PICKERINGTON — Nemesis: “The inescapable agent of someone’s or something’s downfall.”
When it came to the Mount Vernon softball team and the postseason in the past two years, Watkins Memorial could well have fit that definition. That is until Wednesday night, when Hailey Rudrick capped a nine-run fifth inning with a grand slam to give the Jackets a walk-off, mercy-rule 12-1 win.
The past two seasons, the Warriors have ended the Yellow Jackets’ season early by ousting them from the tournament.
“They have definitely been our nemesis,” coach Ryan Pentz said.
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This contest was the rubber match between the two schools this season. In their first meeting on April 11, Watkins came from a run down when two Warriors crossed the dish in the home half of the sixth inning to hand the Yellow Jackets one of only two losses they have suffered this year.
On April 28, the Yellow Jackets played host to Watkins and crushed the Warriors 10-0 in a game ended by the mercy rule in the sixth inning.
Pentz reminded the players of that result via a conversation on the team bus.
“I told you, look at the scoreboard and if we stay focused it will show that we won,” he said.
The game was tight until the fifth inning, when the slugfest began. Brook Dovenbarger homered, followed by Jocelyn Scarbury for back-to-back round-trippers. Going almost unnoticed was the fact that Scarbury tossed a one-hitter.
Pentz said that another topic of conversation with his team was the Ghost of Tournaments past.
“We talked about that and were very open about them beating us early in the year and knocking us out of the tournament twice,” Pentz said.
Assistant coach Taylor Heckman shared the sentiments of the rest of the coaching staff.
“I am just so proud of this team,” Heckman said. “The way we started, even in the preseason, we were unsure of what we were going to do this year, and now to be here …”
Heckman credits self-control with much of the success this season.
“A lot of times we just get really impatient and try to hit the pitch the pitcher wants us to hit,” Heckman said. “Now we have learned to wait and hit the pitch we want to hit.”
Heckman is pleased with the way the team has rallied.
“We are leaving no doubt. They’re playing like a team, they are so much fun to watch. Who wouldn’t want to come watch them play right now?”
Heckman also believed that the team felt that it had something to prove.
“This one was a sweet victory for sure,” he said. “These girls have been waiting for this from day one and to run them in the fifth inning, they couldn’t be happier, we couldn’t be happier, it is just awesome.”
With the victory, the Jackets punched their ticket to the regional championship game on Friday at 5 p.m. against Dublin Scioto at the Pickerington Central complex.