The Mount Vernon varsity softball team capped an historic season with a 5-2 Class 3A Region 3 championship win, propelling them to a state tournament appearance in Fort Dodge.
The Mustangs secured the win against the Algona Bulldogs at the Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex in Cedar Rapids
Algona struck first with a run in the first, holding a 1-0 lead all the way until the fifth inning, when the Mustangs got into the game with four runs, taking a 4-1 lead.
The two teams traded runs the following two innings, with the Mustangs scoring one more in the sixth to make it 5-1, and Algona scoring one in the seventh, leaving them three short at 5-2.
Pitcher Jenna Sprague collected the win with seven innings pitched and seven strikeouts.
Maia Bentley and Addison Gookin, respectively a senior and a sophomore, combined for four total RBIs (three belonging to outgoing senior Bentley) and two home runs. It would be Bentley’s seventh and Gookin’s sixth of the season.
The win qualified the Mustangs (33-4) for an appearance at the state tournament in Fort Dodge on Monday, where they would take on eighth-ranked Dubuque Wahlert in the first round.