Aberdeen and Montesano thrilled fans with another memorable game as we review a busy weekend of prep softball games on the Harbor.

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PREP SOFTBALL

Aberdeen 3, Montesano 2

Aberdeen rallied to take a late lead and held on for a 3-2 win over Montesano on Saturday at Dick Tagman Field in Montesano.

The Bobcats (4-0 overall) and Bulldogs (0-3) scored a run apiece in the first inning then were held scoreless as Aberdeen starting pitcher Lilly Camp and Montesano hurler Violet Prince were locked in a stellar pitcher’s dual.

Prince sparkled in her outing, matching Aberdeen’s ace out for out. The Bulldogs freshman right-hander allowed an unearned run in the top of the first and held the undefeated Bobcats hitless through 5 2-3 innings.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano pitcher Violet Prince throws a pitch during a 3-2 loss to Aberdeen on Saturday at Dick Tagman Field in Montesano.

Aberdeen got its first hit when catcher Alyssa Yakovich lined a single into left, but Prince struck out Camp one batter later to get out of the inning.

Camp also allowed an unearned run in the first then held the Bulldogs scoreless through the next four innings.

Monte took the lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to some shaky defense by the Bobcats.

Bulldogs catcher Ali Parkin singled to lead off the frame and two batters later second baseman Jaelyn Butterfield bunted pinch-runner Charlee Fairbairn to second, but a throw down the bag to try to pick Fairbairn off sailed wide and into the left-center field gap, allowing Fairbairn to score the go-ahead run.

After third baseman Lex Stanfield extended the inning with a single, Camp got right fielder Kennedy Campbell to ground out to shortstop Zoe Vessey, who stepped on second to end the frame with limited damage.

Aberdeen right fielder Scotlyn Lecomte led off the top of the seventh with a single and advanced to second when first baseman Maysinn Jones drew a walk.

After Prince struck out Ally Adams for the first out of the inning, third baseman Britten Neal stepped to the plate and smacked Prince’s 0-2 pitch to the left-center field gap, scoring Lecomte and Jones with the game-tying and go-ahead runs, respectively.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen third baseman Britten Neal smiles after hitting a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning of a 3-2 win over Montesano on Saturday in Montesano.

“I was honestly just thinking make contact with the ball, swing as hard as I can and, hopefully, something will happen,” Neal said of her clutch RBI double. “I knew that when it came off the bat it felt really nice and so I assumed it was going to go pretty far.”

Monte looked all but done in the bottom of the seventh as Camp quickly struck out the first two batters, but Taylor Galvin worked a walk to keep Montesano’s hopes alive.

Bulldogs left fielder Liv Robinson then hit a ground ball to Neal at third, but her throw to first was high and sailed over a leaping Jones for an error. Galvin raced around second and was given the green light to head home as Lecomte raced over from her right-field spot to back up the play.

From the fence in foul ground past first base, Lecomte threw a one-hop strike to Yakovich to cut down the sliding Galvin at the plate and give Aberdeen a thrilling 3-2 victory.

“I was just saying to myself, ‘God, please help me get to the ball as quick as I can,’” Lecomte said of her game-winning throw. “I looked up and saw Alyssa getting ready for the throw and I saw (Galvin) turning the corner and I instantly threw it to her and I knew she had (the out) right away. … I knew I had to get to the ball because that’s my coverage. I had to get there no matter what.”

Nobody was happier for Lecomte’s big play than Neal.

“On that play, I should’ve took my time throwing that ball, it was a little high,” she said. “But our defense backed it up. Scottie got an amazing throw to home. … I was jumping up and down. I was like, ‘Thank you.’”

Camp allowed two unearned runs on five hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts in seven innings to earn the win while Prince took the hard-luck loss, giving up three runs – two earned – on two hits with six walks and 12 strikeouts in seven innings pitched.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen pitcher Lilly Camp earned the win in a 3-2 victory over Montesano on Saturday at Montesano High School.

Aberdeen head coach Jimmy McDaniel said his team learned much from the challenge the never-say-die Bulldogs presented.

“The biggest thing we were looking for was that they could push through everything and pull out the win,” he said. “Throughout the last games we’ve played, we really haven’t been pushed those three games. I told them all, ‘We needed this. We needed to be pushed and see if we could pull through and persevere,’ and they did. They didn’t ease up, they stuck to the game plan and it’s good to see they could pull through.”

“I don’t remember ever beating Monte in my four years of playing and being able to do it one last year for my senior year was exciting,” Lecomte said of the victory.

Montesano continues its tough non-league schedule against Black Hills at 4 p.m. on Monday in Montesano.

Aberdeen has a huge 2A Evergreen League opener against Tumwater at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Bishop Athletic Complex in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen 100 000 2 – 3 2 3

Montesano 100 001 0 – 2 5 1

WP: Camp (7 IP, 2R, 0ER, 5H, 11K, BB). LP: Prince (7 IP, 3R, 2ER, 2H, 6BB, 12K).

Leading hitters: Aberdeen – Neal (1-3, 2B, 3RBI); Lecomte (1-3, R); Yakovich (1-3). Montesano – Butterfield (2-3, SB); Kersker (1-1, 2B); Parkin (1-3, R); Stanfield (1-3).

