Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

MOUNT VERNON – Solon senior Bryn Hanrahan struck out swinging in her first at bat against Mount Vernon on Wednesday.

To say that she adjusted and got better at the plate would be an understatement.

Hanrahan rebounded from her rare strikeout by smacking four consecutive hits and driving in four runs to lead the seventh-ranked Spartans to an 8-1 victory over the sixth-ranked team in Class 3A.

Solon coach Jim White mostly blamed himself for Hanrahan’s strikeout. He didn’t think that Amanda Roe would pitch for Mount Vernon in the first game, so it took the Solon batters some time to adjust at the plate.

“Part of that was my fault,” White said. “We prepared for the other pitcher, who’s slower and has a little more control and has a drop. So that was the exact opposite of all of that.

“I thought our whole team regrouped immediately real well after the first inning.”

Solon improved to 26-10 overall and 13-4 in the WAMAC Conference, while Mount Vernon fell to 25-14 and 16-5 in the conference.

The second game of the doubleheader was postponed because of lightning and rain that started almost immediately after the first game had ended.

The Solon batters showed both patience and poise at the plate while collecting 10 hits and 10 walks in the first game, which lasted almost two hours.

“That’s one of the biggest things we need to work on,” White said of being patient and selective at the plate. “We have been working on it this week, so that was really nice to see. We were discussing it between each inning.”

White would like to have played the second game because he felt his team had gained momentum by winning the first game rather convincingly.

But he also knows that the momentum can shift quickly and dramatically after watching the Spartans split a doubleheader against Western Dubuque in which Solon rebounded from a 17-1 loss in the first game to win the second game, 16-4.

“You never know,” White said. “The other night we got blown out in game one and them came back and blew the other team out. We’ve been very inconsistent.

“So yeah, I would have liked to have played because I think it would have helped us. But also Mount Vernon seemed to have their dauber down. They’ve had a great season and lead the conference, and on senior night you get it taken to you in the first game. It’s tough to regroup on that.”

As for Hanrahan, she bats lead off for the Spartans, but White almost considers her to be like a No. 3 hitter in the lineup.

“The first time, obviously, she’s a lead-off hitter, but after that with the way we’ve adjusted our lineup, we have slappers in weird places and we have a bunter in a weird place, we actually try and turn our lineup over and treat her as a three-hole hitter the second, third and fourth time through,” White said.

White said he has considered moving Hanrahan to the third in the batting order, but so far he has resisted making that change.

“Things are working our now, but yes, I did consider it,” White said. “She’s just so consistent at driving in runs and putting something in play.”

Hanrahan entered Wednesday’s game batting .464 and with just three strikeouts on the season. The future Iowa State Cyclone also anchors the Solon outfield from her centerfield position.

Hanrahan drove in the first two runs of the game on a single in the second inning.  She then followed that with two doubles and another single to complete her four-hit performance.

Freshman Kayla West scattered five hits on the mound for Solon while going the distance.

She lost her chance for a shutout when Bailey Sullivan belted a solo home run in the fourth inning.

The Spartans broke the game open by scoring four runs in the top of the seventh inning on four hits.

Game 1

Solon                           020  101  4  –  8  10  0

Mount Vernon           000  100  0  –  1   5   1

Kayla West and Jess Heick; Amanda Roe and Bailey Hauser.

W – Kayla West          L – Amanda Roe

2B – SOL: Bryan Hanrahan (2) Taylor Ryan. MV: Kristen Elliott.

HR – MV: Bailey Sullivan.