By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

MEDFORD, Ore.–  And there was three.

The NW Vandals wanted to be in this situation entering Sunday, but maybe not in the spot they enter Championship Day in Southern Oregon.

Faced with a solid Colorado Angels-Supercynski squad in the Championship Semi-finals bracket, the Vandals from the Salem-area were hoping for a similar result like their previous games leading into this game with a win.

But, it wasn’t the best of days nor was it the worst of days.  It was the softball equivalent of ‘It’s baseball’.

“I felt like it wasn’t that hard to be completely honesty because we were not in it as I feel like, like our usual selves,” said Maison Searle.  “I felt like we did pretty well on defense holding them we could.  I mean they got hit when we weren’t there, but we field them pretty good.

“Our hitting, it was different story.  We had better days.”

Colorado outproduced the bats of the Vandals 11 to six, but the defense only held those six runs in spurts.  Two in the second, one in the fourth and fifth innings, two in the seventh inning.

The bats, as Searle touched on, were a different story as their rhythm was not there.  Searle and Abbi Covalt accounted for four of the Vandals six hits as both had two hits each with Kami Combs driving in Covalt for the lone run of the game in the fourth inning that made it a 3-1 ballgame at that point off a RBI double.

Covalt mentioned about how strange it is timing wise in hitting going from St. Louis, Missouri at the Junior Olympic Cup to the Western Nationals in Medford, Oregon.

“I think it’s just weird coming off of the best pitchers in America in Missouri then coming here where it’s good pitching but it’s not the same,” said Covalt. “It’s your getting overpowered in Missouri to here where it’s a lot slower.”

Mackenzie Scott had the sixth NW Vandal hit of the game as the Vandals loaded up the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning down 6-1, but couldn’t bring them in to put more pressure on the Angels to hold them off as a strikeout and a line-out ended the NW Vandals threat.

It wasn’t the best game nor was it the worse, it was softball.  And there’s one more chance for the Vandals to end this season right.

Facing the Norcal Legends at 9am, the pressure is there playing in an elimination game setting here on out, but the ball is in their court entering the final innings of the summer softball season.

“It’ a new day to kind of forget what happened.  Go out there and be aggressive, get balls, hit hard because with turf it’ll keep going,” said Covalt.

“Just flushing it like (Head Coach Marie Scott) said, working all over again.  Starting over, new day.  One pitch at a time, one game at a time,” adds Searle.

 

Photos By Jeremy McDonald