Douglas High School senior Cam McLelland talks to the Tigers during a mound visit Tuesday against McQueen.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
In the top of the fifth inning Tuesday against McQueen, Douglas High School softball made a pair of errors that allowed the Lancers to take a 6-3 lead.
The half-inning came moments after the Tigers had overturned a 2-0 deficit, prompting senior Cam McLelland to call a player meeting on the mound.
“I just explained to my team that we're better than we're letting ourselves be. We're beating ourselves right now and just to think before the pitch was happening, trust our practices,” said McLelland.
That’s an example of leadership the team has relied on this spring.
The spark carried over to the home half of the fifth where Douglas plated five runs to jump back in front 8-6 before winning, 10-9.
“This game is full of errors and you're bound to make them,” said Annie Hill, a senior. “So I think just keeping calm, like it's OK. Everybody does it.”
(Douglas senior centerfielder Annie Hill makes a leaping catch earlier this spring. / Ron Harpin)
SENIOR TALENTS
McLelland and Hill have been staples in the varsity lineup for several years.
They credited juniors Peyton Simpson and Marissa McLelland with their leadership roles this spring, too.
Leadership is one aspect, but the two seniors are raking at the plate this spring.
Hill has seen her batting average and extra-base hit totals improve every season, crediting her approach to her success.
“My grandpa would say not dropping my hands,” joked Hill, “but for me, I would say just like my approach has gotten a lot better. My goal is when I'm hitting to the right side to really focus on that right-center gap is when I hit my best. And for me, it's like, I need to step up and if there's a runner on base.”
As a sophomore, Hill recorded a .349 batting average with seven doubles and nine RBIs. Last season, she posted a .424 average with 12 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI.
In her final season in orange and black, Hill has 25 RBIs on 15 doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs to go alongside her .489 batting clip.
McLelland missed a portion of her junior season with injury, but has not shown any signs of lingering issues.
The senior leads the team with a .536 batting average and is tied for the Class 5A North lead with eight home runs, despite seeing plenty of “junk pitches.”
She taken on the majority of the pitching as well, posting a 2.62 ERA in 77.1 innings with 111 strikeouts.
In spite of a couple of fielding errors against the Lancers, McLelland knows she’s at her best when she trusts those behind her.
“Doing what I can. Not putting everything on me allowing my team to do their stuff and having confidence in them to do what they're doing,” said McLelland.
POSTSEASON EXPECTATIONS
The scuttlebutt in the season’s early going around the Class 5A North was that the Tigers had fallen off.
After graduating 12 seniors over the last two seasons, it seemed time for Douglas to get caught by the pack.
The regional tournament is next week and the Tigers, at worst, will be a top four seed.
The seniors, who were both influential pieces on the last two Tiger teams to make the state title game, aren’t feeling pressure to repeat their postseason successes.
“You know there was pressure in this game to win this game,” said Hill after the win over McQueen. “I think every team is feeling pressure. I would say yeah, you know we have that pressure, but we're willing to work with it and use it to fire us on.”
McLelland felt outside postseason expectations don’t matter much, but the team’s confidence next week will be vital.
“I feel that there is no longer the expectation to get there. Every single team has the ability to go there. It's just who's going to do the little things right,” said McLelland. “We're very focused on doing the little things right, getting those little things down, and then competing all the way through the end as far as we can get and just being confident with what we do.”
(Douglas seniors pose for a photo on Senior Day. Left to right are Annie Hill, Cam McLelland and Lyla Brooks. / Ron Harpin)