The late-game heroics should not have been necessary in No. 5 Caldera’s 8-7 win over No. 12 Thurston in the first round of the Class 5A state softball playoffs. But why have a boring, ho-hum ending to a game when there is a chance to give the home crowd anxiety and have them sitting on the edge of their seats?

This year, when given the choice, the Wolfpack are going to choose the latter.

“This team loves to play seven innings,” said Caldera coach Lisa Kienzle.

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the team is, they love playing seven innings. They love to compete, they are going to let you back in the game, but they are going to come back in and compete.”

Caldera (18-8 overall) picked up the program’s first ever playoff win in thrilling fashion on a drizzly Tuesday evening at Caldera, with junior Avary Arment coming through with the winning infield single to send the Wolfpack to the quarterfinals at No. 4 Lebanon Friday night.

“We were just so determined to get to our goal of being in the second round,” Arment said. “Our goal all season was to get to the second round and then when we came, I could see it in everyone’s eyes that we are going to do this.”

The Wolfpack might enjoy playing in these tight games in which a single play could be the difference between winning and losing.

But down to their last out, the winning run 60 feet away and after seeing the two previous batters — thanks to a pair of terrific defensive plays in the field by Thurston — unable to come through with the winning hit, it’s only natural that the nerves kick in.

“I was so scared, I was shaking,” Arment said. “I was thinking ‘just hit the ball’ and take everything from the season and put it all out there.”

Arment put the ball in play toward the shortstop and had to beat the throw to first. The junior centerfielder said she felt as though she was running in slow motion.

But when she glanced at the ball about halfway down the baseline, she knew she was going to be safe and the Wolfpack would be advancing.

“At first I felt like I was going to cry,” Arment said. “It was a lot of ups and downs, but I’m glad that we were able to pull it out.”

Trailing 7-2, Thurston found a surge of power in the batter’s box late in the game. Bailey Tovey hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, Syren Ferguson hit a solo shot to start the seventh inning, then Daphnie Heckel hit a two-run homer later in the seventh. Suddenly Caldera’s five-run lead had evaporated and the game was tied 7-7.

Then the Wolfpack responded by putting its first two batters on base in the bottom of the seventh, setting the stage for Arment to drive home the winning run.

The Wolfpack trailed 2-1 going into the fourth inning, but they had a two-out rally to take control of the game.

All six of the runs scored in the inning came with two outs.

The game flipped in Caldera’s favor when junior Taya Brown singled home two runs with a single. Then a throwing error on the play allowed Brown to come all the way home and score, giving the Wolfpack a 4-2 lead. They then added three more runs in the inning.

“We got to have two outs to perform,” Kienzle joked. “With two outs, we are showing up. They love the pressure.”

Freshman Brooklyn Chapin turned in a solid outing in the circle, finishing with eight strikeouts and giving up two earned runs (four total) off of seven hits in six innings of work.

“After the first inning I started to throw my riseball more,” Chapin said. “That is how I got most of my strikeouts. The riseball up in the zone, even though the umps weren’t calling it, was working really well.”

Class 5A first round

No. 2 Bend 6, No. 15 Central 1

Senior Addison Fisher was on her game in the circle against Central. The senior struck out 16 batters and allowed three hits and one unearned run in the win.

Junior Taylor Aldrich and senior Bryanna Schaefer each drove in two runs for Lava Bears, while freshman Cassidy Sandgren hit a triple. As a team, Bend stole four bases, with Fisher swiping two and Isabella Lauerman and junior Lauren Glasser each stealing one.

The Lava Bears will put their 18-game winning streak on the line in a quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 Wilsonville Friday evening at 4:30 p.m. at Bend High.

No. 3 Silverton 13,

No. 14 Ridgeview 3

The Ravens tallied seven hits and Brezlyn Hagemeister hit a solo home run but it was not enough to get past Silverton.

Sophomore Josie Hopper and junior Breonna Johnston each collected two hits for Ridgeview (10-12), while junior Brooklyn Lick drove in a run against the Foxes.

Class 4A first round

No. 9 Crook County 8,

No. 8 Cascade 4

Behind a 10-strikeout performance from senior Raelynn Weaver, the Cowgirls are headed to Class 4A quarterfinals for the second year in a row after pulling off an 8-4 upset at Cascade.

Weaver was dominant through the first four innings, allowing only one hit and striking out nine Cougar batters while the Cowgirls (16-11) built an early 4-0 lead.

Crook County had 10 hits total, led by seniors Danner Hemphill, senior Jaycee Villastrigo and junior Kya Mozingo, who each had a pair of hits. Hemphill and senior Tylee Cossitt each drove in two runs in the win.

The Cowgirls will travel to Klamath Falls on Friday to face No. 1 Henley at 3 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals.