The good news for Mortimer Jordan’s nationally-ranked softball team is that they shook off an opening-round loss in the ESPN RISE/Nike Fastest to First Tournament in Huntington Beach, Calif., and took four straight victories to win the consolation bracket championship.

The bad news is that pitcher Blair Johnson, the Blue Devils’ most prolific home run hitter, is out of action for at least three weeks.

Johnson suffered a broken arm when she was hit by a pitch during the final game of the tournament against Piedra Vista, N.M. He left arm will be in a hard cast for a week, followed by X-rays.

“It’s just going to have to make other people have to step up,” Jordan coach Laura Rickman said. “It’s just an added challenge. If the road wasn’t filled with challenges, the end result wouldn’t be worth it.”

Johnson hit her ninth home run during the tournament — a grand slam in their second game against Foothill of Henderson, Nevada. Replacing her in the batting order will not be terribly difficult, as the Blue Devils are blessed with prodigious hitting.

But in the pitching circle, filling in for Johnson won’t be quite as easy.

Rickman will be forced to rely more on Heather Parker, the 2009 state tournament MVP was alternated pitching assignments with Johnson, with off days spent at third base. When Parker isn’t pitching, 5-foot-9 Lynlee Taylor will get the call. She is the only freshman on the varsity roster.

In the tournament, the Devils lost in their first-round game 9-6 against Rodriguez High of Fairfield, Calif., the state’s ninth-ranked team. That ended Jordan’s state record winning streak at 59 games.

But the Devils started a new streak by winning out in the consolation bracket, blasting Foothill 12-0 in the first round. Parker allowed two hits.

Jordan then defeated St. Frances of Honolulu, Hawaii 9-2 in the quarterfinals. Alyssa Linn had a double and drove in two runs, and was hit by pitches twice — a recurring theme for the Devils, whose batters were hit by pitches nine times, including the fateful one to Johnson. Haylie McCleney also had two hits with a double and two RBIs, as did Johnson and catcher Shelby McGraw.

Jordan then took a 6-1 semifinal victory over Bingham, Utah, a team that Rickman said was a lot like hers: two-time Class 5A state champions with the state MVP, the entire lineup returning, and even blue and white colors. The Devils only had four hits, but also drew four walks and two hit batsmen. Parker gave up three hits and struck out four.

In the consolation finals, Jordan beat Piedra Vista, N.M. 5-1. Danae Hays had two hits and batted in two runs. Parker relieved Johnson after the fracture in the second inning.