MacArthur first baseman Michelle Artzberger leaps high to snare a throw from a teammate during the early innings of Tuesday’s district game at the Highlanders’ home diamond against Del City.
MacArthur baseball has made a habit of finishing opponents quickly this season, and Tuesday night was no different.
The Highlanders (3-0) used an eight-run first inning to put the game out of reach early, cruising to a 13-3 win over Del City in five innings in District 5A-1 action at the Mac diamond. The win earned Mac its first series sweep of the year after taking a 15-0 victory Monday in Del City.
The Highlanders have yet to play a full seven-inning game, winning their three games by a combined score of 40-3.
Mac coach Rodney DeLong said he is proud of the way his team has performed at the plate this early in the season.
“We’re seeing the ball really well and our pitch recognition is good,” DeLong said. “When guys aren’t throwing strikes, we’re hitting them pretty hard. It probably has a lot to do with maturity. Last year, we were so young, and now we’re older and have a better feeling for the strike zone. We’re playing like veteran players — that’s what it looks like to me.”
Del City pitching woes kickstarted the Mac first-inning scoring spree.
Racer Felter stole second base after being walked in his first at-bat, scoring on a wild pitch shortly after to give the Highlanders the first run of the game.
Trey Longacre and Michelle Artzberger followed up with a pair of singles to put Mac in scoring position once again, and Zac DeLong brought both home with a 2-RBI single to deep center field to bring the count to 3-0.
Later with the bases loaded, Eagles pitcher Isaiah Sheppard allowed two consecutive walks, giving the Highlanders two more runs on the board.
Felter finished off the onslaught with a 3-RBI triple, putting the Eagles in an 8-0 hole.
The sophomore went 2-of-3 at the plate while also earning the win on the mound with five strikeouts and no hits.
“Racer is a special player,” DeLong said. “You saw his athleticism on the football field, and he’s really just an incredible athlete. He grew up a whole bunch last year as a freshman starter, and this year he’s gotten a bigger role. He’s our starting shortstop and our leadoff hitter.”
Both teams escaped the second inning without surrendering runs, but Del City broke the mini scoring drought when Tyler Hopkins drove in two runs with a double to center field to cut the Mac advantage to six runs.
After a scoreless third, the Highlanders responded in the next two innings.
Brad Hoskins tripled to right center to bring home DeLong before scoring himself soon after thanks to a wild pitch, pushing the lead to 10-2.
Del City managed a run in the fifth, but it made no difference, as Mac collected two runs of its own in the bottom half to finish off the lowly Eagles.
Artzberger recorded a single to score Felter and Longacre, Jack Smith ended the game early with another single to give Artzberger his second run of the night.
Hoskins pitched the final two innings, striking out four batters while allowing no hits.
Mac returns to the diamond at 5 p.m. on Friday at Norman North, which made the Class 6A state tournament last season with a record of 28-8.
DeLong said the Timberwolves will provide the Highlanders’ first real test of the young season.
“I’m really excited to see it,” DeLong said of the matchup. “We haven’t been battle tested up to this point, but I want to see how our guys respond to the pressure. I don’t want to see us get beat, but on the other hand, I’d like to see us face some adversity and see what we’re made of early. I want to see what kind of adjustments we make at the plate against really good pitching, and it could very well springboard us forward. I’m not saying we’re going to beat them, but we have a shot.”