Photo by Cody Nespor John Marshall pitcher Kadence Pettit fires a ball towards home plate during Wednesday's win over Wheeling Park. Pettit struck out 12 batters in a 5-inning no-hitter.

GLEN DALE — Kadence Pettit allowed just one baserunner during a masterful no-hit performance in the circle as John Marshall defeated visiting Wheeling Park 9-0 in five innings Wednesday afternoon.

Pettit’s no-hitter was her first of the season as she dominated the Patriots (5-6), striking out 12 of the 16 batters she faced.

“She’s been pitching really well,” said JM coach Ed West. “Not only did she pitch well, she pretty much dominated. They were really struggling and didn’t know what to do.”

Park’s lone baserunner came in the top of the fourth when Fayth Kozlowski drew a walk.

Between the first and third innings, Pettit had a string of six straight punchouts. West praised her ability to keep hitters off balance Wednesday.

“She had her changeup working really well and she got a few hitters off stride with it,” he said. “That’s a really good pitch to have. When you start playing quality teams if you can change speeds like that and keep them off balance, that’s a big plus.”

Nine of the 12 were swinging strikeouts and three were looking.

“We weren’t real selective on pitches,” added Park coach Patrick Durkin. “She stayed out of the strike zone a lot and we chased a ton of pitches. We weren’t patient at the plate, that happens. She’s a good pitcher, she’s one of the best around, so you have to be on your game to beat her.”

The Monarchs (8-3) got on the board early with three straight singles in the bottom of the first. Paytyn Tucker came home on a double steal, but a line-drive double play one batter later ended the rally at just one run.

The Monarchs then flexed their muscles a bit in the bottom of the second as Megan Daugherty and Ryleigh Morgan hit back-to-back home runs to virtually the same spot beyond the left field fence to give JM a 4-0 lead.

Photo by Cody Nespor
John Marshall’s Megan Daugherty hive fives coach Ed West while rounding third base after hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning against Wheeling Park Wednesday.

“The girls are buying into the theory we preach to them of just trying to hit the ball on a line, trying to hit the ball solidly everytime,” West said. “A lot of them are doing that. I asked them (Wednesday) if they were trying to hit a home run and they said they were just trying to put the ball in play.

“They’re not stepping up there and saying ‘I’m going to try and hit this over the fence’, they’re just trying to make good contact. And when you make good contact, sometimes it goes out.”

The two bombs chased Park starter Makenna Kelly from the game as Shebly Crowe entered in relief.

JM pushed five more runs across in the bottom of the fourth as AC Cumberledge, Pettit, Adrianna Skrzyneki and Sophia Adkins all collected run-scoring knocks. Adkins and Tucker also each laced a double in the frame.

Pettit struck out the final four batters she faced and the game ended just as the raindrops stopped falling in Glen Dale.

Cumberledge tallied three singles for JM as well as an RBI. Along with her prowess in the circle, Pettit had a pair of singles and an RBI at the plate.

Skrzyneki had a single and an RBI. Tucker hit a single and double and Adkins had a single, double and RBI. Daugherty’s two-run home run plated herself and Adkins as she finished with two RBI while Morgan swatted a solo shot.

Kelly allowed four runs with no strikeouts for Park. Crowe gave up five runs in three innings with two strikeouts.

The Patriots’ offense only put three balls in play against Pettit.

“Our girls can hit,” Durkin said. “They have to look for pitches to hit, they should know their strike zone. They were swinging at pitches that weren’t good pitches to swing at. When you get a good pitch, you’ve got to go after it and as long as (Pettit) doesn’t get behind in the count, she doesn’t throw good pitches to hit.”

The Monarchs will take their show on the road for a game at Morgantown later today while Park will stay home and host Weir on Friday.