SJV’s McDougall Ready to Return to the Top of NJ Softball
By Rich Chrampanis
MIDDLETOWN – Madison McDougall set quite a high bar for her high school softball career: two state championships, over 700 strikeouts with an ERA under 1.00, along with a .474 career batting average.
Her junior season was stellar, but the Lancers were derailed in both the Shore Conference and Non-Public “A” semifinals. And McDougall had to deal with a back injury. So, you might think there could be some question marks heading into her senior campaign.
But on Opening Day, McDougall answered all those questions with an exclamation point.
The Monmouth University commit threw a dominant one-hitter with 16 strikeouts in St. John Vianney’s 5-0 win at Middletown South to open the 2026 season. You couldn’t tell, as she was mowing down a talented Eagles lineup, that McDougall spent the majority of her offseason mending a serious injury.
“I just got over a back surgery,” McDougall said. “I had two herniated discs and I’m here playing like I’ve ever played before. I think it’s just the drive and passion I have for this sport.”
St. John Vianney scored two runs in the fourth, followed by two more in the fifth, with McDougall capping off the offense with an RBI single in the sixth inning. Brynn Utter and Lexie Csontos each had two hits and an RBI in the victory.
“I think if we play hard and we hit the ball, we’ll have no problem this year,” McDougall said. “I am very fired up. I am definitely more fired up than usual.”
That’s a scary proposition for the rest of New Jersey. The 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year knows better than anyone what it takes to navigate through a Shore Conference and state playoff bracket that will feature fellow state-ranked rivals Donovan Catholic and Red Bank Catholic. Considering it was those two teams that kept the Lancers from adding to their already lengthy trophy case makes motivation easy to for the upcoming season.
“(I) just like our team coming together, working hard together as a team,” McDougall said. “I didn’t come in thinking I could do this by myself. Everybody’s a piece of this puzzle.”
McDougall’s puzzle very well could be 1,000 pieces, one for each strikeout if she can keep her current pace. More important than that is a third state championship to close out an unbelievable career in the circle and at the plate.
The article originally appeared in the April 9 – 15, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
