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Lady Aces take down Vandalia

The Lady Aces didn’t have any problems with not having a game for almost a week.

Senior Harley Tompkins homered and Mulberry Grove pounded out 13 hits on Tuesday during a 12-1 win against

Vandalia, a team that still struggled defensively in taking its fourth straight loss by double digits.

“We hit very well today,” said  Mulberry Grove coach Teresa Tompkins. “I didn’t know what we were going to do, since we haven’t played in a week.

“We are working the count pretty well trying to find a good pitch to drive,” she said. “But if they see that first pitch that good, I tell them to go ahead and take care of business.”

Seven times the Lady Aces put the first pitch in play, and six times a batter saw at least five pitches.

The plate discipline led to runs in all but one inning and multi-hit games for four players, including 3-for-4 efforts from Harley Tompkins and senior Cheyenne Rogier.

“They are still very solid,” said Vandalia coach Brian Buscher. “They may be a touch down, because they lost their (top) pitcher.”

Becca Oldham, a junior, was expected at the start of the season to be out 6-8 weeks, but she is now expected to miss the entire season due to a leg injury.

Megan Blankenship has taken over the role as the team’s No. 1 pitcher, and she was able to hold the Lady Vandals to just a first-inning run and six hits.

Sophomore Kylie Sellers reached on a bunt single, and senior Alex Henna brought her home on a double to right.

Vandalia still trailed at that point, however, as Mulberry Grove’s Kayla Zimmermann reached on an error and scored on a fielder’s choice from Kate Jolliff in the top of the inning.

Harley Tompkins then had a two-out single and came home on a double by Rogier.

The Lady Vandals threatened in the second, getting two runners on base with one out after a single from Taylor Well and a walk from Emilie Britt, but they weren’t able to turn it into any runs.

Buscher said he would have liked to have added a run there to make the game closer, but said that the team’s offense approach was pretty good throughout the game.

The Lady Aces added two more runs in the third on Tompkins’ homer, and they scored five more with two outs in the fourth to take a big lead.

Sam Goodin opened that rally with a double, and Zimmermann and Blankenship each singled to get a run in.

Zimmermann scored on an error, then Jolliff walked before Tompkins singled. Tompkins would score on an error after Rogier singled in Blankenship and Jolliff.

“We can’t afford to give a good team runs,” Buscher said.

Jolliff added a two-run double and Rogier had an RBI single in the fifth to close the scoring.

But despite all of Mulberry Grove’s hits, Teresa Tompkins was impressed with how Vandalia senior Molli Tedrick pitched throughout the game.

“Their pitcher was good,” she said. She threw the ball and hit her spots well.”

Tedrick had two strikeouts in five innings of work. Her personal record is 4-6, while the loss dropped the Lady Vandals to 4-13,

Notes
Vandalia will play at East Alton-Wood River in a makeup game on May 1. The game was rained out last Friday … Ehrat hit her first varsity home run against Shelbyville last Thursday.

Tuesday, April 17
Mulberry Grove 12
Vandalia 1
MG: 2-0-2-5-3—12-13-0
VHS: 1-0-0-0-0—1-6-5
WP: Blankenship; 5 IP, 4 K, 1 R, 6 H, 1 BB
LP: Tedrick; 5 IP, 2 K, 12 R, 13 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP
Lady Aces: H. Tompkins, 3-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 runs, SB; Rogier, 3-for-4, 3 RBI; Jolliff, 1-for-3, 3 RBI, 2 runs; Zimmermann, 2-for-4, 2 runs; Blankenship, 2-for-3, RBI, run, sac bunt; Goodin, 1-for-2, 2 runs, SB; Josie Koontz, 1-for-3; Josie Sumann, run.
Lady Vandals: Henna, 1-for-3, RBI; Sellers, 1-for-3, run; Tylor Well, 1-for-2, SB; Shelby Foster, 1-for-2, SB; Amber Bruno, 1-for-3, SB; Morgan Whightsil, 1-for-3.
Record: 4-13

Mulberry Grove’s Kate Jolliff was just 1-for-3 against Vandalia, but she drove home a run and scored twice during the 12-1 win on Tuesday.

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