Westlake’s softball team opened District 25-5A action with a resounding statement, banging out an 8-7 win over defending champion Bowie and handing the Bulldogs their first district loss since 2005.

“It not only was a great win, but the way it happened is what I’m most proud of,” Westlake coach Haley Gaddis said. “We overcame some mistakes and never quit to pull that win out.”

The Chaps scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to earn the win Monday at Westlake High School, and the offense came from an unexpected source. After Mackenzie Whyte and Rosie Maddox failed to get on the bags from the third and fourth holes, respectively, the bottom of Westlake’s order produced the winning rally.

Cedar Slovacek singled and reached third on a single by Kathy Dzienkowski. Anne Lucado then drove in both runners with a shot into the rightfield gap and scored the winning run on a hit by Amanda Webb.

“Talk about timely hitting,” Gaddis said. “The bottom of our lineup won the game for us.”

Webb highlighted Westlake’s 11-hit attack with a home run. With the district-opening win, the Chaps improved to 3-6 overall.