years after an impressive sophomore year playing on the UCLA women’s golf team, which is currently the No. 1-ranked women’s golf team in the U.S.  She tied for fourth in the NCAA Division I Championship, and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, where she made it to the Round of 64. Lee is also a three-time recipient of the WSGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year (2008-10).

 Haack won the Washington State Champion of Champions, against an elite field consisting of club champions and winners of other WSGA championships. He was the runner-up at the Pacific Northwest Men’s Mid-Amateur, losing in the final match; was the runner-up at the Oregon Open; tied for third in the Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur; tied for 10th at the Washington Open; and tied for 11th at the Washington State Men’s Amateur.

 For Folsom, her 2013 campaign was a continuation of her stellar play, enabling her to repeat as the Women’s Mid-Amateur Player of the Year. She defended her title in the Washington State Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship; was champion and medalist at the WSWGA State Championship; runner-up at the Washington State Women’s Champion of Champions; and runner-up at the SWGA City Championship. Folsom also earned a spot on the Washington state team in the 2013 USGA Women’s State Team Championship.

 Brandes enjoyed another dominant season in 2013, as he repeated as champion in the Washington State Senior Men’s Amateur and the Pacific Northwest Senior Men’s Amateur. He as runner-up in the Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur; tied for fourth in the Pacific Northwest Men’s Mid-Amateur; tied for seventh in the Washington Senior Open; and was medalist in the U.S. Senior Open qualifier. Brandes took his game overseas in 2013, finishing runner-up in the British Senior Amateur, held at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Scotland. This is the fourth consecutive Senior Men’s Player of the Year honor for Brandes.

Smego should probably also receive a Comeback Player of the Year award of some kind, having come back strong in 2013 after recovering from back surgery. She won the Washington State Senior Women’s Amateur; was medalist of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifier; and qualified for the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur, where she made it to the Round of 64. Smego previously won the Senior Women’s Player of the Year award in 2007.

This is Garber’s second consecutive Junior Boys’ Player of the Year award. His remarkable year included being both the medalist and champion of the Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur; the AAA State High School champion; Most Valuable Player honors at the Junior America’s Cup; Player of the Year honors for the Washington Junior Golf Association; and a tie for 27th in the Callaway Junior World Championship.

This is Kersten’s first Player of the Year honor, and it was well-deserved. She is the reigning AAAA State High School champion; was medalist at the U.S. Junior Girls’ qualifier, and would eventually make it to the Round of 64 in that championship; and tied for 35th in the Callaway Junior World Championship.

The WSGA Championship Committee meets annually in early October to vote and select the Players of the Year for the WSGA in the categories of Men’s, Women’s, Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s, Men’s Mid-Amateur, Women’s Mid-Amateur, Junior Boys’, and Junior Girls’. The WSGA Performance Points list is used as the primary guide for the selection. Since the WSGA does not have a performance points list for juniors, the WSGA receives the nominations for selection from the Washington Junior Golf Association. Visit www.thewsga.org for more information.

Some final updates on local college athletes:

Nate Roberts, a senior shortstop from Central Kitsap, earned first-eam All-Western Athletic Conference honors for Seattle University (21-33, 10-16 WAC).

Roberts hit .298 (.327 in conference games) and led the Redhawks in hits (61), doubles (17), home runs (5), RBI (45) and total bases (95). He was third on the squad with 30 runs scored, and a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.

Freshman outfielder Landon Cray from Chimacum led Seattle U with a .313 batting average. Cray had three triples, three homers, and 24 RBI.

Central Kitsap grad Tyler Baumgartner goes into the final regular-season series at Utah with a .244 batting average. The junior transfer from Bellevue CC tailed off a bit at the end of the year. He’s made 31 starts, mostly at DH, and played in 44 games for the Ducks (41-13, 20-7 Pac-12). Oregon is ranked No. 8 nationally and tied for second in the Pac-12.  FYI: Washington (22-31, 13-14 Pac-12) has moved up to sixth and is playing its best baseball late. WSU (22-30, 8-19) is having a disappointing year and is buried in 10th place in the 11-team league.

