By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
MONTPELIER (April 26, 2025) – Coaches don’t find out the mettle of their players when everything comes easy. When they battle out of tough situations is when you find out how tough your team is.
Montpelier pitcher Madelyn Hopper didn’t have her best day on the mound, but three times when Delta threatened to tie the game, Hopper made pitches and got key outs in a 5-4 win over the Panthers.
Montpelier, who is striving for a high seed in next week’s Division 7 District draw, is now 10-5 on the season.
“Definitely not her best outing of the year,” Loco coach Andy Robinson said after. “But like we just finished talking about as a coaching staff, if her worst outing is giving up four runs we’re going to be ok.”
“We have tried to let her know not to put a lot of pressure on herself, we have girls that can field the ball, and we were able to do that today (the Locos played errorless softball).”
“Delta has a nice team and the top of their order is as good as we have seen this year. They hit it well and kudos to them, but I’ll still take that out of Hop on an average day.”
“We needed to win a game like this,” Robinson said of the non-league game with the impending draw. “One where we had to battle all the way through the seventh. It’s good for us, we are going to see games like this in the tournament and today better prepared us for that.”
Delta got to Hopper early, scoring three times in the top of the first. A walk, and a single from Gracyn Pelton that was just out of the reach of Maggie Jacob in center, put the first two hitters on base.
One out later Laney Bilek sliced a two-run triple into the left field corner, then she came home on a ground ball out.
However, the Locos came right back with three of their own in the bottom of the inning. Jacob doubled between three players in short right; Lyla Mahan reached on an error while sacrificing with the miscue bringing home the first Loco run.
Kelsie Bumb delivered the second tally with a base hit up the middle and Jada Uribes’ sac fly knotted the game at 3-3.
The Locos took the lead for good in the second. Morgan Bechtol looped a double to short left and flew home on Mahan’s two-out single for a 4-3 Montpelier lead.
Montpelier got an important insurance run in the fourth on singles from Bella Ramos and Bechtol, then a wild pitch.
Meanwhile after the rocky first, Hopper cruised through the next three innings, striking out five without giving up a hit.
However, in the fifth, Anna Lohman got a one out single, then a walk and Pelton’s ringing double sliced the Delta deficit to 5-4.
Hopper struck out the next hitter, and after an intentional walk, Jacob, pinching in from center, turned Carlie Mitchell’s grounder up the middle into a force at second to get Montpelier out of the inning.
The Panthers got a runner to third with one down in the sixth, but Hopper got a strike out and a fly to left to escape.
Mackenzie Clapp opened the seventh with a hit up the middle but got no farther than second as Hopper struck out her 11th Panther of the day, and after a fly ball out, whiffed number 12 to end the contest.
Bechtol was the big hitter of the day, going 3-3 and being in the middle of two of the Locos three scoring innings. Bumb added two hits as Montpelier had 10 for the day.
Hopper held Delta to five hits, walked five, two of which were intentional and struck out the previously mentioned 12.
Montpelier hosts Antwerp Monday and then plays Holgate Tuesday in their quest to maintain their unbeaten record in the BBC.
DHS 300 010 0 – 4 5 4
MHS 310 100 x – 5 10 0
Records: DHS 1-10, MHS 10-5
WINNING PITCHER: Hopper (7 innings, 4 hits, 5 runs, 3 earned, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts)
LOSING PITCHER: Pelton (6 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs, 1 earned, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts)
LEADING HITTERS: (Delta) Pelton – double, single, RBI; (Montpelier) Hopper – double, single; Bumb – 2 singles, RBI; Bechtol – double, 2 singles; Jacob – double