Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – The Class 3A, Region 5 final was set up as the perfect postseason party for top-seeded Solon.

An overflow crowd gathered on a picturesque evening as the Spartans hosted one of their longest rivals for a trip to the state tournament.

Mount Vernon played the role of party crashers to near perfection on Monday.

The Mustangs scored two runs in the first inning and held on for a 3-2 win over No. 11 Solon (23-16) in front of a standing room only crowd.

“We talked about making sure that all the people here didn’t get on them, didn’t bother them,” Mount Vernon coach Robin Brand said. “They continued to stay focused, they have faith in each other and they know that no matter what that when Amanda (Roe) is on the mound every has her back.”

Mount Vernon (27-11) played nearly spotless defense behind Roe who held Solon to six hits while advancing to the state tournament for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

No. 13 Mount Vernon will face second-ranked Louisa-Muscatine (33-4) in the 3A state quarterfinals on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.

“When you play in a regional final a lot of times this is what you get, a tight game like this,” Solon coach Erin White said. “They are a great ball team, a well-coached team.”

Mount Vernon took the big crowd out of the game early with two first-inning runs.

Lauren Ryan tripled into the right field corner with one out and scored on a passed ball.

Sammy Moss walked and scored two batters later on a Kenzie Ketchum double off the wall in right center.

“These guys came out on fire,” Brand said. “I’ve been telling them that is what we were going to do. We were going to come out and be unstoppable and it’s going to be amazing and somewhere they believed me and came out and got after it.”

Solon threatened the answer but left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning.

The Spartans stranded nine runners on Monday and left runners in scoring position in four of the seven innings.

“We were hitting a lot of balls right to people and you can’t control that,” White said. “That’s the tough thing is we had enough hits to get it done and just missed a couple in the last inning.”

Mount Vernon led 3-0 after number nine hitter Nadia Telecky plated pinch runner Ella Wischmeyer with a double in the fourth.

Solon got back in the game in the fifth on a two-run double down the left field line by sophomore Sarah Heick.

“She worked her way into the lineup and fought her way back and was so coachable these past few weeks,” White said of Heick. “She became not only a leader through her work ethic but she became a vocal leader and somebody we looked to that made people smile with her energy and enthusiasm.”

Solon had the tying run on base in each of the final two innings but couldn’t capitalize.

Back-to-back two-out singles by Kayla West and pinch hitter Jada Buffington in the sixth put runners on first and second with one out but Wischmeyer made a running catch of a Taylor Ryan fly ball in right field to end the inning.

“The girls adjusted and you can’t take anything away from them,” White said. “That’s the sport a team has to win and a team has to lose.”

Solon had a final chance in the seventh after Heick led off with a single to center field but Roe got Hilary Wilson and Skyler Stookey to fly out to left and Taylor Moore to fly to right to end the game.

Heick had two hits for Solon which finished with six hits to five for the Mustangs.

“We have come so far and I feel like that’s where as a coach it’s really hard because I tell them all to look in the mirror and ask if they did everything they possible could and I really feel like these girls did,” White said. “They worked their butts off and they got so much better we just got beat tonight.”

Mount Vernon           200  100  0  –  3  5  1

Solon                           000  020  0  –  2  6  2

W – Amanda Roe                   L – Kayla West

2B – SOL: Sarah Heick. MV: Kenzie Ketchum, Nadia Telecky

3B – MV: Lauren Ryan

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by becoming a member.