In the fourth game of the season between these two quick teams, the La Conner Lady Braves beat the Lady Vikings 4-3. The game was played on neutral territory in Stanwood on Saturday 2:00 p.m. and the two teams both came out determined to be on top for state placement. The game was scoreless until the third inning, and then La Conner brought a runner in off of an unfortunate strike by the Orcas pitcher. (A free run is scored if the pitcher strikes the physical form of the batter.) Then Lady Vikings Lindsey Anderson and Halley Parnell scored two runs off of base hits by Alison O’Toole, Sydney Harris, and Mackie Taylor, which put the Vikings up by one. In the top of the seventh, however, with Orcas leading 2-1, La Conner scored three runs, putting them up 4-3. Due to some defensive shortcomings, the Lady Vikings weren’t able to hold the Lady Braves back from their scoring drive.

“The girls really battled, but we just came up a run short,” Coach Harris commented. “We’re going to state this year, and we’ll come out of our league seeded second while La Conner is seeded first; we play Oroville next in Yakima.”

The Lady Vikings play at the state tournament beginning this Friday May 29. The games are played on the Kiwanis softball field complex of Yakima, Washington, and the Lady Vikings’ first game is slated for 9:00 a.m. Friday morning.