Mackenzie Moore’s grand slam completes rally, lifts Prairie to 3A softball title

Hoping to work ahead and establish the zone with a first-pitch strike on Prairie’s Mackenzie Moore? Opponents would be wise to reconsider.

Moore won’t waste your time. She knows, oftentimes, that the first offering hurled her way is her best opportunity for heartbreaking, soul-crushing damage.

It happened twice Saturday afternoon, at the Regional Athletic Complex (RAC) in Lacey. In a windy District 3/4 3A softball championship, Moore homered on the very first pitch of the game to dead-center field. And she ultimately crushed what became the title-winning grand slam in the sixth inning that crowned her the tournament’s undisputed hero.

Moore finished her title-game performance 3-for-4 with two home runs, six RBI, and two runs in No. 4 Prairie’s 8-6 win over No. 3 Auburn Riverside. Senior right-hander Rylee Wall tossed a complete game with seven strikeouts, mobbed by teammates on Field 1 after inducing the championship-clinching flyout to right field.

“It’s amazing,” Moore told The News Tribune. “Last year (in the district tournament), I was in the exact same situation. Bases loaded, brand new pitcher coming in, and we were down by two. I actually got out on a ground ball to third base last time, and this time, some things actually worked out.”

Ravens starter Danica Butler surrendered the first-pitch homer to Moore. It didn’t faze Auburn Riverside’s top arm. The junior attacked Prairie with a powerful fastball that several hitters chased up and away, retiring as many as eight Falcons in a row to end the fifth inning.

Prairie only needed the sixth to turn this district championship upside down. Carlie Palmer led off with an infield single. Ashlee Porter reached on a fielding error. Serena Hewes lifted an RBI single to right field to pull Prairie within three runs, and Auburn Riverside’s Butler plunked Kayla Scholl to load the bases.

Still no outs.

“(Butler) wasn’t really being as consistent as she had been,” Moore said of the opposing starter. “We all put that in the back of our heads, and were really selective with the pitches (we) hit. We made sure we were hitting the pitches we really wanted.”

Instead of chasing pitches, Prairie chased Butler out of the game after five-plus frames. And Moore stood in the on-deck circle, waiting her turn.

The bases still loaded, Auburn Riverside reliever Lexi Vircks’ first pitch hit Kellie Cady. Porter jogged home, and Prairie’s deficit shrunk, 6-4.

“They just all just passed the bat,” Prairie coach Robyn Mask said. “It was one at a time. … They trusted their teammates, and they did an awesome job.”

Moore’s next swing sent the Falcons into a frenzy. A near-identical blast to her first, a no-doubt grand slam to deep center field capped a six-run sixth inning and lifted Prairie to the eventual final, 8-6. Both programs are off to state.

“I’ve always (known) the first pitch is the best pitch,” Moore said. “That’s the mindset. As a hitter… I always make sure to attack the first pitch. It’s always the best.”

Wall threw a seven-inning complete game with no walks and seven strikeouts, surrendering 10 hits and six runs (five earned).

“Rylee has been a rock for us,” Mask said. “She pitched, like, three and a half games for us this tournament, and she mowed people down. She was a rock.”

In a title game that featured two slams, Auburn Riverside catcher Seneca Aarstad cleared the bases with a first-inning grand slam that provided the Ravens instant command, 4-1.

Moore closed that deficit quickly. Part of her six-RBI performance, she ripped a run-scoring single to right field in the second inning that pulled Prairie within two.

Ravens outfielder Ashley Langford lifted a third inning sacrifice fly and lashed an RBI double to right field in the fourth, padding Auburn Riverside’s 6-2 lead.

Amid Prairie’s six-run comeback, Wall retired nine of her last 10 batters that preserved the first-place trophy.

“As soon as we started hitting, we all lifted her up,” Moore said. “It all just snowballed from there.”

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