EVERETT — Carmen Morrison homered and the Snohomish softball team earned its fifth consecutive state berth with an 8-6 win over Marysville Pilchuck in a Class 3A Northwest District semifinal Tuesday evening at Phil Johnson Ballfields.
It was the 20th straight win for the senior-laden Panthers (21-1), who advanced to Friday’s district title game against Edmonds-Woodway.
“It means a lot to this team (and) these seniors,” Snohomish coach Lou Kennedy said of reaching the state tournament. “They want to go out on a big bang.”
Morrison, a senior, pulled a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead. She finished 3-for-3.
“Carmen drives the ball hard no matter what,” Kennedy said. “Man, when she hits the middle of the ball, there’s very little doubt what’s going to happen.”
Marysville Pilchuck (18-4) scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, cutting the deficit to 4-2. But the Panthers answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame on a Taylor Khorrami double, a Sami Reynolds single and an Isabelle Hansen two-run single to make it 8-2.
Marysville Pilchuck rallied in the top of the seventh with a McKenzie Justice three-run homer that sliced the margin to 8-6. The Tomahawks brought the tying run to the plate later in the inning, but the Panthers recorded the final out to punch their ticket to state.
Khorrami went 2-for-3 with two doubles and Ruby Butler went 2-for-4 as Snohomish pounded out 11 hits. Seven different Panthers recorded at least one hit.
“When you get that much production from your whole lineup, it makes you hard to beat,” Kennedy said.
Marysville Pilchuck fell into the loser’s bracket with the loss. The Tomahawks now need back-to-back wins to advance to state.
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