It was a friendly neighborhood game Friday, May 31, between No. 12 Lisbon and No. 5 Mount Vernon at Van Metre Family Softball Field.
No one told Hayden Gookin.
The freshman pitcher struck out 13 and the Mustangs rolled to a 7-1 victory over their neighbors to the east.
“Lisbon is always a great rivalry for us,” Mount Vernon coach Robin Brand said. “Both communities look forward to it. We always wish Lisbon the best. I think they do us as well.
“A nice, friendly competition. But they always bring their best game.”
Lisbon came in having just earned a spot in the Class 2A rankings and having swept 1A No. 15 Calamus-Wheatland two nights prior.
“We just talked about confidence,” first-year Lisbon coach Abbey Shultz said. “We know we’re young, but we need our confidence.”
Gookin can rattle a lot of confidence. The freshman pitcher retired the side the first three innings, striking out seven of the nine hitters she faced. The other two popped out.
“She made a lot of us scared to come into this game,” Lisbon senior Addi Petersen said. “She has good movement on her pitches.”
Junior Sarah Dietsch got the first hit against Gookin, an RBI single in the fourth inning that plated Addie Clark, who reached on a walk. The Lions finished the night with three hits, including a double by Petersen.
“It was fun, once you figured out how to stay in the box and see her pitches,” Petersen said. “It was nice to get a good hit on the ball.”
The Lions had a little more luck the second and third time they saw Gookin.
“She was trying to adjust to the zone,” Brand said. “Some things she threw were not working, and it is a pitchers’ job to adjust. She does a nice job, and bears down and does what she needs to do.”
Meanwhile, the Mustangs were able to manufacture runs off Lisbon pitcher Kyla Kahl, an eighth grader.
Kahl had one strikeout and gave up four walks and six hits, relying on her defense to help keep Mount Vernon at bay.
The Mustangs scored four runs in the second inning, all with two outs. Three walks, hits by Abbie Moss and Addison Gookin, and two errors, made for a tough half-inning for the Lions.
“I tell them to focus on every single pitch,” Shultz said. “Make sure every single time you are dialed in and ready to play.”
Mount Vernon (11-1) added some insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Elsa Appleton opened with a walk, and scored on an RBI single by No. 8 hitter Rylee Rasmussen, who scored on an RBI triple by No. 9 hitter Moss. Addison Gookin plated the final run on a sacrifice fly to center field.
“Our lineup looks pretty tight from top to bottom,” Brand said. “Any of them, at any time, can hit the ball. We have a lot of confidence to do that.”
Including a Saturday, June 1, tournament, the Mustangs have won 11 straight following a season-opening loss to No. 7 Solon.
“We’ve got big goals,” Mount Vernon senior Kenna Rollinger said. “We’re honing in on things to get better at.”
Moss and Oliva Haverback each had two hits to pace the offense.
Lisbon (6-3) has only lost to Mount Vernon, and a pair to No. 4 (1A) North Linn.
“It’s not about now, it’s about July,” Shultz said. “We’ve taken each loss and built and adapted to it.
“We lose to teams they know are good. We are still trying to get past the idea they are good, too, and just being ready to play.”
Baseball
Mount Vernon beat Lisbon, 13-0, in five innings Friday, May 31, at Lisbon City Park.
Mustang pitcher Garet Swartzendruber limited the Lions to three hits and struck out seven.
Offensively, Cael Foreman had three hits and three RBIs for MV (6-3). Colin Bentley recorded a triple and Jase Jaspers and AJ McDermott each had doubles. Lisbon fell to 2-6.
Lisbon 000 100 0 – 1 3 2
Mount Vernon 040 003 x – 7 6 0
Kylie Kahl and Sarah Dietsch; Hayden Gookin and Kenna Rollinger. W – Gookin. L – Kahl. 2B – Addi Petersen (L). 3B – Abbie Moss (MV).
MV rolls over Lisbon 7-1
Ryan Suchomel, Sports Reporter
June 6, 2024
About the Contributor
Ryan Suchomel, Sports Reporter
Ryan Suchomel is a sports reporter for the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.