Retribution at last: No. 3 Mooresville softball exacts revenge on No. 10 Center Grove

GREENWOOD — Thursday was the day Mooresville had anticipated since walking off the diamond for the last time in 2021.

It was Center Grove day, and boy was it sweet.

Hit after hit, it was evident the Pioneers had came to play. The team broke things loose at the top of the first inning, rattling off two early runs. Then they followed it up with four more by the end of the third.

When it was all said and done, Mooresvilledefeated the Trojans, 11-2.

While the two teams still have a more important battle yet to come in sectionals, the win still served as a luxury one for Mooresville, who's been on an impressive run after defeating Carmel and Cascade in the last week.

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Both teams rested their aces and Mooresville clearly had the deeper pitching reservoir.

"It was hard to adjust a little bit, they kind of threw some different pitchers at us, but overall, I think we adjusted well," Mooresville coach Traci Ball said. "When you get runners on base, you gotta score. That's what we did tonight, we put runners on base, and we scored them. So, it was a good night."

Key plays

There's no slowing down the Alex Cooper train. Many have tried. None have been successful.

In yet another outing of casually knocking out homers, the junior crushed two out of the park, once for a solo slam in the third, the next a 2-run homer at her very next at bat in the fourth.

The first gave the Pioneers a cushion, upping the lead to 3-0. The second was a dagger as the Trojans started to get their hopes up after a two-run inning in the third. It increased the Mooresville lead to 8-2.

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"It felt really good (to hit those home runs) because I'm playing against some of my travel teammates as well," Cooper said. "It was just awesome to hit those against Center Grove."

By the numbers

There's no better stat for Mooresville than zero strikeouts. It seemed every Pioneer that stepped up to the plate was ready to make a hit.

"We didn't even strikeout tonight, that's huge, it's hard to do that," Ball said. "I knew we could compete; I have no doubt in our ability. The girls have no doubt, I think they're pretty confident in what they do. But yeah, it was a lot of runs tonight, I didn't expect that."

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As a team, the Pioneers connected on 10 pitches, batting an average of .303. Kendall Lowry had a three-hit performance, turning it into an RBI. In addition to the two home runs, Cooper went 3-for-4 and four RBIs. Kendall Grover also added two runs.

On the defensive end, pitcher Josi Hair pitched a great game against a solid hitting team in the Trojans (.318). Outside of giving up the two runs, she only allowed six hits, striking out four (2.00 ERA) to improve her record on the mound to 10-0.

"I knew Josi would do well because they've not faced her, and she's got so much movement that it keeps batters off balance."

What it means

Even though Center Grove chose to sit ace Riley Henson, something the Pioneers expected, in anticipation for the Johnson County Tournament this weekend, there's still plenty of positive takeaways in the victory over the Class 4A No. 10 Trojans.

While things have the potential to be different on the offensive end for the Pioneers the next time the two meet each other, Mooresville proved it's more than capable to cover ground defensively against Center Grove. It's also helpful to have late season exposure, especially in the form of a nine-run win, to a team they'll be facing again in a short amount of time.

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Then there's the ultimate boost it's likely to give an already hot team, something beneficial as the Pioneers head into battle with Class 4A No. 2 Whiteland next week to decide who's the Mid-State Conference Champion.

"We know we have to prepare differently when we come to sectionals in a week and a half or so," Ball said. "But that's okay, we're up for the challenge, we think we're one of the best teams, so we hope to be able to bring it in a couple weeks."

Looking ahead

Mooresville is set to finish its week against Bloomington North Saturday. They follow it up with back-to-back games with undefeated Whiteland on May 17 and May 18 to conclude its regular season. Those games will likely determine the Mid-State Conference championship.

Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: No. 3 Mooresville softball exacts revenge on No. 10 Center Grove