Sequim Gazette staff

SO close.

For the better part of a week, it seemed as if this junior softball squad would make one of the more improbable runs in state tourney history.

A combined Sequim-East Jefferson County Little League Junior Softball team battled back from a first-round loss to win four consecutive games, setting a championship on July 19 in Seattle.

But the local squad couldn’t pull off a second consecutive win against Mill Creek, who topped the Sequim-East JeffCo team 10-7 for the title.

The Sequim-East Jefferson County team lost a heartbreaker in round one, a 9-8 decision to the District 8 team on July 13. Sequim-East JeffCo went on to knock off Cascade 9-7 on July 15, the District 9 team 9-5 and District 10’s squad 8-3 on July 17, setting up a game against previously undefeated Mill Creek (3-0); Mill Creek opened with an 8-7 win against the District 9 squad on July 13, a 5-3 win against Cascade (District 4) on July 14 and a 9-5 victory against District 10 on July 16.

Sequim-East Jefferson County topped Mill Creek 10-7 on July 18 but needed a second win the following day. Instead, Mill Creek topped Sequim-East JeffCo by the same score.