The last time Jamie Hrobak squared off against the Lady Mountaineers, Polk’s junior ace made history, becoming the first pitcher in the history of Polk County softball to throw a perfect game, striking out 16 of the 18 batters she faced.
While improving on perfection is, of course, impossible, Hrobak came close on Thursday, May 5 as Polk’s junior ace retired 14 of the 15 batters she faced en route to a 12-0 no-hit shutout of Mitchell County at Bakersville.
Hrobak’s bid for her second perfect outing of the season fell agonizingly short. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Mitchell’s Christina Newberry reached base on a sharply hit ball that was ultimately ruled an error. Alyssa Montgomery came in to record the final out and preserve the shutout, as the game was called by mercy rule after five innings.
Hrobak and Yancy Pace led Polk’s offense with two hits apiece, while Brittany Jones, Montgomery, Cassie Couch, Kara Garvin, Shea Wheeler, Cavin Richards and Katie Ruff all notched base hits in the well-rounded Polk attack.
Friday night, May 6, the Lady Wolverines continued working through their conference schedule, traveling to Hendersonville to face off against the Lady Bearcats.
Picking up where she left off the night before, Hrobak assumed command of the circle, allowing no hits and no walks in 4-1/3 innings of work. Reliever Yancy Pace struck out the final two batters of the game, as the Lady Wolverines prevailed again by a score of 12-0 in five innings. The 10-strikeout performance earned Hrobak her 17th victory of the season and the 46th win of her career.
Standouts at the plate for Polk County again included Hrobak and Pace with two hits each, as well as a perfect 3-3 performance by red-hot freshman Brittany Jones.
Erica Painter, Montgomery and Richards each contributed base hits to a Lady Wolverine offense that remains solid as the postseason draws near.
With the back-to-back conference victories, Polk County improves to 17-4 overall and 10-3 in Western Highlands conference competition.