Bainbridge pitcher Colin Feldtman, a red-shirt junior, was 2-2 with two saves for the University of Portland (18-36, 8-16 West Coast Conference). The former Kitsap BlueJacket had a 2.91 ERA in 19 appearance, all in relief. He pitched 34 innings, allowed 34 hits, struck out 22 and walked eight. Ben Grubb, a senior catcher from Sequim and Lower Columbia, hit .287 with five homers and 23 RBI for the Pilots.

Central Washington’s Kasey Bielec, a sophomore second baseman from North Mason, earned second-team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors. Bielec hit .320 with two homers and 25 RBI for the Wildcats (30-24, 19-13 GNAC), who lost the title game of the GNAC Tournament to Western Oregon. Randy Button, a senior pitcher from North Mason and Big Bend CC, was 2-3 in 39.1 innings for CWU. Button’s appeared in 17 games, 15 as a reliever.

Pacific Lutheran catcher Curtis Wildung, a sophomore from North Kitsap, shared first-team All-Northwest Conference honors. Wildung hit .275 and led the Lutes (22-18, 12-12 NWC) with 25 RBI and 14 doubles… A.J. Konopaski, a sophomore reliever from Port Angeles, finished with a 1-1 record, five saves and a 0.97 earned run average. In 37 innings he struck out 38 opposing batters. Konopaski was also a first-team pick.

Also

Josh Sontag of St. Martin’s, a freshman infielder from Central Kitsap, hit .200 in part-time duty for the Saints (9-39, 7-24 GNAC). Sontag played in 31 games, making 14  starts.

North Kitsap grad Daniel Jewett, who will play for the Kitsap BlueJackets this summer, had to sit out a year after transferring to Nebraska-Omaha. He will be a junior in eligibility next year.

Daniel Orr, a sophomore first baseman at Everett CC from Kingston, hit .348 with three homers and a team-high 45 RBI for the Trojans, who won the NWAACC North regular-season title and go into this weekend’s NWAACC Championships in Longview as the No. 2 seed out of the conference. Orr will play for the Kitsap BlueJackets this summer. … Tanner Romo, a sophomore infielder from South Kitsap, hit .290 for Everett and drove in 20 runs.

Olympic College third baseman Vince Sablan, a freshman from South Kitsap, hit .290 for the Rangers and will also play for the BlueJackets this summer. … Ryan Taylor, a pitcher/first baseman from OC, will also play for the BlueJackets. Taylor, from Salt Lake City, hit .250 and was 3-6 with a 3.22 ERA.

For a look at more of the 2013 BlueJackets, click here.

SOFTBALL

Shortstop Haylee Baker, a junior transfer from Bainbridge and Bellevue CC, hit .228 for Western Washington (23-23, 12-12 GNAC). Baker’s started every game even though she was playing with a heavy brace on her knee. … Shortstop Meagan Rancier, from South Kitsap, helped Bellevue CC to a fourth-place finish at the NWAACC Championships. Rancier hit .310 for the Bulldogs four homers and 37 RBI.

GOLF

UCLA’s Erynne Lee, sophomore from Central Kitap, was tied for second at the NCAA Championship after the second round. She shot 71-70 the first two days.

UNLV’s Carl Jonson, sophomore from Bainbridge, tied for seventh at the NCAA regional in Columbus, Ohio, and helped the Rebels qualify for next week’s NCAA Championships.

I ducked out of the sun in Scottsdale on Sunday and did a little surfing on the web. Look what I found out:

Brady Steiger is on fire at Lewis-Clark State. The South Kitsap grad is hitting .437 with 13 doubles, four home runs and 35 RBIs. The first baseman hits No. 4 in the order for the NAIA Warriors (26-8). He’s walked 13 times and been hit by pitches seven times. His on-base percentage is .511 and his slugging percentage is .647. Steiger started his career at Washington State, but left the program after his freshman year, citing burnout. After sitting out a season, Steiger played a year of JC ball at Sierra College in California. He also played in the summer for the Cheney Studs.

