With her Madison team clinging to a 2-1 lead against the defending Western C champs, McKenney was trying to nail down the victory in the final inning. To do that, she was going to have to face the heart of the Cougars order and hope she didn’t blink.

“It was nerve-wracking,” said McKenney. “It definitely wasn’t one of my better games. I had to hold it together and get them out.”

McKenney bore down in that final inning and served up the two outs her Bulldogs needed in a 2-1 win in a showdown between two of the MVC’s top teams.

“We made plays,” said Madison coach Al Veneziano. “If we make plays and she throws good pitches, things go well. I think she did a good job moving the ball around. I thought she had a great game.”

McKenney scattered five Dirigo hits, but the Cougars (4-1) had chances in the final two innings. The Cougars left two runners on in the sixth and had one thrown out at the plate, after she hesitated coming around third. Then in the seventh, Dirigo had two on with one out and the third and fourth hitters up.

“There are a couple of mistakes that we made,” said Dirigo coach Sara Thurston. “They’re great learning points for us at this time in the season. They’ll definitely  help us out later on. The girls were bummed out about the outcome, but it gives us a better opportunity to improve for the future.”

Dirigo pitcher Cami Denney pitched well, allowing just four hits. She also had two hits. Kirsten Wood had two  hits for the Bulldogs (6-0). One of those came in the first and Madison didn’t get another hit until the sixth, but the Bulldogs produced three in that inning to take the lead.

“I think some of her pitches didn’t work as well as they were earlier in the game,” said Thurston. “That’s where you’ve got to be able to trust your defense to make the plays, which we can do. We’re a strong defensive team.”

Dirigo had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Ambyr Wilson singled and advanced when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. She then took third on a wild pitch. Lauren Henderson followed with a hit to right that plated Wilson.

In the sixth, with one out, Wood singled and Sierra LeBlanc walked. McKenney hit a drive to right that Gabby Scott to make a diving play on but couldn’t hold it. Wood scored the tying run. Erika Parker followed with a single up the middle to score LeBlanc for the lead.

“The whole game we were getting our bats on the ball, but we were hitting it right to them every single time,” said McKenney.

Dirigo had a chance to tie it in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Denney produced her second single and Katelyn Olsen walked. Megan Bradbury hit the ball to right, but the Bulldogs relayed the ball home to end the inning with an out at the plate.

Then in the seventh, with one out, Emma Lueders and Natalie Bolduc drew walks. That forced McKenney to pitch to Tasha DeRoche and Wilson to preserve the lead.

“We did a good job against (DeRoche) all day,” said McKenney. “She hit a home run off me in the past, but it was definitely nerve-wracking. We definitely pulled together.”

DeRoche hit a nice liner toward left but shortstop Kayla Booker was able to stretch out to snag it for the second out. Booker then fielded a Wilson grounder and relayed the throw to Samantha Bruce at first for the final out.

“We had to come through,” said Veneziano. “We had the top of the order up (in the sixth). I thought if we could get some base runners, we could move some people. They make a lot of plays. They really played well. They’re a good team, and we don’t see that every night. Sometimes when you don’t see it, you don’t know how to react to it. I thought the kids reacted very well.”

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