Mt. Vernon baseball knocks off state-ranked Hollister

The Mt. Vernon baseball team has started to turn a corner, following a fantastic week where they were competitive against state-ranked Aurora and nearly beating a very good Ash Grove team. They followed that with a 12-1 win over College Heights, Monday.

Versus Hollister
Mt. Vernon welcomed sixth-ranked Hollister to town on Tuesday. Hollister scratched a run across a run in the top of the first inning behind a leadoff walk. Mt. Vernon responded in the second inning as freshman Gavin Johnston led off with a single and was eventually driven in by fellow freshman Jarrett Zerby to tie the game at one. Pitching really took over for both sides as neither team was able to muster a baserunner, with the exception of a Mt. Vernon walk in the fourth inning, but nothing came from the Tiger on base. Zerby led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single. After a stolen base and a single from another freshman Braden Dodson, Zerby came across home to score the go-ahead run. Freshman Brayden Jameson was fantastic on the mound allowing only two baserunners all game and put together a complete game win over the sixth-ranked Tigers.
“We knew we were facing a good team but our defense has been playing pretty good lately so I knew if I threw strikes, good things would happen. So, that’s what I tried to do and it worked out,” Brayden Jameson said following the game.
“Brayden pitched well last week against Aurora, but we couldn’t get any offense going. He did it again to Hollister, today. He just steps on that mound, he throws strikes, he competes, and he forces the other team to beat us. Usually, they struggle with his off-speed pitches so he’s just a great competitor,” Mt. Vernon head coach Nick Swillum said.

Versus Catholic
Mt. Vernon wrapped up the week with a tough, 7-2 loss against the top-ranked team in Class 3 Springfield Catholic, before defeating Verona, 8-0 on Saturday.
The Mt’neers move to 9-11 on the year with another big week upcoming. They opened the week Tuesday against another state-ranked opponent in Rogersville, and will be back in action Friday, as they travel to McDonald County to play at 4:30 p.m.