By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Mount Vernon, Mo. — Alissa Collette didn’t know she was starting Thursday night’s Mt. Vernon Tournament championship game until five minutes before first pitch.
Whatever the reason behind the late notice, it worked.
The first-year move-in from Hillcrest continued to make a name for herself as a formidable No. 2 to Zoey Mullings for Strafford softball, allowing four runs, none of them earned, and striking out five in a seven-inning complete game, helping the Lady Indians (7-1) beat Purdy (5-1), 6-4.
“Well I thought Zoey was starting because that’s what she told me,” Collette said after Strafford’s second in-season tournament championship of the young season. “Then coach comes up and tells me I’m starting.”
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Collette showed no nerves pitching against one of the more formidable lineups in the state, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning and giving up just five total hits and two walks in the game.
Collette is now 4-0 in four appearances this year and lowered her ERA to 1.07 Thursday. She’s averaging over a strikeout per inning and still holds a WHIP under 1.00.
“We haven’t got to see her a whole lot but we’ve really liked what we’ve seen so far,” Strafford head coach Dale Bean said. “She’s come in, done a good job, has helped lift the pitching load and she’s been a great asset for the team.”
Tied 4-4 in the top of the sixth, Kayley Frank delivered a two-out triple and later scored the game-winning run on a wild throw to third with the count 2-1 on Karley Soden, who eventually struck out in the at-bat.
After falling to Purdy 6-2 in pool play on Monday, Strafford jumped out to a 4-0 lead through 3.5 innings on Thursday.
Brooke Bishop scored on a wild pitch in the third, but Strafford did most of its damage in the fourth.
Hayley Frank led off the fourth with a triple and was driven home by a Samantha Gott single. Two batters later after Presley Floyd reached on a fielder’s choice, Collette drove her in with a double and later scored on an error off a Kayley Frank fly ball.
“We just didn’t play well at times tonight,” Purdy head coach Lori Videmschek said. “It seemed like we’d do something really good, and then we couldn’t get ourselves out of our way and we’d do something really bad. It’s stuff that’s fixable.”
Purdy got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth after singles from Rion Boyd and Devyn Callahan scored Kylie Wood and Sami House, but the Eagles also had two baserunners thrown out at home in the inning.
The Eagles tied Strafford 4-4 in the fifth on a two-out two-run bases-loaded single by Boyd, scoring Mikey Schad and Wood.
“I told the kids I was proud they came back and tied it up. They could’ve just died and we didn’t. We competed. I think you could possibly see these two teams in a Final Four if they continue to work,” Videmschek said.
Boyd finished with three RBIs. Purdy managed to load the bases again in the fifth, but Collette got Callahan to pop out to Mullings at third base.
“I was a little nervous. But I just got through it somehow,” Collette said. “I knew we could score more runs because we’re a hitting team. I had confidence in us to come back and win.”
Strafford got an insurance run when Bishop doubled to lead off the seventh and scored on a Mullings groundout.
