INDIANAPOLIS — It was all fun and games for the four area players who competed in Saturday’s Indiana All-Star Softball Classic.
But due to the number of players on each team for both the North and South squads, none of the quartet got a lot of opportunities.
Highland’s Lauren Williamson, The HB Pitcher of the Year, didn’t pitch for the South team. Madison-Grant’s Sara Webster didn’t hit for the North Team.
“We had 11 pitchers on our team, so I told our coaches that I didn’t mind if I didn’t pitch,” said Williamson, who played third base defensively. “I have been having some back trouble and my travel ball team is playing today.”
Pendleton Heights’ Ashley Warrum and Tiffany Held, along with Williamson struck out in their only at bats in Game One, won by the North 4-3.
Warrum had a defensive adventure in the fifth inning. She bobbled a grounder and couldn’t recover in time for a force out at second base.
“I hadn’t made many errors all season so what a time to make one,” said Warrum. “I got mad at myself at first, but then I just told myself that it was over and there was nothing I could do about it.”
By keeping her head in the game she bounced back in the same inning. The next hitter grounded up the middle. Warrum grabbed the ball, stepped on second with her back to first, whirled and threw back to first for a double play.
“At least I got a chance for redemption,” she said. “I got a perfect bounce on it.”
Between the two games Avon’s Jenny Esparza was named Miss Softball and New Palestine’s Ed Marcum was named Coach of the Year.
Just as with their first times at bat, when the South trio came up for the first time in Game 2, they again suffered similar fates.
Warrum grounded out short to first. Held grounded up the middle and the ball deflected off the pitcher’s glove and went to short, who threw her out. Williamson grounded out short to first.
“I was so eager to get a hit I think I out thought myself,” said Williamson.
Those three would come to bat again in the seventh inning and this time Webster was on the slab for the North. Warrum grounded out third to first, but Held worked Webster for a walk.
Williamson struck out but Roncalli’s Jennifer Barnett doubled into the left field gap to score Held with an insurance run and make the score 4-2. Carmel’s Erika Petruzzi singled to make it 5-2 and end the damage against Webster. That turned out to be the final score and the teams split the two-game affair.
In the sixth inning, the first in which Webster pitched, the South got only an infield single and didn’t score against the Argylls’ hurler.
“I loved playing with those girls,” said Held. “It was so much fun. I think I knew everybody on the south team.”
Held had very little time to think softball following the double-header. She has a date with West Point. “I’ll be leaving in about 10 minutes,” she said. “The car’s all packed.”
“Luckily it hasn’t hit me yet,” said Warrum when asked about this being her final game as a high school player. “I don’t know, maybe it will in a day or two or a week. But it was great to mingle with the players on the team in those innings when I didn’t play defensively.”
Williamson was her usually vocal self in describing the experience. “It was a blast,” she said. “It was fun to play with all of the people that I’ve been playing against.”
Local Sports
Local quartet enjoys fun and games at All-Star Game
- Local Sports
-
-
Five for fighting
Like other coaches, Alexandria wrestling coach Jack Grimaldi sometimes has to worry about how to motivate his charges as they head into their matches. That shouldn’t be an issue for him with his five Tigers heading into Saturday’s individual semistate at New Castle.
-
Red-hot Lapel limiting miscues
Like any basketball coach, Jimmie Howell knows how important it is for a team to be playing its best basketball as the state tournament draws near.
But what’s going on in Lapel might be redefining that theory.
With a 60-42 win on the road over Class 3A No. 6 Guerin Catholic on Saturday, the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to eight games. Over the 32-minute course of the game against the Golden Eagles, Lapel committed a microscopic four turnovers. -
PH moves on
On the roster of every successful team is a player or two who will do the unpleasant work. The ones who actually find satisfaction in this pursuit are worth their weight in wins to any coach. Pendleton Heights sophomore Kiawna Cottrell was just that player Tuesday as the Arabians advanced to the second round of sectional play with a 55-45 victory over Greenfield-Central.
-
Indians slay Spartans
The last time these two girls basketball teams met on Jan. 17, Anderson defeated Connersville 83-74 in overtime. Lady Tribe coach Chad Cook knew the Spartans would come out with a chip on their shoulder ready for revenge in Tuesday’s opening round of the Class 4A sectional.
-
Eagles eke by Raiders
Back in November, the Frankton girls basketball team handled Shenandoah by 29 points. Tuesday’s sectional opener at Shenandoah wasn’t as easy, but the end result was the same as Frankton moved on with a 44-43 win over the host Shenandoah Raiders.
-
Wapahani ends Lapel’s season
With both teams scrapping for loose balls and rebounds often, the second game of the first-round girls basketball sectional Tuesday night at Shenandoah seemed destined to become a backyard brawl. And as is so often the case, the more experienced team came out on top. A sloppy but hard-fought contest turned into little more than a war of attrition late as finally Lapel ran out of gas, falling to Wapahani 49-33.
-
Madison-Grant survives, advances
Madison-Grant girls basketball coach Kyle Douglas reminded his team before Tuesday’s Class 2A sectional opener that the state tournament marks the beginning of a new season. With 4.6 seconds remaining against Alexandria, Argylls senior Taylor McNutt held the first game of that new season in her hands at the free-throw line. She calmly made her first attempt, and wild scramble for the loose ball erupted when her second try glanced off the rim. The clock expired before either team could gain possession, and Madison-Grant (14-8) escaped with a 58-57 victory and a ticket to Round 2.
-
Daleville bucks Liberty Christian, heads into Class A semifinals
Not much changed in Sectional 55 on Tuesday at Wes-Del as Daleville pressured the Lions into submission on the way to a 51-24 win and the chance to face the host Wes-Del Warriors.
-
Tribe win over Spartans 50 - 46
Photos from the opening round of the Class 4A Sectional at Greenfield-Central on Tuesday.
-
Arabians advance after 55-45 win over Cougars
Photos from the Greenfield-Central sectional as the Pendleton Heights Arabians faced the Cougars.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
