By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The spring softball rivalry between Mt. Vernon and Diamond has been something to behold the last few years.
The teams have played each other 11 times in the last three seasons––Diamond ended Mt. Vernon’s season in district play in 2022 and the Wildcats went on to win the Class 2 state title; in 2023 Mt. Vernon earned a 7-6 win in the district championship and then won the Class 2 title; and last season it was Diamond’s turn again, with the Wildcats beating the Mountaineers in the district finals and then winning another Class 2 title.
While that wasn’t the ending Mt. Vernon was looking for, the Mountaineers still finished with a 27-9 record for their third straight season winning at least 26 games.
“We played really well for a large portion of the year, the girls worked their tails off and we just had a few small stretches where I think we got tired,” said Mt. Vernon coach Matt Schubert. “We played a lot of games in a short amount of time and that negatively affected us in several games, but I felt like we bounced back towards the end of the year and finished pretty well. Played a pretty good game against Diamond even though we lost in that district championship.”
Turning the page to 2025, Mt. Vernon returns six starters and a few others with varsity experience. That list includes senior Rae Downing, a first team all-state catcher; senior Molly Daniels, a first team all-state infielder; and senior Cheyenne Bieber, a first team all-state outfielder.
Downing was a .548 hitter last season who led the team with 22 doubles and 11 triples and was second with five home runs. She totaled a team-high 63 RBI’s and scored 46 runs to go along with 12 stolen bases.
“She is one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” Schubert said. “She’s a two-time all-state returner and she’s just a great leader. She hit over .500 and set a school record with 63 RBI’s. She led our team in offense and she’s a really good defensive catcher as well with a good arm. There aren’t a whole lot of steal attempts against her. She is probably one of the top two or three players I’ve ever had.”
Daniels, the team’s shortstop, was a .528 hitter with six doubles, seven triples and a team-high 58 runs scored. She also led Mt. Vernon with 31 steals and was only caught once.
“She’s another one who’s really good,” Schubert said. “She’s been at the top of our lineup the last two years and she gets on base a lot and has good speed. She’s a really good defensive shortstop. Another really good player and also a two time all-state player.”
Bieber, yet another two-time all-state player, will play in center field when she’s not pitching. Last season she was a .555 hitter with 20 doubles, eight triples and a team-high nine homers. She drove in 55 runs and scored 51 and added 26 steals.
“And she has a real strong arm in center and covers a lot of ground,” Schubert said. “In the circle she throws hard and throws a lot of strikes while challenging hitters.”
Senior Maddie Schubert returns as the starter at first base. She batted .286 with five doubles and a homer and collected 30 RBI’s and scored 13 runs.
“She’s a tall target at first base so we get a lot of throws caught by her with her long reach,” Schubert said. “She’ll hit in the bottom half of the lineup and she produces RBI’s, just drives runs in.”
A junior returner is Lilly Burk, who started in left field as a sophomore and will likely move to second base. She was a .297 hitter with two triples and scored 27 runs while tying for the team lead with 13 walks and stealing 10 bases.
Sophomore Emily Schubert also returns at third base and as a pitcher. She had three doubles and 19 RBI’s.
Senior Madison Rinker saw action in a few games last season and will probably play in the outfield this spring. Junior Mya Bray played in 10 games and could play infield or outfield. Sophomore Mary Fields played in 13 games and could play in the outfield. Sophomore Jocelyn Liss appeared in five games and could play in the outfield and serve as designated hitter. Freshman AJ Shipman could also earn playing time at infield or outfield.
Bieber and Emily Schubert equally split last year’s pitching duties, with Schubert tossing 101 innings and Bieber 101.2. Bieber was 16-3 with 125 strikeouts and a 3.03 ERA and Schubert was 11-6 with 89 strikeouts and a 4.78 ERA.
“With the returning starters I think we have an experienced core that understands exactly what our expectations are and they’re going to be able to pass that on to the newcomers,” Schubert said. “Throughout our preseason workouts the expectation’s been the same, that we’re going to be preparing to be right there at the end with winning a district and moving on to the state playoffs and being a force there. With the kids we have, the leadership we have with Rae and Molly and Cheyenne and some of the other girls as well, they’re going to lead more than I’ll have to which will be a good thing.”
Mt. Vernon will host Springfield Catholic and Marionville for a March 17 jamboree and opens the regular season in the Joplin Area Tournament at Purdy a few days later. The Mountaineers will play Buffalo and Springfield Catholic in their own tournament March 24. Mt. Vernon will host out-of-area teams West County, Houston, Versailles and Warsaw on April 11-12.