Central Kitsap grad Tyler Baumgartner is starting to see more playing time with the Oregon Ducks, who returned seven of nine starters, including its entire outfield. After a slow start, the transfer from Bellevue CC star has worked his way into the lineup as a DH. He’s hitting .261 with five doubles, a triple and is 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. He’s started 13 games for the No. 12-ranked Ducks (22-6, 8-1 Pac-12), who are coming off a weekend sweep of Washington in Seattle.

Senior shortstop Nate Roberts is hitting .299 for Seattle University (10-16, 2-4 Western Athletic Conference). The CK grad has seven doubles, a triple, 20 RBI and five steals for the Redhawks. … Landon Cray, a freshman from Chimacum, has cooled off a bit after a fast start for the Redhawks. He’s hitting .243 with a home run.

Bainbridge pitcher Colin Feldtman is 2-0 with two saves for the University of Portland (11-16, 4-2 West Coast Conference). The former Kitsap BlueJacket, a redshirt junior,  has a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings, allowing 14 hits, striking out 14 and walking five.

Central Washington’s Kasey Bielec, a sophomore from North Mason, was 5-for-5 with four runs scored and two doubles in a 13-10 win over Western Oregon on Saturday. Three of his hits came in the final three innings as he helped CWU (17-13, 11-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) a four-game series with Western Oregon (17-13, 12-4). Bielec’s hitting .340 for Central. … Randy Button, a senior pitcher from North Mason, is 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA in 22.2 innings for CWU. Button’s appeared in nine games, seven as a reliever.

Pacific Lutheran catcher Curtis Wildung, a sophomore from North Kitsap, has raised his average to .324 for the Lutes (13-9, 6-6 Northwest Confernece). Thirteen of his 23 hits are for extra bases, including 10 doubles, 2 triples and a home run. He’s also walked a team-high 13 times and leads PLU with a .543 on-base percentage.

Allen Hewey, former Central Kitsap and Olympic College standout, is being used as a closer at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. The right-hander is 3-0 with 4 saves and a 1.89 ERA. He’s appeared in eight games. Hewey has given up 19 hits, struck out 18 and walked three in 19.1 innings for NAIA Campbellsville (22-7, 9-2 Mid-South Conference). He is 1-for-2 with a single, walk and hit by pitch in limited time at the plate.

Also

Josh Sontag of St. Martin’s, a freshman infielder from Central Kitsap, is hitting .240 in part-time duty for the Saints (3-27, 1-17 GNAC). Sontag’s played in 18 games, making seven starts. … Michael Calderson, former Olympic College pitcher from Davis High in Yakima, is 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA for Bellevue University in Omaha, Neb.  He has 28 strikeouts in 38.1 innings for the NAIA Bruins (24-4-1), who are working on an 18-game winning streak. Calderon was the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference pitcher of the year n 2012. … North Kitsap grad Daniel Jewett, who played for the Kitsap BlueJackets last summer, is a junior transfer at Nebraska-Omaha. Jewett is using this as his red-shirt season after transferring from Truman State.

SOFTBALL

Shortstop Haylee Baker, a junior transfer from Bainbridge and Bellevue CC, is hitting .230 for Western Washington (16-14, 8-8 GNAC). Baker’s started every game and has a homer and seven RBIs. … Not sure if we hae any other softball players from the Kitsap area playing at four-year colleges. If you know of anybody, let me know. … Watched No. 2 Arizona State beat Oregon State 11-0 in five innings on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devils had eight hits, five of them homers, during the blowout win. Pretty impressive softball team.

GOLF

UCLA’s Erynne Lee, sophomore from Central Kitap, had eight birdies during a record-tying round of 65 (-7) on The Bay Course in Hawaii. Lee finished at one-under par 215 and tied for ninth. She climbed 25 spots on the leader board with her best collegiate round. Lee was ninth in her previous tournament.

UNLV’s Carl Jonson, sophomore from Bainbridge, tied for 35th at the Don Puckette National Invitational Tournament at the Omni Tucson National Golf Club. He was 63rd and tied for 37th in his previous two tournaments.

