Lake Washington went the hard road. After losing its first game in the 3A state softball tournament on Friday, the Kangs had to win five straight to take third place.

Mission accomplished.

With a 4-1 triumph over Bonney Lake on Saturday afternoon at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey, Lake Washington lifted the hardware by winning its third game of the day to go along with two on Friday afternoon/evening.

Senior Tori Bivens had two hits and two RBIs against Bonney Lake and got the win with nine strikeouts. Catcher Abigail Mills had two hits.

Following the game, an emotional Bivens said she is proud of the hard work the team delivered to reel off the five-game winning streak. The final win was the hardest, she added.

“It took every ounce of dedication and energy from our team, and we pulled it off,” she said.

She said the Kangs (19-7 overall) took every game one pitch at a time.

“Every single person on our team was needed, and everyone pitched in. We did it … and it took a long time, but we did it,” she said.

Could the pitcher go another game if she had to?

“I’m not sure, but I know right now, my arm is gonna fall off. But I couldn’t have done it without my team, they stepped up, they made the plays, they got the hits for me and it was definitely a team series of wins,” she said.

Jane Wilson shared the pitching load, and Bivens said her teammate rose to the occasion each time she entered the pitchers’ circle.

As the players firmly placed their arms around each other during a postgame meeting, the tears flowed and the smiles radiated as bright as the sun that enveloped the field.

All the players took pictures with each other and didn’t seem to want to leave Kangs’ familial-like gathering.

Bivens said the memories and relationships will stick with her.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter about the year we won state or the year we didn’t win state. It’s the fact that I’ve grown up with these awesome individuals, and later on in life, I can go back and talk to them about the great times we had. I’m really content and happy with this,” she said.

On Saturday, LW also beat Everett (3-0) and Mt. Spokane (9-8) before snagging that final victory.

In Friday’s early action, Yelm defeated Juanita, 7-5, and Snohomish beat Lake Washington, 8-4.

For LW, Bivens had three hits and three RBIs. For Juanita, Lexi Blackburn, Abbie Reynolds and Kristina Warford all homered.

Lake Washington beat Stadium, 17-3, in its second game. Juanita’s season ended with a 5-4 loss to Everett in its second game.

The Rebels led 4-3 after six innings and Everett scored two in the top of the seventh.

Eden Radke, Briar Swayne and Reynolds had one hit and one RBI each for Juanita (14-14 overall).

Lake Washington won its second straight game on Friday night to advance to Saturday’s action.

In the Kangs’ 7-4 victory over Meadowdale, Haley Brown homered and Olivia Smallman and Wilson each had one hit and one RBI.