Logansport walk-off stuns Harrison softball in IHSAA Class 4A sectional championship
KOKOMO, Ind. — Harrison senior pitcher Rylan Gick had but a few blemishes with two outs in the bottom seventh inning against Logansport and the IHSAA Class 4A Sectional Championship at stake.
An 0-2 count on third baseman Jocelynn Vincent, who struck out her previous at bat. One out, one pitch and one moment that would decide a winner.
Gick threw an outside curve and Vincent guessed appropriately.
Vincent swung and lined a hard shot to right field just past the diving efforts of Becca Knight. First baseman Natalie Packard scored from first base and Logansport stunned Harrison 1-0 to capture the sectional crown in Kokomo. Logansport (25-5) delivered a stunning defeat to Harrison, the No. 6 ranked 4A team by the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana.
"It was going to come down to a ball bouncing one way or the other," Harrison coach Kelsey Clark said. "Unfortunately it just didn't go our way."
Harrison (19-5) struggled to generate the offense despite outhitting Logansport 5-3. DePaul signee Chelsea Parker went 2-for-3, but the Raiders missed an opportunity to plate a run in the sixth inning. Leadoff batter Whitney Duell singled into left field but misread a bad hop in left field and was thrown out by outfielder flex Teagan Wolf.
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Parker roped a double into right field two batters later, but catcher Ava Mobley lined softly to first the next at-bat to halt the rally.
Wides didn't question Duell's decision to take an extra base.
"We never fault our girls for being aggressive," Clark said. "I trust Whitney. She is a fantastic base runner on this team. In her heart she felt like she was trying to make something happen and an immediate regret obviously. It's one of those things that if she's safe, we aren't talking about it. It's hard when she puts all that on herself. It's a team sport and we had multiple opportunities where we didn't execute."
"We're never going to fault a kid for being aggressive,"
There won't be a return trip to Regionals or Semi-State for Harrison. The Raiders exit with four players heading to play in college including Gick, who tossed a complete game with nine strikeouts and yielded one walk and one hit batter. Gick will play at Purdue Northwest.
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"We couldn't have asked Rylan to do anymore," Clark said. "Tonight she was fantastic and has been for us all season. It was going to be her ball until she didn't want it anymore, which wasn't going to be anytime soon. We were going to stick with her."
Wides graduates six seniors who were the first set of freshmen she coached since taking over head duties for Harrison in 2021.
Duell, Gick, Mobley and Parker played glove toss an hour before game time. These College-bound players were breaking up the doldrums of a music-less pregame and remembering the small child in them that made them pick up the glove and start playing ball in the first place.
"To see the growth in them as players and as people is why I do this," Clark said. "Rylan in particular came in as a quiet freshman and really grew into our silent leader. I just told her she hasn't even peeked yet. She has four years of college to continue to learn and grow and become an even better pitcher than she is now. This group as a whole is the core of our team and a core of what makes us Harrison softball."
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@gannett.com, on Twitter at EthanAHansonand Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Logansport walk-off stuns Harrison softball in IHSAA 4A sectional
