Not every team gets the fairy tale ending.
So it was with No. 4 Mount Vernon, which lost a Class 3A regional semifinal Saturday, July 13, to Center Point-Urbana, 3-0, at Van Metre Field.
“It’s pretty tough,” Mount Vernon senior Elsa Appleton said. “It was fun coming in every day, and the fact I’m not coming in tomorrow is pretty tough.
“I love all these girls and wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
The Mustangs knew the Stromin’ Pointers were salty, having split with them back on June 3. But the team motto is “respect all, fear none.”
“The girls came in like they love being around each other and came in wanting to do that for another game,” Mount Vernon coach Robin Brand said.
CPU pitcher Mya Hillers was ruthlessly efficient and her defense made ever play look routine.
“She’s a little faster than we’ve seen,” Appleton said. “We had the bats on the ball, we just got unlucky, bad timing, and just needed to strong a few together.”
Mount Vernon (30-12) had five hits, but never more than one in an inning. Freshman Hayden Gookin led the way with two hits, including a double.
But the Mustangs never advanced a runner to third base.
“The game doesn’t know that we were ranked fourth, or that we were the top seed,” Brand said.
In the top of the fourth inning, Ella Simon reached on an error, and scored Gracie Hoskins singled her home. A second runner tried to score on the hit, but was thrown out by Appleton from center field.
The Pointers added insurance in the top of the seventh. Hoskins singled on a fly ball that dropped between three Mustang defenders. She scored on an double by Brynley Havel, who in turn, scored on an error.
“I think you always have to have an attitude that, you’ve got this; that you are going to pull through,” Brand said. “We finish the game strong. It’s never a lack of faith.”
The magic was missing. The Mustangs went down in order with three groundouts in the bottom of the seventh.
“Our mindset is, we’re always in it, even going into the seventh inning when things aren’t going our way,” Appleton said.
Hiller had four strikeouts, no walks, and two hit batters. But her defense played error-free and were sharp. After Olivia Haverback opened the bottom of the sixth with a single, CPU completed a double play to halt any momentum.
“Gosh, our conference is tough,” Brand said. “You hate to see this many teams from our conference in one regional. They both have their hands full.”
CPU (16-18) plays at Solon (17-24) on Tuesday, July 16, for a spot at Fort Dodge.
WaMaC teams Williamsburg, Benton Community and Independence are also playing for a state spot in 3A, and Clear Creek Amana is in 4A.
For Mount Vernon, thoughts turn to 2025. The Mustangs say good bye to three pretty good seniors …
“We’ll miss them not just in their play, but what they brought to our team culture,” Brand said. “You want those kids on your team; you need them on your team.”
… but return a lot of talent.
“This will get the fire in their belly going,” Brand said. “That’s what we expect.”
Mount Vernon opened regional play with a 6-0 win over Union (4-22) on Thursday, July 11.
Gookin tossed a 1-hitter, striking out 10.
Offensively, the Mustangs had eight hits, including a single and a triple by Olivia Haverback and two hits with three RBIs for Libby Dix. Addison Gookin and Appleton each hit doubles, and Kenna Rollinger had two RBIs.
CPU 000 100 2 – 3 6 0
Mount Vernon 000 000 0 – 0 5 3
Mya Hillers and Gracie Hoskins; Hayden Gookin and Kenna Rollinger. W – Hillers. L – Gookin. 2B – Sophia Simon (CPU), Hayden Gookin (MV), Brynley Havel (CPU).