IHSAA softball Fab 15: Rankings hold steady; big matchups ahead
We have cleared the first big weekend of the high school softball season and the collection of powerhouse clashes resulted in a few changes to the Central Indiana power rankings.
1. Roncalli (5-0)
The Royals have won big and after weathering a late push by Terre Haute South (escaped with a 5-4 win) they’ve won close, too. Now we’ll see them against a more formidable foe with a trip to Tri-West scheduled for Thursday.
Last year matched Keagan Rothrock vs. Audrey Lowry, the Bruins’ OU-bound ace. This year’s game will likely pit Lowry against Roncalli senior Avery Clark, who’s 4-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 27 strikeouts through her first 14 innings. Clark, who has allowed eight hits and issued only two walks, will be backed up by sophomore Elise Baker, who’s fanned 10 hitters and has a 2.42 ERA through 8.2 innings pitched.
One other note: Carley Keller is batting .611 with 11 hits, a homer, 10 runs and four RBIs.
Homers, gems and steals: Vote for IndyStar players of the week (April 1-6)
2. Cathedral (7-0)
LW: 2
Cathedral is off to an expectedly strong start, out-scoring its first seven opponents, 83-19. It rallied to beat Harrison over the weekend (big game from Aubrie Wright) and has a couple more tests this week with Brownsburg (Wednesday) and Westfield (Saturday).
Anna Moore (.650, eight RBIs, 15 runs, four triples) and Maddie Liter (.389, 15 RBIs) headline a lineup that’s batting .454 with seven homers, seven triples and 10 doubles. Mary Hughes has swiped 10 bases and sophomore Sidney Feczko is 6-0 in the circle with a 1.87 ERA and 48 strikeouts.
3. Center Grove (5-3)
LW: 3
Riley Janda homered and drove in four runs to help the Trojans to a wild come-from-behind 7-5 win over Avon at the Horseshoe Classic in Pendleton. That win was preceded by a 10-run rout of Jennings County and an 8-2 loss to a very good Lake Central bunch (Hannah Haberstroh drove in the two runs vs. LC).
Of note: Riley Henson pitched three innings vs. Avon (longest outing of the season), allowing two runs on six hits with a couple strikeouts and a walk. Doubleheader against defending state champion Penn this weekend.
More: After months of uncertainty, Riley Henson is back and 'a game changer' for Center Grove.
4. Mooresville (6-1)
LW: 5
The Pios committed a couple errors and suffered a tough loss to Penn at the Castle Invite, but bounced back with wins over Tecumseh, Fishers and Evansville North. Zoey Kugelman is batting .741 and boasts a 2.85 ERA with 19 strikeouts; Madison Poulson has six steals on seven attempts and Sofia Guy leads the team with four homers and 18 RBIs.
Conference games can be tricky, so be wary of this week's two-fer with Decatur Central, but Mooresville should be a one-loss team entering the Brownsburg-Franklin stretch in a couple weeks.
5. Fishers (4-3)
LW: 4
Kate Murray did not pitch in Fishers’ loss to Mooresville and the Tigers’ other loss was to the aforementioned Kingsmen of Penn, who are still really, really good. Fishers bounced back with a come-from-behind blowout win over Tecumseh and a no-sweat 12-1 rout of Bedford North Lawrence, wherein Murray did not allow an earned run and struck out eight over six innings.
Hailey Trueblood and Brooke Clayton have both swiped four bases, while Brooke Johnson leads the team with 12 hits. Taylor Duplessis is batting .444 and finished a combined 4-for-8 with four RBIs and a homer vs. Tecumseh and BNL.
Intriguing matchup Tuesday against Noblesville, followed by an event this weekend that includes Class A No. 8 Lutheran.
6. Westfield (5-0)
LW: 6
The Rocks are back in action following a week off with three straight road games: Brownsburg, Greenfield-Central and Cathedral.
7. Tri-West (3-2)
LW: 10
I'll preface this with a reminder that it's early, but the Bruins have looked solid through the first leg of their schedule. The losses came against Fishers (a 1-0 pitchers duel between Audrey Lowry and FHS' Kate Murray) and Gibson Southern (Lowry did not pitch in the 15-1 loss), while last weekend's wins at the Castle Invite included 4A No. 2 Floyd Central, Daviess County (Ky.) and 4A No. 6 Castle — all high-quality opponents.
Lowry, the OU commit, has been expectedly excellent. The lineup, which graduated some key bats from last year's runner-up finish, has been buoyed by senior Emma Frye's strong start (6-for-15, three homers) and the early emergence of sophomore Addy Brower (6-for-12).
We should have a better gauge on where Tri-West stands over the next couple weeks with games against Roncalli (Thursday), Brownsburg (Friday), Plainfield (April 18) and Cascade (April 19).
8. Pendleton Heights (2-3)
LW: 7
The Arabians have taken their lumps as they figure out everyone’s positions and establish a batting order against a rather daunting opening stretch. They committed four errors in the opener vs. Westfield and squandered a 6-2 lead vs. Center Grove, before beating Avon for their first win of the season — despite leaving 12 runners on base (had the bases loaded with no outs on multiple occasions).
