By JOSHUA FEJERAN
TACOMA — The Sequim High School fastpitch team went two and out on Friday, losing to Hanford 2-1 in a 10-inning game and 4-3 in a nine-inning consolation game against Sammamish, ending their run at the Class 3A Washington state tournament at SERA Fields.
“We played good,” Wolves coach Mel Hendrickson said after the second loss.
“We just didn’t finish anything. We had some good opportunities and played out of some tough spots, but just couldn’t quite do it on that last one.”
In the first game, both teams were locked in a 0-0 tie through nine full innings.
Under fastpitch tournament rules, the last out of the previous inning starts at second base in an effort to promote scoring.
In Sequim’s half of the 10th, Yolanda Chinn hit a one-out RBI-single — her fourth single of the game — to take a 1-0 lead.
It proved to be short-lived as Hanford’s Lauren Carlson hit an RBI single to score Mykal Ann Ault from second to tie the game before Jessica Garcia hit an RBI single to score Carlson for the winning run.
In the second game, Sequim took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning off a two-run triple by Ashley Lowe-Thaens.
Sammamish tied the game the next inning on an error.
Tied two all in the ninth inning, Lowe-Thaens hit another RBI single to take the lead.
But Sammamish again scored in the ninth to tie the game before Samammish’s Sarah Minice hit a bases-loaded drive deep over the right fielder’s head for the winning run and ending the Wolves’ state tournament hopes.
“I told them that it’s an accomplishment to be here,” Hendrickson said. “There are more than 80 3A schools in the state of Washington and only 16 made it to state.
“It hurts and it should hurt. It’s nice to see some tears over there because it means they care. I would hate to have a team just run off the field and go chase their boyfriends or something. It’s just hard to lose, we wanted it bad.”