Jackets' baseball falls in two heartbreakers

After scoring in every inning, the Mount Vernon baseball team finally put away Zanesville with a five-run sixth and went on to a 13-2 victory on April 17.

Nolan Hershberger led the Yellow Jackets with a triple, double and three RBI. Travis Burak added a double and two singles, while Greyson Deem, Gavin Gorsuch, Dammon Wolfe and Palmer Holton each had two singles.

Coen Armstrong went the distance on the hill, striking out four.

On April 15, the Jackets dropped a heart-breaking 4-3 decision in eight innings to host Newark Catholic.

Gorsuch smacked two doubles and a single to pace MV. Burak added three singles, while Wolfe doubled, and Deem and Hershberger each had two singles.

Burak and Zack Beck shared time on the mound, with Beck fanning one.

A Jackets’ rally fell just short in a 2-1 loss to Licking Heights on April 20.

Deem and Wolfe each had two singles to lead MV. Hershberger added a double, while Jax McPeek and Palmer Horton both singled.

Hershberger took the hard-luck loss on the mound, striking out two in six innings of work.

Softball

Gabby Beck tossed a one-hitter as Mount Vernon beat Newark Catholic, 6-0, on April 15.

Beck fanned 12 in picking up the victory.

She also led the offense with a triple and a single. Maddy Peterson added a double and two singles, while Jocelyn Scarbury and Lexi Ringwalt both doubled. Brooklyn Cook, Mea Joyner and Isla Graham all singled.

The Yellow Jackets exploded for 10 runs in the first inning and went on to defeat visiting Zanesville, 25-0, on April 17.

Harley Stindl cracked two home runs and drove in four to lead the Jackets. Maddy Peterson cracked two doubles and two singles, while Layla Joyner and Miranda Oswalt each had two doubles and a single. Addison Smith, Allydia Bell, Kendall Melton and Mea Joyner all doubled.

Oswalt started on the hill for MV, striking out five in three innings of work. Bell finished up, fanning six.

MV broke open a close game with four runs in the seventh and pinned a 6-0 loss on Licking Heights on April 20.

Scarbury cracked a home run, a single and drove in four runs to pace MV. Keely Pollard had a double and a single, while Rudrick and Peterson each had two singles.

Scarbury went the distance on the hill for MV, striking out 10 while allowing just three hits.

Track

The Mount Vernon track teams both had some excellent individual performances en route to finishing second at the Hank Smith Invitational at Heath on April 18.

The Yellow Jacket girls scored 113 points to place second out of 13 teams. They won six events on the day, led by Lucy Rush, who won both the 1,600-meter (5:13.55) and 3,200 runs (11:12.31).

Khloe Bradley set a new personal record in the shot put, tossing the pill 41-foot-6.5 inches, an improvement of two feet. Savannah Rose won the 100 hurdles (17.04), while the 4x200 won in 1:48.59 and the 4x100 team won in 51.66. The relay teams included Juliet Boyd, Rose, Nadia Nougi and Danaisa Best.

Best had two runner-up finishes as an individual — the 100 (13.22) and the 200 (27.53), while Nougi (100, 13.45), Kinsley Firebaugh (400, 1:04.38) and Rose (300 hurdles, 50.71) each had a third-place finish.

The boys team finished second with 74 points and had two second-place finishes. The 4x800 team of Landon Barber, Joseph Butts, Theo Miller and Jonah Eggert finished in 8:44.34 and the 4x100 team of Brady Mills, Ben Fitzpatrick, Cole Denney and Mason Richards crossed the line in 44.14.

Fitzpatrick finished in third in the long jump with a leap of 20-3, while Austin May set a personal record in the high jump, clearing 6-0 to finish fourth.