Hayfield Softball Surprised by Mount Vernon

In regular season National District softball play, Hayfield left their mark with an unblemished 14-0 record, so accepting defeat wasn’t something that the Hawks were accustomed to.

Enter Mount Vernon, an opponent that Hayfield beat soundly by a combined score of 28-7 in their two previous wins.

Helped by a strong performance by pitcher Olivia Compton, the Majors held the top seed Hawks to only three hits in a surprising 2-1 semifinal win.

“We were undefeated, but now that we lost a game we know how it feels to be on the other side,” senior shortstop Megan Perry Shifflett said. “We want to taste that and keep going throughout regionals. We have a special team and we got to use it.”

Hayfield almost pulled out a miraculous two-out seventh inning rally for a comeback.

It looked like the Hawks had no chance for a rally, but Hayfield’s Angela Sudik drilled a line drive into Mount Vernon short stop Megan Wessinger’s glove. Wessinger momentarily had the ball, but it popped out as an error, which drove in Taylor Neuhart to inch Hayfield to within 2-1. Jessica Reynolds, the next batter in Hayfield’s lineup hit a high arching fair ball past Mount Vernon’s first baseman to give the Hawks two runners in scoring postion.

With runners on third and second base and a chance to win the game with a potential hit, Brittany Creamer connected on a pitch, but the ball traveled directly to Mount Vernon first baseman Megan Cole to end the game.

“When our big hitter was coming up in the sixth inning, she [Mount Vernon pitcher Olivia Compton] handled them pretty well. We got a rally going, but what killed us is they got that second run and we could’ve tied the game,” said Hayfield Coach Ron Giovannucci.

Mount Vernon scored its first run of the game in the fourth inning on an RBI by Olivia Compton. Hayfield got out of the fourth inning, with a perfect throw to on a Mount Vernon runner trying to steal second base.

The Majors’ second run came by virtue of an infield throwing error in the 7^th inning to advance a runner home.

Pitching wise, Hayfield lived up to its normal reputation with Amber Fowler notching three strikeouts and Taylor Neuhart relieving the starter with five strikeouts.

Although disappointed in not being able to win the National District tournament, Hayfield will still host a regional playoff game on Friday, May 27 against the third place finisher in the Concorde District.