Keagan Rothrock 'almost didn't have a senior season.' But nation's top pitcher is back.

INDIANAPOLIS — Keagan Rothrock was cleared to play 30 minutes before the Roncalli softball team departed for its season opener in Terre Haute.

You read that right. The nation's top-ranked pitcher was that close to missing the first game of her senior year — and was in very real danger of missing the entire season, the result of an ultra-rare injury and an equally rare infection. That Rothrock returned for the opener is remarkable and though the season has had its challenges, she looked like her old self Tuesday night, allowing just one run on five hits with 16 strikeouts in a 9-1 win over No. 8 Avon in a Class 4A regional championship game.

Roncalli will face the winner of Evansville North and Floyd Central (game postponed to Wednesday due to weather) 11 a.m., Saturday at Center Grove.

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"For both of us, it just puts things into perspective," Rothrock said, referring to herself and catcher Ann Marie Meek, who suffered a thumb injury and broken collarbone prior to the season. "We almost didn't have a senior season, and I think any senior would be devastated to not have that, to not play with the girls they love."

"So we just try to put it all out there on the field, every game," Meek interjected. "The injury helps keep me going, because I know how it feels not to have it."

Rothrock's journey began in November. She had been pitching through an intense pain in her calves during the fall, but it had become unbearable, making it nearly impossible to walk, let alone play. A series of tests and scans came up empty, so she was tested for compartment syndrome, an ailment wherein the muscles grow faster than the fascia tissue surrounding them. Most people experience the injury in only two compartments; Rothrock was among the 1% who was experiencing it in all four.

Rothrock underwent surgery to relieve pressure in her right leg on Jan. 13, then from her left leg on Feb. 3. Three weeks later, stitches were removed from her left leg and the incision on her right leg was swabbed for infection.

Lab results revealed an extremely rare infection in her leg that needed to be addressed immediately — and left it "extremely doubtful" she would play this season. "The amount of tears I cried that day (I found out) was devastating," she wrote in an Instagram post.

Rothrock did what she could and stayed in shape, receiving clearance to play on April 3. Facing live batters for the first time in almost four months, she threw a perfect game against Terre Haute South, striking out 12 of the 15 batters she faced. "I was nervous, but as the game progressed I found my confidence again," she wrote in the same Instagram post. "As I threw the last pitch, I began crying. Not sad tears this time, but happy tears."

That was the initial high-point in what was an arduous road back for Rothrock overall, and a particularly difficult first week. "I'm not going to lie, that first week was a struggle bus. It was terrible," said Rothrock, who surrendered three runs on six hits the next night vs. Columbus North (she estimates she was around 50-60%), then gave up a couple runs on three hits over four innings in a 7-5 loss to Avon the following weekend.

"(Rothrock) seemed happier and healthier (tonight)," Avon coach Harley Sinders said. "She was back throwing. Not that she didn't throw hard against us the first time… but you could definitely tell she's worked her way back since then."

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The biggest challenges facing Rothrock were mental, the communication components. She's done well getting herself back into a normal routine as much as possible, Roncalli coach David Lauck said, but they've emphasized the importance of making sure everyone's on the same page. "Communication is always the main thing," he continued.

Rothrock admits there were "a few arguments in the dugout" over whether she was fine or not, and Meek said there are lessons when she'll cut her pitcher off — "I can tell before anyone else when she's hurting, because I can see the pitches," she noted — but the senior hurler has gained new perspective on how she approaches things.

"I've gone so hard on myself in the past and always pushed myself past my limits or what I thought my limits were," Rothrock said. "So, I think it's just really taught me that I need to listen to my body. If it's hurting, I need to say something to somebody."

Rothrock's mental maturation should serve her well well beyond her senior season, but in the more immediate future, her performance Tuesday night vs. Avon provided further evidence she's back back.

Facing a power-packed Avon lineup, Rothrock did not concede a run until the sixth inning when Hannah Sutton crushed the third pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall to make it 9-1. That was one blemish on an otherwise dominating and occasionally crafty performance by Rothrock. She worked around a pair of singles in the second, then put two runners with zero outs in the third — and retired the next three batters she faced, with strikeouts of Sutton and fellow slugger Mandy Lauth.

It felt like vintage Rothrock. It sounded like vintage Rothrock, marked by the return of the snap of her fastball when it hit the catcher's mitt (not to mention the number of swings-and-misses).

"Yeah, I think it's back," Meek said of Rothrock's fastball. "I honestly have this internal clock and I know what her pitch is and I can tell you on the dot what the speed is."

"She can, it's scary," Rothrock added.

So what was it tonight?

"I think she was hitting 70 tonight."

Rothrock felt the best she'd felt all season last week during sectionals. She felt even better Tuesday.

Now the Royals have a maximum of three games remaining: Two Saturday — the winner of that 11 a.m. game will play either Pendleton Heights or Mooresville — with the Class 4A state championship game slated for the following Saturday in West Lafayette.

"She wants to win a state championship as a Royal and she's healthy. Here she comes," Lauck smiled. "Keagan's back and that means we're back."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA softball: Keagan Rothrock has her mojo back, Roncalli on top