HS softball: Elite prep talent on display this season
Area softball fans are in for quite the treat once again this Spring.
The rosters of local high school squads are stacked with elite talent, led by players from the likes of defending state champions Penn and New Prairie and 2022 state titlist Saint Joseph's.
Penn preview: Could Penn softball be even better than last year's state-title team?
Leading the way on the prep scene are a pair of stellar sister duos. St. Joe boasts the Zaches, senior catcher Riley and junior pitcher Berkley. Penn presents the Zacharys, senior pitcher Aubrey and junior third baseman Ava.
The Zaches, who led St. Joe to the Class 3A state crown in 2022, are both Oklahoma commits. The Kingsmen duo, daughters of coach Beth Zachary (herself a former state champion pitcher at Castle High School), have Aubrey committed to Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne and Ava to Notre Dame. The pair led Penn to a Class 4A title in 2023.
New Prairie boasts Ava Geyer, one of the state's top pitchers. The junior and Indiana State commit led the Cougars to the Class 3A state title in 2023, the first for any team sport at New Prairie.
Saint Joseph preview: HS softball: Zache sisters set to power Saint Joseph again
The list of talent just goes on and on and on.
The following is a quick look at some of that incredible wealth of prep talent, led by our Dynamite Dozen to start.
▸Berkley Zache (Saint Joseph): The junior flamethrowing pitcher was 16-1 in 2023 with just two earned runs allowed. Zache, one of the top players nationally in the Class of 2025, had 251 strikeouts and seven walks in 107.2 innings as a sophomore and is 33-2 in her career with nine earned runs allowed and 513 strikeouts. Zache also hit .531 with 46 RBI and nine home runs.
▸Riley Zache (Saint Joseph): The senior catcher was a wrecking machine at the plate as a junior. The versatile Zache batted .537 with 49 runs scored and 48 RBI. She also broke her own single season home run record with 11 round trippers and had 17 doubles. Zache helped lead St. Joe to the NIC title at 11-0 in 2023.
▸Ava Zachary (Penn): The junior third baseman batted .505 as a sophomore with nine home runs and 45 RBI. Zachary scored the winning run on a wild pitch after blasting a triple in the 2-1 win over Roncalli in nine innings in the Class 4A state title game last June.
▸Aubrey Zachary (Penn): The senior pitcher helped her team win its final 11 games last year to win the program's second state title. The righthander was 12-3 in the circle despite dealing with a serious rib injury. Zachary, who was the starting pitcher in the state title contest, allowed 33 earned runs in 91.2 innings of work with 155 strikeouts her junior season.
▸Liv Signorino (Penn): The junior pitcher, who has committed to Toledo, was clutch when it mattered the most in 2023 as she was brilliant in postseason play. Signorino, who pitched limited innings during the season due to a hip injury, finished 6-0. She was the winning pitcher in the 4A title game in relief of Aubrey Zachary. Signorino fired a one-hit gem with 12 strikeouts, including the final nine of the game, in beating St. Joe 3-0 in the regional contest.
▸Izzi Hanna (Penn): The junior outfielder was an on base machine for the potent Penn offense a season ago. The slapper hit .467 and scored 39 runs and will play at Northern Illinois. Hanna has an on base percentage of .512 with 16 RBI and five triples in 2023.
▸Abby Widmar (Penn): The senior first baseman was one of the big thumpers in the middle of a stacked Penn lineup in 2023. She hit .379 with 14 doubles and 27 RBI. Widmar has committed to Indiana State.
▸Logan Rumble (Penn): The sophomore outfielder was incredible as a freshman in 2023. She hit .443 with 12 doubles and 26 RBI. Rumble also hit five home runs, scored 30 runs and had a slugging percentage of .712 a season ago.
▸Ava Geyer (New Prairie): The junior pitcher helped carry her team to a 31-5 mark and a Class 3A state title. Geyer went 28-2 with 311 strikeouts, including a six-hitter with one earned run allowed with three walks and nine strikeouts in the state title 4-2 game win over Tri-West Hendricks. The Indiana State recruit also batted .491 with eight home runs.
▸Emily Mrozinski (New Prairie): The senior outfielder hit .477 with 23 runs scored and 22 RBI. She also had five doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs. Mrozinski had two hits and two RBI in the state title game win.
▸Haylee Hyduk (Clay): The senior infielder batted .374 in helping the Colonials win the NIC North-South Division title at 5-0 in 2023. Hyduk led her team with seven home runs, 10 doubles and 38 RBI in 2023.
▸Lilly St. Clair (Mishawaka): The junior pitcher/outfielder batted .413 and was 4-2 in the circle as the Cavemen won the NLC title at 14-0 in 2023. St. Clair earned All-NLC honors for the second straight year a season ago.
Others to watch: Peyton Dwigans (Penn junior), Camille Biever (Penn junior), Shannon Rudge (Penn junior), Kenadie Schrock (Saint Joseph junior), Maddie Gilpin (New Prairie senior), Randi Robakowski (New Prairie junior), Emma Luther (New Prairie senior), Ella Chelminiak (New Prairie junior), Makayla Willoughby (New Prairie senior), Lilly Hanback (Mishawaka senior), Rachel Hunt (Clay junior), Avery Kidwell (Adams junior), Angela McNellis (Adams junior), Mikayla Shively (Bremen senior), Payton Thomas (John Glenn sophomore), Kaitlin Pratt (Marian senior), Victoria Harmon (Riley junior), Lexington Jenkins (Riley junior), Kiyla Eberhart (Jimtown junior), Abbey Brown (Jimtown senior), Cassi Reames (Concord junior), Rachel Humberger (Northridge sophomore), Jennalee Roll (Goshen senior), Ryen Yoder (Goshen junior).
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Area high school softball talent is at an all-time high
