WEST LAFAYETTE ― North Newton senior pitcher Sydney Rainford took the ball one for time.
Roughly over 500 orange and blue fanatics from Newton County traveled 57 miles south to watch its savior ― undeniably its greatest female athlete in history ― deliver one final gem.
And she did.
In her final high school game, Rainford reminded softball fans at Bittinger Stadium and across Indiana just how she made excellence look routine. Her over 1,000 career strikeouts that began with one throw of a sock, turned into a display of constant greatness ― both from the circle and the plate.
The East Carolina bound Rainford lined a go-ahead RBI single to left field and tossed a complete game, allowing just two hits and struck out 17 batters in a 2-0 victory over Clay City to capture the IHSAA class 1A state title.
It’s the first state title won by North Newton of any kind since its first softball team began playing games in 1992.
“This is the sweetest moment of my life,” Rainford said as tears welled from her eyes. “This is as good as it gets.”
North Newton (24-3-1), which opened in 1968, hadn’t won a state title of any kind until Friday night.
Rainford did not allow a run this entire postseason. The Spartans outscored its opponents, 41-0, to complete one of the more dominant runs to a state title in IHSAA history.
After the game, Rainford was selected for the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award as well and graduated as her school’s valedictorian. Even with her detailed preparation, watching film hours before game time, she also made sure to minimize the pressure she put on herself.
“I go in there and remind myself that it’s just a game,” Rainford said. “I definitely do have my doubts, but I take them out. I know that God has my back and I’ve been doing this for so long that this all comes natural.”
Busboom sisters deliver final hit and run
Sophomore first baseman Macy Busboom added the insurance run in the sixth with her mom, Bethany Payne-Busboom ― a member of that first team ― cheering from the stands.
“I didn’t expect to hit it,” Macy Busboom said. “It was low. I play golf, and I had to use my golf swing to hit it.”
Not only did she add a run, she scored in her older sister June Busboom, who led the inning off with a single. A solidifying moment for the two sisters, whose older sibling Phoebe was part of the 2022 regional team and set the standard for the Spartans of the present.
“I’m so proud of her and she’s finally coming through, showing all her hard work has been doing outside of practice to have that hit,” June Busboom said. “I’m just so proud of her.”
North Newton combined a balanced effort of Rainford’s pitching with seven hits against senior Lizzy Sinders and key defensive plays that minimized what little Clay City gained at the plate.
Freshmen Culbrith, Klemz and Oxley deliver
All three freshmen in the starting lineup made contributions. Centerfielder Addison Culbrith laid down a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning that eventually set up Rainford’s RBI single.
Culbrith used the slick Bittinger Stadium grass to her advantage, sliding in front of a sharp line drive ripped by shortstop Faith Mitchell into left center in the sixth inning.
Mitchell went 2-for-3, but North Newton didn’t yield an extra base hit.
“I knew there was a lot of pressure on me and I knew if I didn’t lay this bunt down, we probably would’ve been screwed,” Culbrith said. “Defensively, my thinking was just to get it into my pitcher for my team.”
The 5-foot-1 shortstop Oxley drew a walk on a 3-2 count and loaded the bases for Rainford.
Oxley entered the 1A state championship hitting .371.
“I wasn’t leaving that box without getting on base,” Oxley said.
Catcher Rylynn Klemz caught Rainford the entire season and established herself as a leader behind the plate.
“I’m just grateful we got to be a part of it,” Klemz said.
And while the championship was won by North Newton’s players, it also took a former factory worker to bring it all together.
From factory worker to state champion coach
North Newton coach Katherine Messersmith, 25, had previously worked at Advanced Auto Parts Distribution Center in Remington.
Now the future teacher has a state championship in her second season being head coach. She accomplished the feat with her North Newton classmate Garrett Belt, her lead assistant.
“No way I would think this would happen,” Messersmith said. “It’s just unbelievable that we are standing here as state champions. I never thought I’d be able to say those words.”
A championship that spans the connection of generations. Messersmith was previously an USSSA certified umpire and began calling Rainford’s games since she was 10 years old.
“I feel older than 25,” Messersmith said. “The thing was even when I was calling her games, 10/U and 12/U ball, I knew she was going places. I prayed that her mom and dad would keep her at North Newton, and she made history. She made history for the school, she made a legacy for herself and she is the greatest athlete in North Newton history.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: ‘She made a legacy.’ Rainford sensational as North Newton claims IHSAA 1A softball title
Reporting by Ethan Hanson, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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