Mercedes drives Saints to title

After 10 months of hard work and dedication, the Saints softball team’s ultimate goal became a reality on Monday when they won the 2014 NWAACC championship, with a come-from-behind 4-2 win over Clackamas Community college.

Mt. Hood won the title three straight years from 2009-2011, making this their fourth championship in six seasons, all under head coach Meadow McWhorter.

The Saints (40-3, 17-3) were clearly the best team in the NWAACC all season long, and it showed during the four-day championship tournament, played at Delta Park in north Portland.

“As a coach, it is the best feeling to watch your team grow throughout the season and be able to have that ‘moment,’ ” said McWhorter.

“All of the titles have been special, but this one, for me, was extra special because I got to experience it with my dad (Ricky McWhorter, added as assistant coach this year),” she said.

From the first day of the tourney last Friday, the Saints showed they were determined to bring home the title, thumping Grays Harbor Community College, 16-1, in the opening round. Mt. Hood kept its performance level up in the next round, beating Spokane Community College, 6-1.

On Saturday, Mt. Hood defeated Walla Walla Community College, 7-1. They then beat their biggest rival, Clackamas, 2-1, in a tense semi-final showdown. The Saints won in the botttom of the seventh inning, on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by freshman SheaLee Lindsey.

After clinching their spot in the championship game, the Saints waited to see who their opponent would be. And, after winning the losers bracket by defeating Treasure Valley, 8-3, earlier on Monday, Clackamas advanced to one final shot at Mt. Hood.

Mt. Hood and the Cougars met six times in 2014, and the Saints won the series, 4-2. Which also happen to be the final score of the final match-up.

The Cougars started off hot, scoring two runs in the second and third innings, making it 2-0. The momentum was in Clackamas’s favor until the bottom of the fourth inning, when freshman catcher Mercedes Green hit a 3-run home run over the centerfield fence, giving the Saints a boost of confidence and the lead for good.

“It was a game-changing moment, you could feel the momentum shift,” McWhorter said. “Mercedes was due for a clutch hit. I am so proud of her.”

Mt. Hood took control for the reminder of the game, adding an insurance run when sophomore Morgan Entze hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Sophomore Kristen Crawford earned her 20th win of the season, pitching a complete game and giving up the two earned runs and striking out five.

She got the last two outs in dramatic fashion: Spanier dove to catch a line drive hit by one of the Cougars, then doubled off a runner at first base, setting off the Saints’ celebration.

McWhorter gave the Cougars, who handed Mt. Hood two of their three losses in 2014, credit for playing tough.

“I have a lot of respect for the Clackamas softball program. They are coached well and play the game with a lot of heart,” said McWhorter.

As the team celebrated its championship together, more individual and group accomplishments were recognized.

Crawford finished tied for the most wins in the NWAACC (20), and finished first in conference with the lowest ERA (1.45).

Sophomore pitcher Ann-Marie Guischer finished right behind Crawford, with 17 wins, going 17-1 on the year with a 1.93 ERA. She also was third in conference with 143 strikeouts.

For the Mt. Hood offense, freshman Kasidee Lemberger finished fourth in NWAACC with a .497 batting average, a team high. Sophomore Teauna Hughes finished sixth best in NWAACC, batting .481. Hughes also finished fifth in home runs, with 14, and third in the conference with 63 RBIs.

Several Saints were awarded this season for their efforts, on and off the field.

Hughes was named tournament MVP, and Crawford, Guischer, and freshmen Lindsey and Chelsea Spanier joined her on the all-tournament team.

Crawford, Hughes and Lemberger were named NFCA NWAACC All-Americans. McWhorter and her coaching staff, Amanda Bunch and Ricky McWhorter  were named NWAACC coaching staff of the year. McWhorter was named NWAACC coach of the year and South Region coach of the year.

Crawford was named South Region pitcher of the year and Hughes was awarded South Region MVP for a second straight season.

Guischer and Lemberger were named to the NWAACC first-team all-league roster. Spanier, Green and sophomores Emma Bird and Morgan Entze were named to second team.

McWhorter said her group of players moved her, at an important time.

“This group of young women have changed my life. At a time when I questioned how much longer I wanted to coach, this team came along and changed everything,” the coach said. “They inspired me to be the best coach I can be.”

Off the field, sophomores (in athletic eligibility) Jordyn Anderson, Bird, Crawford, Hughes, Nicole Kellams and Laura Lesowske were named to the NWAACC all-academic team, each earning a GPA of 3.25  or better.

It was surely a memorable year for Mt. Hood, and there could be another in 2015.

McWhorter continues her dominance as a head coach, improving her career coaching record to 395-127. Kim Hyatt, MHCC athletic director, called her an inspiring leader whose “incredible program… has created excitement within the college community” and has drawn attention to Saints athletics “beyond the scoreboard.”

With a championship team, one might expect most of the players to be leaving, having used up their eligibility, but Mt. Hood has had an impressive group of freshmen this season, ready to step up.

Lemberger led the team in at-bats, hits and doubles. Lindsey was right behind, with 144 at-bats and a team-high 16 stolen bases.  After Hughes, Green was Mt. Hood’s top power hitter with 10 home runs and the one that ultimately won the Saints their championship. Spanier was up there, too, with nine home runs, and Kelsey Reams and Ashlee Mueller were close by, each hitting seven home runs.

The departing sophomores truly left a mark at Mt. Hood.

In their two years with the Saints, top players Crawford, Guischer and Hughes all made huge contributions to the program with their play. Hughes’ 35 home runs, 115 runs, 124 hits and 123 RBIs in two seasons show why she was named MVP in back-to-back seasons, and why she will be playing at the next level, at Boise State University, next year.

“It is rare for us to have a player like Teauna Hughes. She is one of most reliable student athletes I have coached,” said McWhorter. “She plays the game with so much passion, will run through a wall to make the play, and plays the game so selflessly.”

Arguably forming the best pitching duo in the NWAACC the past two seasons were Portland State-bound Crawford and Oregon Institute of Technology-bound Guischer, who have been a great 1-2 punch both years. Finishing with career records of 35-3, 175 strikeouts (Crawford) and 29-6, 294 strikeouts (Guischer), both women leave their mark with the program.

“They are salt (and) pepper. The perfect combo. Ann-Marie is the strikeout pitcher, Kristen is the pitcher who uses her defense,” said McWhorter. “They both grew so much from their freshmen seasons. It’s that ownership of their pitching that will make them great at the next level.”

Ending the season at 40-3, Mt. Hood had its best record ever since the program started, in 1996. McWhorter’s motto of “ Tradition. Family. Success” shows, as the 2014 Saints softball team are now NWAACC champions.

“I can’t even put into words what this team means to me. We shared something so special,” said McWhorter.

“I am so grateful to experience the moments, the laughs, the tears that I did with this group. They will forever be my family.”

To see the entire photo album, go to our Facebook page: