MONTICELLO - Potosi's Jadyn Noonan was a defensive miscue away from throwing a perfect game against Monticello in a 13-0 nonconference win Thursday. Noonan struck out nine batters and the only blemish was a weak grounder by Hannah Zanow in the second inning that Chieftain second baseman Paige Siegert biffed on.
"I told the girls this is probably the best team we'll see all year, and that includes the Belmonts, the Judas, the Black Hawks," Monticello head coach Duane Garrison said. "These girls are tough 1-9 and are well coached."
The young Ponies club - with five starters as freshmen or sophomores - simply couldn't catch up to Noonan's fastball.
"(Noonan) didn't throw any changeups or anything, just fastballs. Here it is, hit it. And we couldn't," Garrison said. "Our underclassmen haven't seen pitching like this before. We can put the pitching machine at 55 mph, but seeing a live pitcher is a big difference."
It didn't help that Potosi had six walks, eight hits and 11 total runs in the first two innings on offense.
Monticello starting pitcher Miah Brokopp struggled those first two innings to find the strike zone, throwing multiple pitches against the backstop and getting called twice in the second inning for throwing an illegal pitch, allowing baserunners to move up.
"It takes her a little while to find her groove," Garrison said of Brokopp. "This is her first full year of throwing. She's our No. 1 pitcher. She's young and inexperienced, but we've got to live with her. She struggles, but she fights through it.
Potosi hit around the order in each of the first two innings.
"It was very tough, especially with the four errors added on top of it don't ever top," Brokopp said.
The second inning was the worst for Brokopp. She opened by allowing a single and a walk but got the third batter to fly out to center field. The next batter reached via error on a misplayed fly ball to right field. Two more walks, a pair of hits, and an error from Zanow at shortstop put the next five batters on. The inning came to an end after 12 batters and seven runs.
"This is one of the toughest teams we're going to play this year," Brokopp said, understanding better days are ahead for her team.
After the dreadful second, Brokopp found a rhythm and allowed just two runs over the final three innings. But the damage was already done.
"It definitely brought (my confidence) up. I felt good," Brokopp said of innings 3-5. "But our hitting needs some work."
Brokopp finished the game by allowing 12 hits and seven walks in five innings of work. The defensive highlight for the Ponies was an unassisted double play by second baseman Lexi Graber in the top of the third with two runners on. Graber snagged a line drive up the middle and easily beat the runner at second back to the bag for the force out.
Despite the loss and a slow start to the season, Brokopp has seen her younger teammates improve around the diamond.
"Definitely in the field," Brokopp emphasized.
Garrison likewise was glad to be outside, with game-time temperatures settling in the mid-60s, a seasonable change of pace from the snow and ice storms and cold spells that hampered the first four weeks of the season.
"You are so limited when you are inside (for practice), but everyone is in the same boat. It is what it is," Garrison said.
The Ponies get back on the diamond Monday in a road game at Argyle.
"If (Miah) can get more consistent, our defense isn't that bad. Our hitting this whole year has been a struggle for us, but then again we've faced Belmont and Potosi - some good teams," Garrison said.
"I told the girls this is probably the best team we'll see all year, and that includes the Belmonts, the Judas, the Black Hawks," Monticello head coach Duane Garrison said. "These girls are tough 1-9 and are well coached."
The young Ponies club - with five starters as freshmen or sophomores - simply couldn't catch up to Noonan's fastball.
"(Noonan) didn't throw any changeups or anything, just fastballs. Here it is, hit it. And we couldn't," Garrison said. "Our underclassmen haven't seen pitching like this before. We can put the pitching machine at 55 mph, but seeing a live pitcher is a big difference."
It didn't help that Potosi had six walks, eight hits and 11 total runs in the first two innings on offense.
Monticello starting pitcher Miah Brokopp struggled those first two innings to find the strike zone, throwing multiple pitches against the backstop and getting called twice in the second inning for throwing an illegal pitch, allowing baserunners to move up.
"It takes her a little while to find her groove," Garrison said of Brokopp. "This is her first full year of throwing. She's our No. 1 pitcher. She's young and inexperienced, but we've got to live with her. She struggles, but she fights through it.
Potosi hit around the order in each of the first two innings.
"It was very tough, especially with the four errors added on top of it don't ever top," Brokopp said.
The second inning was the worst for Brokopp. She opened by allowing a single and a walk but got the third batter to fly out to center field. The next batter reached via error on a misplayed fly ball to right field. Two more walks, a pair of hits, and an error from Zanow at shortstop put the next five batters on. The inning came to an end after 12 batters and seven runs.
"This is one of the toughest teams we're going to play this year," Brokopp said, understanding better days are ahead for her team.
After the dreadful second, Brokopp found a rhythm and allowed just two runs over the final three innings. But the damage was already done.
"It definitely brought (my confidence) up. I felt good," Brokopp said of innings 3-5. "But our hitting needs some work."
Brokopp finished the game by allowing 12 hits and seven walks in five innings of work. The defensive highlight for the Ponies was an unassisted double play by second baseman Lexi Graber in the top of the third with two runners on. Graber snagged a line drive up the middle and easily beat the runner at second back to the bag for the force out.
Despite the loss and a slow start to the season, Brokopp has seen her younger teammates improve around the diamond.
"Definitely in the field," Brokopp emphasized.
Garrison likewise was glad to be outside, with game-time temperatures settling in the mid-60s, a seasonable change of pace from the snow and ice storms and cold spells that hampered the first four weeks of the season.
"You are so limited when you are inside (for practice), but everyone is in the same boat. It is what it is," Garrison said.
The Ponies get back on the diamond Monday in a road game at Argyle.
"If (Miah) can get more consistent, our defense isn't that bad. Our hitting this whole year has been a struggle for us, but then again we've faced Belmont and Potosi - some good teams," Garrison said.
