McDougall Dominates in Return as St. John Vianney Blanks Middletown South

MIDDLETOWN — If senior pitcher Madison McDougall is still ailing from an off-season back surgery that sidelined her for the entirety of the winter, she sure did not show it. The reigning Shore Sports Insider Pitcher of the Year was back to form striking out 16 batters and allowing just one hit, two walks, and one hit batter in a 5-0 shutout victory for St. John Vianney against Middletown South on opening day.

After a scoreless top of the 1st inning, McDougall stepped on the mound for the first time in a game since travel ball in the fall and struck out the first batter on three straight pitches. After two more strikeouts, it was clear that the Monmouth University commit was going to cause problems for the Eagles’ batters. The Eagles were unable to get a runner on base until the 3rd inning when freshman Maddie Kraft was able to walk.

While St. John Vianney’s pitcher and defense was on point early on, it took a few innings for the Lancers to capitalize on runners in scoring position. In the top of the 4th inning, sophomore catcher Olivia Lombardi was able to reach first base on an error on an infield pop fly. Lombardi then stole second base and advanced to third on a sacrifice by freshman Peyton McDougall. Lombardi then scored the first run of the game on a passed ball. The Lancers scored another run shortly after when junior lead-off hitter Brynn Utter hit a line drive to right field to score Peyton McDougall.

While the Lancers were not yet done finishing scoring runs, the first one was all they needed for their star pitcher to bring them home, but do not tell the senior leader that.

“I did not come in thinking I could do this by myself,” McDougall said. “Everybody’s a piece of this puzzle.”

One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle is Lombardi, who made her varsity debut behind the dish. Lombardi would drive in the third run of the day in the top of the 5th inning on a ground-ball single to score junior Mia Favato. The opportunity to step in and start at a critical position has Lombardi determined to contribute to her team’s success.

“I want to bring the energy and keep everyone locked in. My pitchers and I work together every inning. We trust each other and want to win.”

St. John Vianney scored their fourth run on a line drive to left field by sophomore Lexie Csontos which scored senior Gabby Gonzalez.

Middletown South would finally get their first hit in the bottom of the 5th inning on an infield single by freshman Annie Wilson. Wilson would advance no further however as McDougall struck out the last two batters of the inning.

Utter singled on a line drive to right field to start off the top of the 6th inning. On the next at bat, Madison McDougall stepped up to the plate and crushed a double to center field to score Utter for the Lancer’s final run of the day. Middletown South would put together their best scoring opportunity of the day in the bottom of the 6th inning when junior pitcher Riley Smith drew a walk with two outs which was then followed by junior shortstop Celia Collings getting hit by one of the few errant pitches from McDougall. One more strikeout for McDougall ended the threat. After a scoreless top of the 7th inning, McDougall would wind up closing out the game with a flawless final inning.

St. John Vianney head coach Kim Lombardi-McDougall was most concerned with the team’s performance however she could not help but show some joy seeing her daughter healthy on the mound once again.

“I don’t mean to make it about her, we are always a team. Just to see her get out there and dominate, she just started throwing three weeks ago,” said Lombardi-McDougall.

The Lancers will be back in action next week as they take on Middletown North on Tuesday, April 7th.

Middletown South has some positives to build off of. Junior pitcher Riley Smith managed to hang in there against a strong Lancer lineup and allow only three earned runs. The Eagles can remain optimistic that the hits will come after facing arguably the top pitcher in the state of New Jersey.

The Eagles will look to bounce back on Thursday, April 2nd at Red Bank Catholic in another highly-competitive American division matchup.