Kamryn Miller sprints down the line after hitting a hard ground ball (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings).
The Tualatin softball team hasn’t lost a game since 2017.
But McNary gave the top-ranked Timberwolves a run for their money on Monday night.
The Celtics outhit Tualatin 10-8 and held the lead through three innings, but the Timberwolves came back to score four runs in the top of the fifth to come away with the 7-4 win.
Despite the loss, McNary head coach Kevin Wise is pleased with the direction his team is heading as the Celtics prepare for the start of Mountain Valley Conference play.
“There were so many positives out of that game. To play well against a team that good is a huge confidence builder,” Wise said.
“It’s always disappointing to lose. But the reality off it is for six of the seven innings, we outplayed that team. We just had one bad inning.”
The Celtics grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Taylor Ebbs scored on a throwing error after reaching on an infield single.
Tualatin responded by getting a run in the top of the third off of McNary pitcher Faith Danner, but the Celtics would regain the lead later in the frame.
With one on and two out, Ebbs roped an RBI-triple to the center field wall, scoring Alexa Cepeda from first and giving the Celtics the 2-1 advantage.
Ebbs ended the game with three hits and a pair of RBIs.
But later in the game, Tualatin showed why they are the #1 team in the state.
After getting a run in the top of the fourth, the Timberwolves exploded for four runs in the fifth to go on top 6-2.
Tualatin added one more insurance run in the top of the sixth to extend their lead to 7-2.
However, even with a five-run deficit entering the bottom of the seventh, the Celtics weren’t ready to throw in the towel as back-to-back RBI groundouts by Ebbs and Abbi Covalt in the final inning cut the lead down to three.
“To see these girls not quit in the seventh inning was really encouraging. They weren’t about to just roll over,” Wise said.