HS softball: Mishawaka looks for another Northern Lakes Conference crown
The Mishawaka High School softball program is no stranger to championships.
The Cavemen should be in contention once again this season for another championship in the Northern Lakes Conference.
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Coach Brian Miller's squad ran the table a year ago with a 14-0 mark to win the NLC title. The Cavemen lost six strong seniors from a team that lost 9-0 to Saint Joseph in a Class 4A sectional contest, but return several key players.
"We are hopefully retooling," said Miller via email about his team. "We lost six great seniors, but have a nice core of kids back with six returning seniors."
Mishawaka, which went 18-6 overall a year ago, will count heavily on the pair of junior Lilly St. Clair and senior Lilly Hanback. St. Clair batted .413 last year and was All-NLC for the second straight year as she hit .500 in league play. She was also 4-2 in the circle as the No. 2 pitcher. Hanback batted .297 last year and is in her fourth year as the rock of the Cavemen infield at shortstop.
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The Cavemen also return starters Sophia Hoover (2B), Oliva Bultinck (OF/IF), Cassie Connell (1B/C) and Brynn Lewinski (OF), all seniors. Also expected to play key roles are a pair of juniors in Camila Ramirez-Quijda (P/1B) and Desiree Couve (IF/P/C). Quijda played at Marian a year ago and Couve moved in from Kentucky.
Miller was the NLC Coach of the Year in 2023 as five of his players were first-team All-NLC selections. The Cavemen won the program's first conference title in 13 years and their first in the NLC since joining the league in 2020 after moving from the Northern Indiana Conference.
Goshen was NLC runner up a season ago at 10-4 with perennial power Northridge going 8-6 with a young team. Goshen's RedHawks will count on junior Kaelyn Marcum, who was All-NLC in 2023 for coach Allen Hodge's squad. Northridge welcomes a new coach in Andy Robinson, who went 43-13 with two sectional titles in his first stint in Middlebury in 2007-08.
Goshen finished 15-9 overall in 2023, while Northridge dipped to an 8-14 final mark.
Around the NIC
Clay should be another local team to watch as the Colonials play their final season with the school slated to close.
The Colonials went 19-11 overall a year ago and finished 7-4 in the loaded NIC. Clay won the NIC North-South Division title at 5-0.
Clay did lose a talented senior group from 2023 including pitcher Faith Hyduk, catcher Hailey Wolf and shortstop Desiree Boone, but coach Katie Rodriguez still has strong talent. Set to lead the Colonials are seniors Haylee Hyduk (IF) and Jessica Cleveland (P/OF) and junior Rachel Hunt (IF). Hyduk was an honorable mention All-NIC choice in 2023.
Clay, which has seven seniors this season, lost 5-1 to New Prairie in sectional action in 2023.
Adams and Riley will look to make their marks too in the NIC, which is headlined by defending overall conference champion Saint Joseph along with Class 4A state champion Penn and Class 3A state champion New Prairie.
The Eagles went 8-3 in league play in 2023, but did say good bye to a strong senior class, led by pitcher Emma Zielinski and infielder Grace Schell. Adams will look to junior shortstop Avery Kidwell, a second team All-NIC selection a year ago to lead the way.
Coach Jami Redman has a young team at Adams with one senior and eight juniors. Also key for the Eagles, who finished 15-7-1 in 2023, will be junior Emma Schell (1B) and junior Angela McNellis (P/OF).
Riley finished 17-13 a year ago with a young roster. The Wildcats of coach Shawn Jenkins will be young again this time around with just two seniors on their roster.
The Wildcats will be led by juniors Lexington Jenkins (C/1B) and Victorya Harmon (OF). Also returning as key players on the South Side are pitchers Kaelynn Howell, a junior, and Elliana Gonzales, a sophomore.
Jimtown, which was sectional runner-up to New Prairie a year ago, will look to Kiyla Eberhart to lead the way. The junior pitcher was honorable mention All-NIC in 2023. The Jimmies also will rely on senior catcher Abbey Brown, who was also All-NIC honorable mention a season ago. Jimtown has six seniors for coach Brandy Eberhart, including Alexa Alvey. Jimtown finished 17-10 overall a season ago.
Other players to watch in the NIC include seniors Kaitlin Pratt (Marian), Makayla Shively (Bremen) and Payton Thomas (John Glenn). Infielders Shively and Thomas were first-team All-NIC choices a year ago.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Mishawaka softball has strong senior group and hopes for NLC repeat
