High School Softball: McKeown shines for ‘Belles’

IRVINE — It was an exhibition game, sure, but Corona del Mar High softball senior Sydney McKeown still felt herself in a pressure situation in Tuesday’s 16th annual Orange County Coaches All-Star Classic.

McKeown pinch-hit for her “Belles” team in the top of the fourth inning at Bill Barber Park. The situation was big, as there were two outs and the bases loaded in a scoreless tie.

“That position has its ups and downs, but I definitely like to be in those pressure positions,” McKeown said after the game. “I feel like I have to get it done. If I do, I’ll be the hero. So once that girl struck out in front of me, I knew that this was my turn and I had to do something.”

McKeown took the first two pitches from “Blue Sox” pitcher Ashley Ross of Cypress, a strike and a ball. She then slapped a chopper to second base, easily beating the throw to first for a single and a run batted in.

“I thought I would slap until I got to two strikes, and then if I was at two strikes, I would hit it,” she said. “That’s usually my go-to thing.”

McKeown, last year’s Newport-Mesa Player of the Year who is bound for Ole Miss, certainly made her mark in the game featuring Orange County’s elite softball seniors. She helped the Belles, made up of seniors from the Pacific Coast, Sea View and Trinity leagues, beat the Blue Sox (Empire, Freeway, Orange and South Coast leagues), 5-3, in the eight-inning game.

Later in the game McKeown pinch-ran and stole a base, and she also played three innings in the outfield, one each in center, left and right fields. She was doubled off second in the top of the sixth inning, on a line drive to third base.

“I picked the sign off at second and it was a changeup, so I was stealing,” she explained.

Unlike her time for CdM this year, she did not pitch. But she was OK with that.

“It was definitely nice,” said McKeown, the first Newport-Mesa player to compete in the Orange County All-Star Game since Newport Harbor’s Hattie Marshall two years ago. “It was weird to be in my CdM uniform and playing in the outfield, but I liked it.”

McKeown, who hit .583 for the Sea Kings this season, certainly enjoyed her time in the game. Four of her travel-ball teammates with the Firecrackers — Caroline Figueroa and Alex Heinen of Santa Margarita, Meghan Mondragon of Trabuco Hills and Samantha Zaccari of Mater Dei — also played for the Belles.

The Belles vs. the Blue Sox was one of two Orange County all-star games Tuesday at Bill Barber Park. In the nightcap, the Comets (Golden West, Sunset and Academy leagues) played against the Peaches (Garden Grove, Orange, North Hills and Crestview leagues). In between the games, the late Joe Miller, Jim Daugherty, Sue Brazney, Marcy Crouch, Michele Granger and Lovie Jung were inducted into the Ryan Lemmon Foundation Hall of Fame in a ceremony.

Graduation at CdM is June 18, but McKeown already is very busy with travel-ball with the Firecrackers. She played in a tournament in Hemet last weekend, and travels to Salinas this weekend for an important national qualifier tournament.

McKeown, a four-year varsity starter, said she enjoyed her time playing for CdM. This year, the Sea Kings won the Battle of the Bay for the first time in eight years.

“We did really well for what we had to work with,” she said.