INDIANAPOLIS — The rain stayed away for the Class 4A Sectional 10 championship at Warren Central, but Indianapolis Cathedral poured it on to beat the Mt. Vernon Marauders 10-0 on Thursday night.
Cathedral starting pitcher Alex Jackson helped herself out by hitting a double that scored Rose Holtrey in the second inning, giving the Irish an early one run lead.
Mt. Vernon repeatedly put the ball in play, but the Irish defense had an answer for all their swings behind their senior hurler.
Jackson pitched three innings of no-hit softball as her defense made routine plays without any errors. With two outs in the bottom of the third inning, Cathedral’s Brittany Ford took advantage of her teammates’ two prior walks and belted a three-run home run over the right field fence.
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Her swing pushed the Irish lead to five runs. By the sixth inning, the Irish led by seven. Despite the efforts of two relief pitchers from Mt. Vernon, the top of the Irish lineup put together three straight singles and a couple stolen bases to gain a nine run lead.
The final hit up the middle by freshman Lily Jennings brought courtesy runner Jordan Lyman across the plate for the victory.
The game was never completely out of reach, however, as Cathedral steadily produced runs and Mt. Vernon consistently put the ball in play to keep the pressure on the Irish.
The Marauders’ defense displayed some great individual efforts despite the loss.
In the third inning, senior left fielder Jennah Ruddick made an outstanding sliding catch to prevent Irish baserunners from advancing.
As Cathedral threatened with the bases loaded, catcher Mackenzie McCann recovered nicely after a wild pitch to place a perfect tag on an over-confident runner to end the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, after a weak bunt, the Marauder shortstop covered third base as the junior catcher McCann threw out the runner attempting to dive back after taking one too many steps toward home plate.
The Mt. Vernon Marauders softball team finished the season with a winning record of 13-11.
Mt. Vernon will lose eight seniors to graduation, all of whom played in this game.
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Cathedral 10, Mt. Vernon 0
MVHS;000;000;—;0
CHS;014;113;—;10
WP: Alex Jackson LP: Sara Pridgen
2B: Jackson (CHS). RBI: Hogg 3, Ford 3, Jackson 2 (CHS). SB: Lusk, Moore 1 (CHS)
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