Mt. Vernon’s state quarterfinal game Thursday versus Stockton was at 5 p.m., but if you saw the Mountaineer players during the day, you’d wonder if they could manage an 8 a.m. first pitch.
Game-ready from the start, Mt. Vernon hit the ground rolling against Stockton, unleashing eight early runs on its way to a lopsided 10-0 victory at Spirit of ’76 Park.
The victory sends Mt. Vernon to the spring softball Final Four for the second time in three seasons. The Mountaineers face either Kennett (20-6 overall) or Malden (19-5 overall) at 5 p.m. Friday, May 20 at Springfield’s Killian Softball Complex.
“I knew that the girls were excited when they got to school today,” said Mt. Vernon coach Matt Schubert. “I saw them and they were jumping around. They couldn’t sit still. They were excited, asking ‘Hey, can we go play now? Can we go play now?’
“I knew they were ready and I knew it would be a good day.”
And in Mt. Vernon’s case, it certainly was.
The Mountaineers (23-7 overall) put 2015 Final Four participant Stockton in an early hole, plating four runs in the first inning then four more in the second. Thirteen of Mt. Vernon’s 17 hits in the game were singles, but its four extra-base hits came in the first two innings.
PHOTOS: STOCKTON VS. MT. VERNON
An RBI double from junior Morgan Hull and an RBI triple by senior Whitney Wiehe keyed Mt. Vernon’s four-run first inning. In the second inning, RBI doubles by Maddi Brown and Kaitlyn Foulk, followed by RBI singles from Hull and Wiehe, put Mt. Vernon up 8-0 and served as an early knockout blow.
“(Mt. Vernon’s) so aggressive in the (batter’s) box,” said Stockton coach Lisa Kenney. “Just the pressure of being down 8-0, I know we’re young, but you just have to always be ready to play no matter what.”
The 8-0 lead was more than enough run support for Mt. Vernon senior pitcher Maddi Brown, who allowed three hits, struck out nine and issued no walks.
“We’ve been in good shape with (Brown) for four years now,” Schubert said. “I put the ball in her hand, I trust her. There are plenty of other girls I could trust, but she’s got us here and we’re going to keep going with her until I can’t put her out there anymore.”
Hull finished 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs. Wiehe was 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs.
Mt. Vernon’s No. 9 hitter, McKenna Hagerman, was 3-for-4 with an RBI. In the top of the sixth, she followed Kendra Foulk’s RBI single with an RBI single of her own to put Mt. Vernon up 10-0 and in position to end the game early via the mercy rule.
“We’re all on our A-game right now,” Hailea Schubert said. “Our hitting has come alive. We’re all healthy. It’s a great time to go (to state).”
Hailea Schubert is one of several juniors and seniors on Mt. Vernon’s current team who were varsity players in 2014, when the team made its first trip to state.
This year, the Mountaineers won’t have to bus to Poplar Bluff but rather about 40 minutes down I-44 to Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.
“The first one, coming in as a freshman, I never expected it. I knew we had a good team,” Hailea Schubert said. “Coming into this year, we were hungry. This is what we wanted. Our goal was to get there and we just reached our goal. There’s not a better feeling than that.”
Stockton ends its season 15-9 overall. The Tigers graduate three seniors in Hannah Ewing, Taylor Greenlee and Rachel Merrick.
“You always think your kids are capable of even more, but they had a great year,” Kenney said about her team.
