Mt. Hermon School suffered a 9-0 loss to Maurepas in a District 7-B contest at home Tuesday.
“They hit really well, and for some reason, we just kind of struggle with this pitcher (McKenna Lessard),” Mt. Hermon coach Mary McGinnis said. “They’re a good team. They’re ranked fourth in the state for a reason. They’re solid. I thought we pitched OK today at points, but we’ve just got to hit the ball better.”
Lessard went seven innings, allowing no runs on two hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. It is not a complete game, as a reliever came in with two outs in the seventh inning, but failed to record an out. Lessard came back for the game’s final out.
Maurepas scored three runs in the first inning with a two-out rally. It began when Keegan Marchand singled up the middle, but the next two hitters, KK Vicknair and Sarah Crawford, reached on errors that loaded the bases. All three players tallied. Maci Scivicque was hit by a pitch to plate Marchand and Laney Gunter drove in Vicknair and Crawford with a two-run single up the middle for the 3-0 lead.
The lead went to 4-0 in the second when Lessard hit an inside-the-park home run.
Maurepas scored two more in the fourth and three in the sixth.
Sloane Bercegeay walked and stole second to begin the fourth. She later reached third on a throwing error. After the first out, Emma Gautreau walked and stole second. Marchand drove both runners home with a two-run single up the middle for a 6-0 lead.
Gautreau started the sixth-inning rally with a single. She scored on Marchand’s RBI double to make it 7-0. Vicknair doubled to left centerfield, plating Marchand, but Mt. Hermon threw her out at third on a play that went Bailey Fortenberry to Alexa Bulloch to Joley Fortenberry and Joley Fortenberry made the tag. Crawford restarted the rally by doubling and she tallied the game’s final run on Scivicque’s run-scoring single.
Mt. Hermon had chances to tally, but could not come up with the key hit.
For the game, Kristian Schexnider singled and reached on an error.
Kalei Hughes and Chelsey Tynes both reached on an error.
Joley Fortenberry, Bulloch and Macey Applegate all walked.
Alexis Magee and Bailey Fortenberry both singled.
Maurepas’ Lessard hit a solo inside-the-park homer.
Marchand had a big day with two singles, a double, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Vicknair singled, doubled, drove in a run and scored a run.
Gautreau singled, walked and scored two runs.
Crawford doubled and scored two runs.
Scivicque singled, got hit twice and drove in two runs.
Gunter singled twice, walked and drove in two runs.
Denae Clark walked.
Bercegeay walked and scored a run.
On Wednesday, Mt. Hermon continued district play with a 5-0 victory over Kenner Discovery Health Science on the road.
Hughes went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Joley Fortenberry recorded a pair of hits and two RBIs.
Schexnider and Tiffany Blades tallied two hits each.
Bulloch had a hit and an RBI.
Magee posted a hit.
On Friday, Mt. Hermon suffered an 18-8 loss to St. Scholastica Academy in a non-district road game Friday.
Hughes had a solid day, going 3-for-3 with six runs batted in.
Bulloch went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.
Blades posted two hits.
Joley Fortenberry, Magee, Bailey Fortenberry and Jadyn Stafford all tallied one hit.