Another week of Indiana high school softball is in the books. I don’t have clever intro, but do have a lot of intel from around the area (and the state) so let’s dive in!
Westfield
Westfield stumbled to a 2-3 start that was highlighted by a 9-3 win over Center Grove and low-lighted by a 16-13 loss to Plainfield and a run-rule defeat vs. Franklin Central.
It bounced back with a very strong April, finishing 7-2-1 with notable wins over West Lafayette Harrison, Fishers and previously unbeaten Yorktown, narrow losses to Brownsburg (5-4) and New Palestine (3-1), and a tie with Cathedral wherein the Rocks forced extras with a five-run seventh.
The players are trusting in the process and executing with more consistency, first-year coach Maddie Moore observed following Thursday’s 3-0 win over Yorktown (their first shutout of the year). And they’re receiving contributions from across the lineup.
“I’m really proud of them for how they’re coming out and I feel like they’re picking it up at the right time,” the former Earlham assistant continued. “It’s fun to see how the relationships have been built in such a short amount of time. That’s been my favorite part of the job so far – we have fun every day. I mean, we look forward to coming to practice.”
The Rocks’ upperclassmen have been very good with MaKayla Watson, Sofia Easterhaus, Reese Mahannah and Sydney Jordan among their leading hitters. But the new kids have been stepping up, as well. Sophomore Olivia Sampia is batting .367 and has been a dependable pitcher alongside junior Mackenzie Delph; freshman Carlynne Schrock leads the team with four home runs and five doubles; freshman Bella Blakeley has homered twice; and sophomore Carlynne Schrock is among the team leaders with 11 RBIs.
“They have grit,” Moore said of her team. “They’ve done a really good job of having a short memory and not giving up.”
Another highlight? The defense, which has gone error-free in three straight games and committed two errors or fewer in each of its past seven — a massive development behind a pitching staff that averages 5.3 strikeouts per game.
“We’ve worked really hard on defense,” said Moore, who used last Tuesday’s rainout as an opportunity to work on position-specific fielding.
“I worked with our middle infield and we just made it fun,” she explained. “I told them we have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and had them throw it at different angles. So like tonight when Sophie went to her backhand and threw it off one foot — that’s something we worked on. … As a staff, we’re trying to show them it’s OK to not always be so mechanical. Sometimes you just have to get rid of the ball.”
Westfield lost Friday to Noblesville, Moore’s alma mater, and have another difficult week ahead with Hamilton Heights, Zionsville, Roncalli and Mt. Vernon.
Yorktown
Thursday was just an off-night for the top-ranked Tigers, specifically in the field where they committed a season-worst six errors on 31 chances and had a couple other snafus (in the field and on the basepaths) that didn’t show up in the box score.
It also didn’t help that Yorktown mustered only two hits and came up empty with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth.
Rough outing, but no reason to start doubting this group’s potential as a title contender in 3A. The résumé is solid with games against Western, New Palestine and Fishers already included, and upcoming tilts vs. Noblesville (May 11), HSE (May 14) and Cathedral (May 19).
Also — and honestly, this probably should have been the lead — sophomore pitcher Olivia Jones is really good. Westfield had the five hits against her, but it also struck out 10 times and generated its runs off Yorktown errors (credit the Rocks hitters for putting the ball in play and applying pressure on the defense).
McCutcheon
We’ll stay outside of the Indianapolis-area and give some love to McCutcheon, which took part in the Franklin Central Flashes Invite on Saturday.
The Mavericks had lost four of five coming into the weekend with a three-run loss to Danville and a 6-4 loss to Brownsburg among its most recent setbacks. It started the day with another close loss to Franklin, but bounced back with a truly wild 13-11 win over 3A powerhouse Cascade, then grinded out a 7-6 nine-inning win over the host Flashes.
McCutcheon (8-6), which played six games in five days, out-hit its three opponents 39-15 on Saturday.
“The bats were on fire once again. One bat at a time, that’s how it goes,” said senior Missouri State commit Kaidynn Peckinpaugh, who has been an absolute workhorse in the circle this year (50-plus innings). “And I think it really shows what type of team we are and how much work we’ve put in.”
“Yeah, we’re not a team that hits the ball deep super often, so taking it swing by swing and putting the ball in play has been key,” junior Addison Gillespie added.
Franklin Central
The injury bug has bitten the Flashes and it’s bitten them hard with multiple players missing multiple games, including senior standouts Kiley Renick and Audrina Yorn.
Yorn returned Saturday and had a hit in all three games, including a two-RBI double vs. Franklin.
