CARMEL — Mother Nature wreaked havoc on Friday’s schedule and a few very long games knocked everyone off schedule Saturday, but another Carmel Invite is in the books.
Here are a few takeaways and observations from this year’s event.
Noblesville
The Millers are finally getting into the swing of things after playing just five games through the first 28 days of the season. They began last week with a one-run win over West Lafayette Harrison and a come-from-behind victory over Franklin Central (five-run seventh), then headed to Carmel where they went 1-2 with a win over Pendleton Heights and losses to Lake Central and Cathedral.
Noblesville did not throw its No. 1 starter in Saturday’s finale vs. Cathedral — the end to a very, very long day — so let’s zero in on the 8-2 loss to Lake Central.
Maggie Kern staked the defending state champions to an early lead with a two-run home run in the first inning. Ace Addi Retzinger held the score there until the fourth, when Lexi Iwema led off with a homer.
An error and a strikeout later, Sofia Beals popped a foul ball down the first-base line that dropped between two Noblesville players and she redirected the very next pitch over the center field wall for a two-run homer.
A relatively minor misstep (apparent miscommunication on the foul ball) and Lake Central took advantage.
It was a positive performance by the Millers, nevertheless, particularly in the circle. Retzinger was really good, holding LC to eight hits (second-fewest this season) and a .308 average (8-for-26), which is among its lowest thus far (Crown Point: .083, Lowell: .296). For context, it’s batting .443 through 17 games.
Noblesville has a monster three-game stretch to start the week with New Palestine, Westfield and a rematch with Cathedral. It will play Pendleton Heights for a second time in less than a week Thursday.
Lake Central
The Noblesville win is really impressive, but neither Brownsburg nor Penn started their No. 1 pitchers against Lake Central, so I didn’t get to learn as much about the Indians as I was hoping to.
Nevertheless, I can confirm their lineup is as good as it looks on paper. Everyone can absolutely rake — apologies to Brownsburg, but it was mesmerizing watching LC’s hitters go to work Saturday afternoon — and there’s no doubt junior Maddie Such is among the state’s top arms.
Tegan Tripp was 2-for her last-14 after going 0-for-4 vs. Crown Point. She batted 1.000 against both Merrillville and Valparaiso and carried that momentum into the weekend, finishing 8-for-11 with three home runs (two vs. Brownsburg) and 11 RBIs (nine vs. the Dawgs).
The Virginia Tech signee is tied with Such and Beals for second on the team’s home run leaderboard behind Lexi Iwema (14).
“Tegan was struggling a little bit at the plate, so we went back to her and said, one pitch at a time. See ball, hit ball,” coach Yvette Tovar said of Tripp, who has 14 hits in her past five games.
“We’ve been telling this team the whole time, it’s easy. It’s simple. Keep it simple,” she continued. “Don’t overthink everything. You see the ball. You hit the ball. That’s it.”
An uncomplicated approach is how Lake Central is attacking the season as a whole, according to Tovar, who said there is also an emphasis on team chemistry. They spent the offseason working on “being one” and forging a better culture with aims of winning for one another.
It’s a team-first mentality that everyone — players and coaches alike — has embraced, explained Tovar, who has three captains and five seniors. “We’re doing everything as one.”
Lake Central’s résumé is highlighted by wins over Munster, Crown Point and Noblesville. Its next big stretch comes the week of May 11 when it faces 3A state finalist Hanover Central (May 11), sectional rival Crown Point (May 12) and Chicago powerhouse Marist (May 16 doubleheader).
That’s a lot for us as outsiders to look forward to, but it’s far from mind for those inside the dugout.
“It’s one game at a time,” Tovar said. “That’s one thing we’ve learned from the past couple years. Sometimes we’ve gotten too far ahead of ourselves when we’re on a roll and literally, it’s a one-pitch mentality this season. One pitch at a time.”
Pendleton Heights
The Arabians have been hampered by self-inflicted wounds this season and it cost them again in an 8-1 loss to Brownsburg Saturday morning. They committed three errors, surrendered five unearned runs and the bats didn’t come to life until the final couple innings, when their opponent was already comfortably ahead.
They’re beating themselves and not necessarily getting beat, coach Rob Davis said.
