SOFTBALL: Tough fourth inning costs Lady Falcons
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A tough fourth inning allowed Mt. Vernon to pull away from Elverado on Wednesday for a 16-6 victory at Elkville City Park. The Lady Rams picked up five runs in the fourth inning and five more in the seventh after the two teams were tied at 3-3 in the middle of the third.
Mt. Vernon got three runs off of EHS starting pitcher Corrine Wilson in the top of the first, but the Lady Falcons erased the deficit with three hits in the bottom of the inning.
Chelsea Cochran singled with one out, then Teague sacrificed her to second and reached first base on the pitcher's error. Sami Hicks followed with an RBI single, as did Wilson, and Elverado was down 3-2. Erika Will then grounded out to short, but drove in Hicks for the Falcons' third run.
The Rams picked up two in the third, but did their most damaging hitting in the fourth. In total, Mt.Vernon collected five hits, two walks and five runs in the inning, including a pair of triples to the outfield wall.
Elverado chipped away in the sixth, drawing four walks and getting a two-RBI single from Meghann Trammel, but Mt. Vernon just kept hitting. The Lady Rams tacked one run on in the fifth and sealed the victory with five more in the final inning of play.
Wilson took the loss pitching, but was 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and an RBI. Trammel (1-4, 2 RBI), Cochran (1-4, R), and Hicks (1-3, 2 R, RBI) also had hits for Elverado. Teague, Abby Grammer and Lacey Qualls were hitless, but all scored runs.
Elverado (3-9, 0-2) is at Chester on Thursday before hosting their Invitational softball tournament this Saturday, weather permitting.
Vienna too much for Lady Falcons
On Tuesday, visiting Vienna's powerful offense racked up 17 runs and defeated Elverado 17-6 behind a 5-for-5 day at the plate by Brooke Childress.
Once again, Elverado held their own in the early-going, with Wilson driving in Teague and Hicks with a single in the first to tie the game at 2-2.
The score remained tied until the top of the third, when Vienna put together four hits and capitalized on a pair of Elverado errors to pull ahead 7-2.
Three more errors in the fourth kept Vienna's offense going, as the visitor scored in each of the last four innings before the game ended due to the ten-run mercy rule.
Marissa Ross also had a hot day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a team-best 4 RBI.
For EHS, Trammel (2-4, HR, R, RBI), Cochran (2-3, 2 2B, 2 R), and Wilson (2-3, 2 RBI) each had multi-hit games. Teague (1-2, R, RBI) and Grammer (1-3, 2B, R) also collected base hits. Wilson took the loss in the pitching circle for her five innings, Teague worked the sixth and struck out three batters.