Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 (Portland, OR) -- What a three-day tournament ride it was. And an outstanding finish to an outstanding season.
 
When their run ended in the 2024 NWAC Softball Championships at Delta Park in Portland, the Red Devils lifted the third-place trophy to cap a 42-13 season. That's the second most season wins in school history and the best tourney finish since Lower Columbia took second place in 2018. For the weekend Lower Columbia was 4-2, losing only North Idaho, which had entered the weekend as the #1 ranked team.
 
Overall the Red Devils pounded 19 home runs and scored 58 runs. The highlight was back-to-back solo blasts off the bats of Leanna Russell and Sawyer Stenson to walk-off a 6-5 win over Wenatchee Valley on Saturday, to stay alive at the time.
 
Stenson, Raychel Squibb and Lexi Grumbois earned all-tournament honors. Stenson led all hitters in the tourney, belting seven home runs and driving in 17 runs in the six games.
 
Lower Columbia's South Region foe Mt. Hood won the title, defeating North Idaho 8-5 on Sunday. During the regular season the Red Devils and Saints split four games.
 
Game-by-game tournament recap:
 
Game 1: Lower Columbia 13, Douglas (BC) 6 - A Karlee VonMoos single put the Red Devils on the board in the 1^st inning, then Bella Aspaas whacked a long, three-run home run to give LCC the early 4-0. Grumbois plated a run with a single in the 2nd inning, before Stenson launched a three-run shot to put LCC ahead 8-0.
 
LCC never relinquished the lead, although the Royals scored five runs in the 4^th inning to creep within two runs. Two-run bombs from Stenson and Joelie Eder gave the Red Devils the big lead back and pitchers Sadie Knutson and Alli Heater shutout Douglas over the final three innings to close it out.
 
Leanna Russell and Maliyah Twitty each added two hits to the Red Devil attack.
 
Game 2: Lower Columbia 5, Spokane 4 – The Red Devils avenged an early season doubleheader sweep to the Sasquatch, scoring all five runs in the first inning and making it hold up.
 
Stenson was in the middle of the first inning uprising, belting a three-run home run to plate Russell and Grumbois who had singled. Squibb followed with a solo long ball. Brooklyn Loose then lined an RBI single to plate Aspaas, who had doubled.
 
That was it for the Red Devil offense, but starting pitcher Teeghan Reams was steady through four innings allowing just three runs to earn the win. Knutson came in to get the three-inning save, allowing just one run on two hits.
 
Grumbois, the NWAC batting average leader at .593, had three hits. Aspaas and Squibb each had a pair of safeties.
 
Game 3: North Idaho 15, Lower Columbia 9 – The #1 ranked Cardinals jumped to a 13-2 lead after three innings, but to the Red Devils credit they did not quit and crawled back within five runs at one time.
 
Loose and Grumbois both hit solo home runs, and each had three hits as part of Lower Columbia's 11-hit attack.
 
Game 4: Lower Columbia 16, Southwestern Oregon 8 (5 innings) – Once again it was tee-off time for Red Devil hitters, pounding five home runs into the stiff wind blowing in from left field.
 
Up 6-5 after three innings, LCC erupted for nine runs in the 4^th to take control of the Lakers. Eder and Squibb were the big boppers, hitting a two-run and three-run home run respectively. Stenson, Loose and Russell joined the party chipping in RBI singles.
 
Grumbois, Russell and Squibb all had three hits. Squibb hit two home runs in the game and Grumbois and Stenson also went deep. Knutson pitched all five innings to get the win in the circle.
 
Game 5: Lower Columbia 6, Wenatchee Valley 5 – Trailing 5-2 midgame, the Red Devils begin to chip away at the Knights lead with an Eder RBI single in the 4^th inning and Loose's clutch RBI single in the 6^th.
 
With Heater shutting out the Knights with 3 1/3 innings of no-hit relief, the Devils went to the bottom half of the 7^th trailing 5-4. Then lightning struck – twice.
 
Russell smoked a one-out solo bomb to tie it, then Stenson followed with the game winner – a no doubter to left center field for the win and the heroes welcome at the plate. It was Stenson's second HR of the game.
 
Eder, Aspaas, Grumbois and Russell all had two hits.
 
Game 6: North Idaho 11, Lower Columbia 9 – It was all Red Devils early and then all Cardinals late as NIC came back from a 9-0 deficit to eliminate Lower Columbia from the championship.
Allison Baumgart hit a sacrifice fly to put the Red Devils on the board in the 2^nd inning, in front of a huge 3^rd inning. LCC scored six runs when Stenson hit a two-run shot and Eder added a three-run HR. Loose scored on a passed ball to give the Devils a 7-0 lead.
 
Aspaas hit a two-run shot in the 4th that gave LCC a 9-0 lead, then the Cardinals, who led the NWAC with 135 home runs, climbed off the mat and went to work. NIC had a grand slam and another home run on the way to a nine-run inning to tie the game.
 
North Idaho took the lead on a two-out single in the 6^th and the Red Devils were unable to answer.
 
Knutson started and threw three innings of no-hit ball, before NIC launched its comeback.