Bieber, Downing, Daniels shine in statement five-win week for MV softball squad and Mt’neers climb above .500 in three win week on baseball diamond

There is very little that can be said about the Lady Mt’neers that hasn’t already been stated, but the historic run continues with five more wins on the back of four double-digit run outputs.
The week began on the road as the Lady Mt’neers traveled to Sarcoxie. The game began with a Payge Evans walk and then the Lady Mt’neers attack was on. Molly Daniels walloped a 1-2 pitch and brought Evans home on an RBI triple. Daniels would score thanks to an error and Mt. Vernon jumped to a 2-0 lead. Cheyenne Bieber was dominant in the circle and it started with a pair of strikeouts in the opening frame. Neither team managed a run in the second inning, but the bats of the Lady Mt’neers were back in the third inning as Rae Downing tripled and was brought home by a Hali Stokes single to extend the lead to 3-0. Hits by Lily Burk, Evans, Downing, and a home run from Bieber put the Lady Mt’neers in front 9-0. A pair of unearned runs scored in the fourth inning but a double from Downing and a triple from Bieber put the game out of reach as Mt. Vernon cruised to a 12-2 victory to lead off the week.
Up next was a road trip across the border to Riverton, Kan. where it was Hali Stokes who stole the show with six RBIs. She got three of them on a bases-clearing double in the first inning scoring Evans, Daniels and Downing. Emmie Schubert put the exclamation point on as a double scored two more runs in a five-run first inning. Bieber brought it once again in the circle not allowing a run or walking a batter in three shutout innings.
The bats came alive again in the second inning as Daniels led off with a single before Downing hit her third triple in two games to drive in run number six. Bieber doubled and Maddie Schubert added to the cause with an RBI of her own. A triple by Ally Burk concluded the inning as she made an attempt at an inside the park home run but drove in two more for a 10-0 lead. Stokes continued her fantastic day with a two-RBI double. Five more runs would score as the Lady Mt’neers coasted to a 17-0 win in three innings.
Friday marked a three-game day at the Adrian tournament that started against the Butler Bears. The Lady Mt’neers continued to start fast as a Payge Evans walk began a rally that saw a Daniels single before Downing brought them both home with a double. The Butler pitcher was rattled as the next three earned free passes that scored two more runs for a 5-0 lead after one inning. Two strikeouts from Emmie Schubert ended the Butler threat early as Downing was ready to do more damage. This time a two-run inside the park home run that extended the lead to 7-0. Five of the next six batters walked, extending the lead to 11-0. Downing added to her already outstanding week as a two-RBI triple extended the lead to 13-0. The game ended in the bottom of the third inning when Lilly Burk executed a steal of home to cap off the 16-1 run-rule victory.
The next game started much unlike the previous games of the week. Skyline drew first blood behind two hits and a costly error gave the Lady Tigers a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Mt. Vernon struck back with three singles and a walk in the bottom half of the inning but only mustered one run and trailed 3-1 after one inning. Neither team was able to cross another runner until the fourth inning when the Lady Tigers got three more runs across to take a 6-1 lead. The Burk sisters each drew walks before Daniels cut the lead to just two as a three-run triple followed by an RBI double from Downing cut the lead down to just one. Bieber tied the game with a single that scored Downing to complete the fourth inning 6-6. Neither team was able to take the go ahead run until the bottom of the sixth when Daniels stole home for a 7-6 walk off victory.
The bats cooled against Concordia as the No. 3 team in Class 1 got the best of the Lady Mt’neers in a rare 11-3 defeat.
Mt. Vernon started action this week Monday as they traveled to the No. 10 team in Class 2 Strafford where the Lady Mt’neers put up perhaps the most impressive win of the season. Mt. Vernon struck first as a first inning single from Maddie Schubert scored two runs. Strafford responded with a triple highlighted a three-run inning for a 3-2 lead after one inning. Rae Downing put the Lady Mt’neers back in the lead with a three-RBI double following singles from Daniels, Evans and Ally Burk.
Mt. Vernon took control of the game in the top of the third inning as back-to-back home runs from Hali Stokes and Cheyenne Bieber gave the Lady Mt’neers a 12-3 lead. Strafford plated two more runs highlighted by their own home run to cut the lead to 13-5 after five innings. After another Strafford run scored in the sixth inning, the bats of the Lady Mt’neers exploded. Bieber launched her second home run of the night but her night wouldn’t be over just yet. Maddie Schubert doubled and scored on a groundout for the second out of the seventh inning.
Then the rally began. After a walk to Lilly Burk, Ally, Evans and Daniels all singled ahead of a three-run bomb from Hali Stokes for her second dinger of the night to go along with Bieber’s. Bieber did not want to stay tied with the sophomore as she got her third long ball of the night to leave the yard for her team leading seventh of the season. The Lady Mt’neers continued to roll to a 22-7 win against the state ranked Lady Indians.
Mt. Vernon improves to 21-8 for the season as the Lady Mt’neers look to finish the year strong on the final full week of the regular season. They continued the week Tuesday against Clever before going on the road to Ash Grove, Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. They will conclude the week Friday against Diamond for their final regular season matchup ahead of the likely district title bout in a few weeks.
 
Mt'neers Baseball
Coach Nick Swillum’s Mt’neers returned to the above-even club as the bats came alive with wins over Seneca, Mountain Grove and College Heights last week.
After ending the previous week with wins over Reeds Spring and Monett, Marshfield stood in the way to begin Tuesday night. The 15-9 Blue Jays have been one of the best teams in the area all year long and they showed the Mt’neers why, as a tight, back-and-forth battle ended with an 8-6 victory over Mt. Vernon. The Mt’neers bounced back Thursday as a road trip to 13-7 Seneca. The pitching for Mt. Vernon was tremendous as they allowed just one run in a 5-1 victory over the Indians. Following a 4-0 loss to the defending state champion Ash Grove, The Mt’neers responded with a resounding 11-7 win over Mountain Grove, Saturday. The bats continued to be the story for the Mt’neers as they put up 14 runs Monday night and cruised to a 14-0 shutout in Joplin over the College Heights Cougars.
Mt. Vernon improved to 10-8 on the year with three more games this week that started Tuesday, as the Mt’neers traveled to rival Aurora. They returned home with games against Hollister and Cassville, Thursday and Friday, to continue their Big 8 slate.