Lady Lions reel-in catcher, first-baseman

Former Yellowjacket keeps strong family ties with SAGU

WAXAHACHIE, Texas  — Fast-pitch softball often revolves around the batterymates of pitcher and catcher. They can dominate the game.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University , like most every college team, seeks to assemble a deep and skilled pitching staff along with a catcher who can work with and bring out the best in them.

The second-year Lady Lions went 13-24 this spring and graduated Heather Wyatt (Lake Jackson, Tx / Brazoswood HS), their lone catcher. She enjoyed a very productive year on the field as a player and leader.

Head Coach Tim Grant took a solid step towards filling the void when Madison McMahan signed a binding National Letter of Intent as a student-athlete.

At 5-foot-8, McMahan will compete at both catcher and first base when fall camp opens in September. She played at Rockwall High School , which is in the far-eastern Dallas suburb of Rockwall (pop. 38,000).

McMahan was an active member of this year’s Yellowjackets, who went undefeated (10-0) in league play and won the District 12 championship of Texas’ largest schools, Class 5A. They outscored their district foes by a 121-16 margin.

The Jax, under Head Coach Shadie Acosta , won their first two games in the state playoffs. They routed Garland’s Naaman Forest , 17-0, in the Bi-District round, then blanked Plano East , 5-0, in the Area round.

Rockwall finished the year by dropping two games in a best-of-three series to McKinney’s Boyd H.S. The Lady Broncos, 25-12-1, registered wins of 3-1 and 1-0 despite being outhit by Rockwall in both games.

In going 17-11-1, the Jackets also suffered six losses to state-ranked teams.

McMahan batted .250 for the season, though she enjoyed productive play in the district. Her most memorable game was going 2-for-3 against North Mesquite H.S.

In that game she ripped a double, drove in two runs and scored twice. She was credited with nine putouts at first base in the taming of the Stallions. During the year she split time with a teammate who earned All-State honors at catcher from the year before. Defense was McMahan’s strongest suit.

“Madison has worked hard through the years improving her softball skills,” said Coach Acosta. “She has grown tremendously in both her offensive and defensive abilities.”

“Madison’s dedication and determination to becoming a better player contributed to our team’s success,” Acosta continued. “I will always remember her as a selfless teammate who looked at her team like her family. She genuinely celebrated her team’s successes before her own.”

Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, home of the “Rajin’ Cajuns,” McMahan has already begun her off-season workouts in preparation of maximizing this opportunity at SAGU. She is planning to major in Business Marketing.

Madison continues a strong family lineage with SAGU.

Her parents, Tommy and Shannon , are connected to Southwestern, where Tommy graduated in 1996. He is the Director of Game Changers Ministries . They met at his dad’s church in Bossier City, La.

Her grandparents, Rev. Tom and Linda McMahan , who serve as the Presbyter of the North Dallas Section, also are SAGU alums.

Madison is the oldest of three siblings, including brother Cole (11) and sister Katie (10).

SAGU will soon be announcing the commitments of additional players.

The Lady Lions will move from the Red River Athletic Conference to the Sooner Athletic Conference this fall.

The SAC fielded nine women’s softball teams this year. Two members, Lubbock Christian University (58-7) and Rogers State University (40-19), are departing the NAIA for Division 2 of the NCAA.

That leaves seven clubs; Oklahoma City University (50-13), Saint Gregory’s (35-17), Oklahoma Baptist (33-23), the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma (26-26) and Mid-America Christian University (11-37).

Four new institutions, including SAGU, will join the Sooner in the fall; Northwood University (29-20) and Texas Wesleyan University (27-19) from the Red River, and Southwestern Christian University (8-33), from the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference .

Contact : Mark “Link” Warde , SAGU Sports Information Director, at mwarde@sag u.edu or at 469-658-2847.