MAC picking up steam, eyeing State
Carrie Pichler
Fist bumps between innings shows Lady Bulldog support for one another.
Carrie Pichler
Lady Bulldog first baseman Emilie Charlo stretches for the out.
Carrie Pichler
Lady Bulldog Mikaylan Roylance
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Carrie Pichler
Pitcher Jaycee Anderson sets up to hurl in a pitch. Anderson along with RanDee Charlo have stepped it up to fill big shoesd in the circle.
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Carrie Pichler
Carrie Pichler
Carrie Pichler
Carrie Pichler
Carrie Pichler
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ST. IGNATIUS – MAC attack’s in full force with the Lady Bulldogs owning the softball diamond. After an earlier bloop loss against rival Ronan, MAC’s making a statement that they will not be held down. The Lady Bulldogs plan to fight their way to the top with the goal of State in their future.
At 5-2 for the season, the Lady Bulldogs are progressing with each contest and picking up steam as they go, and according to Head Coach Susan Weaselhead, “They’re starting to come around. Things are definitely improving,” Weaselhead said. “The girls are tightening up and looking pretty good, for sure.”
The Lady Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by 30 in the last three games, showing strong offense throughout the entire lineup with Mikaylan Roylance leading the way posting an over .500 average with multiple doubles and RBIs.
“She’s just all around a very good athlete,” Weaselhead said about Roylance’s performance thus far, and along with Emilie Charlo, has proved to show great leadership for the team.
After losing their pitching powerhouse last season, the Lady Bulldogs were in need of a new generation of circle queens to fill those shoes. So far, the dynamic duo of Jaycee Anderson and RanDee Charlo has fit in just fine, with both girls sharing the circle and posting wins.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Weaselhead said. “But they are stepping up and doing well. We have also got some great defense behind them.”
A diligent infield and strong outfield gives the pitching staff room to breathe, pulling together a complete team as Roylance handles the hot spot third base and Jordyn Eichert takes the reins at shortstop. The Maidens boast a strong outfielder in Morgan Malatare, who robbed an over-the-fence homerun at last season’s Divisional Tournament.
Friday at Eureka, the Lady Bulldogs picked up a pair of wins after knocking the Lady Lions around their own ballpark.
In game one after a rocky first inning, the Lady Bulldogs came back with a vengeance to not only win the Western B-C contest, but scored nine in the fifth inning, forcing a mercy rule to go into effect and ending the game with a 13-3 victory.
Eichert played it perfect at the plate going 4-4 with three doubles and a pair of RBIs. Anderson picked up the win from the circle.
Game two on Friday showed MAC come out of the gate to take the lead only to hold it for another 10-run mercy rule game, going home with the 16-6 win.
RanDee Charlo grabbed the pitching win while Shania Dubois was 2-3 with a triple and two RBIs.
Saturday the Lady Bulldogs hosted Thompson Falls. After a quiet first couple of innings, MAC found their bats in the fourth inning, scoring 12 in the final three innings of play to end the game with the 13-3 win.
“It took a minute for the girls to get their bats going,” Weaselhead said. “But once they did, boy they started hitting the ball and producing runs. The girls came out and performed.”
Roylance went 3-4 in the bout with a double and a triple while knocking in four runs for her team. The circle win went to Anderson.
In a well-rounded division, Weaselhead knows her girls will have a tough season and postseason ahead, but memories of last year’s Divisional take down of number-one seeded Florence to put the Lady Bulldogs against Ronan in the championship game have lingered long enough to give the girls the push they need to remain optimistic.
“Teams are going to have to step up and play tight to make it to State this year,” she said. “Its quite the different mix than it has been from the past years.”
But all in all, Weaselhead is ready to fight and is pleased with the progress she is seeing.
“I think the girls have a goal of State and they’re just working hard to make it happen,” she said. “I think that we are just going to continue to get better and better.”
The Lady Bulldogs will host a double header against Troy on Friday.
Results
MAC 0 3 1 0 9 – 13 11 0
Eureka 3 0 0 0 0 0 – 3 4 1
Mikaylan Roylance 2-4, Jordyn Eichert 4-4, Emilie Charlo 1-2, Morgan Malatare 0-3, Jaycee Anderson 1-1, Berit DeGrandpre 0-1, Shania Dubois 0-2, Kenzie Couture 2-3, Haley Carroll 0-2, Elizabeth Morigeau 1-1, RanDee Charlo 0-2.
2B – Eichert (3), Roylance. RBIs – Roylance (2), Eichert (2), E. Charlo (2), Couture, Morigeau.
MAC 6 0 1 3 5 1 – 16 7 3
Eureka 2 0 0 4 0 0 – 6 4 1
Mikaylan Roylance 1-2, Berit DeGrandpre 1-1, Jordyn Eichert 1-2, Emilie Charlo 1-2, Morgan Malatare 0-1, Madison Savage 0-1, Stacy Anderson 0-1, Shania Dubois 2-3, Kenzie Couture 1-3, Haley Crawford 0-1, Haley Carroll 0-2, Elizabeth Morigeau 0-1, RanDee Charlo 0-4.
2B – Eichert, E. Charlo, Dubois. 3B – Dubois. RBIs – Couture (2), Dubois (2), Malatare, J. Anderson, R. Charlo, Savage.
MAC 0 1 0 4 5 3 – 13 13 5
Thompson Falls 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 – 3 7 4
Mikaylan Roylance 3-4, Jordyn Eichert 1-3, Emilie Charlo 1-3, Morgan Malatare 0-4, Jaycee Anderson 0-3, Haley Crawford 0-1, Shania Dubois 2-3, Kenzie Couture 2-4, Haley Carroll 1-3, Madison Savage 0-1, RanDee Charlo 2-3, Elizabeth Morigeau 1-1.
2B – Dubois (2), Roylance, Eichert, E. Charlo, Couture, Carroll, Morigeau. 3B – Roylance. RBIs – Roylance (4), R. Charlo (2), Eichert, Couture, E. Charlo, Morigeau.
