MAY 14, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A25
McNary remains unbeaten with win over Corvallis
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
The usually potent McNary offense
was stymied for most of the game, but
one big inning was enough to push
the Celtics over the edge to remain
unbeaten.
The Celtics softball team went off
for five runs on four hits in the bottom
of the fourth, propelling themselves to
a 7-3 victory over Corvallis on Monday,
May 10.
“We started off slow. People know
that we are good, so teams are going
to bring their A-plus game against us,”
McNary head coach Kevin Wise said.
“We started getting things going when
we began focusing on hitting line
drives.”
It was only the fourth time all season
where McNary was held under 10 runs
in a game.
McNary took a 1-0 lead on an
unearned run when a sharp single from
Shaylee Custer brought in Ali Martinez
from third — Martinez reached on an
error earlier in the inning.
The Celtics had their struggles
against Corvallis lefty Holland Jensen,
but they held onto their 1-0 lead due
to the early dominance of sophomore
pitcher Lacey Vasas. With a lethal fast-
ball-changeup combo, Vasas held the
Sprartans to no runs on just two hits in
her first four innings of work.
“I felt good today and I went into the
game with a positive mindset,” Vasas
said. “I have been practicing my chan-
geup a lot and it has been working bet-
ter in games.”
After retiring the side in the top of
the fourth, Vasas got the Celtics rally
started by leading off the inning with
a bunt single — it was her second bunt
for a hit on the night.
“Their bunt coverage was a little
bit shaky and Lacey can get down the
line. That sparked us and got us going,”
Wise said.
After Custer drew a walk, her sister,
KJ, drove an RBI-double to the wall in
right center field to put the Celtics up
2-0. Taylor Ebbs then lined a two-run
single to center to extend the McNary
lead to 4-0.
Abbi Covalt kept things going with
a one-out walk, which was followed by
a double steal to give McNary two run-
ners in scoring position. Kate Ronning
knocked in Ebbs with a sacrifice fly and
Heather Ebner brought in Covalt with
a hard-hit single to right field, making
the score 6-0 in favor of the Celts.
Despite rolling through the first four
frames with ease, Vasas faced some
trouble in the fifth and sixth innings,
but was able to limit the damage in
each instance.
Thanks to a bunt-hit and an error,
Corvallis had runners on first and third
with only one out. One run came in on
an infield single, but Vasas forced the
next hitter into a 4-6-3 double play to
end the inning.
In the top of the sixth, Hannah
Jensen torched a two-run homer to left
field to cut the lead to 6-3. But Vasas
proved to be unfazed and retired three
of the next four hitters.
“I felt like she was forcing it a little
bit. But after the home run, she took
a deep breath and went back to just
pitching and trusting her defense,”
Wise said.
The Celtics got an insurance run
in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a
seeing-eye single from Ebner, which
scored Covalt from second. Then, in
the top of the seventh, after giving up a
leadoff double, Vasas got three straight
outs to put away the win for McNary.
McNary will play host to Lebanon
on Wednesday, May 12. Game time is
5 p.m.
Shaylee Custer drives a ball down the right field line.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes
McNary center fielder Taylor Ebbs avoids the tag at third base.
Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes