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Washington Evening Journal
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Mt. Pleasant survives NL-WMU
New-look Tigers battle with Panthers in rivalry showdown
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MT. PLEASANT — Not one, not two, but three Henry County schools were represented at Mapleleaf Atheltic Complex on Wednesday night, as the New London-Winfield-Mount Union softball team traveled to take on Mt. Pleasant.
In a pitcher’s dual between Mt. Pleasant freshman Chaley Cook and New London eighth-grader Kylea Schwenker, the Panthers held on for a 3-1 rivalry win.
“They played seven innings, and they did what they were capable of doing tonight,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Derrick Coleman. “It was good to get the win, and hopefully we can build on that.”
The Panthers scored first, plating the opening run on an RBI single by Jolynn Martin. The 1-0 lead stayed strong until the top of the third, when New London/WMU’s Maison Nelson knotted things up on an RBI single of her own.
Izzy Sloat’s RBI single in the bottom of the third inning gave the Panthers the lead for good. Mt. Pleasant had a big chance to pile on in the bottom of the sixth, but other than a Keagyn Coleman bases loaded hit-by-pitch, the Panthers couldn’t capitalize, leaving the score at 3-1.
“We've been hitting the ball a lot better than last year,” Coach Coleman said. “We still left eight or nine runners on base, and we've got to figure out how to score all those runs.”
The Panthers had nine hits on the day. Keagyn Coleman and Saige Burchett each went 2-for-3 to lead the team.
In the circle, Chaley Cook threw all seven innings, giving up just one unearned run on three hits, while striking out four batters.
New London/WMU had five hits, two of which came from shortstop Quin Smith. Shayleen Brothersen, Katie Miller and Nelson each had one.
In the circle, Schwenker threw seven innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks, while striking out six batters.
Head coach Emily Parks praised the Tigers’ ability to play solid defense, and to continue to work together as a team. New London and Winfield-Mount Union just came together to conjoin softball teams this year.
“It's all new, but you wouldn't know that these girls have never played together,” Parks said. “We had open gym starting in February, and ever since then, they've meshed.”
Both teams had a shaky rest of the week, with Mt. Pleasant going 1-2 and New London going 0-4. The Panthers currently sit at 2-9 overall, while New London is 1-9.
