Sisters lead CMSV softball to tournament

You may have never heard of the town of Vacaville, California. But that’s all right. Before they were recruited by College of Mount St. Vincent head softball coach Mark Roldan, the Heizer sisters had never heard of Riverdale, or Mount St. Vincent for that matter.

Older sister Mackenzie, a sophomore, and younger sister Rachel, a freshman, are two of the main reasons why the Dolphins softball team is headed to the Skyline Conference Tournament beginning on Friday, April 24 at Mount St. Mary College in upstate Newburgh.

“They are incredible players,” said Roldan, who is in his third season at the Mount. “They definitely brought a lot to the team. Mackenzie came here last year as a freshman and she was the pitcher of the year in the Skyline Conference and she also earned ECAC Metro Division pitcher of the year as well. She’s not only a great pitcher but an incredible hitter, an all-around player and an incredible student. We’re very lucky to have her.”

The numbers back up Roldan’s gushing praise. Mackenzie Heizer leads the team in wins with nine and has struck out an eye-popping 116 batters in 91 innings. But she is equally dominant on offense, where she leads the Dolphins with 33 RBI.

But if one Heizer sister is great, consider how fortunate the Mount must be to have two of them. All younger sister Rachel has done is post team bests in batting average (.418), runs (32), hits (41), doubles (17), home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.776). Oh, and she also managed to pull a 3.92 GPA last semester.

“Rachel is primarily a catcher but she also pitches and plays shortstop and is just an unbelievable hitter,” Roldan said. “She really brings a lot to the team.”

The two sisters, who call each other their best friend, were recruited by Roldan after he saw them performing in a showcase tournament on a trip out west.

“I got recruited at a softball tournament in Las Vegas and I went on a visit here and I fell in love with the school,” Rachel Heizer said. “We always hoped deep down that we would both get recruited to play ball somewhere together and luckily the opportunity came around for us.

“We both fell in love with the school for different reasons, but now we’re living the dream,” she continued. “We’ve done everything together since we were little and this has been a great experience and I’m glad we’re able to share it together.”

The two sisters played a huge role in the Dolphins’ 7-4 victory over Sage College last Saturday, the win that clinched the Mount’s spot in the Skyline Tournament. Mackenzie Heizer struck out five and picked up her ninth win of the season while Rachel stroked a grand slam that broke open a 3-3 game and gave the Dolphins the lead for good.

“It was a huge deal,” Mackenzie Heizer said. “We had to win two big games this week to ensure we got in. It was a little nerve wracking, but our whole team is pumped up about going to the tournament.”

The Dolphins, who set a school record with 10 conference wins this season and finished tied for third in the Skyline Conference, will face No. 2 seed Farmingdale in this Friday’s first game of the double-elimination tournament beginning at 3 p.m. In the other game Friday, top-seeded Mount St. Mary will face No. 4 Sage. The Dolphins posted 1-1 records versus the other three tournament teams this season. The winner’s and loser’s bracket games will be held Saturday with the championship game slated for Sunday.

After finishing third in the tournament last season, the Dolphins will be looking to bring the championship hardware home to Riverdale this time around. Call it a mission of unfinished business.

“Last season, it was the first time in program history that we won a game in the tournament,” said Roldan, whose wife, Valerie, is one of his assistant coaches. “Now we have kids with experience that don’t want it to slip by again. We feel very confident that we can do well in this tournament and win the Skyline Championship.”

It’s a very young Dolphins team, with 11 of the 16 members either freshmen or sophomores. But any team that can turn the Heizer sisters loose on opponents is a team to be reckoned with, and these Vacaville transplants are looking forward to a rewarding weekend in Newburgh.

“We’re all very excited and confident in our team and our abilities,” Rachel Heizer said. “We’re hoping it will be enough to bring home the championship. It’s there, we just have to push through and get it done.”

The Heizer sisters and the rest of the Dolphins are hoping to send off their lone senior teammate with a tournament championship to end her career.

“We have one senior, Kathleen Davis, and I think our team really wants to do this for her more than they want to do it for anyone else,” Mackenzie Heizer said. “We feel that we are always the underdog team, but we know that we are good enough to take it. It seems like people doubt us but we’re definitely a contender and we’re definitely going into this thinking we’re going to do well.”