Lady Mt'neers sweep Adrian tourney as win streak continues

By: 
Skylan Akins (Photos by Angel Daniels)

The Lady Mt’neers pose after winning the Big 8 Conference tournament for the third time in as many years. The Lady Mt’neers won all four match ups in run rule fashion. 13-2 against East Newton, 16-3 against Hollister, 17-1 against Springfield Catholic and 10-0 in the game against Lamar, which was completed on Wednesday, April 19, due to weather delay the previous Saturday. Pictured holding the first place plaque are seniors Harley Daniels and Allie Schubert surrounded by the lady Mt’neers team and coaches.

The Lady Mt'neers were dominant in the Adrian tournamen on Friday, April 21, going undefeated and winning the tournament. 14-2 against Butler, 14-7 against Cole Camp, 3-2 against Warsaw and 11-2 against No. 1 Class 2 team Concordia. Following their win in Adrian, the Lady Mt’neers are now 27-1 on the season which is also an new record for the Mt. Vernon team.

Mt. Vernon softball’s win streak now sits at 20 after the Lady Mt’neers swept the Adrian Tournament on Friday. They defeated the top-ranked Class 1 school Concordia in the championship in an 11-1 run rule victory.
The week began at Spirit of ’76 park where a no hitter from senior pitcher Harley Daniels stole the headlines on Senior Night, but it was a complete effort from Daniels. She led off the scoring with a single that brought in her sister Molly to give the Lady Mt’neers a 1-0 lead. That would be all the offense that was needed to win the game, but RBI’s from Molly Daniels and Ava Bellis set the stage for an inside the park home run from Harley that gave Mt. Vernon a 5-0 victory.
Friday marked possibly Mt. Vernon’s toughest test of the year as they were to play four games in a single day at the Adrian Tournament, against competition that is unfamiliar including the top team in Class 1. In pool play, Mt. Vernon used a fourth inning barrage to complete a run rule victory over Butler 14-2.
The next game, against Cole Camp looked to be a little tougher as the Lady Bluebirds struck in the top of the first inning. However, the power and the speed showed up in the second and third innings as Payge Evans got her first home run of the season in the three-run inside the park variety to give Mt. Vernon a 4-1 lead. Sophomore Rae Downing followed up with a three-run bomb later in the inning to extend the lead to 8-1. Downing wasn’t done yet as she got another three-run home run to leave the yard in the bottom of the third inning to give the Lady Mt’neers a commanding 14-7 win.
The first game of bracket play proved to be more of what Mt. Vernon wanted as they battled the No. 8 team in the state, Warsaw. Warsaw struck first with a run in the top of the first inning. Harley Daniels responded in the bottom driving in her sister once again to tie the game. Pitching took over the game as it wasn’t until the fifth inning that the next run was plated. Unfortunately for the Lady Mt’neers, it was Warsaw who took the 2-1 advantage. Mt. Vernon had traffic in the bottom of the fifth and got two runners on but were unable to get the tying run across. After Harley struck out the side, Mt. Vernon was down to their last at bat with the time limit. Sophomore Cheyenne Bieber singled to open the frame. Hali Stokes popped out to give Mt. Vernon their first out. The next batter, Ava Bellis, doubled to right field and scored Bieber from first base tying the game. A strikeout from Burk put Evans at the dish with the game on the line. Mt. Vernon was down to their final strike from losing their win streak, until Evans shot a hard grounder past the left fielder to drive in the winning run on an RBI triple on an 0-2 count. The win set up a championship showdown against Class 1 No. 1 Concordia.
Mt. Vernon didn’t waste any time when the lights were brightest as Allie Schubert drove in a run on a single, and Stokes drove in three more on a double to give the Lady Mt’neers a 4-0 lead after one. Mt. Vernon put up two more runs in the second inning and a five spot in the third behind three straight RBI doubles by Evans, Molly Daniels, and Schubert for an 11-0 lead after three innings. Concordia struck with a run in the fourth but Bellis was dominant on the mound as the Lady Mt’neers cruised to an 11-1 victory.
There were several Lady Mt’neers that really impressed in Adrian, beginning with junior Payge Evans who was white hot at the plate going 11-15 with 7 RBI’s, a double, triple and a home run raising her season average to an insane .608 and a 1.428 OPS. Downing had a nearly perfect game against Cole Camp going 2-3, smashing two home runs and six RBI’s.
The Lady Mt’neers extended their win streak to 21 games and improve to 27-1 overall, with their lone blemish coming at the hands of Diamond back on March 22. The Lady Mt’neers wrap up the regular season this week as games on Monday and Tuesday against Strafford and Clever set up a grudge match against Diamond on Friday in the season finale.

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Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712
www.lawrencecountyrecord.com

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