Withstanding a late rally, the Central/South Whidbey Little League 11/12 softball team tipped North Whidbey 11-9 in a loser-out game Sunday, June 29, in the District 11 tournament at Oak Harbor’s Volunteer Park.

Central/South Whidbey will need to defeat Anacortes at 6 p.m. Monday, June 30, to earn another shot at Skagit in the championship series.

Skagit defeated Central/South Whidbey 8-2 in the opener and then ripped Anacortes 12-1.

North Whidbey fell 8-5 to Anacortes in the first round.

In Central/South Whidbey’s win over North Whidbey, a double by Kayla Knauer highlighted a four-run first inning that erased a 2-0 NWLL lead.

Central/South Whidbey used four walks, one to Coupeville’s Maya Toomey-Stout, to add three runs in the second.

Singles by Arianna Marshall and Megan Reeves led to two runs in the third.

Two walks with two outs in the third came around to score the final runs for Central/South Whidbey in fifth.

Toomey-Stout finished with three walks and three runs.

Coupeville’s Hannah Davidson reached base three times to aid the offense.

North Whidbey jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on consecutive singles by Brooke Gilham, Haley Abbott and Taylyn Boop.

Abbott walked and Boop doubled to score a run in the third.

Down 11-3 going into the final inning, North Whidbey made it interesting by pushing across six runs and finishing the game with the tying runs on base.

NWLL recorded six hits in the sixth: a double by Eleanor Tucker, two singles by Madison Arndt and base hits by Gilham, Boop and Marissa Barber.

Boop finished 3-for-4 with two doubles; Tucker had two hits, both doubles; Arndt was 2-for-2; and Gilham went 2-for-3.

North Whidbey out-hit Central/South Whidbey 13-3 but gave up 10 walks to Central/South Whidbey’s four.

In its loss to Skagit, Central/South Whidbey surrendered five runs in the first inning, including a home run to Avery Wyair, and couldn’t recover.

Skagit pitcher Wyair stuck out 16 in the win and walked five. Toomey-Stout and Davidson each had one of the walks.

Central/South Whidbey scored both its runs in the fifth. Reeves walked and Melody Wilkie was hit by a pitch. The pair eventually scored on a ground out and error.

In the Anacortes-North Whidbey game, NWLL fell behind 5-1 after two innings and then narrowed the gap to 5-4 with a three-run third.

Boop scored a run in the second after reaching on an error.

In the third, North Whidbey’s rally was fueled by a double by Boop and a triple by Tucker.

Anacortes scored a run in the bottom of the third to make it 6-4, and North Whidbey countered with a run in the top of the fourth. Kaylee Andersen reached on a fielder’s choice and then scored on singles by Marissa Barber and Abbott.

That trimmed the lead to 6-5, then Anacortes added the game’s final two runs in the bottom of the fourth.

(North Whidbey’s Taylyn Boop listens to instructions from her third base coach. Jim Waller photo.)