LEWIS CENTER — The late great Yogi Berra is credited with saying, “Baseball is 90 percent mental, the other half is physical.”
Mount Vernon girls softball coach Ryan Pentz would probably agree with that following the Yellow Jackets’ 9-2 win over Big Walnut in the district championship game.
Going into the bottom of the fourth inning and the score tied at 2-2, the Jackets were facing one of their toughest tests of the season.
“I don’t think mentally and emotionally we were where we needed to be,” the coach said. “To start his game, I thought we were playing uptight. I don’t think we were having the quality at-bats I know this group can have.”
When Golden Eagles’ junior Madi Clever hit a line drive over the left centerfield fence, it was the first run the Yellow Jacket defense had yielded in more than three games.
Mount Vernon answered with two runs in the bottom of the second stanza, but in the top of the fourth, the Golden Eagles tied the game with a line drive that scored Kyra Holmes.
Pentz said that emotion played a major role in the game, especially in the first three-and-a-half innings.
“It wasn’t a lack of focus. I saw the focus in their eyes when they got on the bus today,” Pentz said. “It’s one of those games where there is so much emotion. We have eight seniors and when it is lose and go home, the seniors knew that they needed to win to keep playing.”
The coach reflected on the fact that this began as a closer game than his team had played in a while.
“We have played some really good teams this year. Today, we were in a really tight ball games, and it was weighing on them,” he said. “Luckily, they snapped out of it and started playing softball the way they are capable of playing.”
Snap out of it they did. Even though it was not a hockey game, as a team, they pulled off a hat trick, parking three softballs on the far side of the fence.
The Jackets scored four in the fourth inning and three in the sixth to put the finishing touch on the championship.
Scarbury threw a three-hitter while walking just two and striking out 13.
Following the game, Pentz told his team that it does not matter who they play next.
“Don’t ever doubt your skillset, your ability, and your dedication,” he said.
Mount Vernon softball on a roll
The Yellow Jackets flexed their muscle Friday afternoon.
Second-seeded Mount Vernon belted four home runs and thundered to a 9-2 win over No. 6 Big Walnut in a district championship softball clash at Olentangy High School.
Big Walnut took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on Madi Clever’s solo home run, but Mount Vernon (24-2) struck for a pair in the home half of the inning.
The Eagles tied it in the top of fourth before the Yellow Jackets erupted for four runs in the fifth.
Brooke Dovenbarger belted a three-run home run to break the 2-2 tie and Jocelyn Scarbury followed with a solo shot for a 6-2 lead.
Mount Vernon added three more runs in the sixth. Harley Styndl led off with a solo shot and Hailey Rudrick hammered a two-run shot with one out.
Carly Kennedy had three hits and scored a pair of runs for the Jackets. Rudrick and Dovenbarger each had two hits.
Scarbury went the distance for the win. She gave up four hits and struck out 13.
Mount Vernon advances to next week’s regional tournament and will play either Watkins Memorial or Westerville Central at 2 p.m. May 28 at Pickerington Central.