Lady Wildcats rip Mt. Vernon for share of South Seven title

MARION -- The Marion High School softball team needed less than an hour to blast Mt. Vernon, 10-0 in five innings, Thursday at the Crisp Sports Complex to clinch a fourth straight conference championship.
The win put Marion at 22-4 overall and 8-2 in the South Seven, clinching a share of the conference title with Centralia.
Marion jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run homer by Morgan Dodd, then Devon Davis launched her 12th homer of the season to make it 8-0 later in the frame.
Ivy Smart also homered and hit two doubles and pitched a four-hit shutout in the circle. Smart's homer was her eighth of the season.
Marion has home games against Carterville on Friday and Waterloo on Saturday to finish out the weekend.
The Lady Wildcats also learned Wednesday that they're heading to the Olney Richland County Regional to begin the Class 3A postseason.
Marion plays either Olney or Salem in a semifinal game on Tuesday, May 22, at 4:30 p.m., with a win sending them back to Olney on Saturday for an 11 a.m. championship game. Herrin and Mt. Vernon play in the other semifinal on May 23.
The regional winner advances to the Centralia Sectional and plays Wednesday, May 30, in a semifinal game.