One step from the state finals, Marvin Ridge aims to take the surprises out of the game

Linda McGowan likes a surprise as much as any other person.

She just doesn’t like them on the softball diamond.

“You’re a better softball player when you’re relaxed,” McGowan says. “And you’re relaxed when you have a plan and an idea of what to expect.”

McGowan and the Marvin Ridge team she coaches are likely to have a plan this week when they face East Forsyth (24-1) in the best-of-three West 4A Regional softball championship series.

The Mavericks (20-2) and East Forsyth open play Tuesday evening in Marvin.

“Before we play, we try to have a plan for the game,” says McGowan, who is in her first season as Marvin Ridge’s head coach but has about two decades’ coaching experience with travel softball teams.

A big part of the plan is knowing the opposition.

“We try to know what the other team’s players will do in certain situations,” she says. “We try to plan for how they’ll pitch us in different situations.”

McGowan says the Mavericks had such a plan last Friday, in their 10-0 rout of South Mecklenburg in the state quarterfinals.

“We talked ahead of time and knew what we wanted to do,” says freshman pitcher Anna Phifer, who tossed a no-hitter against the Sabres.

McGowan didn’t want to talk specifics, but it can be assumed her team will try and find some way of hitting the ball off East Forsyth’s superb senior pitcher, Kierston Deal.

Deal is 18-1 this season and averaged more than two strikeouts per inning. She has committed to Oklahoma, after originally opting for South Carolina.

“She is very good,” McGowan says.

But, she adds, “We have some of the best bats in the state. Our team can really hit.”

At the core of Marvin Ridge’s team is a group of five seniors, part of a team that reached the 3A West Regional finals in 2019. Leadoff hitter Katriel Williams, an N.C. A&T commit, is batting .500 with 22 stolen bases. Elon commit Mauri Murray is hitting .494 with seven home runs. Jaedyn DePollo, Camryn Pfister and Maddy Brandow also play key roles.

On the other hand, the pitching staff – freshmen Phifer and Gianna DeLuco and sophomore Anna McGowan – and the catchers – freshmen Lexi Kirby and Addison Studney – are young.

“We have some great young talent on this team,” Linda McGowan says. “The seniors and the young players have meshed together.”

At the core of it all is the plan. McGowan and assistant coach Chad Tracy, who played Major League Baseball for a decade with three teams, work hard to keep their players at ease.

“It really helps when you know what to expect out there,” McGowan says.

She says a part of the Mavericks’ philosophy is to attack the opposing team, even when it’s led by a pitcher like East Forsyth’s Deal.

“We will always attack – even the really good ones,” McGowan says. “We’ll try to figure them out.”

The Plan is not cast in stone, she adds.

“We’re making adjustments all the way,” she says. “There are always surprises, but the better prepared you are, the better off you are.”

The youngest of McGowan’s three daughters – each of whom was a softball standout – is Anna, the sophomore. She leads the team in home runs, with 10.

“We go up to the plate with the idea that we’re going to hit,” Anna McGowan says. “For me, going to bat is fun. We talk ahead of time about what to look for. I’m having fun when I bat.”

Linda McGowan says the Mavericks also have a bond that has been strengthened by years of friendship.

Many of the players got to know one another as younger children, playing in the Wesley Chapel-Weddington Athletic Association, and later with travel teams.

“I’ve seen some of these girls play for a number of years,” McGowan says. “All of that has helped make us close.”

“The seniors on this team have played a big role in making us who we are,” she adds. “What’s happening this spring is a result of that.”

4A West finals

Game 1 in the series is at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Marvin Ridge High. Game 2 is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at East Forsyth, with Game 3 (if needed) at 7 p.m. Friday at Marvin Ridge.

The remnants of what nearly became the first tropical storm of the season and a stalled front in the Carolinas will combine to bring very wet weather to the Rock Hill area, forecasters say.

National Weather Service meteorologists say up to 2 inches of rain could fall across the region, starting what could be a wet and stormy week.

The good news: Forecasters are predicting a nice Memorial Day weekend.

A storm system that formed quickly in the Gulf of Mexico and moved inland Sunday is expected to push northeast into the western Carolinas late Monday. The system developed a circulation but didn’t have enough time to become a true tropical depression before moving inland across the Florida panhandle.

“If you didn’t check and didn’t know any better, you might think it was a weak tropical depression or cyclone remnant heading northward toward the southern Appalachians,” National Weather Service meteorologist Pat Moore said Monday morning.

Moore said forecasters “expect this feature to continue moving northward today, to interact with a weak front stalled across the region, and produce widespread precipitation, some of which could be heavy at times.”

Moore said severe thunderstorm chances are low, but if any significant amount of sunshine in the late-morning or midday hours Monday could allow the atmosphere to destabilize and trigger strong storms.

The bigger problem, he says, will be the rain. Forecasters decided against issuing a flood watch, due to recent dry conditions across the region, but Moore said some flooding problems could develop in areas that get heavy showers or storms later Monday.

Conditions are predicted to be calmer Tuesday and Wednesday, although shower chances will remain in the forecast Tuesday and again later Wednesday.

One noticeable change Tuesday will be the cooler temperatures. Meteorologists expect a cold air wedge – a pocket of cooler air – to develop across much of the Carolinas. That will limit Tuesday’s highs to the low or mid 70s. And Wednesday’s highs are only expected to reach the upper 70s.

By Thursday, forecasters expect another strong storm system to cross the region, setting off showers and thunderstorms.

“A severe (storm) threat is expected for Thursday afternoon,” said the Weather Service’s Mike Rehnberg.

But the weekend is predicted to be nice. While long-range computer guidance hasn’t been consistent, forecasters think Thursday’s cold front will push well east of the area and allow for sunshine Friday through Sunday. Highs are expected to be in the low 80s Friday and climb several degrees by Sunday.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle