Wrapping up 2023 Indiana high school softball season from A-Z

The 2023 Indiana high school softball season is in the books and it was an absolute blast. Here's a look back, with observations from A-Z.

Coaches Confidential: Toughest Indiana high school hitter you've coached against

A is for Abby Robakowksi. Bremen's Erin Coffel set the state home run record (22) in 2018. Robakowski, a New Prairie senior, entered the state tournament with 21 bombs. She tied the record with a home run vs. Jimtown on May 26, then broke it vs. Hanover Central in the semistate semifinal. The Indiana State recruit finished her career with a flourish in West Lafayette, scoring the eventual winning run in the 6th inning of the Class 3A state championship game vs. Tri-West. She batted .502 over three varsity seasons with 42 home runs and 140 RBIs.

Side note: Bedford North Lawrence junior Ava Ratliff tied Coffel's record three days before Robakowski. She homered twice in a sectional loss to Floyd Central. Western's Brynley Erb finished her sophomore campaign with 21 bombs.

B is for the Bruins of Tri-West. They should be built for success again next season, but what a two-year run it has been for this group: Back-to-back 3A championship game appearances and an overall record of 56-9, with only three of those losses coming against a 3A opponent (one during the regular season).

The players and coaches were keenly aware of the sky-high expectations ascribed to them this season (deservedly so — it was a very talented team). In response, they sought to just have fun whenever they played, same as they did growing up.

"They helped put us on the map," coach Mike Miller said of his five seniors. "They're all going to be very successful (in life) and we're going to miss them tremendously. They really helped define where our program is today."

‘That’s why you do it.' Tri-West had fun, earned 2nd title chance but falls to New Prairie

C is for 'our COVID babies'. Borrowing a phrase from Miller for the third item on our list, the Class of 2023 was the last to lose an entire season to COVID (they were freshmen in the spring of 2020). That obviously leaves a massive gap in the record books, but it simultaneously makes what many of these seniors accomplished in just three seasons even more remarkable.

D is for the Roncalli dynasty. Roncalli has had a stranglehold on the state's largest classification over the past three seasons, boasting a record of 95-6-1 with a 50-game unbeaten streak that included a record-tying 47 consecutive wins, plus a postseason run differential of 166-11.

More: Roncalli suffers heart-breaking loss in state softball finals

Though there are holes to fill, no one should be discounting the Royals entering 2024 and honestly, it's probably premature to declare Saturday's loss to Penn the end of their dynasty. But it did mark the end of an era with Keagan Rothrock, Anna Dressman, Abbey Hofmann, Kaitlyn Leister, Lauren Marsicek, Ann Marie Meek, Rothrock and Abby Willis all moving on.

"We had so much fun together and that's why we were able to accomplish so many great things," Hofmann said.

E is for Erin Hoehn. You've hopefully heard of the North Posey senior's exploits in the 2A championship game vs. Andrean by now, so I'll keep this one short. The Michigan commit pitched a no-hitter with an event-record 15 strikeouts, then walked it off with a three-run homer in the seventh. It was an unbelievable finish by Hoehn and a tremendous start to the final weekend of the season.

Oh, also: North Posey, which stranded the tying run at second base in last year's final, finished 2023 with a record of 29-0.

“Storybook ending,” North Posey coach Gary Gentil said afterwards. “We have a special one at the mound and the plate. This is a once-in-a-generation team."

F is for Fighting Irish commit Sydny Poeck. Is this a roundabout use of the letter F? Yes. But we have to spotlight the Zionsville senior. Poeck batted .612 for the Eagles (8-15-1) against one of the tougher schedules in 4A, with nine doubles, five triples, eight homers and 36 RBIs. She clocked three hits (one homer) and drove in three runs to help beat Mt. Vernon, had a couple hits in a win over Brownsburg and tripled off Hamilton Southeastern ace Grace Swedarsky in a 1-0 sectional semifinal loss. Poeck was named first team All-State and selected to play in the North-South All-Star game, Zionsville's first All-Star since 2019.

G is for Grace Swedarsky. HSE's Swedarsky commanded our attention in her first varsity season, going 12-5 with a 1.35 ERA and 242 strikeouts. Her gaudy strikeout total was 10th highest in the state per MaxPreps — and Swedarsky pitched fewer innings (119.2) than eight of the nine ahead of her. Here's another crazy stat: Four of Swedarsky's five losses were 1-0 decisions. The exception? A 2-0 loss to Saint Joseph, wherein she allowed just one hit following a two-run first inning.

Sectionals wrap: The Hamilton County arms race

H is for homers. More specifically, the four Mooresville hit in one inning to beat Center Grove in sectionals. You knew senior Alex Cooper, an Indiana commit, was going to do something special when she came to bat in the fifth with a runner on and her team trailing by two. And she did with a two-run homer. But that was just the beginning for the Pioneers. Maddie Gainey and Cidney Newton went back-to-back a couple batters later, then Josi Hair finished the eight-run inning with a three-run shot to center.

