Mountain View had a breakout season last year. The Mountain Lions finished 19-10 before losing to 5A state runner Centennial and state champion Ironwood Ridge in the early rounds of the state playoffs. The 4-2 loss to Centennial was a game where the Mountain Lions gave up a lead, fought hard to come back, but time ran out. This was to be the year for the Lions but it appears time ran out once again.
We talked with junior standout Makayla Morales about Mountain View and a bit about herself and her mother, a nurse in these unknown times. Note: We are not related to Makayla:
Q: When did you start playing softball and do you play other sports?
A: I started with tee-ball and Thornydale Little League so I’ve been playing since I was 5. I play club for the Tucson Royals now. I started playing basketball in middle school and now high school.
Q: Did any family members coach you or friends?
A: Mostly the parents of my friends.
Q: Your team was off to a great start. Close losses to Tucson and then a big
win over Canyon del Oro on March 12, right before the season was shut down. What
were your emotions?
A: We knew we were going to have a good team this year. We have strong hitting and strong pitching. It feels like a roller coaster of emotions. CDO was a team we always wanted to beat and we had an idea that was going to be our last game. It’s really sad for the seniors, especially those who aren’t going to college for softball.
Q: What are your softball plans for club?
A: We had a big summer planned with tournaments in California, Las Vegas and Texas
but we don’t know yet.
Q: Tell me about your game this year.
A: I was just starting to get into my groove and everything was coming together I think and the team was starting to come together. Our chemistry is really good and we had a lot of team bonding. We had a lot of things figured out and we had focus. We had an assistant coach for our outfielders and another of infield.
Q: Your mom is a nurse. Tell me about your feelings about that these days.
A: It’s a little scary because there are a lot of unknowns. We hear different things from different people but she is doing fine.
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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