By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
KEIZER, Ore.– The McNary Softball team gave themselves a chance.
Down 11-1 in the sixth inning, down to their last out facing the mercy rule, they rallied.
They wheeled off seven runs to not just extend the game to the seventh, but to give themselves a chance to win a ballgame. They had the small hits, they had the big hit coming way off an Autumn Siegel two-run Home Run. All those things led to their run. And with their defense turning a three-up, three-down inning in the top half of the seventh inning really made things a possible reality down 11-8.
“It came from the girl’s heart and dedication. We have a tough offense and you can’t go through our lineup too many times without them all hitting. Even if it’s not the big hit, we always preach that anything could happen when we have one out left and the girls never give up,” said McNary Head Coach Briana Brewer. “These seniors are such a great group of girls with their work ethic, their personality. These underclassmen, they really got to learn from them just with everything. Their skills, their heart, their work ethic and that will be huge for us next year.”
The Jesuit Softball team put the ball in play to start the game. Like a lot, and often to build initially an 11-0 lead going into that sixth inning
Adalyn Rhyne hit a three-run Home Run in the second inning that was followed by a four runs scoring in the third off of two Celtic errors before Olivia Hildreth added a run off a single that made it 8-0 Crusaders going into the fourth inning.
Adalyn Rhyne anchored her defense too. Through six innings, the freshman held the McNary bats to two hits as the bats continued to support as the Celtics struggled to find answers in the Round of 16 playoff game.
Their tough preseason helped them for moments like this and it paid off. And they needed to turn to that experience again entering the bottom half of the seventh inning with the momentum against them.
And with that pressure against them, they rose to the occasion. Jesuit was able to turn a three-up and down inning of their own to close out the game. Makena Boynay, who came in during the Celtics rally in the sixth in relief of Rhyne, was able to turn a three-up and down inning of her own behind back-to-back strikeouts and a Pop Out to close out the 11-8 victory on the road.
“(McNary) is a good team. They’re a good team and we knew we had to battle…the kids never quit and that’s what is really awesome. We’ve been like that all season long. We’ve played tough competition and we battle each and every night to the best that we can do. It’s a team effort out here. It’s not just one individual out here, we’re a team,” said Jesuit Head Coach Jim Speciale. “We always talk about passing the bat and we did that tonight and we kept doing it. We kept building it and building it. Defensively, we made some plays and there were some that we didn’t make, but we made the majority of them, which was good. I’m really proud of them.”
Jesuit heads to play Metro League foe Mountainside on Friday in the 6A State Quarterfinals, this will be the two squads fourth time playing. The Celtics closed out the season 23-5.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