"I couldn't believe it," Mooresville coach Traci Ball said afterwards.

'I couldn't believe it.' Mooresville's four home runs in one inning eliminate Center Grove

RE: Cooper. The record-setting infielder had a homer and an inside-the-park home run vs. Bloomington South in the semifinals, then homered twice more against Martinsville in the final. She graduated with a .547 average, 38 home runs and 165 RBIs for her career.

I is for Izzy Neal. The Brownsburg sophomore calls her springs "organized chaos" as she balances track and softball. That's an apt description. She went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored against Plainfield in the sectional opener, set a personal record in the 200 meters to qualify for state the next night, then returned to the diamond for the sectional championship game vs. Avon.

“I’m go, go, go all the time,” Neal said. “But it’s a lot of fun.”

More: Track one night. Softball the next. Brownsburg's Izzy Neal is always on the go.

J is for Lillianna Jansen and Beech Grove. Wanted to make sure Beech Grove got a shoutout and the letter "J" was available so Jansen gets the spotlight! The junior batted .532 with 33 RBIs and a homer for the Hornets, who won 21 games en route to their first sectional and regional championships in program history. Jansen was part of a record-setting core that also included Malone Moore, Kylee Robinson, Carmen Edmaiston and Mylee Boling — all of whom are set to return next season.

K is for Kiley Hinton. There are a few MVP candidates from Saturday's 4A final — Penn pitcher Olivia Signorino and third baseman Ava Zachary; Roncalli's Keagan Rothrock — but Penn's senior shortstop belongs in those discussions, too. The Austin Peay commit was perfect on six chances in the field. A couple highlights: She cleanly grabbed a throw from catcher Peyton Dwigans and applied the tag to catch a would-be base stealer in the first, then made a diving backhanded grab and threw the runner out from her knees in the fourth.

Hinton, who was charged with just three errors on 75 chances this season (.960 fielding percentage), was clutch at the plate vs. Lake Central in the semistate championship game, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. She batted .421 on the season with 38 RBIs.

L is for Lutheran. The Saints ran into the Tecumseh buzzsaw in the Class A semifinals, but they had quite the journey to their 12th regional championship. Facing one of the toughest schedules in Class A, Lutheran (20-8) played most of its games outside its class, including Cascade (2A), Roncalli (4A), Indian Creek (3A) and Mt. Vernon (4A).

The Saints graduate two seniors (Ellie DeChristopher and Cora Deane) but return a strong core with Mystic Means, Brooklyn Barger, Kayla Burns, Caitlyn Brooks and Leyla Miller, among others.

M is for Makena Alexander. After enjoying a six-game homer streak as a junior, the Butler-bound masher smashed 10 home runs and drove in 41 runs over 23 games as a senior. Alexander homered twice in a 7-6 win over Eastern Hancock, including a walk-off blast in the eighth; and homered twice and logged three RBIs against Lapel in sectionals. She finished her career with 42 home runs and 142 RBIs.

N is for no-hitters. Finally got to cover one — it was the 4A south semistate championship game betwixt Roncalli and Pendleton Heights. Rothrock did the deed, striking out 13 and issuing just two walks.

O is for Orioles sluggers Mandy Lauth and Hannah Sutton. Avon packed a pair of big bats into the center of its lineup with Lauth, a senior, and Sutton, a junior. The former batted .447 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs; the latter hit 15 homers and drove in 47 runs with a .404 average. It felt like almost a sure bet that at least one (usually both) would homer during a game, with Sutton resetting the school's single-season record.

P is for Pendleton Heights' penchant for postseason heroics. The Arabians certainly had a flair for the dramatic. First, a walk-off grand slam by Bo Shelton to down Lawrence North in regionals, then a walk-off base hit by Sydney Clark against Mooresville in the semistate semifinals. Shelton's heroics came trailing 6-4 and down to its final out; Clark's came moments after Mooresville had broken through to tie the score at 3.

More: Semistate end of road for special seniors at Mooresville, Pendleton Heights

Junior pitcher Shelby Messer, a state tournament star for the Arabians, held powerhouse Roncalli scoreless through the first four innings of the semistate championship game, before the Royals finally broke through and pulled away for an 8-0 win.

Q is for quietly pretending there's a Q in Cascade Cadets. Look, Q is a hard letter to find things for and Cascade needs a mention, so…

The Cadets went 12 innings against eventual state champion North Posey at semistate, with pitcher Grace Gray and the aforementioned Hoehn combining for 32 strikeouts (21 by Hoehn). It's hard not to come away impressed with that showing by Cascade, and with nearly its entire lineup set to return — including freshman Macie Pugh, who batted .355 with 27 RBIs, seven home runs and four triples — it's easy to be excited about this program's future.

Cascade graduates regular contributors Rylie Lambert, Ruby Gray and Megan Walker.

