MAC secures two come-from-behind victories to win division
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THOMPSON FALLS – Janeal McDonald was on third with two outs, and down one run in the top of the seventh inning of the Western B-C Divisional Championship against No. 1 seed Florence. Serena Long stepped up to the plate. A few swings later she was in a full count: three balls, two strikes. A pop-up left off second base, brought McDonald in to tie the game. Siraha Camacho steps up to the plate and cracks a double to RBI Long and to give the Mission, Arlee, Charlo softball team a one run advantage, 7-6.
The game wasn’t over just yet though, as Florence had one last chance to regain the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Pitcher Kyla Olson, and MAC’s relentless defense held out when it mattered the most to keep the Florence sluggers in the dugout. With the win, MAC secured top seed for the state championship in Glasgow this week.
“They did what I told them to do,” head coach Susan Weaselhead said. “They remained focused and kept their heads in the game.”
The advice was worth its weight in gold, as players’ confidence and heads-up play helped them come from behind first against Loyola in semifinals, where the team was down two runs in the bottom of the seventh, then against Florence as the team overcame a five-run deficit in the seventh.
“I told them to be confident at the plate,” Weaselhead said. “We already knew we would go to state, so I told them to go out and have fun.”
The Lady Bulldogs were definitely having fun as friends and family rushed the field at the conclusion of the championship game, screaming and hugging in celebration.
The game started out slow, as Olson and Byrne put on the heat from the circle. Things started to pick up as the Falcons were able to squeeze in a run during the bottom of the third.
MAC answered with their first run in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game 1-1.
The Falcons surprised MAC when they exploded at bat during the bottom of the same inning, scoring an impressive five runs to build the largest deficit of the day at 6-1, with only one inning left. That’s when things got interesting.
MAC’s Loren Erickson, Kinley Pope, Olson and Long each drove in a run during their final at-bat.
Olson picked up her 15th win of the season in the circle, while handing Byrne her second loss of the season, finishing up at 18-2.
Pope and McDonald both finished with a pair of hits each in the win,
For the Falcons, Cassandra Skeers, Kirsten Lind and Paige Bodner both finished the game with a pair of hits.
MAC will take on Cut Bank on Thursday in the State B-C Tournament in Glasgow.
To get to the final, MAC was first paired against a talented Loyola team. MAC struck first, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The team would slowly build their lead to 4-0 over the first three innings.
The Breakers rallied by putting up five runs in the top of the fourth to take a one run lead. Loyola put MAC’s offense on hold, as talented pitcher Sarah Goodman kept them scoreless from the fourth until the sixth inning, allowing Loyola to gain their largest lead of the day, 6-4, at the top of the seventh.
MAC kept the Breakers from producing any additional offense in the top of the seventh inning; yet, the team still faced a two-run deficit. As the inning progressed, things weren’t looking good for MAC, still down a pair of runs with two outs.
Then all of a sudden MAC’s lineup got hot at bat, and the team was able to pull off an impressive three-run scoring frenzy. Camacho put the game away when she nailed a two RBI single, sealing the 7-6 victory.
Pope led her team at bat, finishing 3 for 4, along with a home run and two RBIs. Teammate McDonald fared well at the plate, hitting 2 for 4.
For the Breakers, Heather Huguet and Laura Snook were the only players to record a hit in the loss.
