Emotional end for 8 seniors as Cowan, Yorktown softball fall in semistate

FRANKFORT, Ind. — For the second straight spring, East Central Indiana's finest softball squads didn't reach the IHSAA state finals.

Cowan (Class 1A) and Yorktown (Class 3A) were both eliminated in Saturday's semistate round, with the Blackhawks winning their first game before falling in the championship and the Tigers losing a close battle in their opener.

Both defeats were close. Here's a breakdown of each team's outings:

More: Wes-Del, Winchester advance to semistate; Blue River, New Castle fall in regionals

Cowan Blackhawks (23-6)

"Bend, don't break" was repeatedly said during both of Cowan's semistate games at Frankfort High School, a motto the Blackhawks stayed true to for multiple seasons.

After mounting a seventh-inning comeback in the team's regional championship, completed via a walk-off hit by senior catcher Aryonna Bynum, Cowan found itself in a similar situation in its first semistate game against Rossville.

The Blackhawks trailed 2-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning, unable to execute a big hit all afternoon. But the team once again showcased its poise, experience and leadership in the final frame as the top of the order came through with multiple clutch at-bats.

Junior Jenna Current and senior McKenna Minton got on base first, setting up Aryonna and fellow seniors Tatum Rickert and Miranda Bowling for RBI hits. Rickert then closed out the 3-2 victory in the circle, stranding a runner to finish her strong complete-game outing with seven strikeouts, two walks and five hits allowed.

"We just know each and every person has everybody's back," Bowling, who tallied the winning hit, said. "We go by, 'The game isn't over until the game is completely finished,' so we can do anything we want to. We just have to really put our mind to it and be behind each other."

Cowan quickly found itself in a deficit again in the championship as Caston scored three runs in the opening frame. The Blackhawks, however, got on the board earlier with two runs in the third inning, only for the Comets to balloon their lead again with two more runs in the fourth.

Both teams went scoreless until Cowan made one final push in the seventh. Before every inning, the Blackhawks' leaders, particularly Minton, repeatedly offered words of encouragement and positive energy in an effort to find a spark.

"I would say definitely this year I've taken on more of that leadership role," Minton said. "I was named team captain and I really took on that role and was like, 'I need to help pull this team together,' and I feel like we really came together this year, and it shows in our performance."

More: Senior-led Cowan softball captures 3rd straight regional title

The team scored one run in the final frame before losing 5-3. It marked the program's third straight loss in semistate and the final outing for its historic senior class, which led the team to three straight regional titles.

"I don't think there's any other team at Cowan, in any kind of sport, that can say that," head coach Curtis Bynum said.

It was an emotional end to the Blackhawks' memorable journey. Many tears were shed, but coach Bynum tried to remind his girls to keep their perspective about their accomplishments.

"(I told them,) 'Don't hold your heads down.' That's an amazing group of girls right there," coach Bynum said. "We were truly blessed to be part of their lives for the last 10 years, or whatever it is, coaching them and just seeing them grow up to be women. They're gonna be pillars in our society … It wasn't meant to be and just move forward."

Rickert, one of the better Class 1A two-way players in Indiana during her high school career, left everything she had on the field. She threw 224 pitches in total between the two semistate games and was visibly exhausted by the end.

But there was never a thought to take her out of the circle. Rickert tossed 393.2 innings over her three-year varsity career, which accounted for 72.1% of Cowan's total innings pitched, yet that immense workload didn't diminish her dominance as she notched a career ERA of 2.26.

In the biggest games — even two on the same day — Rickert was always called upon and wanted the responsibility. She'll continue to bring that mindset to the field while continuing her career at Division III Earlham College.

"(It comes from) just an inner force to never give up," Rickert said. "I was always taught really hard work when I was young, so it's kind of just continued on to when I got older and just never give up. Always dig deep, leave it on the field."

Minton also leaves a notably individual legacy and finished her high school career with a truly staggering statistical season.

Her 70 stolen bases ranked first in the state and sixth in the country, and her .691 batting average was the third-highest in Indiana.

Yet Minton will not remember her or the team's accomplishments as much as the comradery. Her passion for her teammates was evident in her encouragement when trailing throughout this postseason, and she took great pride in representing the community on the field.

Of her high school experience, Minton said she will "cherish these memories throughout college and the rest of my life."

"I'm gonna remember my teammates and their enjoyment in playing. That's the thing that stings the worst. It's not that we didn't win, it's just that I can't be with these girls anymore," Minton said. "But I'm proud of the way we played and our season."

"When you put on this Cowan uniform, representing your school, it's just a different feeling than travel and I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world."

Minton will play at Div. I Purdue Fort Wayne next season, and Aryonna will also continue her career at the college level and play for Div. III Anderson University.

