McKay Wants to See New Streak Born

QUARTZ HILL — Vicki McKay doesn’t need a history lesson to know the odd fortunes of the Paraclete High girls’ softball team.

The Spirits have won 19 consecutive league championships, but they are 0-5 in Southern Section championship games.

“I wasn’t even born when they started this,” said McKay, a senior pitcher. “It says a lot about the Paraclete athletic department. It’s no fluke.

“But I’ve told myself if we get into the championship game, this will be the year.”

Fourth-seeded Paraclete (27-3) will get another shot today at 5 p.m., when it faces second-seeded Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (26-5) in the Division V championship game at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

For the past four years, McKay (21-1) has experienced the thrills and the frustrations.

She has pitched Paraclete to its last three High Desert League titles. But as a quiet freshman in 1994, she saw the Spirits’ last shot at a section crown end in a 5-1 loss to Cerritos Valley Christian.

McKay alternated between third base and pitcher that year, but she sat the bench throughout the playoffs because of a hitting slump. She remembers her teammates’ tears. She also remembers her own frustration at not playing.

“My freshman year wasn’t the greatest,” she said. “I was really quiet and shy and kind of intimidated. But I’ve matured into a leader. And I’ve always said to myself, if we get back to this game, I want to do it for all those players before me.”

McKay enters tonight’s game with a 0.51 earned-run average and 126 strikeouts in 150 innings. Known more for her control than her power, she has walked only 21 batters and allowed only 11 earned runs.

“She fields her position well and she’s got a lot of pitches,” Paraclete Coach Margaret Neill said. “[Catcher Cassie Burke] has done a great job calling pitches and keeping hitters off balance.

“Vicki’s approach is mentally tough. The tougher the team, the better she throws. But our success has not been because of one person.”

The Spirits entered the week with a .333 team batting average and have played solid defense all year. Senior right fielder Kathy Munoz (18 stolen bases) and sophomore second baseman Barbara Alaniz (15) have been offensive catalysts, while senior center fielder Ruth Anderson and junior shortstop Lisa Ament have provided power. Anderson leads the team with a .411 batting average, four home runs and 28 runs batted in. Ament is batting .373 with six doubles, five triples and 20 RBIs.

But McKay has been the biggest surprise on offense. A career .200 hitter, she’s batting .388 with 27 RBIs, second to Anderson in both categories, and she leads the team with 38 hits.

“I put a lot of work into my hitting in the off-season,” McKay said. “I acquired a lot of different coaching views and I put them into one.”

McKay has been a model of consistency in the pitching circle with a 53-10 record over the past three seasons with ERAs of 0.40 and 0.64 her sophomore and junior years. But she downplays her success.

“I have an awesome defense,” she said. “I’m just one lucky pitcher. If someone gets a big hit off me, I don’t sweat it. I play it one batter at a time.”

After victories over Pasadena Poly (3-2), which eliminated the Spirits from the playoffs last year, and top-seeded Santa Maria St. Joseph in the semifinals (1-0, eight innings), McKay has proven she can win big games.

She also helped Lancaster’s District 51 all-star team win the Big League Softball national championship last summer as one of the team’s two starting pitchers.

But the greatest obstacle for a Paraclete pitcher is the section championship.

“You put a challenge up there, she’s going to go for it,” Neill said. “She doesn’t like being told she can’t do something. She’s going to prove it to you.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Southern Section Division V Softball Championship

WHO: Paraclete (27-3) vs. Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (26-5).

WHEN: Today, 5 p.m.

WHERE: Mayfair Park, 5100 South St. in Lakewood (Take Hwy. 405 south to the 91 east to the 605, exit on South St. and go west).

TICKET INFORMATION: General admission is $6. Students with school identification and children under 12 are $3.

WHO TO WATCH: Senior outfielder Ruth Anderson and senior pitcher Vicki McKay have been leaders on a Paraclete team that blends explosive hitting and solid defense. Anderson leads the team with a .411 batting average and 28 runs batted in. McKay is second with a .388 average and 27 RBIs while posting a 21-1 record with a 0.51 earned-run average. Starters Cassie Burke, Lisa Ament and Kathy Munoz are all batting above .300 for the fourth-seeded Spirits. For the second-seeded Eagles, junior shortstop Christy Ring has 21 RBIs, and her .559 batting average ranks third among all players in The Times’ Orange County region. Sophomore catcher Amanda Hallaway (.372) leads the team with 25 RBIs. Senior pitchers Linda Van Hook (11-2) and Keri Przygocki (14-3) have ERAs of 0.89 and 0.55. Ring (Drexel) and Przygocki (Indiana State) have Division I scholarships.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Playoff Rosters

PARACLETE

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No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr. 2 LatishaHernandez 1B 5-6 So. 3 Randi White OF 5-7 So. 5 Ruth Anderson OF 5-6 Sr. 9 Lauren McDonald P 5-6 Fr. 11 Alisha Mac P 5-7 So. 12 Barbara Alaniz 2B 5-4 So. 13 Kathy Munoz OF 5-5 Sr. 14 Lisa Ament SS 5-9 Jr. 15 Alena Valdez 3B 5-6 Jr. 18 Erin Flores OF 5-4 So. 21 Amber Hilblom P 5-8 Fr. 24 Cassie Burke C 5-7 Sr. 25 Meghan Smith 1B 5-5 Sr. 31 Margo Horner OF 5-7 So. 32 Vicki McKay P 5-5 Sr. 44 Katrina Stichman OF 5-7 So.

*--*

TONIGHT’S STARTER: Vicki McKay has a 53-10 record over the past three seasons (21-1, 0.51 ERA).

SANTA ANA CALVARY CHAPEL

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No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr. 00 Sarah Hughes C 5-5 Fr. 2 Kelli Matthews OF 5-3 Sr. 9 Jessica Stice OF 5-4 So. 10 Kori Przygocki 3B 5-5 So. 13 Jen Melone P-OF 5-1 Sr. 14 Keri Przygocki P-1B 5-7 Sr. 15 JacquelineBeadle 2B 5-5 Fr. 25 Anna Jones OF 5-3 So. 27 Linda Van Hook 1B-P 5-6 Sr. 34 Christy Ring SS 5-4 Jr. 42 Kara Schones OF 5-3 So. 43 Lindsey Stice OF 5-4 Fr. 44 Nicole King UTL 5-5 Fr. 50 Trier Miers UTL 5-6 Fr. 51 Christy Pecznuik UTL 5-7 So. 52 Amanda Hallaway C 5-6 So.

*--*

TONIGHT’S STARTER: Keri Przygocki has pitched four consecutive shutouts in the playoffs (14-3, 0.89 earned-run average).

FAST FACT: Paraclete has won 19 consecutive league championships but is 0-5 in section title games. Calvary Chapel is playing in its first final, having outscored its playoff opponents, 25-0.