MOUNT VERNON — The anticipation in the air could be cut with a knife on Saturday as Spartan fans packed the house of the Mount Vernon Mustangs, fighting for a chance to move on in the postseason.
This regional semifinal battle was a huge test for Solon, not only because winning it would bring them one step closer to a trip to the state tournament, but because it was an opportunity to prove they belong.
In preparation for this game, it seemed as if the calendars had been marked. With a chance to right the ship from an early-season Mustangs doubleheader sweep of the Spartans, they knew their opponent’s approach but mostly knew what they had to do to help themselves.
“We worked on us,” said head coach Brad Holub. “We took a lot of ground balls in practice, a lot of fly balls, and talked a lot about hitting approach; waiting for our pitch and not swinging at others.”
Early on, the Spartans came out with a certain swagger that showed that they had the power to take control of this game. The ball was coming off the bat well as planned with senior Adelyn Miller highlighting the first inning with a double into center, scoring one run. Accompanied by solid pitching from Emerson Miller and a couple pop flies caught by outfielder Laeni Hinkle in the bottom of the first, the Spartans looked to carry that momentum throughout.
The tide seemed to turn early in the bottom of the second. With two outs and no one on for the Mustangs, Mount Vernon’s Annabelle Smith mustered up a deep ball hit to left field, causing chaos in the outfield and allowing for an inside-the-park homerun. From that point on, it was a home team hitting parade, scoring five in the inning.
“That inning kind of got away from us there,” said Holub. “We gave up five, so that kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
The story for Solon was the missed opportunities. An Izzy Frees long ball to right field in the third gained some much needed in-game force back, only for the Mustangs defense to step up and make a play when needed.
A two-run top of the fifth just wasn’t enough to really get the ball rolling for the Spartans as the Mustangs traded blows right back at them, going on to score five more runs by the top of the seventh and closing out the game routinely, bringing the final score to 4-10.
“They gave me everything they had,” said Holub. “We played hard… but sometimes you just got to say hey, the other team played really well, but we did make them earn it. The ball just didn’t bounce the right way for us tonight.”
After the game, the pride of what the Spartans had accomplished this season was felt throughout the entirety of the team, but the somberness was there as well as two valued players, Izzy Frees and Adelyn Miller, had played their last game as a Spartan.
“This was their fourth season being here, starting as freshman… and this is the best team dynamic we’ve had in their four years here, everybody getting along and lifting each other up, and that says a lot about those two seniors,” said Holub.
The Spartans now look to next year’s season, filling the holes left by the Frees and Miller as necessary, and hoping to make it to state and succeed in the ways they had wanted to this season.
“I don’t worry about who’s on our schedule, I worry about us,” said Holub. “If we do the things we can and we can get some consistency across the board, I think we will be in a good spot.”
