With one swing of the bat, Skyline Spartans sophomore Shayna Swanson transformed a tie ballgame against the Inglemoor Vikings into a triumphant victory on the softball field.

With two outs and the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Swanson connected on a solo home run to left field off Inglemoor ace pitcher Mackenzie DeKay, giving the Spartans a 2-1 win on April 11 at Skyline High School in Sammamish.

Skyline improved its overall record to 8-2 with the victory. Inglemoor dropped to 7-3 with the loss. Skyline pitcher Caroline Bowman went the distance in the pitching circle, allowing just one run and five hits in Skyline’s eighth victory of the 2016 season. Swanson wasn’t nervous before stepping into the batters box in the bottom of the seventh.

“I just wanted to crush it,” Swanson said. “I knew I had to support my pitcher (Bowman). She threw a great game and I just knew that I really needed to have her back. Every day I come into this game knowing that Caroline (Bowman) is going to have us. She is always on in the circle and even if she misses one pitch, I know that she has our back the next inning and we have her back on the defense.”

Skyline head coach Lindsay Sullivan, who is in her first season as the head coach of the Skyline softball program, was glad to see her team come through against a formidable KingCo opponent.

“Every game is a big statement for this team. These girls have absolutely rose to the occasion,” Sullivan said. “They understand they have to make their name each game and they play it one pitch at a time. The biggest thing for me is to teach these girls is to be proud of who they are. Once you walk onto this field, it’s all about your team. It’s not about an ‘I’, it’s not about a ‘me.’ It is about putting the team first.”

Swanson said the team’s transformation from last season to 2016 is evident.

“I think last year we struggled a little bit and this year is our comeback year. We are showing who we really are. I’m really proud of everyone here,” she said.