For the first three innings it was simply a pitchers’ battle between Victoria Scott and Britanny Marshall. That all changed in the top of the fourth as Monticello’s bottom half of the order was able to capitalize on a handful of William Monroe defensive mistakes. And although the Greene Dragons would tag a run on Scott in the bottom of the sixth, that was all the senior pitcher allowed as she and the Mustangs left Stanardsville with a 4-1 win.
“When Victoria’s in the circle it gives us a chance to see a few pitches and get (the opposition’s) pitching timing down,” said Monticello coach Beth Humphrey. “The bottom half of the lineup has come through for us a lot this year. One through nine, I feel confident in everyone. In years past it was a little tougher with those last three batters.”
The last three batters in the order – Lynley Price, Paige Lipscomb and Chelsea Henderson – all reached base in the four-run third inning and both Price and Lipscomb drove in runs on a double and single respectively. Henderson brought home a run when she reached base on an error and leadoff hitter Brittney Via come up with an RBI double to cap the scoring.
That was more than enough for Scott to work with. Toying with batters by constantly changing speeds, Scott rang up 17 strikeouts and sat down eight different Monroe hitters.
Taylor Collier and Kasey Thomas managed to make solid contact on the Monticello ace. Collier went 3 for 3 and stole two bases, but could not find home plate as the batters behind her struggled to put the ball in play. Thomas provided the lone run for the Dragons in the top of the sixth on an inside-the-park homerun hit deep to left-center field.
Scott honed in on the Monroe batters from that point forward, striking out five of the next six batters she faced to wrap up the game.
“It was definitely frustrating to get hit that hard,” Scott said. “That’s something I’m not used to having happen in the district. But I guess it did refocus me, so that’s not always such a bad thing.”
The Dragons are in the midst of retooling their roster as stalwarts such as Melanie Lamb, Bethany Leake and Britnee Conley all graduated last year.
“We’re young right now and s all we’re asking of the girls is that they play hard,” said Monroe coach Chad Roach. “They’re doing that and we’re proud of them, but it’s still a frustrating loss.”
Monticello (13-0, 7-0 Jefferson) travels to Orange County on Friday at 7 p.m.
Monroe (1-7, 1-5) hosts Louisa on Friday at 5 p.m.
