Marauders offense clicks, blasts 4 home runs

0
398

FORTVILLE — For the Mt. Vernon softball team, everything clicked offensively Tuesday night. Behind four total home runs, the Marauders defeated Yorktown 16-6 to improve to 1-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference standings.

“I told the girls last night (after falling to Hamilton Southeastern), that everything resets tonight,” Mt. Vernon coach Veronica Kirby said. “I know we have the talent to be competitive in this conference and tonight showed it.”

The Marauders broke the game open in the bottom of the second inning. Already ahead 2-1 following a first-inning Kaitlyn Nugent home run, the Marauders hit four straight two-out singles to bring Nugent back to the plate. And for the second time in two innings, Nugent belted one out of the park to give the Marauders a 7-1 lead.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

“(Nugent) is just a great hitter,” Kirby said. “She was really seeing it well tonight and sat back on some pitches and drove them out.”

The Marauders chipped in three runs in the next two innings and came to bat in the bottom of the fifth leading only by four runs. Following a fly out to lead off the inning, Mt. Vernon had seven straight hitters reach base, which scored six runs and ended the game via the 10-run rule in the bottom of the fifth.

Highlighting the inning was senior center fielder Morgan Scrugg’s first career home run. The ball popped off the top of the right field fence and out of the park, a mirror image of a shot she hit to left the field the night before that bounced off the top of the fence and in.

“(Scruggs) really worked at her game this winter,” Kirby said. “I could tell watching her practice that she’s finally understood that power technique and was going to be able to hit with more power this year.”

The win improves the Marauders’ record to 1-2 on the year overall and 1-0 in the HHC. They will get a chance to build a winning streak today as they travel to Connersville for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch.