EVERETT — Members of the Mountlake Terrace High School softball team hadn’t been born yet when the 2001 Seattle Mariners coined the “two outs, so what?” slogan.
But they embodied that mantra with berths to the Class 3A state tournament and 3A District 1 title game up grabs.
Third-seeded Terrace scored six runs with two outs, including the go-ahead runs in extra innings, on its way to a 7-6 victory in eight innings over second-seeded Cascade in a winner-to-state district semifinals tilt Tuesday at Phil Johnson Ballfields.
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“We came out and just got the hits when we needed them,” Terrace coach Shannon Rasmussen said. “They beared down and got done what they needed to do, and I think they got tougher when we got two outs. They knew that they needed to come through and score runs.”
The Hawks (15-6) beat sixth-seeded Marysville Getchell 10-0 in five innings in a quarterfinal matchup earlier in the day. The semifinal win sealed up the program’s state berth since 2017 and set up a district title game clash with top-seeded Snohomish at 6 p.m. Thursday at Phil Johnson Ballfields.
Cascade (16-6) topped seventh-seeded Shorewood 1-0 in its quarterfinal game. The semifinal loss dropped the Bruins to a winner-to-state, loser-out consolation contest against rival and ninth-seeded Everett at 4 p.m. Thursday at Phil Johnson Ballfields.
Junior Delia Glover worked a full count and then walked with one out in the top of the second and senior Mya Sheffield drove her in two batters later by depositing a 2-2 pitch with two outs over the wall in right-center for a 2-0 lead.
Mountlake Terrace’s Mya Sheffield lets out a shout after rounding third on homer against Cascade during the Class 3A District 1 softball tournament Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at the Phil Johnson Ballfields in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Standout senior catcher Cameron Dunn added to the lead in the third with a two-out solo blast to right field.
Freshman Bri Reyes extended the Hawks’ lead in the sixth with a line-drive RBI double to right-center and leadoff hitter Amaya Johnson made it 5-0 on a blistered two-out grounder up the middle that rolled to the wall for a double.
But the wheels started to fall off for Terrace in the bottom half of the inning as Cascade rallied for five runs to tie things up.
Sophomore Tessa Hahn led off with a double and senior Abby Surowiec followed with a run-scoring single and took second on a bobble in the outfield. Surowiec stole third and then came home on an errant throw between pitches. Senior Taylor Browne pulled the Bruins within 5-3 on a soft infield single up the middle with two outs. Cascade tied things up on a wild player after. Allison Gehrig hit a grounder to third, but the throw to get the runner at second sailed into the outfield and the throw back in missed the cutoff and allowed Browne and Gehrig to score.
Both teams put runner a runner in scoring position in the seventh but couldn’t break through for the winning run.
Reyes walked to leadoff the eighth, advanced on a wild pitch and took third on a ground ball. Johnson worked a two-out walk and took ran straight through to second base to steal an extra 90 feet. Senior Kaylee Mitchell followed with a hard liner off the pitcher’s glove, Reyes scored from third and Johnson never stopped running and scored from second after the throw to first was too late to get the final out.
Mountlake Terrace’s Amaya Johnson barely beats the throw home in extras, scoring what would become the game-winning run against Cascade during the Class 3A District 1 softball tournament Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at the Phil Johnson Ballfields in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
“She just took off. She’s a player. She just saw it,” Rasmussen said of Johnson’s heady baserunning. “… She was just that determined to score and take every base she could.”
It proved to be the difference-maker after Bruins plated a run on Gehrig’s groundout in the bottom half of the inning.
“In this season we’ve had that one bad inning where things fall apart,” Rasmussen said of her team bouncing back after the sixth. “… It was kind of one of those things of, ‘Are they going to come out and be tough and play for it and battle for the rest of the game? Or are they going to fall apart?’ We’re fortunate they came out mentally tough and did what we needed to do.”
Junior Ellie Gilbert pitched a combined 13 innings and went the distance in both games for Terrace. She fanned nine batters over eight innings against Cascade and spun a five-inning, two-hit shutout against Marysville Getchell.
Mountlake Terrace pitcher Ellie Gilbert jumps in the air after sealing an extra-inning victory over Cascade during the Class 3A District 1 softball tournament Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at the Phil Johnson Ballfields in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Dunn also homered and drove in three runs and Mitchell had three hits in the quarterfinal game.
“Our seniors definitely came through today,” Rasmussen said, “and Ellie did everything she needed to do to help us get the wins.”
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