A common sports adage goes: One game does not make a season. And while that’s true, it’s also true that one game can exemplify a season. So it was on Wednesday for the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors and the Mountlake Terrace Hawks.

With a solid, full-team effort, the Warriors prevailed over the Hawks 4-2 in a Wesco League regular-season softball finale played at Mountlake Terrace High School.

For E-W, contributions up-and-down the lineup fueled the team to victory. Ella Campbell and Helena Marsh shared the pitching duties, yielding just one earned run on six hits, striking out eight and walking three.

But as good as the pitching was on Wednesday, after the game Campbell just wanted to highlight the defensive play of teammate Maddie Jones in centerfield and the hitting of fellow senior Abby McCorvey in her DH role.

“Maddie stepped up in centerfield; she did an absolutely phenomenal job,” Campbell said. “She made a hundred-thousand percent above-average catches. In the circle, I was so happy to have her out there.”

“And Abby McCorvey, she was DH-ing,” Campbell continued, “and she hit bombs to the fence the whole game.”

Jones, who normally plays second base for the Warriors, made three outstanding catches in deep center field during the game while McCorvey led the Warrior bats by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

Campbell and McCorvey scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the first inning. After both reached base with singles, Campbell scored after a Terrace throwing error while McCorvey later crossed home via a Noa Gillespie RBI single.

The Hawks mustered a run of their own in the bottom of the first when Jordan Stokes scored on a Charlotte Snook RBI single. Then Snook tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning after singling through the left side of the infield, moving to second base on a wild pitch, to third base on an Evie Snow single and then scoring on another wild pitch.

The Warriors broke the 2-2 tie in the fifth inning when Jones scored on a McCorvey double; E-W added an insurance run in the sixth inning when Gillespie scored on a passed ball.

Seeing the whole roster contribute to a win is no surprise for the Warriors this year as the team ended the regular season with an 11-1 Wesco League mark — tops in the 2A/3A South Conference — and an overall record of 15-5. Last year the team was just 6-12 and failed to qualify for any postseason play. Campbell attributes the improvement to a new spirit within the squad, cultivated by second-year coach Josh McClure, and a commitment to team ideals.

“I think there was just a culture shift that started last year and continued to this year,” Campbell said. “We want to work hard for each other and put it out there. Our underclassmen are doing an amazing job of keeping us energized and making sure we’re getting the best out of our senior year. We’re all doing it for each other.”

For Mountlake Terrace (5-7 in the 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 7-12 overall), the defeat to Edmonds-Woodway was the team’s seventh loss in a row over the past two weeks. Coach Griffin Rash conceded that it was his squad’s inability to produce during key at-bats that led to the loss on Wednesday. .

“That’s been a season-long thing for us,” Rash said. “I think we’ve got close to 250 (runners) left on base this season. When we’ve got runners on base, we’ve got to find a way to move them around and get them to cross home plate.”

The Hawks left 11 runners on base against the Warriors on Wednesday.

While disappointed with the loss, Rash liked the way his team battled the 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference champions to the end.

“We’ve been taking some tough “L’s” but I wouldn’t consider that one,” Rash said. “Every loss is tough; you want to win, but that’s a good team right there. We fought; that was a seven-inning game. I don’t think they felt super comfortable at the end. We had runners on base in a two-run game; that’s one swing of the bat and we could have had a different outcome.”

Hawks’ Bri Reyes and Charlotte Snook combined to strike out eight Warrior batters on Wednesday; Snook also went 2-for-4 at the plate in the game.

Both the Warriors and the Hawks will next play in the District 1 3A softball tournament, with Terrace jumping into tourney play on Friday, May 9, in a loser-out contest. Rash is confident that his squad, if they play up to their potential, can see more than just the one game this postseason.

“I’ve got the utmost faith in this group,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best game yet. I think when we’re on our game, we’re going to be a problem for anybody. We’ve just got to be consistent, we’ve got to show up ready to go.”

The Warriors won’t begin District 1 tourney play until Tuesday, May 13. Campbell is cautiously optimistic that this E-W squad can go deep into the postseason, maybe even earning a state tournament berth for the first time since 2019.

“We can go as far as we want,” Campbell said. “I think we’re going to do great things. We take one day at a time (but) I think we’re prepared for anything that comes at us. So wherever that takes us.”

You can view the entire District 1 3A softball tournament bracket here.  

Prep Softball: Edmonds-Woodway at Mountlake Terrace, May 7

Edmonds-Woodway 2   0   0     0   1   1     0     –   4   7   3

Mountlake Terrace 1   0   0     1   0   0     0     –   2   6   3

Winning pitcher: Helena Marsh (Edmonds-Woodway)

Losing pitcher: Bri Reyes (Mountlake Terrace)

Records: Edmonds-Woodway 11-1 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 15-5 overall; Mountlake Terrace 5-7 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 7-12 overall

Edmonds-Woodway next game: versus opponent to be determined; Tuesday, May 13; time to be announced at Phil Johnson Fields in Everett (District 1 3A softball tournament first round game)

Mountlake Terrace next game: versus Ferndale, Everett, Shorewood or Snohomish; Friday, May 9; time to be announced at Phil Johnson Fields in Everett (District 1 3A softball tournament loser-out game)