Montgomery, Lady Mustangs cap perfect division slate
Apr. 16—MANTACHIE — Mantachie put a bow on its Division 1-2A slate with a 6-0 win over Walnut on Thursday night.
Ramsey Montgomery continued her outstanding season in the circle, with a complete game shutout, allowing four hits, one walk, and striking out 18 batters.
The big strikeout performance gives the freshman 200 strikeouts in 116 innings on the year.
"I thought she pitched it really well tonight. ... I thought she had one of the best two performances she's had all year — the other being against East Union in the second game we played," Mantachie head coach Kristi Montgomery said.
The Lady Mustangs (16-5-2) will enter the Class 2A playoffs as the No. 1-seed after completing a 10-0 record in division play.
"I'm very pleased with where we've come from the beginning of the season until now, especially with how young we are," said Montgomery.
Mantachie took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a pair of RBI singles from Bailey Coker and Madison Jones. A passed ball scored Lillianna Cates, who reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning.
Walnut starting pitcher Madison Weeks settled in, retiring the next 12 batters in a row.
"I was pleased. I didn't know how far she could go. She's been battling a foot injury, and we finally got her healed up a little bit," Walnut head coach Rob Criddle said. "The biggest thing was getting comfortable and letting the defense work behind her a little bit."
Weeks ran into some trouble in the bottom of the sixth, when Cates provided the knockout punch with a 2-run triple and scored on a Walnut error for the 6-0 lead.
"That hit was big," Montgomery said. "I felt like we were a little unfocused with all the (senior night) festivities going on tonight, but that hit pretty much sealed the deal."
Ramsey Montgomery also went 2 for 3 at the plate with a run scored. Walnut's Madison Porterfield went 2 for 3 with a double in the fourth inning.
The Lady Wildcats fell to 11-14, 3-7 on the year.
Extra Bases
Big Inning: Mantachie scored three runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning.
Big Stat: Montgomery threw 85 of her 116 pitches (73.3%) for strikes.
Coach Speak: "She's a great pitcher who throws hard. She looked like she stepped on the mound with a purpose tonight, wanting to prove something." — Criddle, on Ramsey Montgomery
