The neighborhood games between Mount Vernon and Lisbon are always friendly, but not always nice.
No. 4 (3A) Mount Vernon blanked No. 10 (2A) Lisbon 8-0 in five innings on Tuesday, June 2, at Van Metre Field.
“Lisbon is a crosstown rival, and a bunch of good girls,” Mount Vernon’s Lucy Wischmeyer said. “And obviously the better a team is, the more fun it is to hit the ball around.”
The Mustangs were able to push two runs across in each of the first three innings. Wischmeyer got the scoring started with an RBI triple in the first inning.
Sophia Patten closed it out with a walk-off bases-loaded double in the bottom of the fifth, ending the game early due to the run rule.
“It was nice getting a walk off for my team,” Patten said. “We want to do the best we can against our neighbors.
“Even though we’re friends in our community, we really are completive.”
Mount Vernon is able to deploy all-state pitcher Hayden Gookin. She held the Lions to three hits and had eight strikeouts.
“We did a good job, as a whole, even though we had a lot of strikeouts,” Lisbon’s Lohgan Anderson said. “We had seen a lot of slow pitching so far, so this was a big adjustment.”
Lisbon coach Abbey Shultz saw her team overmatched early, but play pretty well overall.
“I like to play Mount Vernon, they provide some pretty good stuff for us,” Shultz said. “We made some in-game adjustments. I told them let (Gookin) provide the power, and just see the ball, hit the ball.”
The teams were a combined 14-1 coming into the game. Both teams finishing the season in Fort Dodge is a real possibility.
“I think the communities really rally around each other,” Mount Vernon coach Robin Brand said. “We have had a lot of shared athletes, and I think we support each other.”
MORE MUSTANGS
Mount Vernon softball suffered its first loss Saturday, June 6, in Oskaloosa.
No. 3 (3A) Albia got them 2-1 in a pitchers dual.
Mount Vernon’s Hayden Gookin tossed a 4-hitter, with 10 strikeouts, but Albia countered with Grace Pence, who pitched a 5-hitter with 14 strikeouts.
Sophia Patten hit 2-for-3 and Kinely Nissen had a double.
The Mustangs bounced back to win their second game in Oksy, topping Centerville 10-5.
Mount Vernon had 12 hits, led by Brynlee Bettcher, who was 3-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Gookin also hit a home run.
Lucy Wischmeyer was 2-for-3 with a triple and 2 RBI, Rylee Rasmussen was 2-3 with a double and Nissen was 2-3 with a triple.
They ended the week 12-1 and 6-0 in the WaMaC East.
In league play, the Mustangs swept Grinnell on Monday, June 1, 12-4 and 14-3 in five innings in Grinnell.
Mount Vernon had 29 hits in the twinbill. In the first game, Gookin and Bettcher had home runs. Bettcher hit 3-for-4, and Patten, Rasmussen, Kinley Nissen and Sorell Telecky each had two hits.
In the second game, Rasmussen hit 4-for-4 and Gookin hit 4-for-4 with four doubles and 5 RBIs. Bettcher was 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs, and Wischmeyer was 3-for-4 with a triple and 2 RBI. Patten hit 3-for-4 with a double.
“We had a line-drive fest,” Mount Vernon coach Robin Brand said. “The team has bought in to what they need to do. You have a job. They do what needs to be done.”
On Wednesday, Mount Vernon took two at Independence, 11-1 in six innings, and 9-1.
This doubleheader, included 22 hits. In Game 1, Rasmussen and Bettcher hit home runs and Rasmussen had 4 RBIs. Wischmeyer and Telecky each had two hits.
In the second game, Rasmussen had a home run, and Nissen hit 3-for-4 with a double. Patten also had two hits.
“I really see improvement in hitting lineup,” Patten said. “One through nine we have talented bats that are really strong. If we keep it up, I think we have a great postseason coming up for us.”
MORE LIONS
Lisbon softball, ranked No. 10 in Class 2A, started the season 7-1, but are now on a four-game losing streak.
After losing to Mount Vernon on Tuesday, they dropped the first game of a doubleheader to No. 11 (1A) North Linn on Thursday June 4.
The Lions scored four in the top of the seventh to take the lead, but the Lynx scored one in the bottom of the seventh to tie it, and one in the bottom of the eighth to win it.
Alexis Jensen hit 3-for-5 with a double, Emma Pleasant and Ayla Blanchard each had a single and a double.
The second game was rained out and rescheduled for Wednesday, May 10.
On Friday, June 5, at the Iowa City West Softball Classic, Lisbon lost to No. 9 (3A) Davenport Assumption, 6-5. The Lions got out to a 5-2 lead, but were outscored 4-0 over the last four innings.
Later that day, they lost to Iowa City Liberty, 8-2.
The week started off with a doubleheader sweep of Midland, 15-0 and 11-1, on Monday, June 1, at Bunting Field.
In the first game, Kyla Kahl pitched a 3-hitter, striking out five. Jensen hit 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Shea Benhart hit 2-3 with a triple and Lohgan Anderson hit 2-3.
“I think we have a good team this year,” Anderson said. “We have good team chemistry.”
In the second game, Sydney Techau pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts.
The Lions had seven hits, got eight walks, and stole eight bases, two by Jensen. Benhart hit a home run and Jensen hit 2-for-4 with a triple and 3 RBIs.
Lisbon finished the week 7-6 overall, and 6-1 in the Tri-Rivers East.
“We’re taking it in stride,” Lisbon coach Abbey Shultz said. “I think their spirts are high.”