The Oak Harbor Legion baseball team battled back several times but couldn’t quite catch host Ferndale in a 7-5 loss Wednesday, July 9.

Oak Harbor (20-14) next plays in the Skagit Valley Tournament at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 10, at the Dream Field at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon.

Ferndale (15-4) moved into a first-place tie with the win; Oak Harbor dropped to 8-11 and into seventh place in the 11-team league.

Ferndale scored three runs in the first inning and another in the second to go up 4-0.

Only one of the first 10 Oak Harbor batters reached base (Quentin Tungate walked in the first inning) before the Wildcats worked their way back into the game with a three-run fourth.

Tungate and Clay Doughty started the inning with Oak Harbor’s first hits. Two outs and Robert Herring’s single plated the three runs.

Ferndale answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth, then Oak Harbor scored in the fifth to make it 5-4. With one out, Avery Aguirre doubled. Walks, sandwiched around an out, to Kevyn Johnson and Doughty loaded the bases.

Danny Wolfe singled in a run, but Oak Harbor left the bases loaded when Benson lined out to center field.

Ferndale tacked on two runs in the sixth, and Oak Harbor could get back only one in the seventh on singles by Tungate, Wolfe and Benson.

Starting pitcher Wolfe took the loss.

Tyler Snavely also singled in the game.

Oak Harbor rapped nine hits, lined out three times and struck out only three times.