3A Softball: Kelso falls in dramatic fashion for second straight game | Softball

Six and a half innings in, the Hilanders had a two-run lead, up 9-7. Once again, though, the bottom of the seventh went awry, and the Thunder pushed across three runs to storm away with a win at the death.

“We just couldn’t shut the door,” Kelso coach Dean Sorenson said.

This time around, according to Sorenson, it was less a matter of Kelso shooting itself in the foot — as it did in its opener Wednesday — and more a combination of close plays, close calls, and tough hops at the worst time.

“The kids played a whole lot better tonight than they did against Evergreen,” he said. “It was just one of those games.”

Kaydence Mackin threw all seven innings for the Hilanders, but got off to a rough start, with Mountain View striking for four runs in the bottom of the first. From there, though, she settled in, and the Kelso offense behind her started to claw its way back.

The Hilanders halved the deficit in the top of the second, then tied it up a 4-4 with two more runs in the third. Another two in the fourth gave the visitors the lead, and they tacked on insurance in the fifth, sixth, and seventh to keep the line moving.

“We were being aggressive at the plate to get some runs across,” Sorenson said. “Especially after they jumped on us in the bottom of the first inning, we just chipped away.”

Lexi Grumbois led the way with a 3-for-4 night, smacking a solo home run and a triple and driving in three runs.

Madison Wood added a pair of hits at the top of the order, and Mackin helped her own cause with an RBI.

Kelso (0-2) will get the weekend to shake a rough first week from its head, before facing North Thurston in a non-league game Monday.