The Wildcats came back strong.

They came back strong and set the table for the playoffs.

The Wilsonville softball team won its regular-season ending contest against Canby on Friday, May 23, and in the process, showed that it was ready for the upcoming Class 5A state playoffs.

The 10th-ranked Wildcats closed out the Northwest Oregon Conference season by upsetting the fifth-ranked league champion Cougars 1-0 at Wilsonville High School. Wilsonville got a shutout pitching performance from freshman Addi Smith – she allowed zero runs on two hits and no walks while striking out 13 – and scratched across one run in the bottom of the second inning to fuel their victory.

With the win, the Wildcats snapped their one-game losing streak and finished NWOC play at 11-5 and 16-11 overall. Next up, Wilsonville will go on the road for a first-round state playoff game on Tuesday, May 27.

With Smith keeping the Cougars off-balance all day, the Wilsonville offense found a way to break through in the second inning. There, senior Bailee Van Meter hit a two-out single to center, then scored when Smith hit a hard double to left field for the game’s lone run.

Van Meter led the Wildcats by going 2 for 2 with one RBI, Smith went 1 for 2 with a double and one RBI, and sophomore Morgan Christiansen went 1 for 3.