MOUNT VERNON — It took them a while to find their groove, but once the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets did, it was smooth sailing.
The Mount Vernon softball team broke out the big lumber in the third inning Friday and cruised to an 11-1 victory over Watkins Memorial in a mercy ruled Ohio Capital Conference game at Mount Vernon.
“We finally woke up and decided we wanted to play,” said Mount Vernon coach Mike Marcum. “It’s contagious with this team. Everybody but one got a hit tonight. That’s not bad, hitting from top to bottom.”
After going quietly in the first inning, the Jackets (4-3-1 overall, 3-2 OCC) got three singles in the second. But, they were unable to dent the plate.
Finally, in the third, the Jackets broke through in a big way.
Keli Thompson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Maggie Hale and Jess Wellman followed with singles to load up the bases. Brittani Roden then smacked a double to the left-center field fence to plate Thompson and Hale, giving the Jackets their first lead of the game.
Two wild pitches gave the Jackets two more runs and Kayla West, who had walked, scored when Alex Rutherford reached on an error by the third baseman.
Watkins (1-9, 0-5) started of with some success, scoring once in the first inning as Jacket starter Roden struggled. Kaitlyn Snider singled, moved to third on an error and then scored when Roden hit a batter with the bases loaded.


