The Mount Vernon varsity baseball squad had a week shortened by inclement weather, and so they traveled to take on the Clear Creek-Amana Clippers Thursday, July 1, for their only two games for the week. The team split the doubleheader.
The Mustangs faced off in a doubleheader against Marion Monday, July 5 (outcome not known at press time) and will face off against Vinton-Shellsburg today (Thursday, July 8).
Mustangs win 4-3The Clippers sprung out to a 2-0 lead after two innings had passed, but the Mustangs scored a run at the top of the third to cut it down to 2-1. Another run for Mount Vernon at the top of the fourth inning tied it up 2-2.
A showdown in the seventh would settle the first game between the two rivals, with the Mustangs scoring two runs to go up 4-2, before the Clippers scored one run to fall just short of a comeback, and award the Mustangs a 4-3 win.
Mustang senior Elijah Exley-Schuman had two hits that drove in two runs, and fellow senior Brady Ketchum threw six innings.
Clippers clip Mustangs 11-10The Clippers took a commanding 6-0 lead after scoring six runs in the bottom of the second in game two, though the Mustangs would have a strong response in the final frame.
Mount Vernon scored two runs at the top of the third inning to cut the lead to 6-2.
The Mustangs would add a run at the top of the fifth inning to make it 6-3, right before the Clippers put three more runs on the board at the bottom of the fifth to make it 9-3.
The ‘stangs dropped an entire seven runs on the Clippers in a rally at the top of the seventh inning to take a 10-9 lead.
Clear Creek-Amana, in the bottom of the seventh, came up with the two runs they needed to win the game 11-10.
Mustang senior Jayden Meeker had two hits in the game, driving home two teammates and scoring once himself.
Mount Vernon now has a 15-10 record against the Clippers dating back to 2009.
“We are making positive strides every day,” said Mustangs head coach Charles Chatman.
“I thought we had our first signature series sweep after winning game one, with two runs in the seventh inning of game two to take a one run lead, but our growing pains poked out again,” Chatman said.
Mount Vernon baseball wins, loses, by thin margins
Trent Bowman
July 8, 2021