Bowling and senior Josie Byrd, though, left the softball field for the final time.

It's unlikely that the program will enjoy similar success from one class again.

"Those are an amazing group of girls and they've been part of my life since they were 10U on up," coach Bynum said. "They're like daughters to me. A few of them I call my second daughter. Just sharing the game that they love with them, the game I love … That's what I take from (these last three years)."

Yorktown (17-9)

For the second straight season, Yorktown bowed out in the semistate round against a strong opposing pitcher.

Junior Caitlin LaFerney, the Tigers' ace, did well to overcome a three-run third inning by Leo to keep Yorktown within striking distance, but the team couldn't find holes in the defense and finished with just three hits.

Senior Lizzy Willis said the team's uncharacteristically cold hitting resulted from being too aggressive at the plate.

"I think that we were just thinking too much, like trying to overswing, trying to hit home runs, trying to hit power hits," Willis said. "Other games that we've played, we've just kept it simple and just ripped through line drives, up the middle, through the gaps ... I think we just got in our heads a little too much, especially toward the end of the game."

More: Yorktown softball wins 2nd straight regional behind complete-game shutout from LaFerney

It was a frustrating performance. Yorktown's batters didn't barrel many balls, but the ones they didn't mostly went right to Lions defenders. Conversely, Leo's swings yielded seven hits and run production, most notably a third-inning two-out home run that hit the top of the leftfield foul pole.

"A half inch to the left, it's a foul ball," head coach Jeremy Penrod said. "Things just go a team's way sometimes, man."

Still, Yorktown had chances to cut its deficit. Senior Lexy Morris ripped a leadoff double in the sixth frame and came around to score on a hit by sophomore Claire Hazen, only for her to be stranded as multiple hard-hit balls were caught by Leo's centerfielder.

Senior Jenna Sylvester's deep flyout to right-centerfield was especially deflating. It was a great diving catch by the defender to end the inning, likely saving at least one run and keeping momentum on Leo's side.

After overcoming some injuries and an up-and-down regular season, Yorktown believed it was capable of getting to the state finals in a four-team semistate field that was anyone's to win.

The Tigers' seniors — Sylvester, Morris and Willis — ended their careers as back-to-back regional champions, a commendable achievement in its own right as the program enjoyed only one other stretch of similar success in its history (2012-14).

Morris will continue her playing career at Div. I Northern Kentucky University. In 2023, she enjoyed the best year of her career by batting .420/.495/.727 with 19 RBI and 15 extra-base hits.

Willis, who tallied a 1.094 OPS with 39 RBI over the last two seasons, will play soccer and softball at Div. III Manchester University.

Sylvester (0.818 OPS) decided not to play collegiate softball and will attend Ball State.

"I've coached against Lizzy and Jenna, with or against them, since they were probably 9, 10 years old, so I've known them pretty much their whole softball lives," Penrod said. "They're gonna be great people in life. They're great kids, they're great athletes, they're hard workers. They have everything. I mean, if I was a company, I would hire them today because they're gonna be the people that you want on your team."

Willis and Morris, in particular, were emotional following the loss. The pair have been best friends on and off the field for several years and will miss playing alongside each other for the Tigers.

"We've grown up together. We've played travel all of our life together. I see her at tournaments all the time," Willis said of Morris. "We have a small school, so those kind of connections just kind of grow into friendships and being able to play with her is just really special."

Willis also said that she, Morris and Sylvester grew as leaders this season and learned how to push the younger kids after seeing how previous classes of senior did so before them.

That helped the team overcome a rough patch in early May when it went 3-5. Penrod agreed that his girls remained close despite a bumpier path to semistate than last season, which he attributed to the upperclassmen leaders.

"They were super, super tight without even us trying to arrange lunches or meetings with each other. They did it on their own," Penrod said. "They just really grew and molded together. Again, everybody was fans of each other and they wanted success for everybody. There is no selfishness or, 'Well I'm leading in this or I'm leading in that.' We've been pretty fortunate for last couple of years (that) our teams don't do that.

"But we tell from the get go, 'We're a team. We're gonna win together, we're gonna lose together.' We're gonna grow together, regardless of what happens on the field and try to mold this mold these (kids into young adults)."

Although Yorktown felt it was capable of more this season, Penrod still views the season as a success.

There is also plenty of talent returning, and the hope is that the younger players can learn and grow from the deep postseason runs of the last two years.

"(The season was) successful, no doubt about it ... Getting back to the semistate wasn't easy. They never are," Penrod said. "Success is not always based off of wins or losses, and the growth that this team had from February to now, just looking at that as a team, that's success to me."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: IHSAA softball: Cowan, Yorktown lose at semistate