The Mount Si Wildcats summer softball team rolled into the semifinals of their league playoffs in Seattle, but their drive for the title took a temporary detour at the end of last week.

Last Monday, July 10, Mount Si got a clutch triple from Katie Brett with two outs in the sixth inning breaking a 3-3 tie and giving the Wildcats a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Nathan Hale. Mount Si had been trailing for much of the contest before the bats struck.

In addition to Brett, Melissa Webster and Katie Shaw both tripled, as well, for the Wildcats. Traci Barclay pitched well on the mound; striking out nine Raiders in a complete-game effort.

Mount Si returned last Tuesday, July 11, and put together another great effort against Ballard. Danae Englund’s sixth-inning single scored Brett and Shaw to break open what had been a close game. Jessica Bladow, in relief of starter Barclay, finished things off and the two pitchers combined on a 4-0 shutout of the Beavers.

Bladow also doubled in the contest and picked up a run batted in.

Last Wednesday, July 12, the Wildcats won another tight one to advance to the semifinals. Webster’s fourth-inning single broke a 2-2 tie, scoring two runs and helping lift the Wildcats to a 4-2 win over West Seattle.

On Friday, July 14, the Wildcats ran out of gas against Holy Names, sending them into the losers’ bracket. The offense loaded the bases twice in the first three innings with no outs and went a combined 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, only scoring one run. That set the tone for what would become a difficult 8-2 loss to the Cougars. Webster went 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. It was also breezy, and that may have contributed to two Mount Si errors in the bottom of the fifth, in which Holy Names scored five times and sent nine hitters to the plate. Barclay also doubled and added an RBI.

The Wildcats still have a shot to make the title game, since the playoffs are double-elimination; if they make that game, it will be Friday, July 21 at the University of Washington in Seattle.