What we learned from the inaugural Castle Softball Invitational

EVANSVILLE — There's not much more you could ask from this inaugural event.

Sixteen teams descended upon Deaconess Sports Park for the Castle Softball Invitational on Friday and Saturday. You had numerous quality teams, including nine ranked in the coaches' poll. There was also star power with recruits headed to the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.

A walk-off from a defending state finalist. A drama-filled ending between two others. There's already a waitlist for teams next season. Time to unpack thoughts from a competitive weekend featuring several state tournament contenders:

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It will take a great performance to stop this Castle offense

These four games punctuated what was already clear: The Knights have one of the best lineups around.

Through 11 games, Castle is averaging 9.9 runs with seven players batting over .400, plus an impressive 50 combined extra-base hits. The Knights (9-2) amassed 42 runs and 53 hits with three victories in their host invite. The only opponent (Tri-West) to find any success had Oklahoma signee Audrey Lowry in the circle.

4A No. 6 Castle should prefer a stronger showing in the field and failed to put away Carmel in a 17-12 slog. It still fared well in the loss with numerous illegal pitch calls contributing to big innings from Tri-West. Still, the Knights were the preseason Southern Indiana Athletic Conference favorite. Nothing from this weekend changed that.

"I've not been to any tournament like this in the state of Indiana," Castle coach Pat Lockyear said. "The entire weekend we had plenty of opportunity. That's what any coach wants at the beginning of the season. This is what we need to keep doing and what we need to work on. That's what playing good teams will expose to you."

Gibson Southern is further along than anticipated

Did Titans coach Gary May expect this start? Honestly, no. That makes the rest of the season more intriguing.

3A No. 1 Gibson Southern is 8-3 following four games at Deaconess Sports Park. It won three, including a rematch of last year's Class 3A semistate against No. 2 Tri-West. The record also deserves context. The Titans went to Tennessee for a tournament over Spring Break. They haven't played a home game yet. Gibson Southern is still winning.

It's hitting the ball all over the field. It's also finding success with four freshmen and a sophomore in the lineup. If Titans learn through mistakes and take incremental steps forward, this is another group capable of a multiple-weekend run in the tournament.

"This is the toughest first 11 games we've ever had to play," May said. "No way I would have thought we could be 8-3 at this point. (The freshmen) have done very well in some regards. In others, a routine play they mess it up. Every time they do, coach (Greg) Wilson always tells me, 'Remember, we said they're freshmen.'"

Tecumseh will use this tournament to its benefit

The first response from coach Gordon Wood following the final game: "I don't like losing."

Yes, the two-time defending state champions lost three times this weekend. It wasn't unexpected considering the quality of competition. The Braves were close to a pair of high-profile results. Still, these are games and opponents Wood prefers to play.

1A No. 1 Tecumseh (3-3) had six extra-base hits in a competitive loss to Fishers. It was one unlucky break (a hit into the left field corner was ruled a ground-rule double once it went beyond the portable outfield fence) and a missed call from potentially beating defending 4A state champion Penn. The Braves finished the tournament with a shutout against Shelbyville.

Tough opponents in the regular season prepare you for June. Tecumseh learned this lesson last year.

"It makes us better," said Wood. "That kind of competition, they exploit your weaknesses. We weren't going to practice Monday, but we're doing all defense at 4 o'clock because of things we saw here. They make you better."

A pleasant surprise from the weekend: North Huskies

If there was one team who welcomed a strong showing in this tournament, look at North.

The Huskies (3-5) lost their first three games of the season while allowing a combined 33 runs. What followed was a positive week. North defeated Memorial in a conference game Wednesday before besting 4A No. 15 Bedford North Lawrence and Shelbyville. Its tournament concluded with losses to Lincoln-Way Central (Ill.) and 4A No. 5 Mooresville.

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The strength from this recent stretch was the offense with Allie Joiner (a .522 average through eight games), Jinnis Gerth and Charleigh Hankins providing a spark. The outlook for the Huskies has certainly improved since this time last week.

"A lot of great competition here," North coach Justin Wilke said. "I've been talking about having better at-bats. (The key is) our approach at the plate and seeing better pitches, not just swinging at stuff that isn't our pitch to hit."

Other thoughts from the Castle Softball Invitational

There was a lot of softball played over the weekend — 32 games to be exact. A few closing thoughts:

• Tri-West will be a tough out every time Lowry pitches. The senior allowed one earned run and struck out 33 in three outings. She didn't pitch against Gibson Southern, a potential postseason opponent, hence a 15-1 loss. Emma Frye also hit three home runs, including a walk-off winner against Daviess County (Ky.).

• The team of the tournament? Lincoln-Way Central. The Knights were the only team to go undefeated with a combined result of 48-4. Their final victory was a thumping of 4A No. 1 Penn. Florida State commit Bella Dimitrijevic had 30 strikeouts and allowed only three hits in 12 innings.

• Pike Central (1-5) is adjusting to the graduation of key starters from last year. It still earned a needed and tough 6-4 victory over Carmel. IUPUI signee Karley Kavanaugh had two hits including a RBI triple. The lineup could also see a boost this month with the return of Brailey Mills from an ACL injury.

Follow Courier & Press sports reporter Kyle Sokeland on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA softball: What we learned from Castle Softball Invitational