The CT Softball Blog

WEST HAVEN—Jordan McCue’s numbers from Monday afternoon were impressive enough on their own.

Four hits. Two RBIs. Two runs scored. Four stolen bases.

Most players would gladly sign up for that kind of day and head home smiling.

But Jordan McCue has a way of making a softball game feel bigger than numbers.

Because when McCue reaches base, things start happening.

Pitchers speed up. Catchers glance toward runners. Infielders creep closer. Coaches begin flashing signs. Dugouts grow louder.

Everything suddenly starts moving.

Cheshire’s UConn-bound senior turned Monday’s Southern Connecticut Conference semifinal against Mercy into her own personal track meet, helping power the Rams to a 5-1 victory and a trip back to the SCC championship game.

Her afternoon was highlighted by a perfectly placed suicide squeeze bunt that tied the game and later a steal of home that gave Cheshire the lead for good.

Those were the plays people remembered.

The numbers only filled in the details afterward.

Is there anything McCue can’t do on a softball field?

“I can’t hit a change-up,” McCue said with a sly smile.

The answer fit her day perfectly.

There was confidence in it.

Humor too.

And maybe a reminder that even while producing one of the biggest performances of Cheshire’s season, McCue never seemed like somebody feeling pressure.

Then again, Monday was hardly an outlier.

In 22 games this season, McCue has recorded at least one hit in 21 of them. Entering the SCC championship game, she is batting .549, going 39-for-71 with 39 runs scored, 17 RBIs, 14 doubles, four triples and three home runs. She has also drawn nine walks while striking out just three times all season.

And once she gets on base, the problems only grow.

McCue has stolen 28 bases this spring, with 15 of those coming in Cheshire’s last five games alone.

Mercy grabbed an early lead Monday, putting Cheshire behind for for the first time this season.

For many teams, that can create tension.

For the Rams, there was little sign of it.

When asked what the team was feeling after falling behind, McCue simply said she knew what her team was capable of.

“We know what kind of team we are and who we have in the field,” McCue said. “We know that we are fully capable of coming back from that and sparking even more. So we didn’t let it bother us. I think we just fed off each other’s energy the whole entire game.”

McCue’s own energy quickly became contagious.

The squeeze bunt tied the game.

The stolen bases created havoc.

The steal of home ignited the dugout.

One play bled into another until Cheshire had grabbed control.

And that may be what makes McCue, Cheshire’s lead-off hitter, so valuable to the Rams.

Some players affect games with one swing.

Others do it from the circle.

McCue creates pressure everywhere. In the field with her glove. In the batter’s box with her bat. And on the base paths with her feet.

The moment she reaches base, the field suddenly feels smaller and faster.

The defense knows she might go.

The only problem is stopping her.

On Monday, Mercy never really found an answer.

“She’s the quintessential Division 1 player,” Mercy coach Kathleen Hoag said. , “but she’s the one that you want to play to measure up to see whether or not you really have the chops to succeed, not just in high school ball, but college ball. And she’s a battler. She’s a competitor and it’s always a pleasure to play against her.”

Mercy couldnt stop her, but neither have many teams this season.

And while the box score will forever show four hits and four stolen bases beside McCue’s name, anyone who watched Monday’s semifinal probably understood something else.

Jordan McCue wasn’t just part of Cheshire’s offense.

For a few hours at Biondi Field, she became the pulse of it.

She simply wreaked havoc, leading the Rams back to the SCC title game for the third straight season.

“She’s reckless and everything is simple for her,” Cheshire head coach Kristine Drust said. “She doesn’t dissect anything. She doesn’t dig a hole. She’s just reckless. She plays fast. She plays really good with her eyes and she’s super athletic. You put those together and she’s not emotional. She’s just a confident, fast playing softball player and she’s reckless.”

McCue’s numbers were impressive in Monday’s SCC semifinal, but that should be no surprise.

She’s been that good all season for the Rams. And she is so much fun to watch play.

(From The Dugout is a regular column written by CT Softball Blog Publisher John Nash)