FORTVILLE — Haley Kissee provided the ceremonial christening of the 2019 Mt. Vernon softball season.
The sophomore second baseman and leadoff hitter homered three pitches in to the Marauders’ first at-bat and her teammates followed suit.
The home run started a five-run first-inning and led Mt. Vernon to a 10-2 win against Scecina, in both club’s season opener Thursday.
“I wanted to start the game off with a strong hit and start it off with a lot of energy and intensity to continue throughout the game,” Kissee said.
It was just what coach Veronica Kirby was looking for, too.
“That’s why I lead her off,” Kirby said. “Not because of her power, but because, right after that, everybody else took a breath. Everybody could play their game. She took care of that, as a sophomore. That’s leadership without saying anything.”
Junior Macy Griner followed that lead. Getting her first varsity start, Griner added a two-out, three-run first-inning double. But she wasn’t done there. In the third, she made Scecina pay for two walks with a three-run home run to give the Marauders an 8-1 lead.
“I knew I had to get it on the ground or in a gap somewhere,” Griner said of her key two-out hit.
Though this was her first varsity start, the homer was the second of her career. Griner was 2-of-2 at the plate as a sophomore with one home run. In fact, she was also 2-of-2 Thursday, drawing a pair of walks to go with her two extra base hits.
Kissee and Griner and the rest of the crew led the charge on offense while sophomore pitcher Karlee Franklin was taking care of business in the circle.
She struck out 10 and gave up just three hits. She had a stretch of retiring 10 straight, beginning with one out in the third inning.
Scecina’s Monika Nance ended the streak with a home run to center field, off Griner’s glove. It didn’t phase Franklin, who struck out three of the next four Crusaders to end the game.
The only trouble Franklin had came in the third. A single, walk, a pair of fielder’s choices and a wild pitch got the Crusaders on the board and, at the time, cut the Mt. Vernon lead to 5-1. She struck out Nance to end the inning.
“I made sure I calmed down and made sure my mechanics were right,” Franklin said of her third-inning recovery. “I did what I had to do.”
Franklin also said it was key to start the season off with a win. Last year, the Marauders opened with back-to-back losses to Cathedral (17-0) and Hamilton Southeastern (19-7), both at home.
“It’s everything,” Franklin said. “This puts us on a high note, so next game we’re building on it rather than trying to get ourselves out of a hole.”
The Marauders hope to continue that building next time out, a Thursday, April 4 home game with Arsenal Tech (5:30 p.m.).
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Mt. Vernon 10, Scecina 2
Scecina (0-1);001;001;0;—;2;3;2
Mt. Vernon (1-0);503;011;X;—;10;11;0
WP: Karlee Franklin (1-0). LP: Kellianne Mendez (0-1).
HR: S – Monika Nance (1); MV – Haley Kissee (1), Macy Griner (1) 3B: None. 2B: MV – Macy Griner, Riley Hasseld, Samantha Bennett, Kissee RBI: S – Nance; MV – Griner 6, Haley Kissee 2, Molly Buck.
Notable: MV – Haley Kissee 2-4 2B, HR, 2 RBI; Riley Hasseld 2-4 2B, SB; Anelise Worden 3R, Macy Griner 2-2 2 BB, 2B, HR 6 RBI, Karlee Franklin 10 K, 3-Hitter
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