Rally propels Papermaker softball to district title

The Camas slow-pitch softball team rallied from five runs down to defeat Skyview 16-6 for the district championship Tuesday, at Heritage High School in Vancouver.

“Aggressive’s the way we played all year,” said head coach Dale Lunde. “They never had any real games where they were tested. That’s where you always wonder what’s going to happen when we do have our backs against the wall, and they came out swinging.”

The Storm scored four runs in the top of the fourth to build a 6-1 advantage. The Papermakers scored 11 runs in the bottom half of the inning. Chloe Nidick and Hannah Paterson each knocked in a run to get Camas close, Emery Miller smacked a 2-run single to make it a one-run game and Tajia Souki tied the score at 6-6.

Payton Bates broke the game open for the Papermakers with a 2-run double off the fence. She ran around all the bases, dove into home plate and scored the third run on the play.

“There’s a sisterhood between all of us,” Bates said. “In that moment, it just comes together. You know that you’re a part of the team.”

Callie Johnson nailed an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth. Nidick ended the game on a 3-run double into left field. Camas led by 10, which signaled the mercy rule.

“After we lost that game to Union, we had to do this for not only ourselves but for our entire team and for our entire school,” Nidick said. “I think we really delivered it this year.”