The Rainier softball team escaped Mossyrock with a 4-3 win on Monday, when an offensive interference call ended up being the final out of the game.
The Vikings had the tying run in scoring position and the potential winning run on first, but a hard-hit ball to the right side hit the runner advancing to second, ending the play and resulting in the third out of the bottom of the seventh.
The entire game was just as close as the final inning. After Mossyrock took a 2-0 lead in the first, Rainier’s Keira Anderson hit a three-run home run in the third to give the Mountaineers a 3-2 lead.
That score held until the seventh, when Ryleigh Cruse hit a solo home run and scored what ended up being a critical insurance run.
The Vikings got a run across on an error in the bottom half, but the tying run never got the chance to score after the interference call.
Cruse also threw five innings for Tainier, allowing five hits and two runs, while Eliaina Henry struck out three in two innings of relief. Mia Naval added two hits at the plate and scored a run.
Annika Ball drove in two of Mossyrock’s three runs, and Lois Stone drove in the other. Erin Cournyer allowed six hits and four runs while striking out eight in a complete-game effort.
Mossyrock (4-8, 2-3 C2BL) will head to Adna on Tuesday, while Rainier (9-4, 4-2 C2BL) will host Raymond-South Bend on Thursday in a non-league game.
