EVERETT — The Marysville Pilchuck softball team took over first place in the Wesco 3A North with a victory over defending-league-champion Everett early in the season and have held the lead since.
That changed Thursday night when the Seagulls (12-3 league, 14-4 overall) rolled to a 9-1 victory over the Tomahawks (11-3, 13-4), taking over first place by a half game.
“It was a big game,” Everett head coach Mike Millar said. “The two teams are very evenly matched. Every time we play them I know it’s going to be a battle. I’ve got nothing but respect for that team. It was a big win, but unless we take care of business next week it’s not going to mean anything.”
Everett closes the regular season with games against Stanwood and Arlington, while Marysville Pilchuck has Oak Harbor, Stanwood and Meadowdale remaining on its schedule.
Marysville Pilchuck took the lead in the first inning with an RBI single by sophomore Katie Barrett, but it was the only run the Tomahawks would score.
For a while, it looked as though the lead might hold. Marysville Pilchuck sophomore starting pitcher McKenzie Justice was in control, allowing just two hits in the first three innings.
Everett managed two hits in the bottom of the fourth inning and scored a run to tie the score at 1-1. It wasn’t much of an offensive explosion, but it was a sign of things to come.
The Seagulls took control of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. After the first batter grounded out, Everett reeled off five straight hits and scored three runs to take a 4-1 lead. Senior pitcher Sydney Taggart delivered the go-ahead RBI with a double to straight-away center field. Seniors Whitney Harris and Erin Gordon each added RBI singles. Erin’s sister, sophomore Megan Gordon, added a two-run single later in the inning to put Everett up 6-1.
“We were putting the ball in play, so I figured it would just be a matter of time before some of them started dropping in,” Millar said. “We changed our approach there and started seeing the ball a little bit better and putting better swings on the ball.”
Marysville Pilchuck has scored 10 runs or more in 13 of the 17 games it has played this season, but managed only one run and five hits against Taggart.
“They’re a great hitting team,” Millar said. “One of the better hitting teams in our conference, without a doubt. The key is to just kind of keep them off balance the best you can and hopefully get them to try and hit the pitcher’s pitch and catch the ball and get them out.”
The Seagulls led 6-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but they weren’t done scoring just yet. Senior Gabby Koehler led off the inning with a single to left field and sophomore Rachel Christensen, who finished the game 3-for-3, followed with a walk. Two batters later, Harris all but put the game out of reach with a 3-run home run that stayed just inside the left-field foul line and gave Everett a 9-1 lead.
“All of our seniors came through today and came through in one way or another,” Millar said. “(Harris) did a great job catching and she came up with a big home run to widen the margin.”
Taggart retired the Tomahawks in order in the top of the seventh inning to end the game.
At Lincoln Field
WP: Sydney Taggart. LP: McKenzie Justice. Individual highlights: Marysville Pilchuck—Katie Barrett (RBI), Justice (2B); Everett—Whitney Harris (3-run HR, 4 RBI), Rachel Christensen (3-3), Tara Marquardt (3-3), Taggart (2B, RBI), Erin Gordon (RBI), Megan Gordon (2 RBI). Records—Marysville Pilchuck 11-3 league, 13-4 overall. Everett 12-3, 14-4.
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