Mt. Vernon dominates Columbus East

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By Brian Heinemann | Daily Reporter
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FORTVILLE— Mt. Vernon took advantage of the free passes they were issued by Columbus East on Friday.

The Marauders drew six walks — and had six hits — against East starting pitcher Brooke Valles, making the most of the opportunities en route to a 9-5 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

Mt. Vernon rode a strong pitching performance to carry the momentum in Game 2, completing the night with an 11-0, five-inning win.

Freshman pitcher Karlee Franklin shut down the Olympians offense, posting a one-hitter and striking out four in five innings in Game 2.

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“She works really hard,” Mt. Vernon coach Veronica Kirby said of Franklin. “She earns everything that comes to her. Both pitchers threw great, and (Karlee) got the ball down. I was very excited to see her performance.”

Mt. Vernon took the opener despite being outhit 13-7. Four Olympian errors, several wild pitches and timely Marauders hits following walks pushed Mt. Vernon far enough ahead in the middle innings to hold off East. The Olympians scored two runs in each the sixth and seventh innings of the opener in a comeback bid, but the Marauders defense prevented any big innings.

The problems started for East (2-5) in the third inning. Mt. Vernon got a triple from Riley Hasseld and Morgan Scruggs was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch scored Hasseld, and a double from Kaitlyn Nugent brought home another run to give the Marauders a 3-1 lead.

Control problems then cost East big in the fourth. Already down 3-1 to start the inning, Valles started to have trouble finding the strike zone. After a groundout to start the inning, Mt. Vernon drew two straights walks, setting up Samantha Bennett’s RBI double.

Another pair of walks, followed by two singles and a throwing error, allowed the Marauders to chase Valles and plate four runs in the inning.

“We are definitely bringing the bats,” Kirby said. “We’re seeing the ball well and hitting it hard.”

East had its chances. But Nugent was able to get the Marauders out of innings consistently before too much damage was done.

Nugent got out of a jam in the second inning. After giving up two singles and with runners on first and third with one out, she struck out East’s Becca Carter before inducing a ground ball out to escape the inning unscathed.

Despite all of their hits, East was never able to put together a big enough inning. Nugent pitched a complete game to earn the win.

Valles led the way for the Olympians offensively, going 3 for 3 with a home run, two singles, two runs and an RBI.

Mt. Vernon jumped out to an early lead again in the second game of the night and never looked back thanks to their pitcher.

After a groundout to open the first inning, back-to-back-to-back doubles from Scruggs, Sydnee Perry and Nugent jump-started the Marauders to a 2-0 lead.

The Marauders then pulled away with a big third inning. Four singles and a double knocked in four runs, giving the hosts a 7-0 lead. They scored in every inning, wrapping things up with two walks and three hits in the fifth inning.

East’s Kendra Pastrick got the lone hit of Game 2, a first-inning single. The Marauders had nine batters get hits, with Nugent leading the way with three, including two doubles.

Since losing their first two games, Mt. Vernon (4-2) has rattled off four straight victories.

“I’m more confident now and our girls are too,” Kirby said. “We really stepped it up defensively.”