NEOSHO, Mo. — The Mount Vernon Mountaineers and the Diamond Wildcats are the first- and second-ranked teams in Class 2 by the Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association, entering their game Friday with more than a combined 50 wins between them.
Mount Vernon and Diamond, the defending Class 2 state champions, split their first two meetings this season: Mount Vernon won the first 4-3 in the Joplin Area Tournament (March 18) and Diamond won the second 8-2 in the Mountaineers’ home tournament (March 22).
Since that loss, their only loss of the season so far, the Mountaineers have now rattled off 22 consecutive wins after their 12-6 win on Friday over Diamond within the Marion Sports Complex.
The Mountaineers scored one in the first and the second, then fell behind 6-2 after the Wildcats scored six in their half of the second, and Mount Vernon closed out the scoring with two in the third, three in the fourth, and five in the fifth.
“That’s been our strength all year,” Mount Vernon coach Matt Schubert said. “It’s probably the best team hitting wise in the 10 years that we’ve played softball at Mount Vernon. We’ve got girls all up and down the lineup as you saw with the nine hitter hitting one off the scoreboard. The girls do a great job of being prepared and they usually do a pretty good job of getting a swing on the ball.”
Molly Daniels doubled and scored a run in the first, Cheyenne Bieber doubled and scored a run in the second, Rae Downing doubled in a run in the third, Ally Burk hit a two-run home run in the fourth and Burk added a RBI single and Payge Evans a two-run double in the fifth.
Burk, Downing, and Evans combined for half of the Mountaineers’ 12 hits with two each and Bieber, Isabel Cloud, Daniels, Allie Schubert, Maddie Schubert and Harley Daniels combined for the other half with one hit each.
Downing doubled twice and Evans, Bieber, and Molly Daniels each added a double.
Burk drove in three and scored two runs, Evans drove in two and scored three runs, Downing drove in two runs, and Bieber scored two runs.
The Mountaineers scored more than 10 runs for the 19th time this season.
Harley Daniels earned the win and she allowed six runs (two earned) on five hits with 11 strikeouts and five walks over seven innings.
Mount Vernon has one regular season game remaining before the start of postseason competition.
The Mountaineers are the top seed and tournament host for the upcoming Class 2 District 6 tournament with a field that includes Diamond, College Heights, Pierce City and Sarcoxie.
“That’s what we talked about after the game,” Coach Schubert said. “Seniors only have two guaranteed games left. We added one for Tuesday just before this game (Diamond) started. It’s important for us to maintain that momentum we’ve built and maintain the focus that we strive for. It’s something that we want to make sure that we carry over from game to game.
“Being in the toughest district in the state again, when you come out of it you’re going to be prepared to go on a good run just like Diamond did last year. It’s always fun to play good teams and Diamond is exactly that. They’re better than a good team. They’re probably a great team. But it’s something that you got to be prepared for and you can’t take a play off and you can’t come in unfocused.
“I think the rain (Friday) cost us a little bit of focus at the beginning of the game, but once we got down there 6-2 after the second inning, our girls refocused and were able to come back.”
Mount Vernon improved to 30-1 overall.
Kabrie Parmley’s two-run homer highlighted the Wildcats’ six-run second that also featured Aubrey Ball’s two-run double and a Talyn Daniels RBI double.
Sara Roszell took the loss and she allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 12 hits with one strikeout and two walks over five innings, while Kenzie Crook pitched two scoreless innings, allowed two hits, and struck out and walked one.
With the district seeds already locked down, Diamond coach Kelsey Parrish used Friday as an opportunity to spread the playing opportunities among her reserves late in the game.
“We were just trying to move things around,” Parrish said. “Going in, I just wanted as many batters as possible on our team that could face Harley the better. We’ve already been seeded at district, and I thought this game was more of an opportunity to see different situations. They have really good bats, though.
“We were able to switch it up in the third, so we could get more plate appearances with everyone to see who is going to come out and be the most competitive against her (Harley Daniels) hopefully when we meet up in the postseason. We’ve got to beat good teams to get there, so who knows what’s going to happen in our district.”
Diamond fell to 22-8 on the season and the Wildcats close out their regular season Thursday on the road against College Heights Christian (McAuley Catholic).
If the Mountaineers and the Wildcats meet for a fourth time this season, it would be for a district title on Tuesday, May 9, at the Spirit of 76 Park in Mount Vernon.
“I think it’s going to be a scramble,” Parrish said. “We have some really good teams. Sarcoxie is on a 14-game winning streak right now, Mount Vernon has only one loss, Pierce City, College Heights. It’s a very tough district … so we’ll see what happens.”
