IHSAA softball: Semistate end of road for special seniors at Mooresville, Pendleton Heights

GREENWOOD — It was an illustration of both extremes. Along the first-base side, Pendleton Heights coach Rob Davis stopped to hug and chat with a few friends and family in the bleachers, as his players below celebrated their 4-3 win over Mooresville in the semistate semifinal, and began making their way to the bus ahead of the 4A semifinal vs. Roncalli.

Across the way, Mooresville coach Traci Ball was addressing her team in left field, embracing each player as the group dispersed. There were tears and a few smiles among the Pioneers as they returned to the dugout, the sting of their season-ending loss still setting in.

More: Semistate scores; State pairings

"They have nothing to hang their heads about," Ball said. "Do I think we could have won that game? Absolutely. We just didn't get the hits together when we needed and left runners on base in the first and second innings that could have easily scored. ... But I told them they should be so proud of themselves. This is the furthest we've ever been. And these girls did it."

Indeed, the 2023 Pioneers will be remembered as the group that finally broke through, the ones responsible for the program's first sectional championship since 2007 and its first regional title.

Leading that charge was, of course, the seniors, a five-girl core of Alex Cooper, Cidney Newton, Kendall Lowry, Josi Hair and Maddie Gainey. The final high school class to have lost an entire season to COVID, they totaled 84 wins and three conference championships over their three years, while influencing the team's culture and chemistry behind the scenes.

"These seniors will be so missed," Ball said. "Oh my gosh, the seniors were just amazing for us."

Isolated to the past two weeks, the Pioneers' seniors championed their prolific postseason run, beginning with the sectional quarterfinal vs. No. 4 Center Grove. The team totaled five home runs that game, with Cooper, Gainey, Newton and Hair all going yard in the same inning (that remains one of the season's most ridiculous feats).

Lowry delivered in both the regional vs. Shelbyville (three RBIs, including a two-run double in the fifth), then again in the semistate semifinals with a game-tying double that scored junior Madison Poulson from first.

Lowry wasn't the only key contributor, though. Newton ripped a two-run single to get Mooresville on the board in the fourth, and the sure-handed Cooper, an IU commit, cleanly fielded every ball hit her way (including one that deflected off Hair's glove).

"This year, this is how far they took us and this just tells you how good they were," Ball said of her seniors. "They had the desire and the want, and they weren't going to give up. They fought. They taught everyone else how to fight. Even today down 3-0 I had confidence, and they came through."

After taking time to reflect on the past season and voice appreciation for her seniors, Ball spun ahead and looked toward the future. With pitchers Zoey Kugelman and Reagan Bauer both set to return, plus outfielder Sofia Guy, the Pios' future remains bright.

"That's what I told them, 'Guys, we're going to be OK,'" Ball said. "We're going to work harder next year and you never know what can happen. ... It's going to be hard losing my seniors and we're going to be young, but that's what happens."

Here's what else we learned from semistate Saturday.

Pendleton Heights seniors helped everyone believe

In the aftermath of Saturday's 8-0 loss to Roncalli in the semistate final, Davis called this group of seniors one of the toughest he's "broken up with" over his 13 seasons, praising their dedication to the program and describing them as simply a fun group to be around.

Those seniors — Olivia Burns, Sydney Clark, Lillian Coffel, Eliza Findlay, Kylie Fisher, Madelynn Petty, Gloria Richardson and Bo Shelton — won 68 games in their three seasons (49 over the past two seasons combined), secured back-to-back regional championships and were within a win of the program's first championship game appearance since 2005.

Thanks in large part to those seniors, the Arabians believed they could upset Roncalli and honestly, it seemed entirely plausible.

Not only did they have the pitching, defense and hitting to potentially match the Royals, they had tapped into some postseason magic, beating Lawrence North on a walk-off grand slam by Shelton on Tuesday, then eliminating Mooresville on a Clark walk-off hit Saturday afternoon.

Put another way: Pendleton Heights had the makings of a team of destiny.

"Just have fun," Davis told his players as they prepared for pregame warmups, the bleachers behind home plate already filling in. "This is awesome."