R is for Rothrock. With two state championships, multiple player of the year awards (state and national), a number of records and a commitment to Florida as the top-ranked pitcher in the country, questions of "What else is there left for her to accomplish in high school?" and "Why would/will she come back?" swirled around Keagan Rothrock entering her senior year.

Despite external speculation, Rothrock's status as a Roncalli Royal was never actually in question. The kid just loved being a high schooler and playing softball with (and against) her friends. "It's a blessing," she said before the season.

Injuries nearly capsized Rothrock's senior campaign, but with diligent planning by her coaches and sheer determination on her part, she did not miss a start and only improved as the season progressed.

Keagan Rothrock: 'Her pitches are like no other.'

Rothrock delivered a mammoth game-tying home run in the seventh and struck out 17 batters over nine innings in the final appearance of her high school career — an epic finish, regardless of outcome, for one of the state's all-time greats.

"Being a Roncalli Royal has meant the absolute world to me," Rothrock said. "I wouldn't trade it for the world (or go) to any other school."

S is for Sjoholm. A favorite story from the past season: Softball was at the foundation of Noblesville senior and Toledo commit Reis Sjoholm's relationship with her father, Eric. He died of esophageal cancer before seeing his youngest daughter play in high school, but Reis has honored his memory through the sport, wearing a light blue ribbon with the hashtag "doing it for dad" during games, and heeding advice during games, buoyed by the massive outpouring of support she and her family have received.

"Reis never fails to put a smile on my face," Noblesville senior Erin Clark said, "and is both an amazing teammate and one of the best friends I could ever ask for."

'I play for him.' Her dad was her biggest fan but never saw her play high school softball.

T is for Tecumseh. The Braves overcame a close-call against Barr-Reeve in the regional championship game, then out-scored its next three opponents 32-2 en route to its second consecutive Class A title and fifth overall (a 20-0 win over Lutheran inflated the run differential just a tad). Their 11 finals appearances are second-most.

Title defended: Tecumseh becomes seventh team in state history to repeat as champions

Junior Natalie Feather emerged as the team's No. 1 pitcher late in the season and will be joined by fellow returnees Taylor Ash, Jenna Donohoo and Katelyn Marx, among others. Considering this team's fearless approach to scheduling, the Braves should be a Class A frontrunner again next season.

U is for Shelbyville's upset. How about those Golden Bears? They picked off No. 2 Columbus North to repeat as sectional champs, scoring five earned runs on 10 hits off ace Madi Ruttan. Hailey Pogue, Addison Stieneker, Kylee Edwards and Kali Laycock all played starring roles in the Shelbyville win.

Seniors Abby Brenner, Riley Maulden, Pogue and Edwards led SHS to 68 wins over their three seasons with two sectional championships and a semistate runner-up finish last season.

V is for We're very grateful to everyone who read, subscribed, shared and interacted this spring. Thank you.

W is for Westfield. The Shamrocks went 46-80 from 2015-21, and won their first conference game in four years last season. They won their first sectional title this season, allowing just three runs over three games. Westfield's run began with its first state tournament win in eight years, continued with a seventh-inning walk-off vs. Noblesville and concluded with a dramatic 1-0 win over Hamilton Southeastern, wherein Chloe Tanner stranded six runners on base and collected nine strikeouts.

More: Westfield softball started at 'bottom of the totem pole.' Now it's a sectional champ.

X is for X out last year's state championship attendance record. Because we got a new one, folks! 4,846 fans attended this year's two-day event at Purdue's Bittinger Stadium. (Only two more letters to go.)

Y is for youth movement. Was going to list off some standout underclassmen from the past season, but there are too many and this is already way over the word limit. SO, keep an eye out for Central Indiana all-freshman and sophomore teams in the coming weeks.

Z is for the Zachary and Zache families. Two other favorite stories from this past season involved the Zachary family at Penn and the Zache sisters at South Bend Saint Joseph.

Aubrey Zachary, a junior pitcher at Penn and Fort Wayne commit, recalls watching from the outfield as the Kingsmen fell to Avon in the 2016 state championship. "That's our goal. To get back there," she said. Penn not only made it back in 2023, it won the whole thing with Aubrey fighting through an injury to make the start and Ava cracking off a ninth-inning triple and scoring the eventual winning run, with their parents — head coach Beth and assistant coach Dave — in the dugout.

Riley and Berkley Zache helped lead the Indians' to the 3A title last season, and were brilliant again this year. Riley, a junior Mizzou commit, is the team's starting catcher and Berkley is one of the state's top pitchers.

Penn coach enjoys ride with daughters. 'We're very lucky to be able to do this together.'

More: One brings the heat, the other, the pop. How Zache sisters lift Saint Joseph softball.

Berkley has 100% trust in her older sister's pitch selections and Riley has full confidence in her sister's ability to execute. "Having your sister on the same team in general is special, but having her as your catcher is even better," Berkley said.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA softball: Wrapping up 2023 season from A to Z