Windsor’s hot bats were cooled off by Farmington pitcher Abby Robbins on Monday in a 3-1 win for the Knights in Imperial.
Junior Delana Mentel hit a solo home run for the Owls’ only run. Senior Jessica Veselske and sophomore Piper Montgomery have been tough outs for Windsor this year, but Robbins struck them out a combined five times.
“(Robbins) had good velocity and pitched really well,” Windsor head coach Wayne Montgomery said. “Some games you have to tip your cap to the pitcher. Jesse (Veselske) pitched well, too.”
Veselske, who has verbally committed to Jefferson College, is the Owls’ ace with seven wins. She leads the team with a batting average of .553 and has hit four home runs, giving her 19 for her career, breaking the school record of 16 set by Kristen Schmutzler in 2015.
“She’s been our go-to pitcher in every game,” Montgomery said. “The last couple of years we had three girls who could pitch, but Jesse’s gotten the bigger games and better teams.
“In most games she’s knocking out two or three hits a game. She’s on her way to putting up some good stats.”
As is Piper Montgomery, the coach’s niece and the Owls’ catcher and cleanup batter. She’s batting .400 this season and has thrown out nine of 12 runners attempting to steal. Wayne Montgomery said Piper was the only catcher to gun down Festus speedster Abby Rickermann last season.
“She’s going to have power numbers, and her defense has been stellar behind the plate,” the coach said.
Mentel, the Owls’ second pitcher and designated hitter, has raised her average to .435.
“She’s been a nice surprise for us this year,” Montgomery said.
Senior third baseman Isabella Marco has played solid defense and is batting .432 with 14 runs batted in. Speedy shortstop Payton Irwin, a sophomore, has great hands in the field and leads Windsor with nine stolen bases. Irwin had three hits off of Robbins. “She’s really stepped up this year with the bat,” Montgomery said. “We’ve had so many good hitters lately we’re having a hard time getting everyone in the lineup.”
Windsor has moved into Class 3 District 2 with Jefferson County Activities Association rivals De Soto, Festus and Hillsboro, along with North County. The Owls still have games to play against the Tigers and Hawks. The district tournament starts on Oct. 10 at Hillsboro.
“I don’t think I’ve been in a district where every team has a shutdown pitcher, and every team this year has that,” Montgomery said. “Right now, I’d be hard-pressed to seed the teams Nos. 1-5.”
Hawks heating up
Hillsboro, meanwhile, is on a roll.
The Hawks whipped Jefferson 12-1 on Monday for their fourth straight win and improved to 15-5 this season. Hillsboro has had winning streaks of six games and five games before its current run, which included resounding victories over De Soto (9-2), North County (14-5) and Herculaneum (12-1).
The Hawks had a four-game losing skid Sept. 11-15, but three of the losses were to Class 4 powers Holt, Eureka and Troy Buchanon, which have a combined record of 47-9. Head coach Kevin Lucas intentionally schedules the Hawks for the toughest competition to prepare for the postseason. Hillsboro hosts the Class 3 District 2 tournament in two weeks and is the defending champion.
“We’ve got a really tough district with Festus, Windsor, De Soto and North County,” said Lucas, the 2017 JCAA coach of the year. “Anybody can win it. It depends on who comes out hot.”
In a 5-3 loss to Eureka in the Webster Groves Tournament earlier this month, Hillsboro slugger Emily Boyd barely missed a two-run home run that would have tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Hawks led Poplar Bluff 3-1 in the same tournament, but surrendered three runs in the bottom of the seventh in a 4-3 defeat. A few hours later, Troy Buchanan pitcher Kiersten Nixon blanked Hillsboro 5-0, firing a one-hitter.
“You’re playing four really good teams, so it’s hard to get too down on that,” Lucas said of the losing streak.
In the five-inning win against the Blue Jays, senior hurler Emma Nichols allowed one hit and one earned run, didn’t issue any walks and struck out eight batters. At the plate, she whacked two doubles, giving her a team-high 16.
The four-year starter is a two-way menace. Nichols leads the Hawks with a batting average of .576 and 30 RBIs, and has five home runs. In the circle, she’s 9-3 with an earned run average of 1.84. As if that weren’t enough, Lucas said she’s one of the best first baseman in the area, too.
“She puts a lot of pressure on herself,” Lucas said. “When she relaxes and plays, that’s when she’s at her best. Lately she’s been hitting doubles into the gap.
“She had a few rough outings in the circle, but some were because of defensive letdowns. She threw well against De Soto and Herculaneum. She’s working hard to get back in the groove.”
When Nichols needs a break from pitching, senior Emily Mudd has been the perfect complement. Mudd pitched a complete game in Hillsboro’s 14-5 win over North County and for the season she’s 6-2. Like Nichols, Mudd also produces at the plate with an average of .367, eight doubles and 18 runs batted in. Mudd blasted a grand slam in the win over Jefferson.
“She’s been throwing great,” Lucas said of Mudd. “I look at the week and go with the matchup. It’s nice to have a great pitcher like Emily to give Emma a break.”
After swatting 15 home runs a year ago, Boyd has seven this year and she’s hitting .500. Boyd hit a grand slam against Highland in the Troy Tournament at the start of the season.
Lucas said Boyd and Nichols have been great leaders this season.
“We lived and died by the home run last year,” Lucas said. “This year we’re scrappier and grind things out. Our pitchers keep us in the game and we find ways to score runs. We tend to use small-ball, when we can, to move people over or for a hit.”
Amber Cage, Elly Eckrich, Jenna Knudtson, Reagan Short and Bailey Shuman are all hitting above .300, with Shuman at .419. The Hawks have scored double-digit runs in eight games so far.
Hillsboro was slated to face another tough customer and local rival, Seckman (10-3), on Wednesday after the Leader deadline.
“We’ll see which teams show up,” Lucas said. “(The Jaguars) have such a good program, we always try to get them on our schedule.”