LOYOLA - Two landslide wins over Eureka and a close loss to Loyola capped another week of softball for the Mission-Charlo-Arlee softball team.

Heading to Eureka, the Bulldogs got a little bit of a slow start in the first game. When the Mission bats finally picked it up in the third, they kept going. Led by Mission junior Katie McDonald, freshman Janeal McDonald and Kylie Bartche with two hits a piece, the team totaled nine in the game and celebrated 11 runs.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the innings, Mission senior Mattea Grant kept the home team at bay. She gave up a hit and walked five batters, but the number to remember was in the strikeout column - Grant gave up three of her five walks in an early inning, then rebounded to strike out all three Eureka batters in a row. After that, she never got off track again.

Janeal had a double and two RBIs. Serena Long added another two RBIs, and Pope, McDonald, Arlee senior Kelci Apland and Charlo junior Stephanie Murphy each had one.

Every player on the team got at least one hit in the game.  

In the second game of the double header, it was more of the same. This time, the Mission team was already warm and it showed when the runs started flying early. By the third inning, Grant allowed only one hit and one walk and Mission drove in 14 runners.

Mission head coach Tom Peterson let rookie Janeal take a shot at pitching in her first varsity game.

Although she gave up five runs, she still forced Eureka to take advantage of the 10-run mercy rule. Actually, she forced the mercy rule with one final run on the offensive side of things, with an RBI to put Long home in the bottom of the fifth for the team’s 15th and final score.   

In this one, Apland was the big hitter, going 2-4 with three RBIs. Janeal added two doubles.

Peterson was pleased with his pitcher, and happy to come away with two victories on the long roadtrip.

“I feel good. They’re a good team so it’s good to beat them,”  Peterson said of Eureka. “They have some good athletes. It’s a long time to go to Eureka so it’s good to come away with two wins.”

Against Loyola, Mission met tougher pitching and couldn’t scrounge up enough hits to get the job done, finishing with only three.

In fact, all three of Mission’s hits came in the sixth inning. Grant led off with a single, then Pope followed suit. A few walks later and the team had three runs, but it didn’t compare to the seven Loyola  secured in the first five. It just took too long for the Mission girls to find their grove, Peterson said.

“I think our girls were pressing a bit and trying a little too hard,” he said. “They didn’t seem to relax.”

Between facing a lot of different style pitching over the past couple of weeks and switching up the batting lineup due to scattered absences on the Mission roster, the team fell just shy of Loyola’s level on Monday.    

Peterson said playing at their best will be a matter of getting through the rest of the busy month of April, when his players have had a lot going on with other activities. His confidence remains high, he said.

“We need to relax a little more at the plate, that just comes with experience. We have some girls on our team with good attitudes and I think they work hard. I think that it will come around in time. I’m not too worried about it. We have a hard working group of kids,” he said.

Mission hosts Florence and Troy starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Mission 004 3103 - 11

Eureka 000 0000 - 0

Mattea Grant, 18 strikeouts, 5 walks, 1 hit

Katie McDonald 2-5, Janeal McDonald 2-5, Kylie Bartche 2-3

RBIs Serena Long 2, Janeal McDonald 2, Kinley Pope 1 Katie McDonald 1, Stephanie Murphy 1, Kelci Apland 1

2BH Janeal McDonald 1

Mission 356 01 - 15

Eureka 000 32  - 5

Mattea Grant, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1 hit,

Janeal McDonald, 2 strikeouts, 8 walks, 0 hits

Katie McDonald 2-4, Celci Apland 2-4, Janeal McDonald 2-4, Kylie Bartche 1-2

RBIs Kinley Pope 2, Katie McDonald 2, Celci Apland

2BH Mattea 1, Kinley Pope 1, Janeal McDonald 2

Mission 000 0030 - 3

Loyola 301 120 - 7

Mattea Grant, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks, 5 hits, 1 hit batter

Mattea Grant 1-4, Kinley Pope 1-3, Katie McDonald 1-3