A valiant effort at a late comeback fell just short of forcing a tiebreaking third game at South Granville. Washington scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, coming within one run of forcing extra innings. The No. 2 Lady Vikings held on for the 5-4 win to advance to the 2-A state championship.

The loss marks the end of the best season in Washington softball history. The Lady Pack reached the regional championship for the first time in program history and finished with a remarkable 19-8 ledger.

“It’s the most successful season in program history and we’re very proud of these girls,” head coach Doug Whitehead said. “… We traveled about 1,230 miles to get back to this spot tonight. It’s just a great way to end the season. I’m very proud of these girls. They were very much overachievers based off what we lost from last year’s team.”

Washington trailed 5-2 entering the bottom of the seventh. Jada Lodge led off with a double to centerfield. Style McKissick hit a ball toward South Granville third baseman Madison Boyd who, instead of going for the force out at first, tried to catch Lodge between second and third.

The ensuing game of monkey in the middle allowed McKissick to reach safely. Then, a throwing error allowed Lodge to escape the jam, reach third and let McKissick advance to second.

The Lady Pack had two in scoring position with no outs. Lodge scored on Haley Witham’s groundout and McKissick moved to third. Briley Waters made contact and forced another Lady Viking error, allowing her to reach first and McKissick to score. However, Waters got thrown out trying to advance to second on the misstep.

A foul out allowed South Granville to stave off the home side’s comeback attempt and narrowly avoid a deciding Game 3.

“We faced a great team and I think they knew the Pam Pack was here,” Whitehead said. One run decided both games in the series.

“The great thing was that we did make an excellent attempt at a comeback in this game. Bad thing is that we can’t give a team like this the opportunities we gave them.”

Washington drew first blood in the bottom of the second. Mary B. Dixon nailed a line drive over shortstop and advanced to second on Lodge’s sacrifice bunt. McKissick brought her home with a base hit to the gap between center and right field.

Lady Pack pitcher Hailey Harris and the defense behind her set down the first 11 batters they faced. Harris issued a two-out walk Hunter Mundy in the top of the fourth. Meghan White followed up with an RBI double to the fence to plate the tying run. Harris rebounded by inducing a fly out to Lodge in left field.

The Lady Vikings took the lead after retiring Washington in order in the bottom of the fourth. Boyd led off with a base hit to center. She advanced to second on a sac bunt and took third on a passed ball, setting her up to score via a throwing error.

Again, with a runner in scoring position, Harris came back by setting down consecutive batters to minimize damage.

Washington’s offense went quietly in the fifth as South Granville’s tacked on two more runs, extending its lead to 4-1. The Lady Pack finally got one back in the bottom of the sixth. Chrissy McKissick started things off by roping a double down the left-field line. The Lady Vikings tried to throw her out at third after Harris grounded out, but couldn’t make the play. It opened the door for McKissick to score and pull her team within two, 4-2.

Mundy’s one-out double to the fence in centerfield pushed across the game winning run in the top of the seventh.

Washington loses three seniors — Chrissy McKissick, Style McKissick and Sarah Alligood — from this year’s exceptional team. This campaign yields an immeasurable amount of experience for the girls returning next year.

Indeed, this may be only the beginning for Washington softball.