It’s a frustrating trend, sure, but the veteran coach is preaching positivity.
That was the focal point of his closing remarks following Saturday’s opener and he has taken steps to reinforce that mindset during practice, as well. Friday, for instance, they just spent time doing fielding reps.
“Let’s build confidence,” said Davis, who secured his 300th career win last Tuesday. “It’s as simple as a base hit to the outfield, fielding it cleanly. We’re not doing that. We’re bobbling it, we’re dropping it, we’re not being aggressive. So I’m just trying to get them to go up there and compete. We’re only halfway through the season. We have plenty of time to turn it around, but they got to want to. We’ll see what happens.”
Individually, Aubrey Fox has been excellent thus far, batting .528 with four doubles, a triple, four homers and 25 RBIs. Davis believes she has potential to be the program’s next all-state player if she continues developing, and she put together a nice showing in Carmel, collecting three hits and two RBIs against Noblesville and an RBI single vs. Avon.
“She can compete,” Davis said of Fox, who’s struck out only twice in 66 plate appearances. “She plays at a high-level and she hits the ball all over the place. She’s a tough out.”
Another one to monitor: Avry Miller. The senior broke her pinky, but is working her way back. Davis said they’ve been working with the Butler commit on some things and talking her through some things, and she played well at Carmel, scoring three hits and four runs in three games. Miller notched two hits vs. Brownsburg, her second multi-hit performance of the year.
“It’s just a matter of time,” Davis observed. “Once she gets started, I think it’ll be fun for her.”
Pendleton has games against Frankton and Kokomo before an April-May back-to-back against Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern.
Carmel
The host Greyhounds won their fourth consecutive game Friday night, beating Avon, 5-1. The win streak began with a 7-0 victory over New Palestine on April 17, and marked the program’s longest since a four-game run in April 2021.
“We’re walking taller (this season),” senior shortstop Jayden Kleiner said. “I’m really proud of the girls. I think our underclassmen are doing what they need to do and our upperclassmen are leading by example. I’m really proud of the team.”
Carmel’s run ended with a 13-6 loss to Penn, but it extended the game with a three-run, two-out in the fifth that featured RBI hits by Ellie Goddard and Chloe Junkersfeld and left the score at 11-4.
“Resilience is something our coaches push on us,” Kleiner said. “We’re always about the next thing; short memory is something we’ve worked on. And I feel like it’s a good representation of the teammates we are.”
The Hounds lost to Brownsburg in five innings, but at 9-8, they’ve already won their most games since 2022 (16-10).
Here’s more from Kleiner:
Cathedral
The Irish had to shuffle their defensive alignments after graduating three senior infielders off last year’s state championship team. Sophomore Jordyn Hazelwood has moved to shortstop (her natural position), with Mackenzie White serving as her primarily replacement at second (Ellis Land also logs innings when not catching); Sydney Matthews and Amanda Lupke have both moved in from the outfield with Matthews at third and Lupke at first (unless Sidney Feczko isn’t pitching, in which case she plays first and Lupke is in the outfield).
There were a lot of moving pieces coming into the season and coach Tony Matthews has basically used the month of April as additional practice time, testing out various alignments and lineups as he exposed the younger players to high-pressure situations.
“That’s the best way we can do it,” he explained following Saturday’s consolation semifinal win over Avon. “So when we come down to it, when it really matters, they’ve had pressure. … It’s a young team.”
Matthews sensed the players’ confidence building over the past few weeks, most notably in the field, and they made some very nice plays in a competitive 7-3 loss to Penn.
“They’re definitely getting stronger and stronger each game,” he said. “Jordyn made some really good plays at shortstop against Penn, then Sydney made a great play at third (vs. Avon) to double off the runner. Then at the plate, kids are just stepping up and putting the ball in play.”
Cathedral improved to 12-3-1 with this weekend’s 2-1 finish (wins over Noblesville and Avon, lost to Penn in arguably the best game of the weekend) and its schedule remains difficult with Monday’s trip to Lawrence North followed by Noblesville and Avon.
The first-round of City on Saturday serves as a prelude to Roncalli and Carmel.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carmel Invite wrap: Lake Central shines, Pendleton positivity, Noblesville, more
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