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Tumwater 6, Montesano 0

Playing for the first time in a week due to rain outs, Montesano fell to Tumwater 6-0 on Saturday at Montesano High School.

The Bulldogs (0-2) were shut out on just five hits and a walk against the Thunderbirds (2-1), which got out to an early lead on an RBI single from Jaime Haase and an unearned run on an error in the first inning.

A two-run single from Erika Schock followed by an RBI double by Megan Barrett put Monte in a 5-0 hole after three innings.

Sarah Stevens picked up the win, allowing one hit and a walk with four strikeouts in three innings pitched for Tumwater.

T-Birds ace Ella Ferguson allowed four hits and struck out seven in four innings of relief.

Grace Gooding took the loss for Montesano, allowing six runs – five earned – on eight hits and three walks with two strikeouts in seven innings pitched.

Third baseman Lex Stanfield led the Bulldogs, going 2 for 3 at the plate while catcher Ali Parkin had the only extra-base hit for Monte, a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Tumwater 203 100 0 – 6 8 0

Montesano 000 000 0 – 0 5 4

WP: Stevens (3 IP, 0R, H, 4K, BB). LP: Gooding (7 IP, 6R, 5ER, 8H, 3BB, 2K).

Leading hitters: Tumwater – Haase (2-3, 3R, RBI); Barrett (1-2, 2B, R, RBI); Fields (1-4, R); Stevens (1-4, R); Ferguson (1-2, RBI); Schock (1-3, 2RBI); Foos (1-3).

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Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 23, Kentwood 4

After multiple rain delays to the start of its season, the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans opened the 2025 campaign with a 23-4 rout over 4A-class Kentwood on Friday at Auburn Riverside High School.

The Titans (1-0) hammered 17 hits in the game – six for extra bases – led by right fielder Lorelei Smaciarz, who had three hits and drove in seven runs for PWV.

The Titans put the game away with 19 runs in the top of the third inning, highlighted by a two-run home run from Smaciarz and a Karli Phelps two-run double.

PWV shortstop Tylar Keeton (3-4, 2B, 3R, 2RBI), and center fielder Lauren Matlock (3-3, 2B, 3R, 2RBI) also had three hits in the game for the Titans.

Ten different Titans had a hit in the game, half of those recording multi-hit games.

Jillian Hodel earned the win, allowing four runs – one earned – on six hits and five walks with four strikeouts in the five-inning, mercy-rule victory.

PWV 40(19) 00 – 23 17 2

Kentwood 220 00– 4 6 2

WP: Hodel (5 IP, 4R, ER, 6H, 5BB, 4K). LP: Vert (3 IP, 11R, 10ER, 12H, 2BB, K).

Leading hitters: PWV – Smaciarz (3-4, HR, 2B, 2R, 7RBI); Keeton (3-4, 2B, 3R, 2RBI); Matlock (3-3, 2B, 3R, 2RBI); Channell (2-2, 2R, 2RBI); Sipp (2-3, 2R, 2RBI); Phelps (1-2, 2B, 3R, 4RBI); Merkel (1-2, 2R, RBI); S. Milanowski (1-2, 2B, R, RBI); I. Milanowski (1-1); King (1-1); Hodel (0-2, 2R, RBI, 2BB); Ruddell (0-0, 3R, SB). Kentwood – Sakai (2-3); Francis-Rodrigues (2-2, R, RBI); Greenwood (1-2, 2B, R, RBI); Napihaa (1-2, RBI).

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Graham Kapowsin 21, Pe Ell-Willapa Valley 2

Pe Ell-Willapa Valley was on the wrong end of a rout with a 21-2 loss to 4A-class Graham Kapowsin on Friday in Auburn.

The Titans (1-1) struggled against the heavy-hitting Eagles (2-2), which smacked 18 hits – 10 for extra bases – including five doubles and four home runs.

PWV’s Sophia Milanowski had a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning and the Titans trimmed the deficit to 5-2 on a fielder’s choice ground out off the bat of outfielder Tylar Keeton one inning later.

But the Eagles offense erupted for 12 runs in a fourth inning that included two home runs and at one point four consecutive extra-base hits.

The Titans are set to face Ilwaco in a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday at Ilwaco High School.

Graham Kapowsin 320 (12)4 – 21 18 0

PWV 011 00 – 2 4 3

WP: Petit (5 IP, 2R, 2ER, 4H, BB, 8K). LP: Hodel (5 IP, 21R, 12ER, 18H, 7BB, 5K).

Leading hitters: PWV – S. Milanowski (1-2, HR, R, RBI); Matlock (1-3, 2B); Hodel (1-2); Smaciarz (1-2); Keeton (0-2, RBI). GK – Petit (4-5, 2 HR, 2 2B, 3R, 5RBI); Jennings (4-5, HR, 2B, 2R, 4RBI); Nieblas (3-4, 2B, 3R, 3RBI); Penney (2-4, 2B, R, 2RBI); Vargas (1-3, HR, 3R, 2RBI); Rodgers (1-4, 3B, 2R, 2RBI); Ashworth (1-3, HR, 2R, RBI); McCulloch 1-3, R, RBI); Brown (1-3, 4R).