MANSFIELD, Ohio — Whether in the pitcher’s circle or at the plate, Mackenzie Mullins was in complete command Tuesday afternoon.
Madison’s freshman pitcher twirled a one-hitter and had four hits as the Rams rolled to a 10-0 win over Galion in six innings in a Division II sectional semifinal at Madison.
The eighth-seeded Rams (10-14) will play second-seeded Bellevue (20-2) for the sectional title at 5 p.m. Friday at Bellevue.
Mullins struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter. She set the tone by striking out the side in the first before the Rams scored four in the home half of the inning.
“Getting out of the gate early is always good,” Madison coach Tim Niswander said. “When ‘Mac’ went out and struck out the side in the first inning and we scored four runs I thought at that point they were probably down a little bit and our kids got a little juiced up and that didn’t hurt, that’s for sure.”
Heavy Lumber: Eight of Madison’s 12 hits went for extra bases. Bailey Kiser and Alexis Crider each had a triple, while Mullins belted three doubles. Kiser, Sarah Walker and Egypt Murphy each doubled. Murphy knocked in two runs in the first.
“We finally started to hit the ball the way I thought we could this season,” Niswander said.
The four first-inning runs were more than enough for Mullins.
“It takes a lot of pressure off,” Mullins said. “It’s a lot easier to pitch with a cushion. My teammates are always there to back me up.”
‘X’ Factor: The teams met in late April in Galion with the Rams escaping with a 3-1 win. Mullins was still recovering from a nasty leg injury.
“She’s talented, there’s no doubt about that,” Galion coach Jena Opperman said of Mullins. “That’s not the only reason by any means. We just didn’t execute. There were balls on the infield that never should have gotten through the infield.”
Road to Recovery: Mullins was 3-0 with a 1.07 earned run average before being spiked in the shin in a game against Johnstown. She missed the next three weeks while recovering.
“She had 26 stitches inside and 17 outside (to close the wound),” Niswander said. “She was literally allowed to do nothing. She was on crutches for eight days and when she did come back she was out of it because she wasn’t able to do anything physical.”
Sitting out took its toll both physically and mentally.
“It was really hard not being able to play,” Mullins said. “It was a struggle because when I got back I wasn’t on my game. I couldn’t stride as far, which makes the ball go high or low. I feel like I’m close to having my accuracy back.
“It’s really exciting to advance in the tournament. We want to go far, but if we don’t go far we want to go down battling.”
