The Lynnwood High School softball team fought off a final Oak Harbor comeback to top the host Wildcats 9-8 Friday, April 22.

The loss was Oak Harbor’s fifth straight, but coach Tashina Tosh liked the effort of her team and its improvement after losing the previous three games by a combined 33 runs.

Lynnwood (5-7) built leads of four and five runs and then held on for the win.

The Royals were up 4-0 going into the bottom of the third inning when the Wildcats evened the score. Oak Harbor’s first two batters, Alexa Finley and Brooke Wilson, each reached on an error and then were driven home by Kelly Findley’s double into the right-field gap.

Tricia Sarns followed with her own double, belting the ball over the center fielder’s head to score Kelly Findley. Sarns scored on Audrey Howard’s base hit.

Lynnwood regained the lead by scoring once in the fourth and four times in the fifth.

Down 9-4, Oak Harbor got three runs back in the bottom of the fifth. Sarns doubled again, and after Howard singled, scored on an error off the bat of Cierra LeGrendre. Howard and LeGrendre scored on Lyndsay Duchnowski’s double.

The Wildcats made it a one-run game in the sixth. Kelly Findley walked and pinch runner Krissy Pagala scored after a walk to Howard and a single by Taylor Wilson.

Oak Harbor, however, left two on base in the inning and two more in the seventh and couldn’t plate the tying run.

Alexa Findley finished 3-for-5; Sarns hit two doubles; Howard singled twice; Duchnowski doubled; and Taylor Wilson and Shea Davis singled.

Sarns pitched a complete game and recorded 10 strikeouts.

Oak Harbor (2-2, 3-9) finishes its crossover games with the Wesco South when it hosts unbeaten Meadowdale (12-0) at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 26.

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Audrey Howard strokes one of her two base hits. Photo by John Fisken.