Softball On SI

Nebraska High School Senior Hurls Eye-Popping Pitch Count, Leads Team to Softball State Tournament

One Nebraska high school senior delivered a jaw-dropping pitching performance to help her team reach the state tournament. The number of pitches she threw? Unreal.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Ralston High School pitcher Makenzie Macrander pitched four games games in three days to earn the final Nebraska state tournament berth.
Ralston High School pitcher Makenzie Macrander pitched four games games in three days to earn the final Nebraska state tournament berth. | Ralston Schools X

One more pitch. That's what Makenzie Macrander kept telling herself as she eclipse the 300-pitch count mark on Saturday afternoon.

In a moment frozen in time, the Ralston High School senior knocked down a line drive, collected the ball and fired to first base for the final out.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, the right-hander found herself at the bottom of the dogpile.

"I couldn't feel the weight of anybody," Macrander told Softball On SI. "I was crying too much that I didn't feel anything. The only person I knew who was next to me was Maddie Oschner and that's the first person I looked for after the last out."

Of the eight district sites in Nebraska's Class B postseason tournament, Ralston was the one team that snuck up on everyone, earning the fifth-overall seed and hosting for the first time in nearly a decade.

"I don't think anybody expected us to be here," Macrander said about her team being under the radar. "Besides our community, I don't think anyone expected us to first get in the top six, host the district and make it to state all in the same year. I really don't think anyone else besides our team really saw that in us."

The Rams made the most of their opportunity, beating Omaha Mercy, 7-0, to earn a spot in the District Finals, a best-of-three series against Lincoln Pius X that was played in a single day.

Ralston was pushed to the brink. After winning the first game 3-1, the Rams dropped the second contest, 8-0, in five innings before scoring six unanswered runs to capture their state tournament berth in the third game, 6-4.

Macrander took the ball to start all four games in the district tournament, and her numbers are outrageous.

  • 2 days
  • 3 wins
  • 4 games
  • 8 earned runs
  • 25 strikeouts
  • 25 innings pitched
  • 444 pitches

Four Years of Improvement

The evolution of Macrander over the past four years has been a softball coach's dream come true.

From pitching a little more than 30 innings her freshman year to rewriting the Ralston record books her senior year. Macrander's incredible weekend in the circle led the Rams back to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.

During Macrander's freshman season, she spent most of her time in centerfield. The next season, she was a middle infielder. When her junior year began, she was the ace of a pitching staff. From that moment on, she has become a force, not just in Class B, but in the entire state.

With 246 strikeouts this season, Macrander ranks fourth nationally, third in the state and No. 1 in Class B. In Nebraska, her 1.86 earned run average ranks in the top seven and 21 wins is good for third.

When the senior concludes her career, she will leave Ralston as the record holder in every pitching category which wasn't on her bingo card when she started high school.

"I never thought that I would, not even be breaking records, but breaking my own records," Macrander said. "Because my freshman year, I had 30 strikeouts, if that. That's crazy to me."

Investing in Softball

When Macrander began her high school career, Ralston was playing at a public park. The Rams finished the season below .500 and were eliminated in the first round of sub-districts.

In the fall of 2023, Ralston opened a brand new facility on campus in the form of an all-turf field and each season has seen improvement on the field.

"Being able to have administration support us so much has been incredible," Macrander told Softball On SI in a phone interview on Monday. "No matter who we play, where we play, they are always showing up for us. They're always at everything and at some point they argue over who gets to come watch us because that's how much fun we are to watch."

What's Next for Macrander

After graduation, Macrander will attend Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Neb., where she will play for head coach Gary Lytle.

Coincidentally, Lytle also coaches the Beatrice High School Orangewomen who will also be at the Class B state tournament and he is thankful that his squad is on the opposite side of the bracket.

"She's a throwback pitcher," Lytle said about Macrander. "In today's world, we don't have the kid that can go out there and throw 5-600 pitches in a weekend. We just don't train them to do that anymore.

"It's almost like she gets better as she continues to throw and I'm extremely excited for her. It's exciting to have them (Ralston) out there (at the state tournament). We'll see how the tournament plays out but I'm glad they're on the other side of the bracket."

Nebraska's Class B Softball State Tournament Bracket

The Nebraska Class B softball state tournament bracket.
NSAA

Nebraska Class B Softball State Tournament Participants

  • Northwest (Grand Island)
  • Beatrice
  • Skutt Catholic (Omaha)
  • Norris
  • Blair
  • Waverly
  • Hastings
  • Ralston

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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