School may have been out, but McNary softball was putting in work at the start of the week. The Lady Celts were up at Mountainside High School for the Jesuit/Mountainside Tournament for four games over two days.
The Lady Celts went 3-1, rebounding from an early 10-4 loss to Mountainside in McNary’s opening game of the tournament on Monday. The undefeated Mavericks are ranked No. 4 at press time.
Rocky start at Mountainside
Monday’s opener started rough for McNary and starting pitcher Lacey Vasas, as Mountainside jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. By the end of the third inning the Lady Celts were staring down an eight-run deficit.
The fourth inning saw some positives for McNary, as Brookelynn Jackson went deep. The two-run home run was her first of the season.
Ali Martinez matched Jackson in the sixth with her own two-run shot, number two for Martinez this season.
But the Lady Celts offense came alive too little too late.
Ebner powers Lady Celts past Tualatin
The McNary bats were awake for their second game of the day on Tuesday, led by Heather Ebner’s two home runs.
She led the second inning off with a solo shot that tied the game at one.
In the third, after Tualatin took a 3-2 lead, McNary responded again. Martinez doubled in Jackson and Natalie Macik. Then, Ebner hit her second home run of the game, putting the Lady Celts up 6-3.
Against Tualatin, Ebner went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored.
Macik picked up the win for the Lady Celts, the first of the season for the freshman. She allowed six hits and one run in four innings, striking out two.
Perfect Tuesday
The Lady Celts’ Tuesday started perfect. As in a perfect game from their freshman pitcher.
Macik went five innings, striking out eight, as the Lady Celts finished off Central Catholic 10-0 in five innings.
At the plate, she was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored/
The Lady Celts offense broke the game open in the third inning, scoring six runs.
McNary goes up early on Southridge
The Lady Celts two-day excursion ended with an 8-5 win against Southridge.
For the third time in the four-game stretch, the Lady Celts were down after the first inning. But six runs in the second inning put them up for good.
Aspynn Westby started the scoring with an RBI single that scored Ebner. Madison Morse singled in Vasas to put McNary up 2-1.
They added four more in the inning, going up 6-1 and never looking back.
Macik had another multi-hit game while allowing no earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched. She allowed two hits and one unearned run.
Over the four games, Macik went 16.1 innings. She allowed 13 hits and six runs, three of which were unearned, and struck out 12 batters.
Vasas struck out 8 in 8.2 innings.
At the plate in the four games both Jackson and Ebner went 7-for-13 with four RBIs. Jackson had five runs scored, while Ebner came across four times.