July 16, 2024
LAKE ELSINORE, CA – Madelyn Doty did everything required of a pitcher during her Tuesday assignment at Triple Crown’s TC Nationals, clocking out after five stellar innings of work at Rosetta Canyon Sports Complex.
Good thing for her Texas Glory 16u squad that she didn’t check out.
Taking on Suncats Jiminez/Gutierrez, Texas Glory (McKinney, TX) saw its lead start to shrivel after Doty left the circle, really a function of errors by the Glory as the Suncats (San Jose, CA) used small-ball tactics to fuel the offense. Doty was called back into service, got two outs to end the fifth inning, and then retired Suncats in order in the sixth to preserve a 4-3 victory.
Glory advanced in the Pool A winner’s half and has a couple chances Wednesday to earn a spot in the 16u championship bracket. You can imagine it’s not the last sighting opponents will have of Doty, who closed with four hits allowed, one walk and 12 strikeouts.
Blessed with physical skills to be sure, Doty’s primary strength Tuesday turned out to be her mental approach as she didn’t flinch when asked to return to the job she thought she’d already finished.
“When I get pulled out, I know that you just have to stay in there mentally,” Doty said. “You can’t let your brain go to other places; just stay in the game. I tried to get ahead in counts and get them to chase a little bit. I’m very confident in my offense, and I know if we’re behind they will come out and score.”
Glory methodically built a lead for Doty overtime, moving ahead 4-0 on solo home runs from Finlee Williams and Emily Souders along with run-scoring singles from Avery Howerton and Presley Kilgore. In the fifth, Suncats applied the pressure with bunts and aggressive baserunning, and upon Doty’s return she faced a situation with runners on second and third with one out.
In the fourth, she dealt with the same scenario and got the two final outs on called third strikes. This time, she gave up a run-scoring groundout and then another strikeout to end the inning. Shortstop Mackenna Jackson made a terrific grab on a scorched grounder for the first out in the sixth.
“Coming back in, that’s a weird position for a pitcher. We weren’t making any plays all the sudden, and I thought a chance (back to Doty) was what we needed,” said Glory coach Kevin Shelton. “I always make it a point to go to (Doty) when she comes out and say, hey, I need you to stay locked in. You never know if someone’s going to have to come back in, could be for any reason, not because somebody else isn’t doing their job.”
Both home runs for Glory were well-timed – Williams led off the game with her’s after a long at-bat punctuated by a drive to left-center. Souders, who had three hits on the day, launched her shot off the left-field foul pole, making the score 3-0 at the time.
“We faced some good pitching and made adjustments. Really, sometimes we hit the ball hard right at people,” Souders said. “We lengthened at-bats as the game went on and put the ball in play. I just wanted to find my pitch, something I could hit hard to help my team out. And I got the one I wanted.”
“This group is a lot of fun, come ready to play easily, and if my leadership will take, we’ll just go one pitch at a time,” Shelton said. “My only expectation is, they give their best on the next pitch.”
Suncats catcher Denae Mieshawn Lee had two hits, as did Gabriella Garcia.
