6A district softball: 1 perfect game, 17 home runs send 4 teams to semifinals
Except for one dominant pitcher, sluggers ruled the first round of the 6A District Three softball tournament.
Hitters sent 17 balls over the fence in four first-round games Monday at Owyhee and Mountain View high schools. The offensive explosion sent Eagle, Rocky Mountain, Owyhee and Mountain View to Tuesday’s semifinal round at Owyhee.
Monday also saw the 5A and 4A district championship matchups get set in the Treasure Valley. Below are the day’s highlights.
6A SIC DISTRICT SEMIFINALS
- No. 1 Eagle (19-5-1) vs. No. 5 Rocky Mountain (14-12), 5 p.m.
- No. 2 Owyhee (22-2) vs. No. 3 Mountain View (13-6), 6:30 p.m.
[Related: 6A to 2A district softball brackets, scores]
OWYHEE 5, MERIDIAN 0: Hailey Brennan turned in another dominant performance, recording her second perfect game of the season and striking out 18 of the 21 batters she faced.
Only three Meridian batters managed to put the ball in play. And just one, Addison Little, managed to leave the infield, forcing shortstop Kenadi Garrett to make an over-the-shoulder catch in shallow left field in the seventh inning.
Owyhee didn’t need much offense with Brennan dealing in the circle on her home field. But the Storm cranked three home runs anyway. Grace Groulx hit a two-run home run to left field in the fifth inning, while Hailey Bock and Madalynn Mahaffey added solo shots.
The loss drops Meridian (10-11) into the losers’ bracket, where the Warriors face Boise in an elimination game at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mountain View.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 15, BOISE 12: Brooke Austin had never hit a grand slam at any point in her life before Monday. Then she cranked two in one game, powering the Mavericks into Tuesday’s semifinal round.
The junior first baseman sent a shot over the center-field fence in the second inning, then added a line-drive grand slam to right-center field in the fifth to finish the night 2-for-5 with eight RBIs.
“That kid is just special across the board,” Mountain View coach Kylie Orr said. “She’s one of the hardest working kids. She’s put in so much work and time into her swing in the offseason and throughout the year.”
Austin possesses plenty of power as Monday’s outing boosted her season home run total to 11. But she said she didn’t approach either bases-loaded situation swinging for the fences.
“I was just looking to barrel the ball up,” Austin said. “Seeing the ball out in front of the white, line drives, top of the yellow, top of the ball. There’s nothing you really can do in those moments except hit the ball.
“And if they give you your pitch, just send it, if you can.”
Those two grand slams proved crucial in a slugfest. Ninth-seeded Boise (11-14) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning, thanks in part to the first of two solo home runs from Kamryn Newberry.
Austin’s second-inning blast gave Mountain View its first lead, and the Mavericks held on from there as both teams lit up the scoreboard.
Mya Penner added a two-run home run for the Mavericks in the fourth, and Mountain View racked up 11 hits and took advantage of eight walks and three Boise errors.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN 14, CAPITAL 13: The Grizzlies stuck with pitcher Morgan Thompson in a tense situation. And the freshman delivered, wriggling her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Fourth-seeded Capital (14-9) threatened a comeback in its last at-bat, pushing a pair of runs across the plate to make it a one-run game. But Thompson froze Genevieve Tessemer with a drop ball on the outside corner to finally put the Eagles away with her seventh strikeout of the evening.
“We have a good No. 2 (pitcher). But Morgan, she just has ‘it,’” Rocky Mountain coach Casey Higginbotham said. “Obviously, that moment could be too big for some. But I had full trust in her finishing the job.
“It was stressful, yeah. But she got it done for us.”
Rocky Mountain jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Capital sandwiched a pair of walks around a pair of errors in the outfield. Kaitlyn Windau ripped a run-scoring triple into the right-center field gap for the Grizzlies’ lone hit in the frame, and the Grizzlies never surrendered their early lead.
