HERRIN (WSIL) � Hailey Mooney kept putting zeroes on the board, and her team picked up some clutch hits late to lead Mt. Vernon past Breese Central 2-0, earning the Lady Rams a spot in the Herrin 3A Regional championship game.
This one was scoreless into the seventh. Libby Schmidt led off with a double. Two batters later, Alyssa Walker chased home courtesy runner Ashlynn Depew with the game’s first run. Mt. Vernon added some insurance later in the inning, as Jacie Dees dumped on into left to score Walker for a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars got a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh, but Mooney retired the next three batters to send the Lady Rams to the championship game.
Mt. Vernon will play South 7 rival Centralia at 4:30 Friday for the regional title. The Annies battered Salem 12-2 in five innings.