The hiccups were probably to be expected as this team sorts things out. But that lineup has potential to be really good (batting .343 as a team) and we’ve seen what pitcher Shelby Messer is capable of. With the county tournament, Anderson and Delta upcoming, I suspect Messer and the Arabians will have righted the ship and built some momentum by the Carmel Invite (April 19-20).
9. Hamilton Southeastern (6-1)
LW: 8
From the Braves Bash in Terre Haute: The Royals capitalized on four Beech Grove fielding errors to win in eight innings, Ashley Ransom and Jenna Chase ensured Megan Wincek’s two RBIs stood up in a 2-1 win over Edgewood and Swedarsky pitched a one-hit shutout with 12 Ks to beat Sullivan. Their lone loss came vs. Terre Haute South in an eight-inning game that featured 22 hits and six errors, with the host Braves scoring three in the top of the eighth to win.
That Friday-Saturday run has HSE primed and ready for this week’s trials: Wednesday at Zionsville, Thursday at New Palestine, Friday at Mt. Vernon and Saturday vs. Harrison (WL) and Crown Point.
10. Lawrence North (2-0)
LW: 9
Four runs in the third and two more in the fourth propelled Lawrence North to an 8-1 win over Decatur Central. Sydney Moss and Ella Hogan both logged three hits and drove in three runs, with Moss finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Moss, who allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts and five walks over seven innings vs. DC, is 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA and 12 strikeouts through 10 innings pitched. Tougher tests are ahead, but that’s a really encouraging start for LN as Northwestern commit Kate Dowden recovers from injury.
The schedule picks up this week with Carmel, Southport, Noblesville, Living Water Homeschool and Bedford North Lawrence on the docket.
11. New Palestine (0-0)
LW: 11
The Dragons will FINALLY get their season started Tuesday against East Central, the first of five games in five days and nine in 10 overall.
12. Avon (5-3)
LW: 12
The Orioles endured a couple tough losses Saturday, committing three errors and losing to Horseshoe Classic host Pendleton Heights in the bottom of the seventh then following a mercy-rule win over Chesterton with a 7-5 setback vs. Center Grove wherein the teams combined for 18 hits and five errors. Sophomore Regan Cooper went 3-for-4 against the Trojans.
For the week: Hannah Sutton went 5-for-8 with a couple homers and six RBIs; Lilly Heath batted .545 with a pair of doubles, two doubles and four steals.
Avon travels to Franklin Central (Tuesday) and WL Harrison (Thursday), before returning home to face Cascade on Saturday.
13. Brownsburg (3-2)
LW: 13
The Bulldogs are coming off their first two losses of the season, but those setbacks were against then-No. 6 Castle and 3A No. 1 Gibson Southern. Lexi Gordon, Izzy Neal and Addie Charles all have eight hits; Gordon, Charles, Ashley Sylvia and Macy Twomey have five-plus RBIs.
The Castle Invite was the beginning of a daunting stretch for Brownsburg, which plays Westfield, Cathedral, Center Grove and Tri-West this week, followed by Mooresville and Tecumseh next week.
14. Zionsville (4-0)
LW: 14
The Eagles return to action Wednesday with a visit from Hamilton Southeastern. They’re searching for their first win over the Royals since 2017.
14. Eastern Hancock (0-1)
LW: 14
The Royals travel to Monroe Central on Tuesday for their first game since March 19.
t-15. Cascade (5-0)
LW: 15
Five games, five wins to start the year for the Cadets, whose week was highlighted by a 5-3 triumph over Evansville Reitz and a 3-1 triumph over Franklin Central. Sophomore Lacie Godby is 11-for-15 with seven runs and seven RBIs and Grace Gray is 10-for-13 with six runs, six RBis and two homers to lead the lineup; Gray has already racked up 35 strikeouts through 18 innings pitched.
4A foes Ben Davis and Avon are upcoming.
t-15. Lapel (4-2)
LW: 15
No games for the Bulldogs last week. They’re back at it Tuesday vs. Frankton in the Madison County Tournament.
t-15. Beech Grove (6-2)
LW: NR
The Hornets held their own in their first major test of the season last weekend, taking 4A’s Hamilton Southeastern to extra innings at the Braves Bash in Terre Haute. The pitching battle between BG’s Malone Moore and HSE’s Grace Swedarsky did not disappoint with the former allowing four unearned runs on four hits and striking out nine; the latter allowed two runs on five hits with 17 strikeouts and no walks.
Beech Grove has an up-and-comer in freshman Harper Moore, who tripled and drove in a pair of runs as part of her 3-for-4 performance vs. HSE, and it shook off a lopsided loss to Terre Haute South with wins over Edgewood and Owen Valley.
The next test for BG comes April 17 vs. Triton Central.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA softball Fab 15 rankings hold steady; big matchups ahead
