With the score tied at 13 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Mountlake Terrace’s Hannah Wilcox wasn’t necessarily looking to be a hero; the Hawk senior was trying to “just hit the ball square.”

Wilcox got a pitch that she liked from Edmonds-Woodway’s Kyra Collingridge and not only hit it square but put the ball over the left field fence for a solo walk-off home run Thursday; Wilcox’s blast gave Mountlake Terrace a 14-13 win over the Warriors in the opening Wesco 3A South game for both squads.

Wilcox’s dramatics ended a more than three-hour marathon at Mountlake Terrace High School between the two district rivals.

Wilcox jumped all over the offering by Collingridge to suddenly end the matchup. “It was middle-in, which is in my zone,” Wilcox said. “It was a good pitch.”

“Yes, I think I hit it pretty square,” she added.

Wilcox went 4-for-5 with two RBIs to lead a balanced Hawk offense that saw every starter but one get at least one hit in the game. Sammy Ruiz added two hits in three at-bats Thursday, including a three-run homer.

Mountlake Terrace coach Shannon Rasmussen is pleased with how her squad is performing at the plate so far just two games into the 2015 season.

“I’ve been really happy so far with our offense,” she said. “We’ve been having really good at-bats, being good and selective with our pitches. We’ve had a lot of really solid hits – we’ve had two home runs in both our games; we have a lot of power this year.”

“We’ve got solid hitters that can come through at any time for us,” she said.

That consistency through the line-up led to a big third inning against the Warriors as the Hawks sent 15 batters to the plate in the frame, scored nine runs and gave the team a 12-4 lead. But Mountlake Terrace wasn’t able to hold that margin as E-W scored six runs in the fourth, added a single run in the sixth, then scored two more runs in the seventh to take a 13-12 lead.

Mountlake Terrace was able to manufacture a tying run in their half of the seventh inning when Jazzy Zenk, after being hit-by-a-pitch, was pushed around the bases on singles by Ruiz and Lauren Miller and a walk to Gabby Calhoun. The Hawks’ single run in the seventh sent the game to extra innings and set the stage for Wilcox’s final at-bat heroics.

Despite the loss, Warrior coach Mike Venable was impressed with the way his squad climbed back into the game after falling behind early. “They showed a lot of heart,” he said. “‘I was really proud of them’ I told them after the game. I said ‘a lot of teams, after 12-4, will sort of pack up their bags and just let it play out. But you fought back’ and I was definitely proud of them.”

“I told them to take the positives out of the game and we’ll work on a couple things that we need to, but we’ll be good next time,” he added.

One big positive for E-W was their plate production as the team pounded out 18 hits in the loss. Jackie Lovelace collected four hits in five at-bats, scored four times and had two RBIs to lead the Warriors; teammates Samone Jackson and Taylor Jones each added three hits while Ciara Ortiz and Ari Girouard each had a double in the game.

After years at the 4A level, the game was the first for Edmonds-Woodway in the Wesco 3A South, making rivalry games against schools like Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Meadowdale even more significant. Venable knows that division play will be tough for his squad this season.

“I know we’ve got a lot of competitive teams and there will be a lot games that will be like this,” he said. “I’m hoping they’re not going to be as high-scoring, but still they’re going to be tough games.”

Prep Softball: Edmonds-Woodway at Mountlake Terrace

Edmonds-Woodway             2 0 2   6 0 1   2 0   —   13   18   0
Mountlake Terrace               3 0 9   0 0 0   1 1   —   14   12   3

Winning pitcher: Kira Doan (MTHS)
Losing pitcher: Kyra Collingridge (EWHS)

Records: Edmonds-Woodway 0-1 in Wesco 3A South, 1-2 overall; Mountlake Terrace 1-0, 1-1

Edmonds-Woodway next game: vs. Glacier Peak, Monday, Mar. 30, 4 p.m. at Glacier Peak High School

Mountlake Terrace next game: vs. Meadowdale, Friday, Mar. 27, 4 p.m. at Meadowdale High School

– By Doug Petrowski