Highlanders double season loss total on final day, finish as World Series runner-up (2024)

Staff report

OXFORD, Ala. — Chris Berry had seen this movie before, and the McLennan softball coach didn’t want to watch it again.

As it turned out, he had to live through a rerun.

After losing only two games in the first 63 games of the season, top-seeded MCC dropped two more on the last day of the season. That brought a soul-crushing end to a sensational season, as second-seeded Indian River (Fla.) State College toppled the Highlanders with a pair of upset wins, 6-5 and 3-0, on Saturday to finish off the NJCAA Division I World Series at Choccolocco Park.

Indian River (57-10) seized the national championship in the process, while MCC (61-4) had to settle up for a runner-up finish for the second time in three seasons.

It was a gut-wrenching way to close out for the Highlanders, who looked positively unbeatable much of the season. MCC started out the year 44-0 and lost only two games in the regular season, to Grayson and Blinn, respectively.

Then the Highlanders blew through the Region V tournament and opened the World Series with four straight wins to reach Saturday’s championship game. That World Series run included an 8-0 run-rule win over this same Indian River team in the semifinals just a day before.

But on Saturday, Indian River pitcher J’dah Girigorie neutralized the Highlanders’ national-leading offensive attack. A freshman righthander from Curacao known as the “Curacao Cannon,” Girigorie pitched every inning of the championship doubleheader, allowing only 12 hits over those 14 innings while dealing MCC its first shutout of the season in the final game.

After the Pioneers won Saturday’s first game, 6-5, that set up one winner-take-all final game, since it was McLennan’s first loss of the tournament.

The Pioneers, playing carefree and loose, jumped out quickly against McLennan pitcher Brinly Maples. Adrianna Portanova worked a one-out walk from Maples, then swiped second base, as “The River” stands out as the country’s most aggressive team on the basepaths.

Another steal attempt by Portanova proved costly for MCC when the throw to try to cut her down at third sailed into the outfield for an error, allowing the Pioneer runner to score.

The Pioneers cashed in on another MCC error in the fourth on their way to extending the lead to 2-0, then added a third run in the sixth on a well-placed bunt from Maddox Thomas.

Meanwhile, MCC just couldn’t really get anything going against Girigorie. The Pioneer pitcher wasn’t overpowering, striking out only three in the game, but she worked quickly and induced a lot of pop-ups from the suddenly-pressing Highlander hitters.

McLennan still had a great shot to win the national championship when it loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the seventh. Trinity Allen smoked a double to lead off, then Kyla Heine and Kat Reyes followed with singles.

But Girigorie recovered to coax a popout from Madison Hornback, then hummed in a huge strikeout of Ellie Loveless, one of MCC’s earlier hitting heroes of the World Series.

That brought up Mickayla Torsch, and the MCC leftfielder showed grit in fouling off six straight pitches during the at-bat. But she ultimately lofted a fly to left, and Indian River secured the ball for the championship-clinching out.

In the first game, the Pioneers made the Highlanders play chase throughout the game, but McLennan still had a shot to win it in the bottom of the seventh. MCC came back to tie the game after trailing in both the first and fourth innings.

In that fourth, the Highlanders broke through with their first hit of the game against the Pioneers’ Girigorie, and that led to a two-run inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, MCC’s Taryn Batterton tapped a grounder and the Pioneers tossed home to try to cut down MCC’s Madison Garcia at the plate. Garcia collided with the Indian River catcher Maddox Thomas and the ball dribbled away, while the home plate umpire ruled Garcia safe in a weird-looking play, as Garcia was awarded the run before ever touching the plate.

At any rate, MCC took advantage of the bases-loaded situation to tie the game at 3 when Hornback was hit by a pitch to force in another run. McLennan couldn’t add any more, as Loveless left the bases jammed when she struck out for the third out.

The Highlanders took their first lead of the day an inning later. Taylor Meier beat Indian River’s defensive shift by poking one into a gap toward center field, and the ball rolled some 30 feet to the wall after landing, allowing Meier to hustle all the way to third with a leadoff triple. She scored moments later on a sacrifice fly to left from Garcia.

Indian River regained the lead with a two-run sixth and stretched it to 6-4 with another run in the seventh.

In the bottom of the inning, the Highlanders again threatened for a dramatic finishing flourish, loading the bases and scoring once when Reyes reached base on a hit-by-pitch. But a Hornback flyout and a Chesnee Faile popout ended the MCC rally.