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Momentary Setback: Lady Bulldogs lose ace, suffer first district loss
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
LUCAS -- The McKinney North softball team not only lost its game against rival Lovejoy Tuesday night, the Lady Bulldogs also lost their star pitcher.
"I told them this is a perfect example of how stuff happens," said Dan Sedgwick, North head coach. "This is a game where weird stuff can happen and that's what happened tonight. Our goal is to keep playing hard so that we'll have another shot at these guys."
North sophomore pitcher Celeste Verdolivo was struck on the left hip by a line drive from Lovejoy pitcher Brittany Lewis in the first inning of what turned into a 13-2 Lady Bulldogs loss.
"That was a monster shot," Sedgwick said. "She got Lewis back a little bit on that swing."
With Verdolivo out and Lovejoy ace Lewis in the circle, the Lady Leopards would control the game the rest of the way. Verdolivo's injury is not serious as Sedgwick lists her current status as day-to-day.
"We'll see what happens in the morning, see how she feels when she wakes up," he said. "She's going to be alright. They're not even taking her to get X-rayed at this point. We'll see what happens."
The loss drops North (6-3) to 2-1 in District 13-4A action. Tuesday night marked a rare departure for what has been a consistently strong Lady Bulldogs ballclub this season.
North was averaging nine runs a game heading into Tuesday night's contest.
"Things are going very well," Sedgwick said. "We're hitting like crazy and doing a lot of good things. I knew we were going to hit, I just didn't know it was going to be like this."
Verdolivo has provided a strong presence for North, as she has accounted for all six of the team's wins.
"She's gone up against some really good hitting teams and done well against them," Sedgwick said. "Over the summer she completely revamped her pitching style and she's come out more mature with how to pitch in various situations. She's been very effective."
When the Lady Bulldogs are healthy, Sedgwick knows they're a tough team to beat.
"We've been down in some games, but we don't let it bother us at all," he said. "We keep coming back. This team scored nine runs in one inning earlier in tournament play. They keep working; they know they're going to get the hits. They don't let anything get them down."
Lovejoy is expected to be North's primary competition for the district title this season.
"They probably are the favorite to win it," Sedgwick said. "They're very strong. We know we have a shot at winning this district as long as we stay healthy. We expect to contend for one of the top two spots, and definitely no lower than three. Again we have to stay healthy because we don't have a lot of depth."
Senior first baseman Taylor McAllister, who has signed a letter of intent to play softball at the University of Texas at Austin, has contributed a wealth of offense for the Lady Bulldogs, including hitting six home runs.
"She has done tremendous things for us," Sedgwick said. "She has nearly 30 RBIs for us already this year. She's blowing it up at the plate. She also plays impeccable defense at first. She makes a huge difference and her leadership has been unbelievable. She's tearing it up pretty good"
Junior Alli Lindsey, who bats second in the lineup for North, is also swinging a hot bat, in addition to adeptly handling a switch from shortstop to second base.
"Alli has also been hitting well," Sedgwick said. "Looking at her stats she's just gone crazy. She's put the bat on the ball very well. And she's done a tremendous job moving positions."
The Lady Bulldogs are eager to put this loss behind them and pick up where they left off with their strong start as they return to action Wednesday at home against Wylie at 7 p.m.
"I'm very confident going into tomorrow," Sedgwick said. "This team, they want it real bad. I've never had a team that was so upset after a loss. They hate losing and that's the first big step to being a consistently good team, you have to hate to lose."
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