Two North Whidbey Little League teams earned title shots in their respective divisions and will play in championship games tonight, July 8, in Oak Harbor.

The North Whidbey 9/10 softball team defeated South Skagit 25-19 Friday, July 5, and Sedro-Woolley 15-11 Saturday to land a spot in the title game.

Sedro-Woolley topped South Skagit 29-24 Sunday to get another shot at North Whidbey at 6 p.m. tonight at Volunteer Park. Sedro-Woolley will have to defeat North Whidbey twice to gain the crown. The second game, if necessary, is 6 p.m. tomorrow.

The North Whidbey Junior (13/14) baseball team, which also includes players from Coupeville, challenges South Skagit at 6 p.m. tonight at Fort Nugent Park in first-place game.

North Whidbey opened the tournament with a 16-8 win over Sedro-Woolley Friday and then lost to South Skagit 14-6 Saturday.

North Whidbey thumped Sedro-Woolley 15-5 Sunday and will now have to defeat South Skagit twice to take the title.

If North Whidbey wins tonight, the two teams meet again at 6 p.m. tomorrow.

8/9 Softball

In the win over South Skagit, Haley Abbott pitched five innings and went 2-for-4 at the plate.

She received offensive help from Patti Miessner (3-for-3, four runs), Madison Grimaldo (2-for-4, three RBI) and Gillian Zylstra (1-for-1, four walks, four runs).

Against Sedro-Woolley, Chelsea Prescott pitched a complete game three-hitter with nine strikeouts.

She was backed offensively by Mollie Bailey who ripped a double and scored a run and Loralei Snyder who went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs.

Junior Baseball

The Junior tournament includes controversy as well as baseball. A dispute over the eligibility of a South Skagit player has yet to be decided and could change the outcome of Saturday’s North Whidbey/South Skagit game and the setup for tonight’s title tilt.

In the win over Sedro-Woolley Sunday, North Whidbey played flawless defense, according to coach Shawn Philp, and blanked the visitors over the first four innings.

Steven Richard pitched the six-inning win and picked off a runner at first in the third inning that took “the wind out of Sedro Woolley’s sails,” Philp said.

The inning also included an outstanding play by second baseman Chad Spradlin who tagged a runner between first and second and tossed to first to complete a double play.

Andrew Eaton hustled home on a passed ball to put North Whidbey up by 10 in the sixth inning and end the game on the mercy rule.