LEXINGTON — Mount Vernon had a chance to move one step closer to clinching its fifth Ohio Cardinal Conference title in six seasons on Monday night.
But Lexington had other ideas.
The girls in purple and gold (8-10, 6-7 OCC) came to town and stunned the Yellow Jackets (20-6, 11-2) on Senior Night, rattling off 16 hits en route to a 13-7 victory.
The result left many in the home crowd shocked. And it left Mount Vernon senior Kennedi Endsley with a bitter taste in her mouth.
On Thursday, she and her teammates turned that bitterness into vengeance.
Mount Vernon went to Lexington and returned the favor in dominant fashion, winning 20-1 in five innings behind red-hot hitting and lights-out defense. The Yellow Jackets clinched a share of the conference title in the process, as Madison (18-5, 11-3) simultaneously defeated New Philadelphia (17-6, 10-3) for the second time this week.
The Jackets will look to win the conference outright on Friday night, when they travel to New Philadelphia for their regular season finale.
“It was personal,” Endsley said of the return trip to Lexington on Thursday. “We did the same thing with Lexington last year, going 1-1 – losing at home and winning here.
“So, for me, I most definitely did take it personally, as a way to get back into seeing the OCC title and just kind of getting back to what Mount Vernon's used to. Because last year was the first season (since 2016) we haven't won it.”
What was “personal” about Thursday wasn’t Lexington, Endsley and Mount Vernon head coach Ryan Pentz clarified. The opponent could have been anyone. It was about the standard to which Mount Vernon holds itself.
The Yellow Jackets didn’t meet that standard Monday, Pentz said. They made sure to do so Thursday.
“We didn't talk a whole lot about (Monday's loss on Tuesday) because we had the tournament game Wednesday. So after the previous game, we had to turn our focus to that tournament game,” said Pentz, referencing Mount Vernon’s sectional final victory over Dublin Coffman.
“But I think every one of these girls is smart enough – and understands the game well enough – that it was personal. Because we didn't play well. And they take that personally. I don't have to tell them how bad they played.
"They know they did not play well the other night. They know they didn't hit the ball well. They know they didn't pitch well. They know they didn't play defense well. And they're smart enough ball players that they take that personally.
“It had nothing to do with Lex. It had all to do with their performance. And they wanted to show that they're a better team than that.”
Mount Vernon proved it on Thursday, dominating all facets of the game.
The Yellow Jackets scored three runs in the first inning, four runs in the second inning and five runs in the third inning. They tacked on seven more in the fourth and another in the fifth for good measure.
Mount Vernon appeared disciplined at the plate and opportunistic on the basepaths, building momentum and an early lead that Lexington simply couldn’t overcome.
“We didn't make plays early, and that's what I think I told you the other day: if we make plays, we can compete. But in the first inning, I think we missed a ball or two. ... In the second inning, we missed some. Next thing you know, it's 7-1, and a good team's gonna keep doing it,” Lexington head coach Todd Galownia said.
“The other night, they made errors and we put 13 on 'em. Tonight, we made errors, they put 20 up. So, you know, you've gotta make your plays. That's been my message all year. We need to be able to field the ball and catch the ball, and we haven't been able to do that consistently.”
And Mount Vernon was up to the task defensively as well. Junior Addi Parker pitched lights-out, surrendering one run on four hits through five innings of work. The defense behind her held steady as well, making plays when necessary to keep Lexington off the basepaths.
“My curve ball was on the money today, to be honest,” Parker said afterwards. “I was hitting those low and outside, and the umpire was just working with me.”
The Yellow Jackets won their 20th game of the season on Thursday night. Pentz called it “probably our most complete game we’ve played all year.”
“We ran the bases well. We played defense well. We pitched well. We hit well. …” Pentz said. “To come off of a game when, two nights ago, playing these guys, we probably played one of our worst games of the year – to bounce back and make the adjustments, there's obviously a difference in the scoreboard.
“We've shown flashes of it throughout the year. We've shown the flashes of being great at the plate or being great in the circle or great defensively. We struggle sometimes to put the entire game together. I think that has a lot to do with our youth. And we have found ways to manufacture a bunch of wins. But I think tonight was probably our most complete game we've played all year.”
Lexington, seeded seventh in the Division II Northwest District, beat 10-seed Mansfield Senior, 21-1, in a sectional semifinal matchup Tuesday night. Lady Lex will face second-seeded Bellevue on Friday night for a sectional title.
With the regular season now complete, Galownia noted that every game moving forward will be do-or-die.
“It's about asking whether (whether or not we want) to be done. We play a tournament game tomorrow night. We've got Bellevue, the No. 2 seed in our district. They're really good – good record, good pitcher, good hitters. We've gotta come out and make our plays and give it our best shot,” Galownia said.
“We're young. I mean, at the end of the day, we had five freshmen out there. We have six or seven that are on the varsity right now that rotate in and out. So I knew it was gonna be a work in progress, I just wish we would have been further along by now.”
Mount Vernon, meanwhile, is set to face 16-seed Olentangy Orange in the district semifinals Monday. The Yellow Jackets, seeded seventh in the Division I Central District, dispatched 36-seed Dublin Coffman, 12-3, in a sectional final matchup Wednesday night.
Before that, however, Pentz’s club has business to take care of. Mount Vernon will wrap up regular-season and OCC play Friday night at New Philadelphia.
The Yellow Jackets, who swept Madison this season and beat New Philadelphia 9-7 at home May 4, will have an opportunity to clinch the conference title outright with a victory. That’s always been the goal, Pentz said Thursday – and now, it’s within reach.
“(The) job's not done,” Pentz said. “We've got a big job tomorrow, and we know that. ... We want to win it outright. That's the goal, you know. We don't wanna just share it. We wanna win it outright, and that can happen tomorrow.
“If they come out and play like they did tonight, I think we'll have a great game.”