No. 4 Mount Vernon softball wanted to test itself before heading into the postseason.
Turns out it was a little more long-form essay than true/false.
Cedar Rapids Prairie beat Mount Vernon 4-1 on Wednesday, July 3, at Van Metre Family Softball Complex, and Class 4A No. 8 Western Dubuque beat them 1-0 Friday, July 5, at Farley Community Park.
“These are the games we want to play,” Mount Vernon coach Robin Brand said. “These are the games that will make us better. We choose some of the top teams to play.”
The game against Prairie was moved from Prairie High School to Van Metre Field following heavy rain the day before.
The Hawks were still the home team, and rattled the Mustangs in the second inning with a couple of bunts and stolen bases that ended up plating two runs.
“I’ve been working on fielding bunts in practice all the time,” freshman pitcher Hayden Gookin said. “You have to be ready for it.”
The Mustangs struggled to provide a counter. They did sneak a run across in the fourth inning when Addison Gookin walked, was bunted over to third, and scored on a passed ball.
But Mount Vernon (29-10) didn’t get its first hit until the sixth inning on a single by Hayden Gookin. Rylee Rasmussen hit a triple in the seventh, but those two hits were all the Mustangs mustered against Prairie pitcher Tatum Goerdt.
“She was one of the better pitchers we’ve faced this year,” Hayden Gookin said. “She threw it in there pretty hard.”
Prairie added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Lola Hawkins hit a leadoff double, and Goerdt hit a two-run double later in the inning.
“I gave up some hits,” Hayden Gookin said. “But my defense did a great job. It was a tough loss.
“We didn’t really hit the first time around, but I think each at-bat, we got a little more on her.”
Brand agreed.
“Went up to bat the first time, kind of hit some dribblers,” Brand said. “We attacked as we moved on through the game, so we made adjustments when we needed to at the plate.”
Against the Bobcats, the Mustangs only had two hits. Western Dubuque pitcher Kiya Streger struck out seven.
The playoffs begin Thursday, July 11, with a home game against Union (4-19). Win that, and the Mustangs host the winner of Center Point-Urbana (12-18) and Monticello (11-19) on Saturday, July 13. CPU split with MV back in June.
Mount Vernon 000 100 0 – 1 2 1
C.R. Prairie 020 002 x – 4 7 0
Hayden Gookin and Kenna Rollinger; Tatum Goerdt and Lola Hawkins. W – Goerdt. L – Gookin. 2B – Lola Hawkins (CRP), Tatum Goerdt (CRP). 3B – Rylee Rasmussen (MV).