Juneau-Douglas senior Mackenzie Jackson watches as her home run hit heads to the fence during Friday s win over Kodiak in the state softball championships at Anchorage s Cartee Fields. (Klas Stolpe / KINY) Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - As easy as 1-2-3 Juneau-Douglas senior Mackenzie Jackson broke out of her hitting slump and ignited the Crimson Bears to a 15-4 win over Kodiak on Friday in the state softball championships at Anchorage’s Cartee Fields.
One home run, two runners on and three RBI.
“My first home run this season,” Jackson said. “It feels really good because I have had a bit of a slump this season and I feel like that boosted my confidence. This weekend has definitely been a hitting weekend for me and I have to thank my coaches for that. They helped me hit. They helped me calm down and I have a new batting swing. So that helps. Not chopping wood.”
Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé girls softball team will be heading to the state tournament in Anchorage for the first time in five years.
Juneau-Douglas sophomore Anna Dale slides safely into second base against Thunder Mountain on Saturday. (Klas Stolpe) Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain girls softball teams met in a cross-town conference clash on Saturday at Melvin Park and the Crimson Bears swept the Falcons, winning 9-1 in the opener and 13-6 in the non-conference night cap.
“The girls played really well,” Juneau-Douglas coach Alexandra Razor said. “I felt like they looked very confident and comfortable. They didn’t really get rattled. In previous seasons we have seen our teams melt or fall apart if the other team gets an advance or starts hitting but our girls did a really good job just playing defense.”
Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain High School softball players are shown in competition in this file photo. (Klas Stolpe) Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - The Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain High School softball teams are ready for action, but their season opening tournament in Sitka was cancelled Thursday due to weather.
Neither team could fly out of Juneau, while Ketchikan had to overhead on to Anchorage and then back home.
The Sitka tournament, which was scheduled for Friday and Saturday, was to be “pool play” format. In a pool play tournament, each day would only count as one game towards a team’s 22-match game limit. That meant JDHS, TMHS, Ketchikan and Sitka each could have played three 65-minute time limit games a day.