Sports : Cornell\'s arm, McKenna\'s bat lift Vikettes to 13-0 regional victory

Game face: Maddie Cornell shut out Marion in the Vikettes' regional opener win Thursday.

School record: Ashley McKenna gets hit by pitch for 12th time this year. She also hit a 3-run homer.

Senior Steph Berry scores another run for the Vikettes.

Despite her broken wrist, Katie Hanson sees action at times as a pitch runner.

Steph Berry fouls off a pitch.

Stolen base: Ashley McKenna slides safely into third.

Ashley McKenna catches the ball for the final out vs. Maron.

Senior pitcher Maddie Cornell, with solid defense behind her, kept Marion from mounting any serious scoring threat, and junior RBI record-setter Ashley McKenna’s 3-run home run provided the big boost as Vinton-Shellsburg defeated Marion 13-0 in the Regional opener. The Vikettes advance to play Benton Community in Van Horne on Saturday.

“We’re going to have to play our best to beat Benton,” said coach Bari Parrott.

Cornell defeated Benton last week, and will face them again Saturday.

But while thinking about Benton, the Vikettes did take some time to celebrate Thursday’s win and their successful season after defeating Marion.

“We are all good friends and we play well together,” said Cornell. When asked if it was sad to know she has pitched her final game at the Vikettes’ home field, she said no. But, she adds, it would have been very sad if her final game had ended in a loss.

McKenna has set two records this year, one of which she may prefer to let someone else have.

“I believe she set a new RBI record with her home run,” said Parrott.

She also added to a more dubious school record twice on Thursday. She was hit by a pitch for the 11th and 12th time this season.

“I don’t really try to crowd the plate,” said McKenna. “I guess I am just a ball magnet.”

Still sporting a bruise from a previous encounter with a pitch last week, McKenna said she didn’t think she had new bruises from the two times she was hit Thursday. The last time she was hit -- during her third at-bat -- she advanced from first to second on a fielder’s choice, stole third and then scored on another fielder’s choice.

Earlier, McKenna's second home run of the season sailed over the 180 feet sign on the left field fence, as well as a row of students including Viking baseball players who were watching from beyond the fence.

During her fourth at-bat, with the bases loaded with seniors Steph Berry, Katie Hanson and Edee Vogt, McKenna drove in two more runs.

Hanson, who broke her hand when a pitched ball hit her as she was swinging the bat earlier in the season, has only seen action as a pitch runner. But, despite wearing a cast for an injury that will take months to fully heal, she has scored a few runs for the Vikettes this season.