MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As the near-unanimous No. 1 Class AAA team in the MetroNews Softball Coaches poll, John Marshall has posted a number of impressive victories in their first 20 games. The Monarchs’ 2-1 triumph at Class AAAA No. 2 Morgantown may lead the list as JMHS (17-3) picked up their fifth consecutive win and the tenth in their last eleven games.
“We’ve had several good wins. We beat the Steubenville Big Red. They are no slouch either. They are a pretty good team too. We went down to Tennessee and when we went down there, we beat a couple good teams down there,” said John Marshall head coach Robby Blake.
“That’s kind of my young group still. I am happy the way they are progressing. We’re not where we need to be yet. Defensively, we are. But offensively, we are not. When we hit it, we are going to be pretty hard to handle.”
With the game tied at 1 in the sixth inning, seniors Kaylee White and Masyn Inclan led off the inning with back-to-back hits. Inclan’s double allowed White to score all the way from first base, giving the Monarchs a lead they would not relinquish.
“Masyn has been one of the best hitters in the state for four years. She truly has. She averages almost 40 hits a year. She just had her 150th hit last week. I have all the confidence in the world that she was going to come in and hit the ball.
“Today, runs were hard to come back. I am just thankful my seniors stepped up and got us going at the right time.”
After taking the lead a second time, John Marshall sophomore pitcher Lily Dijkstra retired six of the final seven batters she faced to finish off a complete game victory. Dijkstra allowed four hits and struck out three batters.
“She was hitting her locations. Her changeup was working and she kept them a little bit off balance. We kind of had a game plan coming in this game and she stuck to it. And Rod Swoger, our pitching coach, dialed up the perfect game.”
Emma King’s run-scoring single allowed John Marshall to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Grace Robinson evened the score for the Mohigans (15-5) in the fourth inning with an RBI double. Robinson had two of MHS’ four hits.
Morgantown starting pitcher Madison Wisman went the distance for the Mohigans. She allowed three hits and struck out 11 batters.