By Brock Sisney (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MT. VERNON — Playing for a Class 2, District 6 title, the College Heights Lady Cougars’ bats came alive in the middle innings and they built a 9-3 lead after plating two runs in the third, two more in the fourth, one in the fifth, and four in the sixth.
The host Mt. Vernon Lady Mountaineers scored three runs in the last-chance seventh, but it was not enough as College Heights held on for a historic 9-6 victory Thursday evening in Spirit of ’76 Park.
Historic victory, since it gave the College Heights softball program its first ever district title.
“It feels amazing,” College Heights head coach Michael Howard said. “These girls have worked tremendously hard, you know, and they’re so humble. All this is a testament to how hard they’ve worked this year and they really put it together at the right time. They’re playing their best softball right now.”
It seemed like the Lady Cougars had a fire lit underneath them after their 14-10 semifinal victory Wednesday over El Dorado Springs. In that game, College Heights trailed 7-3 early on before scoring runs in six consecutive innings, highlighted by six runs in the seventh to break open the game.
“Sure, I think they took the momentum from the last inning of the last game and they just kept rolling with it,” Howard said. “They had that confidence built up coming into this game and I told them to go out there and continue to have good at-bats and good approaches at the plate, and good things are going to continue to happen. That’s exactly what happened.”
The Lady Cougars were facing Mt. Vernon pitcher Harley Daniels for the first time this season and their bats started heating up the second time through against the Mt. Vernon sophomore.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“We told them to stay within themselves and to swing at your pitches,” Howard said. “Not go for the ones that they’re going to try and get you out on. Go for the ones that you can hit. After we seen her one time through, I thought we got our timing down a little better and we took better approaches the second time around.”
The Lady Cougars collected 13 hits overall, highlighted by Jayli Johnson’s two-run home run to left in the sixth, and Kloee Williamson and Addie Lawrence both enjoyed three-hit performances. Avery Good and Sarah Pointer each added two hits and Layne Jackson collected three RBI. Good, Painter, and Williamson each doubled, while Williamson and Lawrence combined to steal five bases with three for Williamson and two for Lawrence.
Meanwhile, until the final half-inning, College Heights limited Mt. Vernon to only single runs in three separate innings and the Lady Cougars staked freshman pitcher Maddy Colin to a sizable lead that undoubtedly helped with her confidence in the circle.
“All season long, she’s been a monster,” Howard said. “She’s been our horse. Any time we need her to pitch a great game, she’s always done that. She came out today really focused and she’s been in these situations before. I knew there was going to be a little bit of pressure, but she handled that pressure really well, got the bugs out early, and settled down. She did a fantastic job for us out there.”
In her first district title game, Colin scattered six runs (five earned) on nine hits over all seven innings and she balanced eight strikeouts against no walks.
Payge Evans, Josey McChesney, Kennley Weaver, and Allison Burk each had two hits to lead Mt. Vernon’s nine-hit attack. Cornell and McChesney each drove in two, while Evans and Burk each scored twice. The Lady Mountaineers did not have any extra-base hits.
In her first district title game, Daniels allowed nine runs (six earned) on 13 hits over seven innings and she had nine strikeouts and no walks. There were no free passes or hit batters Thursday, as both pitchers finished over 70 percent in percentage of strikes thrown.
College Heights (18-3) will face Diamond (19-2) in a Class 2 sectional game, of course weather permitting, next Thursday.
“It doesn’t matter,” Howard said when asked if he had any preference for playing either Diamond or East Newton in sectionals. “Right now, if they keep playing the way they’re playing, we can play with anybody in the state. It’s going to be a tough game regardless of who we play. Both teams are phenomenal. East Newton, they beat us earlier this year in a close game and Diamond, we played head-to-head a 0-0 tie in four innings. Either way, we’ll have to have the same approach we had coming into this tournament.”
District 5 champion Diamond edged out East Newton 9-8 in a true battle of Newton County schools. The Lady Wildcats are ranked fourth in Class 2, with Mt. Vernon fifth and East Newton sixth in the most recent Missouri Softball Coaches Association rankings.