Links, opinions and quick hits on sunny Monday while waiting for 13-year-old Babe Ruth baseball players to invade Kitsap County. Drove by the Kitsap Fairgrounds & Events Center and Silverdale Beach Hotel earlier and things are eerily quiet. Anyway, here ya go:

Don’t know about you, but I’ve seen enough to think that rookie QB Russell Wilson just might be the real deal.  I know that it’s early, but he could bring some serious excitement to CenturyLink. And Matt Flynn looked pretty good too. T-Jack, it was nice to know ya.

Bremerton Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian was part of the closing ceremonies and is now back in the area after exploring London and, no doubt, having the time of his life. If you’re into twitter,  check out his tweets here.

Bremerton’s other Olympian, bobsledder Bree Schaaf, is training in Colorado Springs, Colo., trying to regain strength following offseason hip surgery. This is a big year for Schaaf, who needs to secure the No. 2 ride in order to solidify endorsements. If she’s driving the No. 3 sled heading in to the World Cup season prior to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, she will probably have to dig into her own pockets again to pay for training, travel and equipment expenses. Yes, it’s a cruel world sometimes for  athletes involved in fairly obscure sports. Nate Murphy of Kitsap Public Relations has created an online fundraising campaign for Bree at www.indiegogo.com/breeschaaf.

If you want to be reminded how serious folks in the south take their football, check out this $60 million, 18,000-seat high school  stadium in Allen, Texas. It’s for a high school near Dallas with an enrollment of 3,000. A far cry from the muddy bog South Kitsap plays on in the fall, huh?

State high school football players hit the practice field on Wednesday. First games are Friday, Aug. 31. Kentridge at South Kitsap is an intriguing Week 1 matchup. Former Bremerton, OC and Central Washington QB Marty Osborn runs the show at Kentridge and is considered one of the top coaches in the state. Port Orchard native Eric Canton, a former SK QB who played at Washington, will be making his head coaching debut for the Wolves. Elsewhere that night, North Kitsap, considered by many as the team to beat in the Class 2A Olympic League, visits powerhouse Archbishop Murphy in Everett, and Central Kitsap heads to Bainbridge for an all-Kitsap County affair.

I’ve been told that Waite Park, Minn., the Midwest Plains Regional 13-year-old Babe Ruth champs, played in the Cal Ripken 12-year-old World Series a year ago. That could be an advantage during the Babe Ruth World Series at the Kitsap Fairgrounds & Events Center this week. Remember, tickets are just $5 a day and it looks like the weather is going to cooperate. It would be nice to see the stands packed during the 10-day tournament.

Ichiro’s not exactly ripping it up in New York, but he’s fitting in with the Yankees. He’s hitting .265 (he was hitting .262 this season with the Mariners). It will be interesting to see how the 38-year-old performs in the postseason. Think he raises his game? Or will he go 1-for-4 with a meaningless slap single to left field?

Congratulations to Silverdale’s Erynne Lee for another top finish at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She’s been a quarterfinalist three times and a semifinalist once. Here’s hoping the Silverdale golfer can break through in 2013 or 2014, which will be her last chance before turning pro. She’s going to attempt to qualify for the Canadian Women’s Open in British Columbia before returning to UCLA for her sophomore year.

Kitsap’s PGA Tour golfer Troy Kelly is back in action this week, playing in the Wyndham Championship, which starts Thursday at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. I was in Reno for the Reno-Tahoe Open two weekends ago. I watched Kelly bomb a couple 400-yard plus drives (consider the elevation, 5,800 feet with some steep climbs on both sides) on his way to a tie for 48th. It was a Stableford format and Kelly didn’t take advantage of his length on the par 5s, but it was a lot of fun watching from outside the ropes. And did I mention the elevation? And the heat? It was 100 every day.  I thought someone was going to have to give hefty Guy Boros, Kelly’s playing partner the last day, mouth to mouth. Kelly’s currently No. 102 on the money list ($747,984) and needs to stay above 125 to keep his card for 2013. This is also the final week for players to move inside the top 125 in FedExCup points. Kelly is 117th, but starting with the No. 126 player in points (Brendan Steele) going into this week, 44 of the next 55 players in points are playing at Sedgefield. The top 125 in FedExCup points will play at The Barclays Championship the following week at Bethpage State Park in Farmington, N.Y.