LEMOORE -- Thursday marked the final day of West Yosemite League softball competition, but it wasn't terribly different from any of the previous ones. "This game was the perfect example of the way our league's been,'' Lemoore coach Dionne Ewing said after her team's 3-1 loss to Hanford. "Our league is very, very strong right across the board.''

Hanford rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh, and escaped a bases-loaded threat in the seventh to win its third consecutive game.

So the Bullpups, who not too long ago were 3-6 in league, finished the WYL campaign at .500 while hiking their overall record to 13-15.

Cassandra Lemos went 3-for-4 with a double, and Kelsi Maris pitched 6 1/3 strong innings to spark the Bullpups.

Lemoore, which carried a five-game winning streak into the week, has now dropped two in a row. But the Tigers still finished third in league with 7-5 record and are 17-15 overall.

Ashlynn See was 2-for-2, and losing pitcher Emily Cloyes knocked in her team's only run with a sacrifice fly. Cloyes allowed no earned runs.

"It was a very good game,'' Ewing said. "Both teams made errors. We just happened to bunch ours together.''

Two of Lemoore's errors came in the seventh, and those -- along with a passed ball and a run-scoring single by Lemos -- helped Hanford gain a two-run lead.

Maris struck out five and walked three while picking up the victory.

The junior left-hander was replaced in the fourth inning by Stephanie Holiday, who retired two batters.

But in a bizarre instance, Holiday was told by the umpire that she was not stepping on the rubber correctly and was thus throwing illegal pitches.

The Hanford pitcher was given a chance to throw practice pitches in an attempt to remedy the situation, which did not sit well with Ewing.

It all became a moot point, as Maris returned to the mound and stopped Lemoore the rest of the way.

Holiday, Erin Harris J.D. Dias and Amanda Guzman each went 1-for-3 for Hanford, with Dias driving in a run and Guzman and Harris scoring one apiece.

For Lemoore, Katelynn Newton, Valarie Gobby, Lyndsie Wynn, Meagan Evangelho and Kaitlin Deathriage all went 1-for-3. Wynn doubled, and Gobby scored her team's only run.

Next up for both teams is the Central Section Division II playoffs. Seedings will be announced this weekend.

El Diamante defeated Golden West 5-2 to take outright league title Thursday. Golden West was second, Lemoore finished third, and Hanford and Hanford West tied for fourth.

(May 9, 2008)