By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
MONTPELIER (April 25, 2026) – Montpelier pitcher Cianna Shoup may only be a freshman, but she pitched well beyond her years against Delta.
The Locos right-hander allowed just four hits and faced the minimum 12 batters in the final four innings, as Montpelier took a 3-2 win over the Panthers.
“She has gotten better for us as the year has gone on,” Loco coach Andy Robinson said of his young hurler. “Early on she was a little scared to use all of her pitches but she is trusting herself now and we are playing better defense behind her which will always give a freshman a little more confidence.”
“She battled today. She threw I think 71 pitches, it was a good outing for her.” Shoup breezed through the first two innings, giving up only Bridget Whitaker’s leadoff single in the second.
The Panthers put together a scoring rally in the third. Ryllie Taylor’s slicing drive down the right-field line eluded Neriah Thorp’s diving attempt for a triple.
Graycn Pelton rifled a base hit up the middle to put Delta up, then with two outs, Mackenzie Clapp’s bloop hit into short center marked Pelton for a second run.
To that point Pelton had matched Shoup out for out; however, the Locos responded in their half of the third. Maggie Jacob roped a double into the gap to open the inning and one out later Thorp drew a walk.
Pelton got Zoe Uribes to sky a pop to short, but Alyvia Repp launched a Pelton offering into the left-field corner for a two-run double that tied the game.
Henna Beck followed Repp’s hit with an RBI single to right that boosted the Locos (9-6) on top 3-2.
“We left a lot of base today but we found a way in the third inning,” Robinson stated. “The three ended up being enough. With a young group like we have, you’ll take what you can get. We needed to play in a pressure game like that so it was good for us.”
From that point it was all Shoup on the mound. She walked Pelton with one out in the fifth, but she was erased on a 4-6-3 double play.
Carlie Mitchell was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth, but Jacob speared Clapp’s hard grounder, stepped on the bag at second and finished a 6-6-3 twin-killing to take care of the final Delta base runner of the game.
“I don’t know where those are coming from,” Robinson joked of the double plays. “I don’t know if we have turned a double play in seven years and now all of a sudden in the last three or four games we have turned four or five of them.
“Maggie does a great job up the middle and our whole infield has gotten a lot better. Again I think we are playing really confident right now.”
Shoup walked just one and struck out three gaining the victory. Pelton went the distance for Delta (4-9), giving up eight hits.
She walked four and struck out six. Neither team committed an error in the game.
DHS 002 000 0 – 2 4 0
MHS 003 000 x – 3 8 0
WP- Cianna Shoup (IP-7, H-4, R-2, BB-1, K-3)
LP- Graycn Pelton (IP-6, H-8, R-3, BB-4, K-6)
LEADING HITTERS: (Montpelier) Alyvia Repp – double, 2 RBIs; Maggie Jacob – single, double; (Delta) Ryllie Taylor – triple