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WEST WARWICK — Kaylee Decoteau erased an empty evening at the plate with one timely swing.

Her line drive into right field was the difference in a battle of expected Division II softball contenders. It came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, a two-run single that made West Warwick a walkoff winner.

The Wizards stormed from behind in the shadows of McCarthy Stadium and the setting sun. Decoteau lifted them to a 7-6 victory over Johnston, a thriller that wasn’t decided until the final pitch.

“I wasn’t really hitting the rest of the day,” Decoteau said. “Getting that last hit and winning the game for us, it was exhilarating.”

West Warwick faced a 6-4 deficit with three outs to play and made the most of its limited time remaining. Adrianna Carsetti scored on an infield error and Decoteau stepped in with the bases loaded. She capped the rally with a bullet to the right side, chasing home Grace Gallo from third base and Allie Iannotti from second.

“We knew they had a good team,” West Warwick outfielder Charlotte Horak said. “We just had to string some hits together. That’s really it at the end of the day.”

The Panthers snapped a 4-4 tie in the top of the seventh and looked set to escape with a fifth straight league win to start the season. Bella Boudreau smoked an RBI double to deep left and Kayln Foster drove a sacrifice fly to right that plated what felt like enough insurance. The Wizards had other ideas and avoided adding another close loss to one-run defeats against Scituate and Westerly.

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“It’s so fun,” Horak said. “I just look forward to it so much every time we have a game coming up. It gets you so fired up.”

West Warwick plated single runs in each of the first three innings and added another in the bottom of the sixth. Johnston had shut out three of its first four opponents and eased to a 9-1 win over Barrington in its other contest. The Wizards pounded out nine hits and drew four walks in this one, with Horak reaching safely three times.

“I usually go for more reaction, not thinking,” Decoteau said. “I’m trying to time up the pitcher and watch how the girl in front of me is reacting to the ball.”

It was a 3-3 game after three innings — a picket fence from West Warwick (5-2) and one explosion from the Panthers (4-1). Carsetti’s sacrifice fly in the first, Gallo’s inside-the-park homer to right in the second and an infield error in the third helped the Wizards build some confidence. Boudreau’s single off the pitcher’s glove, Foster’s double to deep center and Madison Campano’s double to left center fueled Johnston’s answer in the third.

“I definitely expected something like this,” Horak said. “I knew Johnston was a great team and they were going to come in looking to beat us. We just had to focus in and be intense.”

The Panthers took the lead in the fifth when Boudreau tripled down the line in right and Foster lined an RBI single to left. Those two hitters sparked Johnston from the middle of the order — a combined 6-for-7 with four runs scored and five driven in. Horak’s run-scoring triple down the line in right knotted the game in the sixth and was part of a balanced attack that saw all but one starter reach safely.

“It’s a team sport,” Horak said. “We have to have confidence in each other.”

Johnston, Ponaganset, the Spartans and the Bulldogs all entered Wednesday unbeaten in league play. Defending champion East Greenwich is up to Division I and won’t repeat — the crown is open for the taking at Rhode Island College in June. West Warwick made its case to be included on the short list with this dramatic comeback.

“That was so fun,” Decoteau said. “We were yelling and it was so exciting.”

Johnston 003 010 2 — 6 10 3

West Warwick 111 001 3 — 7 9 1

Haley Boudreau and Bella Boudreau. Emma Pinault, Bryce Principe (3) and Madison Walsh. HR — Grace Gallo (WW).

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25