Those thoughts of "What if…" only grew louder through the first four innings thanks to pitcher Shelby Messer and the expectedly dependable defense behind her.

After striking out eight and allowing just two earned runs vs. Mooresville (despite struggling with her control), she was dialed in vs. Roncalli, allowing just one baserunner through the first three innings, before wriggling free from a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth to maintain the scoreless stalemate. "Shelby pitched great tonight," Davis said.

But when Lyla Blackwell tripled in a run and Emma Fegan added another, the Arabians were suddenly facing a mountain; and when Abbey Hofmann added two more (RBI and a run scored), the deficit felt insurmountable against Keagan Rothrock, who spun a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and only two walks.

Pendleton Heights finishes the season 25-6-1, an impressive showing against one of the state's toughest schedules.

"They're wonderful people," Davis said of his seniors. "They're resilient, they worked hard, they wanted it and they believed. They never let anyone get down, never let anyone quit, and they had each other's backs. You don't find that all the time on an entire roster. I'm so proud of them."

Cascade comes up short vs. top-ranked Vikings

Man, what a showing by Cascade, which played nearly two full games against No. 1 North Posey in the Class 2A semistate semifinals. Ava Allen scored the tying run for the Cadets in the bottom of the fourth, then pitchers Grace Gray and Erin Hoehn matched wits over the next eight innings, neither conceding a run until the top of the 12th, when three walks and a single lifted the Vikings to a 2-1 victory.

Gray allowed just two runs on six hits with 11 strikeouts, while Hoehn fanned 22, allowing just one unearned run on five hits (two by Allen).

Cascade graduates Rylie Lambert, Ruby Gray and Megan Walker from its regular lineup, but returns everyone else, including Grace Gray, who finished the season with 168 strikeouts and a 1.46 ERA over 95.2 innings pitched.

The Cadets (24-5) should be really good again next year, is what I'm trying to say.

Historic seasons for Beech Grove, Triton Central end in state quarterfinals

Two of the area's cooler storylines during the state tournament were the runs by Beech Grove (21-7, 3A) and Triton Central (20-6, 2A), both of whom were first-time regional champions and held their own at semistate.

Mylee Boling stole two bases and scored on an error to draw the Hornets within a run of Tri-West entering the bottom of the fourth, but a six-run frame proved too much to overcome with Bruins ace Audrey Lowry allowing just the one unearned run on two hits with 14 strikeouts and two walks. Beech Grove, a first-time sectional champion, finishes the season 21-7, and returns a number of key contributors including Boling, pitcher Malone Moore, Kylee Robinson and Lilly Jansen, among others.

Triton Central led Hauser after an inning and a half, but a two-out rally in the bottom of the second that gave the Jets an 8-5 lead proved too much to overcome in a 10-7 loss. Madi Peterson had three hits, a run scored and an RBI for the senior-less Tigers, while Madison Collins posted four RBIs.

Lutheran ousted by defending Class A champs

The No. 7 Saints (20-8) earned their shot at the defending Class A state champs Tecumseh with an 8-2 victory over No. 6 Lanesville that included multiple hits by Mystic Means (3), Caitlyn Brooks, Brooklyn Barger, Kayla Burns and Taylor Gasvoda, with Barger fanning eight and allowing just two unearned runs on five hits over seven innings pitched.

But after scratching out a 6-2 victory over No. 13 Clay City, top-ranked Tecumseh used the state semifinal to send a message to the rest of the state with a 20-0 thrashing of Lutheran.

It wasn't pretty, but the Saints should be built for a repeat run next spring with Means headlining a group that graduates just one senior (Ellie DeChristopher) from this year's 20-win squad.

Looking ahead

We have two phenomenal matchups to close out next Friday and Saturday.

The 3A final features 2022 runner-up Tri-West facing New Prairie, which is led by senior Abby Robakowski, who has a state-record 23 home runs and 73 RBIs this season.

The 4A final pits two-time defending champion Roncalli against Penn, which run-ruled the Royals (Rothrock did not pitch) at the Carmel Invite earlier this year. I'll dive deeper into the matchup later this week, but those teams have successful pedigrees and feel very similar in terms of team chemistry and their veteran cores.

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school softball state tournament semistate recap