Brooke Singelyn, Aubrey Sorensen and Hadley Griggs added home runs for Rocky Mountain as the Grizzlies racked up 13 hits and continued to add to their lead. But Capital twice cut the lead to one run, including the dramatic seventh inning, when Tayla Ryan lined a single to left field to move the tying run 60 feet from home plate.
But Thompson said she never felt the pressure and kept hunting for a groundball and relying on her defense. She finished the complete game giving up 13 runs (nine earned) on 15 hits.
“There was a lot of adrenaline,” Thompson said. “I would just say I was out there to get some outs, ready to win.”
BYU signee McKenna Chavez added a solo home run and went 3-for-4 for Capital, which drops into the losers’ bracket. The Eagles face elimination against Centennial at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Mountain View.
EAGLE 14, CENTENNIAL 4 (5 innings): Makenzie Owens belted three home runs, and Ellie McMangial added two more bombs as the Mustangs rolled to a first-round victory at Owyhee.
Owens finished the afternoon 3-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs and a two-run shot. Meanwhile, McMangial went 4-for-4 with six RBIs and finished a single shy of the cycle.
Ninth-seeded Centennial (10-15) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. But the Patriots couldn’t keep up with the Mustangs’ power.
Bailey Shankland stood as the bright spot in the Centennial lineup, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs.
5A DISTRICT THREE TOURNAMENT
VALLIVUE 17, SKYVIEW 7 (5 innings): Abbie Eggleston and Journey Engle each recorded three hits to move the Falcons into the district championship game with a mercy-rule win over at home.
No. 2 Vallivue (20-5) faces No. 1 Middleton (20-5) in the title game at 5 p.m. Thursday at Columbia High in Nampa. It is the Falcons’ first district championship appearance since 2022.
Eggleston totaled five RBIs as Vallivue racked up 13 hits, including a pair of triples from Kenley Leuthold. Maris Farner earned the complete-game victory in the circle, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs while striking out three. She also went 1-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs.
Grace Chambers led Skyview (17-6) with a 3-for-3 performance and two RBIs. The Hawks play Nampa (13-12) in an elimination game at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Columbia.
MIDDLETON 9, BISHOP KELLY 4: The Vikings fell behind 4-3 after four innings before plating five runs in the bottom of the fifth to seal a home victory.
Haylee Hultner, Adelyn McPherson and Kendyl Chronister had two hits apiece and combined for six RBIs to lead Middleton.
Averi Gustafson survived an up-and-down game in the circle, allowing seven hits and four earned runs while striking out seven for the complete-game win.
Josie Cunningham hit a solo home run for BK (16-7) in the top of the fourth and finished 2-for-4. The Knights play Emmett (7-13) in a loser-out game Wednesday.
4A DISTRICT THREE TOURNAMENT
WEISER 14, FRUITLAND 4 (6 innings): The Wolverines used a nine-run third inning to roll past the Grizzlies at home and into the district championship game.
Weiser (19-3) draws top-seeded and defending district champion Cole Valley Christian (20-5) in the title game Wednesday. Both teams clinched state berths Monday.
Ali Sorensen finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Alyvia Goff and Jessica Waite added two hits apiece for the Wolverines. Madi Janicek picked up the complete-game win, allowing three hits and two earned runs with seven strikeouts.
Faith Newman went 2-for-3 to lead Fruitland (13-11), which faces McCall-Donnelly (4-21) in an elimination game Tuesday.
COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN 25, HOMEDALE 5 (5 innings): Lauren Colson and Brinkley Lauderdale each hit a home run as the top-seed Chargers dominated.
Lauderdale, who finished 3-for-3 with four RBIs, was one of five Chargers to log multiple hits in the win.
While Homedale scored a combined five runs in the first two innings, pitcher Addy Herrera recovered for the win in the circle. Herrera finished with seven strikeouts and helped her own cause with a pair of hits and two RBIs.
Six different players had one hit apiece for Homedale (9-14), which takes on Payette in an elimination game Tuesday.
