Quartet Crowned Champions On Softball Diamond
INDIANAPOLIS – A quartet of champions were crowned Saturday as the Indiana high school softball season came to a close.
The foursome of Tecumseh, Indianapolis Scecina, New Palestine and Crown Point each earned state titles in their respective classes in the State Finals contested at Ben Davis High School.
Maddie Duncan was the hero for Tecumseh in its 3-0 win over Tri in the Class 1-A finale. Duncan set a 1-A State Finals record with four hits and also fired a three-hitter in the circle.
Tecumseh, which finished at 23-9, claims its third state championship. Tri closes its season at 25-4.
Scecina also claimed its third state crown by topping No. 1 Elwood 6-2 in the Class 2-A finale. Scecina scored three runs in the third inning and three more in the final frame.
Elwood, which had defeated Whitko 13-0 in five innings in the Northern Semistate title game last Saturday, finishes 27-5. Elwood ace Mackenzie Bryan, who had a no-hitter versus Whitko, allowed 10 hits Saturday with one walk and five strikeouts.
New Palestine outscored Kankakee Valley 13-6 in the Class 3-A title tilt. The champs scored eight runs in the fourth inning. The two teams combined for 29 hits (17 by New Palestine) and seven errors.
New Palestine finished at 31-2 and Kankakee Valley was 22-9.
The finale of the day saw Crown Point edge defending state champion Avon 2-1 in the Class 4-A matchup.
Avon scored its lone run in the top of the first inning. Crown Point, which beat Penn in the semistate semifinals last week, got a two-run double by Mallory McMahon in the bottom of the first frame for their two runs.
Alexis Holloway, a Notre Dame recruit, fired a four-hitter to give Crown Point its first state title. The Bulldogs finish at 30-2.
Avon, which beat Penn in the state title game a year ago, got a three-hitter from Haylie Foster. Avon finishes at 23-9.
Selected for the Mental Attitude Awards on the day were Kaitlyn Flowers of Tecumseh for 1-A, Rachel Cox of Scecina for 2-A, Elisha Barker of New Palestine for 3-A and Holloway of Crown Point for 4-A.