Advertisement

sportsHigh School Sports

Forney senior pitcher Macie Tillery takes toughness to new level

Last week, Forney softball coach Eric Montgomery went out to check on senior pitcher Macie Tillery after she was hit on the thumb by a line drive against Frisco Wakeland.

“I walk up there and say, ‘Are you able to finish?’” Montgomery said. “She said, ‘Just go back to the dugout, I’ve got this.’”

She certainly did. Tillery held Wakeland — then ranked 13th in the nation and averaging 8.7 runs per game — to four runs over two games as Forney (34-7) swept a regional semifinal series and advanced to face Frisco Centennial (30-6) in a best-of-3 Class 4A Region II final series that starts Thursday.

Advertisement

“She’s just a competitor,” Montgomery said. “She doesn’t want to lose. … She plays hurt. She does whatever she needs to do.”

High School Sports

The latest news, analysis, predictions and more for each season.

Or with:

As a sophomore, Tillery broke her throwing hand hitting a wall “out of frustration.” She didn’t tell Cassie Crabtree, her coach at the time, the hand was broken.

“I was supposed to get it casted and have surgery,” Tillery said. “But I did like an air cast for a couple of days, then just took it off. I didn’t want [Crabtree] to have to worry.”

Advertisement

Tillery kept playing — catcher, no less — helping Forney reach the regional final and get within one win of the state tournament.

“Her hand was broken, and she never complained, never made an excuse. She was a soldier,” Crabtree said. “She’s one of the most competitive kids I’ve ever met. Everything that she does, she has so much passion. … She would do whatever it takes to win.”

After catching while her older sister, M’Lynn, pitched for Forney in 2009, Tillery moved to pitcher last year. But her junior season was derailed by an injury that was a result of her fiery competitiveness.

Advertisement

At a team picnic midway through the season, Tillery dove for a ball while playing sand volleyball. She landed on concrete surrounding the court and sliced her left knee open to the bone.

“We had a little team thing going, and I didn’t want to let them down,” Tillery said. “When it first happened, I knew it was bleeding, and I could see the bone, but it didn’t hurt that bad. After I got the stitches, I had my leg in an immobilizer and had to keep it straight for two weeks. That was the worst part.”

Tillery was told she would be out for a week to 10 days. But the bone in her knee became infected, and she had to have surgery, then take intravenous antibiotics for six weeks. She didn’t pitch the rest of the season and got only a few at-bats in the playoffs.

Tillery entered her senior season expecting to play catcher, her favorite position. But when Forney’s two pitchers moved out of town a week before the season started, Tillery was asked to pitch.

Just happy to pitch in where she could, Tillery is 24-5 with a 1.82 ERA and is hitting .400. She is 7-0 in the playoffs, including two wins in the regional quarterfinals over Royse City and star pitcher Alicia Pille, a Kansas signee.

Tillery has signed to play softball at Division III UT-Dallas, where Crabtree is now the coach. One of Tillery’s college teammates will be Frisco Centennial’s Shelby McCoy, the pitcher Forney will face in the regional finals. And one of Tillery’s conference opponents in college will be UT-Tyler, where her sister M’Lynn plays.

Tillery said she could end up pitching or playing catcher or first base in college. As always, she just wants to be “wherever I can help the team the best.”

REGIONAL FINAL PREVIEWS for 5A Region I, 4A Region II and 3A Region II

Advertisement

Softball regional final capsules

Class 4A Region II final: Frisco Centennial vs. Forney, best-of-3 series starting Thursday

— Frisco Centennial (30-6): The state’s fourth-ranked 4A team has won 17 of its last 18 games, including a victory over nationally ranked Frisco Wakeland. … Pitcher Shelby McCoy is 30-6 with a 0.93 ERA, and she has 317 strikeouts in 227 innings. … Allie Cranfill is hitting .483, and 62 percent of her hits have gone for extra bases. She leads Centennial with eight home runs and 35 RBIs. … Bethany Broussard is hitting .412 and leads the team with 47 runs. … Centennial has averaged 7.8 runs per game in the playoffs.

— Forney (34-7): The state’s seventh-ranked team outscored nationally ranked Frisco Wakeland, 17-4, in a two-game sweep in the regional semifinals. … Forney is back in a regional final after losing in three games to Mesquite Poteet in 2009. … Forney has a team batting average of .412 and has averaged 9.3 runs per game. … Brooke McCarroll leads Forney in home runs (14) and RBIs (46). … Laura Mabary is hitting .508 and leads the team with 50 runs. … Taylor LeFlore and UT-Arlington signee Hillary Steed have combined for 40 extra-base hits and 83 RBIs.

Advertisement

Class 5A Region I final: Plano vs. Keller, best-of-3 series starting Thursday

— Plano (37-4): Plano is trying to make it to the state tournament for the first time. It lost to Hebron in three games in last year’s regional final. … The nation’s fifth-ranked team has won 23 of its last 24 games. … Kristen Miles is the offensive catalyst, hitting .538 with 45 runs and 23 steals. … Pitcher Kat Batey is 36-4 this year, and 52-6 in her high school career. She has a team-best five home runs and 40 RBIs. … Ashley McDowell, Jill Holub and Mackenzie Velasquez are all hitting better than .340 for the season and better than .350 with runners in scoring position.

— Keller (31-6-1): Keller has been to the state tournament six times, with the last coming in 2006. … The state’s fourth-ranked 5A team beat Plano, 3-1, on Feb. 19. … Keller has a .358 team batting average, and it has scored at least 10 runs 10 times. … Autumn Suydam and Tori Charters are hitting .480 and .458 respectively, and they’ve combined for 82 runs and 44 stolen bases. … Pitcher Katie Ramsay is 26-5 with a 1.44 ERA, and she’s hitting .369 with 35 RBIs. … Brittany Lee has seven home runs, three of which came in the regional semifinals.

Class 3A Region II final: Celina vs. Lovejoy, best-of-3 series starting Thursday

Advertisement

— Celina (32-6-3): The state’s top-ranked team is in a regional final for the third consecutive season. It was the 3A state runner-up in 2009, then last year it swept Lovejoy in the regional semifinals before losing to Paris North Lamar in the regional final. … The team’s best four hitters -- Shelby Carter (.538 batting average), Taylor Norris (.464), Olivia Braddock (.455) and Lindsie Knowles (.426) – have combined to score 166 runs. Carter has 33 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs, and 57 RBIs. … Pitcher Katelyn Drummond is 21-5 and is hitting .350.

— Lovejoy (29-8): The state’s fifth-ranked team knocked out defending 3A state champion Paris North Lamar in three games in the regional semifinals. … Lovejoy, which is in its fourth year of varsity play, is in a regional final for the first time. … Pitcher Brittany Lewis is 28-7 and is hitting .450 with a team-leading 35 RBIs. Sammi Curry (.426) and Ginger Hervey (.410) are also hitting better than .400, and Baylor signee Melissa Schreck is hitting .393. … Lewis, Amanda Gray and Brooke Puckett are tied for the team home run lead with four.