Although Penn rostered four seniors in the 2026 season, Monday, June 8, was the final softball game for just one: Addison Boguina. The Kingsmen’s other three 12th graders will all go on to play collegiately, but Bogunia will not.
She ended her career in style as the only Penn senior to get a base hit in a 5-0 IHSAA 4A semi-state semifinal loss to Lake Central, the same team she tore her ACL against as a sophomore.
“I’m just so proud of her, and I think that’s an example of what Penn softball is; it’s just fight,” head coach Beth Zachary said in a phone call interview. “When your back is against the wall, try to do all you can for your team.”
In every way, Penn softball’s second game against Lake Central of the 2026 season was a marked improvement over its first. Still, the Kingsmen could not get past the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana (SCAI) Class 4A No. 1 Indians in their two-part semi-state semifinal.
Rather than a 14-0 blowout where Penn was only able to muster one hit the first time around April 25, the Kingsmen kept the final score of their season-ender respectable with a five-run, five-hit loss Monday at Kokomo. The game began Saturday, June 6, at Harrison (West Lafayette) but was suspended in the bottom of the sixth inning as Lake Central held a 3-0 lead.
The game was moved to Kokomo because the Wildcats have a turf field while the Raiders do not. If Penn would have rallied to beat the Indians Monday, the semi-state championship game against either Westfield or Carroll (Fort Wayne) would have been at 11 a.m. Tuesday due to the Kingsmen’s graduation being set for 8 p.m. Monday at the University of Notre Dame’s Joyce Center.
Zachary hoped the Women’s College World Series might inspire a come-from-behind victory for her squad that was given “new life” due to the rescheduling, but it was not to be. The high school careers of four seniors came to a close, including two especially notable names.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff commit Caitlyn Denny did not take the mound in the Kingsmen’s regular season battle against Lake Central, and that was undoubtedly a reason why the Indians put up 14 runs and hits in a five-inning victory. Although Denny wasn’t her best in the semi-state semifinal, allowing eight hits, five earned runs, four hit by pitches and two walks, she did strike out six batters and gave the Penn lineup a puncher’s chance.
After all, this was a 28-2 Lake Central team that averaged 10.9 runs per game heading into the semifinal.
“Even though I know she’s sore, she’s tired and it’s late in the season, [she went] toe-to-toe with six or seven kids who can just flat out hit,” Zachary said of Denny. “It was attack mode from her, and she was really doing the best she could for us.”
The high school career of Northwestern commit Logan Rumble also came to an end, and hers was also a final game to forget. The Kingsmen’s single-season and all-time home run leader went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Lake Central. Rumble went 0-for-2 with a strikeout against the Indians in the regular season.
In her final high school at-bat, Rumble hit a long fly ball that came just a few feet away from clearing the fence to make it a 3-2 ball game in the bottom of the sixth inning. It would have been her 12th home run of the season and the 31st of her career.
“She steps in and she’s just phenomenal every single time she hits the field,” Zachary said of Rumble.
Last but not least, Zachary paid tribute to senior catcher Phoebe Wood, who she called the Kingsmen’s “rock.” Wood will continue her softball career at Taylor University.
Rumble’s younger sister, sophomore Harper, had one of Penn’s five semi-state hits. She was joined by Bogunia, sophomore Addyson Zachary, sophomore Charlie Swiger and junior Carson Petty. All five hit singles, and no other Kingsmen reached base.
Lake Central junior University of Kentucky commit Maddie Such struck out 12 batters in her complete game shutout, also going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double at the plate. Penn finished its season having won a 12th consecutive sectional and regional championship with a 28-4 record.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn softball’s season ends with IHSAA semi-state loss to Lake Central
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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By Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
