Tigers rally in the seventh to walk-off Loggers

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Napavine softball team trailed by three and only had one runner on base.

A pair of singles and an error suddenly had the Tigers within one, and the potential tying and winning run was on for Hayden Kaut.

Kaut came through and finished off the comeback, hitting a single up the middle to bring home both runners for an 8-7 walk-off win.

“I am proud of the way we competed,” Napavine coach Josh Fay said. “We didn’t quit … This is a big win. Ony played well. That’s a team you want to put into the rear view mirror. We are excited about that.”

Napavine had the upper hand out of the gate, as Lyla Kirkpatrick hit a three-run home run to open the scoring in the bottom of the second.

“That was a big boost for us,” Josh Fay said. “She’s a really good kid to have in the No. 6 spot.”

The Loggers took control from there, chipping away at their deficit with an RBI single from Abby Ellis in the third and a Randi Haight home run in the fourth. Kate Zandell tied it in the fifth with an RBI double. Later in the fifth, Braelyn Babb gave Onalaska the lead with a two-run single.

Haight and Jaelyn Auman added two insurance runs with RBI knocks in the top of the seventh, but it ended up not being enough.

Each of the Tigers three, four, and five hitters — Grace Pancake, Hannah Fay, and Hayden Kaut — collected two hits, including two extra-base hits.

“When you can get that out of our 3-4-5, that's really good,” Josh Fay said. “We feel good.”

Both teams are back in action on Thursday. Onalaska (2-6) will look to bounce back at home against Morton-White Pass, while Napavine (6-3) will head to Adna.

“We don't have anything to lose,” Josh Fay said. “We have an opportunity to find out where we’re at.”