By Chris Parker
Mt. Vernon softball followed a script that has worked all year in the Class 2 state championship game against West County. The Mountaineers used a big offensive inning and a shutdown pitching performance from Harley Daniels to beat West County 6-0 and claim the Class 2 state title. It is the program’s first state title since 2016 and second ever.
West County threatened in the first inning with a two-out triple followed by a foul ball that missed being a two-run homer run by mere feet. Daniels came back to end the inning with a strikeout.
In the bottom half of the first inning, Payge Evans struck out and Molly Daniels flied out to left to start the inning, but the true effect of those at-bats didn’t show up in the box score, as each player forced West County pitcher Gracie Wright to work by fouling off pitch after pitch.
Grinding out at-bats was a theme for the entire game.
“It is just them being focused and locked in taking it one pitch at a time and do the job they are asked to do,” Mt. Vernon head coach Matt Schubert said. “I thought leading off the game Payge and Molly both fouled off a lot of pitches. With those two there was probably 18 pitches the first two at-bats.”
With two outs, Mt. Vernon got to work.
Allie Schubert worked a walk followed by an RBI double from Harley Daniels to the right field wall. Rae Downing got hit by a pitch in the next plate appearance to put two on. Cheyenne Bieber drove both runners home with a triple to left field. Hali Stokes made it a four-run two-out rally with a single through the left side giving Mt. Vernon a 4-0 lead after one inning.
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The offensive explosion allowed Harley Daniels to relax in the circle.
“It (the four runs) really helped me because no matter what happened there was the offensive number that we put up to back me up,” Daniels said.
From there, she did what she has done all year: shut down the opposing lineup. Daniels struck out nine and walked one, giving up five hits over seven innings to lead Mt. Vernon to the win.
“She (Harley Daniels) has been able to come in and be a steady force in the circle and give us the opportunity to win as often as we possibly could,” Schubert said. “We knew that she would keep things close and as long as we can do that, I like our offensive opportunities that we got and able to cash in on them.”
The Mountaineers added one run in the bottom of the second after Evans reached on a single and Molly Daniels drove her in with a single to left.
The final RBI came on a historic hit in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hali Stokes got hit by a pitch with one out and Ava Bellis singled through the right side after her. That gave Evans a chance at history two batters later with two outs in the inning. She needed one hit to break the state’s record for hits in a single season. Evans slapped the ball to the left side past the third baseman to the shortstop, and she beat the throw to drive in the game’s final run and get her record-setting 76th hit.
“I was thinking I really hope I make this. I was able to see the ball go past the third baseman, so I was just hoping the shortstop didn’t get it behind her. I was just booking it,” Evans said.
Daniels came out to the circle with a six-run cushion and three outs to get. She struck the first two batters in the final inning. The final out was recorded via groundout caught by Mt. Vernon’s only other senior Allie Schubert at first base to set off an emotional state championship celebration.
“I am kind of sad that it ended, but I am really happy that it ended that way,” Daniels said. “I have been with this team for three years and it has been the best three years. To end it this way was the best.”
The senior duo of Harley Daniels and Allie Schubert will be tough to replace both on the field and in the dugout.
“She (Daniels) has meant so much. She has put so much confidence into every single one of us players. She is a great leader and Allie (Schubert) is too,” Evans said. “Ally Burk and I are going to have some big shoes to fill next year being seniors.”
Mt. Vernon finishes the season with a record of 37-1.
