Strong Season for Mt. Hood Softball

Photos by Andrew Hull

The Mt. Hood softball team is having an exceptionally good season – again.

Defending Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) champions in 2022, the Saints were knocked off in the first round of the 2023 championship tournament. They’re determined this year to come back much stronger, and have done just that.

The team started its regular season with a four-game win streak, and hasn’t let up. Through April 17, the Saints have racked up 17 wins and 3 losses in the South division of the NWAC, with an overall record of 30-3.

With twelve games left in the regular season, the team is focused on winning another championship; Mt. Hood has taken six NWAC titles since 2009.

Head Coach Brittany Hendrickson, in her eighth season coaching at MHCC, said this squad has maintained a high standard largely because “[T]his group has a bunch of talent, the physical aspect of the game comes natural to a lot of these girls.” She also said the team has bonded and grown close to one another, with a lot of respect and love for one another.

Hendrickson said that last year’s team “had a ton of pressure coming off a 2022 championship season.” This year, she said she has tried to ensure the group keeps it loose and remembers to trust the group process and in their individual abilities.

Two Saints, freshman Ava Carroll, who plays center field, and freshman Madison Walker, who plays second base, said that this has been their best hitting season so far and that they appreciate

how hard the team has worked this season. Carroll’s proudest moment of the season was in a game against Lower Columbia Community College, where she hit a walk-off home run to cap an extra-inning, come-from-behind comeback for Mt. Hood.

One of the softball team’s most energetic and tough wins came against top NWAC contender North Idaho in the form of another comeback win, where Walker said “[W]e had probably the most energy that we had all year.”

On the defensive side, sophomore pitcher Cam Schmitz, in her first season playing for the Saints, says that her coaches, teammates, and chemistry have been amazing this season. Schmitz said one top highlight this season came against South rival Southwestern Community College, where the energy in the dugout was so good, and everybody was so excited for the win.

To finish the regular season, the Saints have three more home double-headers, scheduled for April 27 and 30 and the season’s last games on May 10.

Then it’s likely on to the NWAC championship tournament, set for May 16-19 at Delta Park in north Portland, where Mt. Hood would take one of the 16 playoff slots.