West Delaware, Mount Vernon battle to split

MOUNT VERNON - From spotty to spotless. And sometimes, spectacular.

Defense can make all the difference.

Mount Vernon made all the routine plays - and some of the non-routine - behind Marissa Roe and earned a split with Class 4A 11th-ranked West Delaware with a 2-0 win in the nightcap of Monday's Wamac Conference East Division double-header at the Mount Vernon/Cornell softball complex.

The Hawks took the opener, 5-2.

'My change-up was working well, but the defense played great behind me,” Roe said. 'I feel like they've got my back. If I make a bad pitch, they're there to help me.”

Mount Vernon (7-5 overall, 4-4 Wamac East) handed the Hawks (11-2, 5-1) their first divisional blemish despite a stellar night by West Delaware pitcher Hannah Cole.

Cole (9-1) scattered four hits in the opener, then came on in relief of the second game and mowed the Mustangs down. She retired 11 in a row in relief, fanning the final eight batters she faced.

By then, though, the Mustangs were on the board.

'You've got to get runs,” said Hawks Coach Kevin Schuchmann. '(Second-game starter Kristen) Wegmann did her job. We just need to score.”

Monday's sequence was typical for Cole. Start the opener, then relieve in the nightcap.

'I'm used to it,” she said. 'I'm able to stay warm. I feel like I get stronger as I go along.”

Mount Vernon managed just two hits in the second game, but they were back-to-back third-inning RBI singles by Libby Ryan and Mikaela Lengwin that ultimately made the difference.

That, and some excellent defense by the left side of the infield - Alyssa Maddocks at third base and Miranda Chapman at shortstop.

'We've been playing better defense lately,” said Mustangs Coach Robin Brand.

The Mustangs coughed up three errors in the first game, and that combined with 12 West Delaware hits to give the Hawks a relatively easy victory.

West Delaware scored three times in the first inning, and four different players drove in a run at some point in the contest.

Emily Thole, Haley Morrison, Bridget Hoffmann and Marly Boies each collected a pair of hits in the opener.

WEST DELAWARE 5, MOUNT VERNON 2 (Game 1)

West Delaware 300 020 0 - 5 12 0

Mount Vernon 100 010 0 - 2 4 3

Hannah Cole and Ashley Heims. Lily Dahlstrom and Annie See. W - Cole. L - Dahlstrom.

MOUNT VERNON 2, WEST DELAWARE 0 (Game 2)

West Delaware 000 000 0 - 0 4 1

Mount Vernon 002 000 x - 2 2 0

Kristen Wegmann, Hannah Cole (3) and Ashley Heims. Marissa Roe and Annie See. W - Roe. L - Wegmann.

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