ATLANTA - The Mount Vernon Varsity Softball team remained in the Winner's Bracket after the first day of the GHSA Class-A DI Super Regional on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 18.
The Mustangs defeated Darlington 10-1 in six innings before pulling off a thrilling 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Social Circle at Mustang Park.
Mount Vernon is now one victory away from its third consecutive trip to the Elite 8 in Columbus while pushing its current winning streak to 19 games.
In the first game of the day against Darlington, Reese Hickey tossed six innings, allowing one run while striking out 10 batters.
Mount Vernon scored two runs in the first, another in the second and two more in the third inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
After allowing a run in the top of the fourth, Mount Vernon rattled off three in the fifth to take an 8-1 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Reese Hickey smashed a walk-off 2-run home run to bring the run rule into effect at 10-1.
Reagan Hickey finished with two RBI's while teammates Kennedy Reynolds and Mia Winokur finished with two.
Each player in the Mustang lineup had at least one hit as well.
In the second game of the day against Social Circle, the Mustangs found themselves in an early 4-1 hole after the second inning.
Pitcher Grace Westmoreland held down the fort and the Mustang bats came alive late.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Alex Schiff scored on a Social Circle error followed by a Lauren Dove RBI ground out to make it a 4-3 game.
The Mustangs tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a Westmoreland sacrifice fly.
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Reese Hickey came to the plate and smashed the first pitch she saw to right-center field for yet another walk-off hit.
Westmoreland allowed four runs, but only one was earned.
The righty also struck out seven batters while navigating around four walks.
The Mustangs will face the winner of the Social Circle/Rabun County game at 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
A win puts Mount Vernon back into the Elite 8 while a loss forces a winner-take-all game at 3 p.m. with Columbus on the line.
For the updated GHSA Class-A DI State Tournament bracket,
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About The Mount Vernon School
Established in 1972, The Mount Vernon School, serves over 1,250 students in preschool through grade 12 on our 40-acre Atlanta campus. As a leading visionary independent school, Mount Vernon’s brand of innovation and entrepreneurship has emerged over the last decade, impacting schools in the US and across the globe through Mount Vernon Ventures, a research, strategy, and consulting division of the School. In addition, in 2021 the School launched a global online program for grade 9-12 to meet the needs of today’s flexible family. Through established partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and civic environments, our mission is to design a better world...together.