Makayla Morgan will not lose a single wink of sleep now that she is not batting. 500 for Vacaville High’s softball team. The sophomore was at .549 after going 4-for-5 in a 25-3 rout of River City on April 9, but her average dipped to .475 after going 1-for-10 in the past three games. She is not panicking, however.
“I try not to get in my head,” said Morgan, who will need to come out swinging when Vacaville battles Pioneer in a Monticello Empire League showdown Wednesday at Joan Mumaugh Field. The Bulldogs are 8-2 and can earn at least a share of first place by avenging a 5-2 loss at Pioneer (8-1) on March 28.
Morgan went 0-for-3 against Patriots pitcher Jia Beebe, who allowed five hits and did not issue a walk. One of those hits was a home run by senior Hayden Kyne, who was 3-for-3 and drove in both of the Bulldogs’ runs. That was nothing out of the ordinary for Kyne, who has a team-high 36 RBI this season.
Kyne also happens to be batting. 587. She is ranked 43rd in the Sac-Joaquin Section, according to MaxPreps.com, but there is not a minimum number of at-bats to be ranked. Sixteen players in the top 40 have fewer than 30 at-bats. Kyne has 63 and is one of just four girls in the top 45 with more than 60.
That does not count all swings Kyne takes in in her home batting cage. “Every day after practice, I go home and hit for another hour. Even after games sometimes, I hit for an hour. It’s rewarding to see it pay off,” said Kyne, who has earned the reward of a scholarship to continue her career at Notre Dame.
If Morgan gets back on track, coach Destinee Santistevan could have two players hit .500 or higher for the first time since four did so in 2018. Vacaville had a .437 team average in 2018 with Cassidy Simon (.575), Acacia Anders (.571), Kasey Davis (.554) and Brooke Mitchell (.530) leading the 317-hit parade.
No one can question those averages based on the number of at-bats for Davis (83), Simon (80), Anders (77) and Mitchell (66). The 2017 (.414) and 2018 teams are the only two in the past 10 years to eclipse .400. The 2025 squad could make it three in 11 years with a .429 average after 18 games.
Morgan can do her part and get back to .500 if she goes on a four-game tear as she did earlier this month. She went 6-for-7 against Clayton Valley Charter, 2-for-4 against Will C. Wood and 8-for-9 in two games against River City. She hit four home runs and had 20 RBI.
One of Morgan’s four doubles this season and her only triple came April 9 when she hit for the cycle in a 17-4 win over River City. The Bulldogs have 44 doubles, four triples and 22 homers. Those numbers pale in comparison, however, to the 75 doubles by the 2024 team and 33 homers by the 2018 squad.
No one wants Morgan to regain her swing more than Kyne, who gets a kick out of comparing statistics with her teammate. Morgan has gone from striking out in her only varsity at-bat as a freshman in 2024 to pushing Kyne to become one of the top hitters in the MEL after batting .378 as a junior last season.
“It’s always nice to have that competition,” said Kyne, who has gone from one homer and 16 RBI in 2024 to seven and 36 as a senior. “We’re always battling it out. It’s really great that we’re pushing each other.”{ru
