A final-inning rally fell one run short and the North Whidbey Little League 9/10 softball team was edged 10-9 by South Skagit in a loser-out game in the district tournament at Sedro-Woolley’s Janiki Field Thursday, July 7.
South Skagit will now challenge Sedro-Woolley for the tournament title.
North Whidbey trailed 10-5 heading into the sixth and put a scare into South Skagit before falling by one run.
Caitlyn Hattaway started the rally with a one-out single. Sarah Ulam followed with another base hit, then Brooke Wilson singled in Hattaway. Brianna Cryer ripped a long single to score two more runs and to trim the lead to 10-8.
North Whidbey then stole its final run. First, Cryer swiped second base. Then, after the next hitter struck out, South Skagit ran off the field believing it was the final out, allowing Cryer to score from second base while South Skagit performed its premature celebration.
A line out to right field ended the rally and the game.
The thrilling finish prompted NWLL coach Brian Cryer to call the contest “one of the greatest games I have ever coached.”
Other offensive highlights included Hannah Barnes’ triple and two RBI, and a big hit by Shelby Chambers. Defensively, Cryer turned in an unassisted double play. Wilson and Yesenia Keiser also contributed defensive gems.
Coach Cryer said, “They never gave up and showed some true heart. We were all very proud of their never-give-up attitude…For me, I was emotionally exhausted, but even more proud because it is very difficult to combine players from five different softball teams to make one solid all-star team. We had three weeks to get them to gel. They did just that and played well.”
