RIDGEFIELD — The rally was nearly complete.
After entering the top of the seventh down two runs, Tumwater scored two runs on an error to tie the game, and then it took the lead on an RBI single from Liam Karlson. In the blink of an eye, the T-Birds were three outs away from returning to the district title game.
“We were on the verge, and we just needed something to go our way,” Tumwater coach Lyle Overbay said.
Instead, Columbia River had a comeback of its own in store, as the Rapids tied it in the bottom of the seven before winning it in the eighth, sending Tumwater to a winner-to-state elimination game with a 6-5 extra-innings loss.
To return to the state tournament, Tumwater (17-6) will need to defeat R.A. Long in Ridgefield on Saturday.
While disappointed with the loss, Overbay was proud of the way the Thunderbirds rallied back in the seventh to extend the game, noting that that type of fight is something that will pay off later in the postseason, perhaps even as soon as this weekend.
“When you stick together, good things will happen,” Overbay said.
Tumwater took a lead in the second thanks to a sacrifice fly from Derek Thompson, and after the Rapids tied it in the third, they regained the lead in the fourth on a Peyton Davis RBI single.
Davis was one of four Thunderbirds to record two base hits, and those four T-Birds made up the bottom of the Tumwater lineup. The top five batters combined to go 1 for 14 (.071), while the bottom four — Landon Roy, Liam Karlson, Charlie Crawford, and Davis — combined to go 8 for 16 (.500).
Karlson came through with the go-ahead single in the top of the seventh, an at-bat that was only made possible when Will Bond was able to sneak his hand past the tag of the Columbia River catcher on the play before.
“It just shows you what kind of team this is,” Overbay said. “It’s special.”
While Tumwater is out of the running for a district title, Overbay noted that their biggest goal, a third consecutive state championship, is still achievable. The T-Birds will return to Ridgefield on Saturday to play R.A. Long for a state tournament berth.
“We still got a chance to get where we want to go,” Overbay said. “We just have got to focus, take care of business, and get back after it.”
