The Wolverines struck early and often and kept a shot at State alive by burying Meridian 13-3 in a do-or-die showdown Saturday at the District 1 playoffs in Sedro-Woolley.

On the heels of a narrow 3-1 loss to Erika Ramstead and the perennially playoff-bound Pioneers, Friday Harbor jumped all over Meridian and tallied three runs in the first, one in the second and three more in the third, and began inning No. 5 with a 7-1 lead and firm command of the game.

And they were just getting started.

The Wolverines added another in the fifth inning, five more in the sixth, and with a dozen base hits and just a single error, staved off elimination in style. They clinched a slot at the Tri-District tournament this Saturday at Sedro-Woolley’s Janicki Fields.

The Wolverines have won eight of their last nine games.

“We played really, really well,” Head Coach Kevin Carlton said. “We had probably our best game of the year against Nooksack. We finally got a run off them.”

The Wolverines face Seattle Christian in the Tri-District opener; game time is noon. They would need two more wins Saturday to clinch a berth at State.

In the regular season, the Wolverines (13-8) were swept by all three Whatcom County rivals: Lynden Christian, Meridian and Nooksack Valley. They needed a victory over Coupeville in Friday’s “pig-tail” game, a must-win post-season contest as well, to earn a District 1 playoff slot. They got that one in dramatic fashion.

With two out and two on and trailing 7-6, senior Kelsie Carlton slugged a high fly into deep right field that was first misjudged, then misplayed, and then proved the game-winner when it hit the ground.

With two outs, freshman Liz Taylor and sophomore Hannah Starr were off with the ping of the bat. Starr had already rounded third and was three strides from home with the winning run when the missile-launch from Carlton’s bat finally touched down.

Carlton, who twice struck out with runners on, said she was just trying to make contact and hope for the best

“Honestly, I didn’t have a lot of confidence going up there,” she said. “I just swung and got lucky.”

Lucky perhaps. But Coach Carlton said his players created their own good fortune by competing until the final cut.