Renick (hamstring), the team’s No. 1 pitcher and one of its top hitters, came back for three games earlier in the week (Zionsville, Roncalli and Southport), but re-aggravated the injury Saturday against Cascade. Coach Erica Glasener said they’re going by the word of the trainer at this point and taking their time with her recovery.
The missing pieces have forced Glasener to shuffle through various lineups and defensive alignments, and call up a few younger players from JV. That’s loomed large in the team going 3-7 over its past 10 games, including 1-2 this weekend, but there are positives to be had with the younger players gaining valuable experience ahead of next season.
“We’re working through it,” Glasener said. “Every team has their woes like this. … We’re trying to do more team-building and fun, trying to stay relaxed and do different things with them, really putting a focus on the dugout and staying loud the entire game.”
Though not all of them are healthy, having 11 seniors certainly helps, with them able to mentor the newcomers and calm their nerves.
Renick and sophomore Olivia Starr have worked closely with juniors Audrey Blank — she was very good against McCutcheon — and Aaliyah Ell, both of whom are up from JV, “staying in their back pocket and being their biggest cheerleaders.”
Glasener said they’ve had to get creative in order to keep bats in the lineup as they change positions — Adalynn Foster has moved from catcher; sophomore Maddie Baker moved to second base — but the players have been flexible and stayed positive, as evidenced with that four-run seventh-inning comeback vs. McCutcheon.
Franklin
I wanted to shout out senior Ohio commit Aubrey Leugers. The Grizzly Cubs were on the wrong-end of a lopsided score Saturday afternoon, trailing Cascade 12-1 through 2.5 innings. It would have been easy, even understandable, if they folded and got out as quickly as possible. But it was very clear Leugers wasn’t going to let that happen. She was very loud and very encouraging through the entire game, and helped spark the offense with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third.
We love to see it.
Franklin followed its senior’s lead and chipped away at the deficit. It added a couple more runs on an Addi Mashino base hit in the third, then Annabelle Richter made it 12-6 with a base hit to score Leugers from second.
The rally fell short and Cascade closed out the win in six innings, but there’s something to be said with how the Grizzly Cubs battled back, especially considered their status as a contender within Sectional 14.
Leugers is batting .391 with seven doubles, four triples and six homers. She’s driven in 28 RBIs and scored 27 runs.
One other stray observation on coach Kayla Craft’s team: She’s got some exceptional speed in that lineup.
Odds-and-ends
>> The Cascade Cadets suffered their first loss of the season Saturday, dropping a 13-11 decision to the Mavericks, but that was sandwiched between a 5-3 win over Franklin Central and an 18-6 triumph over Franklin. They’ve already beaten Brownsburg and Avon, and will have another formidable test Monday at sectional foe Edgewood.
>> Brownsburg won a couple games last week, beating McCutcheon and rival Avon. The win over the Orioles came with neither starting shortstop Tatum Hunt nor second baseman Hailey Prather available, and was decided on a three-RBI double by AG Pogue in the third inning. Great win for the Dawgs, who will inevitably see Avon again during sectionals.
>> Harper Moore had a sensational week for Beech Grove. The Purdue commit went 5-for-5 against Indian Creek with a homer, a couple doubles and three steals, then was nearly perfect against Centerville, as well, finishing 7-for-8 with a triple, two doubles, three RBIs, three runs and six steals. The multi-sport athlete is batting .655 on the season with 36 hits, 25 runs and 14 RBIs.
>> Whiteland’s Jordyn Crouch was one hit batter away from throwing a perfect game vs Martinsville. She struck out 10 in the six-inning win, then came back a day later and spun a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, zero walks and an HBP.
>> Terre Haute North (eyes emoji). The 19-1 Patriots haven’t played the toughest of schedules, but added some shine to their record last week with a 4-2 triumph over Avon and a 15-0 shellacking of Evansville Mater Dei, one of the top teams in 2A.
>> I wrote last week that Pendleton Heights senior Avry Miller was one to monitor in coming weeks as she recovers from a broken pinkie. She doubled twice and launched her first home run of the season in Thursday’s 16-14 win over Noblesville. Great performance by the Butler commit and a really nice win for the Arabians.
>> It’s Roncalli-New Palestine week. The Royals are 12-2 and have won five straight since losing to Westfield; New Palestine is 10-4 and won five of seven since back-to-back shutout losses vs. HSE and Carmel. These teams are sectional mates, so don’t be surprised if both hold some things back … but it’s always a blast when those two get together.
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: Weekly wrap: Westfield surge, Franklin Central injuries, Aubrey Leugers, more
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
